Did you ever wonder what a trip to Jurassic Park would be like. Friendly and not so friendly dinosaurs all around, keeping you on your feet at all times? Yes, that would be the ultimate safari… and possibly the last one that you ever partook in. There’s a new grassroots Buffalo theater troupe in Buffalo that is aiming to give theater-goers the ultimate thrill by debuting a new work called Terrassic Island which is a DIY adaptation of the original film Jurassic Park.
What’s different about this play is that it is being put together by a number of amateurs who don’t have much background in theater. This production is based on individual skill sets, many of which have nothing to do with the art of producing a play. And that, my friends, is why Terrassic Island sounds like so much fun. “We want to make theater as accessible as possible by showing that amateur plays can be made by anybody and for anybody,” said co-creator Gregory Dudley. “This play is truly a community endeavor.”
Ultimately this is a dinosaur play that sets out to boggle the mind in its “out of left field” audacity. The dream to move forward with the production was hatched at a Sunday Soup event (a micro-funding potluck). After that the grassroots effort was born, as countless people came together to build the set, which includes a number of awesome wooden structures and papier-mâché dinosaurs.
The team behind the endeavor was encouraged by members of the community to embark upon a full scale version of a smaller play they had pulled off previously. “”Our first play began on a bet and became a complete theatrical adaptation of Star Wars IV (A New New Hope),” Dudley explained. “Terrassic Island aims to take that same spirit of homemade community theater to a larger audience on a grander scale.”
In Four Performances:
Wed. July 17 at 7:30 pm | Fri. July 19 at 7:30 pm | Sat. July 20 at 7 pm & 9:15 pm
At: The Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle 612 Fillmore Ave.
*Terrassic Island is adapted and directed by Gregory Dudley and Allison Ewing. There will be four performances in the Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle (bar will be open, snacks will be served). Admission is a suggested donation of $5 and seating will be first-come first-served. Reservations will be accepted via email to anewnewhope@gmail.com and honored until 15 minutes prior to show time.