About Us ::
The Doghouse Theatre was established in Austin, Texas, in 1999. Director Andre Carriere transformed his house into a theatre (named “an amazing venue” – The Austin Chronicle) and produced Zoo Story; Colored Girls Who have Committed Suicide...; Drums in the Night; Simpatico; Othello and A Streetcar Named Desire. Also premiering at the Doghouse, Carriere's adaptation of Michael Ondaatje’s The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (listed #3 in the Top Ten of the Performing Arts Triumphs of Austin Culture in the year 2000).
Doghouse Theatre debuted in Los Angeles (as a co-production with the Knightsbridge Theatre) with the West Coast premiere of Jon Lipsky’s Maggie’s Riff. This piece looks at the author Jack Keruoac in his youth, adapted from Keruoac's novel, Maggie Cassidy.
After that, Doghouse brought audiences MACBETH [Transposed]. Carriere adapted and directed this classic, employing David Ball's thesis that a Shakespeare play performed backwards still makes sense, as the audience usually sees an action first, followed by the conversation that led to the action. The production also employed, as do most Doghouse shows, the choral device. Led by the witches, each character choraled at least one other character, bringing a sinister urgency to the language as well as the story. Set in the medieval world of the mind, the Doghouse production of the Scottish play invoked the witchery and demons that walk the land disguised as mortal man.
For the third Los Angeles production, Doghouse teamed up with Action! Theatre Company and ran a successful production of Sam Shepard's True West, directed by Wendy Obstler. Doghouse Artistic Director, Andre Carriere, took off his directing hat and busted onto the stage playing brother 'Lee', opposite Artistic Director of Action!, Tiger Reel, who played 'Austin.' Backstage West deemed it, "grippingly palpable" and Tolucan Times raved, "a flawlessly detailed rendition."
The fourth L.A. production brought Doghouse back to its roots: again to play within a private residence. A lean and mean "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" was adapated and directed by Carriere in a way that brought the audience directly & immediately into Hamlet’s world; with the idea that revenge breeds revenge and is cyclical in nature. To emphasize that aspect, this production commenced in the middle of the play and made a full circle back around to the beginning. Additional elements, such as multiple casting and choraling, stressed the depth of Hamlet's madness.
Doghouse Theatre is dedicated to producing theatre with an innovative approach that brings the classics to life as never seen before. Doghouse explores contemporary and original works with that same creativity.
Our mission statement is World Peace.
Who we are ::
Founder & Artistic Director
Contact Info: reservations@doghousetheatre.com
Director Andre Carriere is the founder of Austin’s Doghouse Theatre, which was noted over & again for breaking the physical conventions of theatre and staging performances within his house, as well as the backyard of Carriere’s home. From Brecht to Ondaatje, The Austin Chronicle stated Carriere “connects in ways that transcend simple play production.”
Artistic & Executive Producer/
Poster & Promotional Designs (2004 - 2011)
The 2009 production of "True West" was co-produced with Action! Theatre Company.
They like plays.
We like them.
In 2004, "Maggie's Riff" was performed at the Knightsbridge Theatre in Los Angeles.
Collaborations ::
"Director Andre Carriere... translated an otherworldliness to his own stage-bound storytelling."
S E R G I O &
R U B I A the current dogs
P I N E A P P L E
the original dog of Doghouse
M I C H A E L C A P P E L L I
An actor, writer, and teaching artist who has performed in productions in Providence, Boston, NYC, LA, and San Francisco, Michael holds a Master’s Degree in Theatre Education from Emerson College. He has taught theatre arts to students throughout California with organizations such as P.S. Arts, The Marin Theatre Company, and the NY Film Academy, as well as directed and written several plays and solo performances. Recent roles include Claudius in Doghouse Theatre's Production of Hamlet, Bob in Museum with Boxcar Theatre, and Matt in PumpJam Production's Company Fat. For more info. on Michael and his work, please visit www.alazywriter.com and www.mcappelli.com.
M A R Y E M F I N G E R
Holds a degree in History and Theater from UCLA and went on to complete the Integrated Program at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. While Mary’s passion will always be theater, she holds a special place in her heart for classic literature, cooking, traveling, cupcakes and Cat Fancy Magazine. She has also been involved in social issues such as gender equality, environmental awareness and helping the homeless. If that doesn't make you like her enough, she practices Kung Fu San Soo, Kadochnikov, Yoga, Running and Telekinesis. To keep up with her current projects or obtain a resume visit www.maryemfinger.com.
K E N D A L E N A
An Orange County actor who is pleased to have made his LA debut with such a fine ensemble of the Doghouse Theatre. His notbale recent appearances include Henry II in The Lion in Winter, Dodge in Buried Child, Robert in Proof and Joshua in Joshua. He completed the Professional's Actor's program at the South Coast Repertory Conservancy and is looking forward to more LA gigs. His lives in Laguna Beach with lovely and wonderfully sassy wife, Valerie.
G A B R I E L
the KING CAT of Doghouse
R.I.P. 4-27-07
Players ::
M I K A E L A B E N N E T T
A San Francisco native, Mikaela appeared in Doghouse Theatre's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark as Gertrude. Mikaela most recently enjoyed voicing a Navy SEAL in the new Call of Duty teaser. Past stage roles include Meg Snider in the Ken Ludwig farce Leading Ladies, and Sebastian, in Shakespeare's The Tempest. She performs improvisational theater in a variety of formats and genres, including Double Entendre, Spontaneous Broadway!, The Harold, Scandal Harbor (an improvised daytime soap), Improvised Jane Austen, Famous Last Words, Improvised Tennessee Williams, L.A. Noir, and Theatresports. Mikaela earned her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and has studied at the British American Drama Academy in London, La Universidad de Chile, Impro Theatre, and BATS Improv. She is grateful to Doghouse Theatre for bringing together this family of artists to create Hamlet.
E D W I N G A R C I A II
Is at once brooding and intense, at other times mischievous and comical. Garcia gained popularity in regional theatre productions across the eastern seaboard for his broadly drawn and extremely varied performances. In darker roles, his Latin features and rough-hewn weariness compliment his innate sensabilities, as can be seen in his portrayals of gansters or lost youths. In comical roles, his timing is sharp and his ability to shock and play with his audience is a trait that some of our most outrageous comedians aspire toward. Hamlet was Garcia's first production with the Doghouse Theatre.
