Directed by: Rusty Tennant
Created and Performed by: Kate Mura
After over a decade of development, Fuse Theatre Ensemble is proud to present the final incarnation of “The Play About My Father” which will be premiering as part of this year’s Fertile Ground Festival.
“In 50 minutes, she switches voices and characterizations effortlessly, and offers vivid representations of people who exhibit compassion in a trying time. It gives you hope that people can be like this all the time, not just in the wake of tragedy.” – Theater Jones
“The Play About My Father,” created and performed by Kate Mura, is a theatrical “thank you” to the New Jersey community who rallied around her family after her father’s freak accident. This tale of (seemingly- too-rare) compassion and kindness features physical storytelling, corporeal mime, improv and a magic skirt! Watch her shift from tragedy to acceptance via the race track, ghosts, and lots and lots of casseroles.
“The Play About My Father” began as a short mask show, “Suburban Tribe” in the very first Fertile Ground and became Fuse’s first national and international tours with the original productions of “Suburban Tribe” and “Suburban Tribe Unmasked” garnishing one of Theatre Jones Top 5 Small Tours. It grew and transformed over the past decade through numerous performances, violating theft, and, ultimately, death. It now concludes in this final iteration transforming a personal tragedy into communal connection.
“For years Kate Mura has been one of the most multifaceted theatre artists in Portland. Her extensive skill set includes actor, deviser, writer, director, puppeteer, mask-maker, dancer, mover, carpenter, ground rigger and union stage-hand.” — Bobby Bermea, Oregon Arts Watch
Kate Mura has an extensive list of skills and credits including being a backup dancer for Salt-n-Pepa, dancing with President Bill Clinton at the Presidential Summit for America’s Future, coaching William Hurt in neutral mask for “No Man’s Land” at Artist’s Repertory Theatre, touring ten states and performing for thousands of children with Tears of Joy Theatre in “The Reluctant Dragon,” “Pinocchio,” and “When Animals Were People,” performing on the Widgeon Theatre Boat in the UK, and multiple times at the Avignon OFF Festival. She is a Leslie O. Fulton Fellow, through whom she studied shadow puppetry, music and dance through Dell’Arte Abroad: Bali, in Indonesia.
As a founding member of Fuse Theatre Ensemble and the OUTwright Theatre Festival she has devised, directed, designed, and/or performed continuously since 2008. Some highlights include “A Midsummer Night’s Somnambulism,” LaVonda in “Sordid Lives,” choreographing Fuse’s critically acclaimed “Cabaret” at the Funhouse Lounge, and being part of the Best Ensemble and Best Supporting Actor nominated “Our Town.”
