Montreal-based TEKE::TEKE, a Japanese psychedelic rock band blends the sounds of traditional Japanese instruments with flute, trombone, guitar and percussion. (Submitted photo)
Foundry Theater slates second season of programming, performances
- Published: July 29, 2024
After coming online last fall with the announcement of three artist-in-residence companies and a full slate of programming, the Foundry Theater at Antioch College wrapped up its first season last month.
But lovers of live performance shouldn’t expect too much of a break: The Foundry will kick off its 2024–25 season Saturday, Aug. 10, with a party that aims to give folks a taste of what the second season holds in store.
Headlining the season opener is the Montreal-based TEKE::TEKE, a Japanese psychedelic rock band that blends the sounds of traditional Japanese instruments with flute, trombone, guitar and percussion. As a press release from the Foundry notes, the band built its sound on elements of “Japanese folk, psychedelia, Brazilian surf rock and other far-flung touchstones,” eventually “stretching out in free-floating experimentation” while performing as a touring group.
The event will also feature three local acts: hip hop artist Tronee Threat (Guy “Tron” Banks); experimental bluegrass/folk band Gran Gran (Dylan Sage, Jake Teilhet, Jacob Diebold, Mikey Chappell and Evan Miller); and Kid Bigfoot, a trio of self-described “angsty boys from Ohio” (AJ Breslin, Skyler McNeely and Kevin O’Donnell).
Food will also be available, with food trucks on-site, as well as summery eats such as walking tacos, eloté and sliders, prepared by Antioch College Kitchen Manager Dawn Richter, and beer from local breweries.
Tickets for the event are $20 per person, or $40 per family; individual tickets for Antioch College students and those under 17 are $5 — as they are for all shows in the Foundry’s official programming lineup.
According to Foundry Theater Director Chris Westhoff, who spoke with the News this week, the entertainment at the kick-off party is endemic to the programming at the Foundry thus far, and the direction it’s headed beyond the season opener.
“One of the things we’re trying to facilitate at the Foundry is [performances] that have one foot in the door of a tradition that is rooted and another foot in an outward direction of where it’s trying to go with that rootedness,” Westhoff said. “That ends up being the common denominator between the programs.”
On the heels of the kick-off party, and very much in line with the creative vision outlined by Westhoff, will be “Big Family Business: A Rhythm In Shoes Revival” in September. The event will marry former Dayton-based music and dance troupe Rhythm in Shoes with artists from Mad River Theater Works and Dayton’s Muse Machine for an evening of both original and traditional music, dance and storytelling.
Westhoff, who is managing director of Mad River Theater Works, described the event as “kind of a merging” of his own family, which includes longtime Mad River collaborator Bob Lucas and his stepdaughter and Westhoff’s wife, Chloe Manor, with Rhythm in Shoes family members Sharon Leahy, Rick Good and Emma and Linzay Young.
Two acts later in the season continue to follow the Foundry’s aim of showcasing works grounded in musical traditions that also expand beyond them: In October, Qwanqwa — hailing from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia — will bring to the stage experimental, psychedelic tunes built on a foundation of sounds traditional to East Africa. Later that month, Zimbabwean women’s a cappella group Nobuntu is scheduled to perform their signature blend of traditional Zimbabwean music, Afro jazz and gospel.
Also in October, Mad River Theater Works, with the support of the Ohio Arts Council, will produce “The Language of Dolls,” a new play from local resident and playwright Louise Smith and longtime collaborators Peggy Pettit and Lizzie Olesker, to debut in the Foundry’s experimental space. All three will perform the new work, which concerns three women spending a weekend together in a cabin, engaged in conversations about the “past and present, but also a possible future.”
Taking the theater to the end of the first half of the season are the return of the YS Film Festival, which also heads into its second year, and an engagement with the nationally renowned Jerry Douglas Band, both in October — a busy month for the theater. In November, the legendary Dirty Dozen Brass Band comes to the village by way of New Orleans, bringing its blend of bebop, funk and jazz to the Foundry’s auditorium stage.
“A couple of these shows are going to immediately open up to the extended capacity,” Westhoff said, noting that, beyond the Foundry auditorium’s typical seating of 225, Miami Township Fire-Rescue allows the theater to extend its maximum capacity with additional floor seating.
The Foundry is still scheduling programming for the second half of its sophomore season, but one act is already lined up that will likely require that additional auditorium capacity: Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Iris DeMent heads to the Foundry in May next year.
Westhoff said the Foundry reached out to DeMent based on the success of hosting musician Jonathan Richman in February this year.
“The motivation was thinking about what would build off of [Richman’s performance] in a similar way — not that they’re at all the same kind of performer, but to me there was some symmetry in the audiences and spanning the decades and the eclectic nature of their voices,” Westhoff said.
The Foundry continues to offer season supporter packages for both businesses and individuals, which, depending on the package, include either custom-selected ticket combinations or tickets to every show in the season.
Looking back at the Foundry’s first full season of programming, Westhoff said it felt like a success — both with regard to the range of acts presented on the theater’s two stages and the number of people who showed up to enjoy those acts.
“From what I’ve heard, people felt like it went pretty well,” Westhoff said. “Because of that, the college is supportive, and we’re excited to do it again.”
For more on the current lineup for the Foundry Theater’s second season, go to http://www.bit.ly/FoundryTix25.
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