2-10 actors
Nonverbal. Hyper-engaging. Deeply artistic. Unrelentingly playful.
Two robots vie for the audience's attention as they try to out-beep-boop each other. A live bass player underscores a journey deep into a cave (that happens to look like a cardboard box). A tent becomes a vast cosmos to explore with the help of a beatboxer. A rainforest wakes up into a glorious cacophony of sounds as we meet its affable animal residents. Two different worlds of straight and squiggly lines find connection through penpals looking to see if there's room for all of us.
At times silly and beautiful, sophisticated and vibrant and gentle, these 30-minute pieces invite the littles and their adults to engage with problem solving, make friends, and learn how to see themselves in this big, beautiful world...with lots of giggles along the way.
For performance licensing, please visit UproarTheatrics.com
Bassett, Matt: - A freelance theatre artist in the Washington, DC area since 2010, Matt Bassett's work as an actor, director, and playwright has been seen throughout the country. Some of Matt's favorite work has been with his wife, Tia, for children and families specifically. In 2013, they welcomed their son to the world, and since then, have joyfully crafted theatre for their son's age, from short nonverbal shows when Charlie was a baby and toddler, to previewing shows in Charlie's classroom. Matt has served as Theatre Department Chair for Metropolitan School of the Arts, as Artistic Director of The Hub Theatre, and has been on the faculties of Montgomery College, the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts and Imagination Stage. Education: MFA in Acting from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and BA in English, Theatre from Tennessee Tech University. Matt lives in Takoma Park, MD, with his family.
Shearer Bassett, Tia: - Tia Shearer Bassett is an actor/creator who specializes in solo shows, children's theatre, and playful theatre for grownups. She has served as a member of Only Make Believe, performing interactive theatre in children's hospitals, care facilities and special education programs; an original company member at Arts on the Horizon, creating nonverbal shows for ages 0-6 and earning the title "Buster Keaton for babies;" and a member of Happy Theater, making family-friendly work like the celebrated interactive puppet show, The Light House. She also performs self-produced work like a live, poetic Zoom show (Edward & Christine) featuring her son's toys. Acting credits include The Kennedy Center (including two national tours of Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, and the world premiere of Idris Goodwin's From the Mouths of Monsters), The Second City, Imagination Stage, Nashville Children's Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage. She has twice portrayed Matt Damon in Matt and Ben, written by Mindy Kaling and fellow Uproar playwright, Brenda Withers. She is an Audio Describer, co-creator of a web-series starring her leopard gecko: "Eugene Cheese Gets It Wrong," founding producer of The From-Home Fest, a cancer survivor, an NYU Gallatin alum, and an advocate for joy. She is mom to an amazing kid, and married to one of her favorite collaborators, director Matt Bassett.
