Gideon Productions receives Donn Russell Fund Grant

For many, Gideon Productions is the ideal Off-Off-Broadway theatre company. This sentiment is easy to understand. Because their work is based on popular genres and cultural touchstones, they are often at the forefront of trends and themes being presented on stages across the U.S. The fact that they explore "what's strange about being human and what's human about being strange," gives their productions an element of knowing intrigue and a sense of humor. However, it is their dedication to crafting a quality experience and employing some of the most skilled theatre artists in the community that makes them so admired by their peers, audiences and critics.

"Gideon is a role model of what indie theatre can and should be." 
                       ~ Mariah MacCarthy

 

Hanna Cheek in Sovereign

"Gideon makes theatre that grapples with big questions while never forgetting to find the comedy within the drama and the sorrow behind the shtick. It's what makes their shows next level special. Every play births a whole world and community, from the rehearsal room to the audience.” ~ Hanna Cheek

 "I am always drawn to Gideon's unflappable desire to push boundaries and take risks; their driving, giddy passion to produce fantastic, cutting-edge original work; and the fact that they just make cool stuff that may, on the surface, seem kind of 'out there,' but always manages to circle back to the human condition. Alien invasion? Demonic possession? Assisted suicide? Espionage? Naval musical? Nothing is off the table for these guys" ~ AL Pearsall

"They cast diversely, stay true to themselves, and are transparent. They don't pander to an audience. They do their thing. And they do it damn well. They might be the craziest people in the theatre right now and we love them for it.” ~ Diana Oh

“Gideon Productions is awesome because it is my home.  I was going to qualify that with 'my artistic home' but it goes far, far beyond that.  For over a decade, Gideon has given me the chance to exercise my muscles as an actor in so many ways: as a flamingly homosexual Coast Guard chaplain, a female psychic, a Neocon war monger, a blind romance novelist and a particularly brutal CIA interrogator.  And it's been wonderful...but that's the stuff that everyone can see.  What you can't see is the time Jordana mobilized to make sure I had Gatorade backstage when I was performing Fleet Week sick as a dog.  You probably don't know that Sean went out of his way to make sure the cookies I like were backstage during the run of Asymmetric when I had to perform on what would have been my late partner's 47th birthday.  You may or may not have been in the room all the times Mac gives his actors far more credit than we deserve because saying his brilliant, beautiful words is the easiest job any of us will ever have.  And they'll forgive you easily and quickly when you might have a out-of-all-proportion meltdown backstage shouting, 'I AM IN A RAGE' to anyone and everyone.  The reason Gideon is able to pull off something like The Honeycomb Trilogy is because they've built a big, beautiful house and have invited us all to live there.  They are family.  They are, as Connor says repeatedly at the end of Advance Man, home.” ~ Rob Maitner 

“Gideon Productions breaks, and opens, my heart, and intoxicates my mind, with every story and staging; epic, and strange, and oh so beautifully human. I treasure every chance I have to place myself in their hands, as an artist and spectator. Vagabonds often know exactly what feels like home. For me, it's Gideon.” ~ Kristen Vaughan

Kristen Vaughan & Diana Oh in Frankenstein Upstairs

The cast of Universal Robots

“Gideon Productions creates high caliber work that takes risks and takes it's audiences on joyous, dynamic rides. Their work is consistently solid and impactful.” ~ Jason Howard

“Gideon Productions' massive ambition is only eclipsed by their considerateness and kindness. They won't do something unless they can do it right. And it being right is not only that the production be excellent, but that everyone involved is treated with respect.  There's no corner-cutting; no convincing themselves that they can do without something that demonstrates that respect to their cast, crew, designers, and audience. Just that level of attention and work is monumental for an independent theater company. But that's not hard enough for Gideon. So Gideon decides to do crazy ambitious productions of difficult plays.... Wonderful plays, genius plays, beautiful plays.  Sometimes I imagine their meetings playing out like a game of "dare or dare" where they push each other to make everything better." ~ Stephen Heskitt

"Gideon Productions is awesome because the brilliance of their work is consistent and unmatched. When you have one of the best writers working today joined with one of the best directors in the country, throw in a designer/technical director that can make miracles from nothing, and then back them up with a gifted producer and producing team that will settle for nothing less than utter excellence and service to their audiences, you get something truly special that cannot be found anywhere else. Gideon's value can be estimated not only by the fierce loyalty of their fan base, but also by the loyalty and trust of everyone who works with them." ~ Brian Silliman

"Gideon is honest and sincere to their artistic team. I enjoy the community that they create with each production. It is a pleasure to know that as a designer, actor or audience member, you are appreciated and heard. I believe that this desire to connect with everyone on every level of production creates an environment that encourages growth and support.” ~ Jennifer Wilcox

"As artists, they are not experimental. They are not 'trying stuff out.' They are not devising and they are not deconstructing and they are not mashing-up. Gideon does the harder thing: they tell challenging, twisty, sharp, emotional stories. They gather great actors in front of great audiences with great production values with great staging to perform great plays. It's harder than it looks. Or, rather, it's exactly as hard as it looks.” ~ Matt Freeman   

Rebecca Comtois and Mac Rogers in Ligature Marks

We are honored to present Gideon Productions with a grant from the Donn Russell Fund. This money will be used to support their upcoming production of Universal Robots, which will open at the Sheen Center in June. They are currently raising funds for this project so please, join us in supporting this deserving company by making a donation (go to: http://www.gideonth.com & click on the link that is on the bottom of their page).

Congratulations to Gideon Productions for receiving a Donn Russell Fund grant!

  Learn more about Donn Russell...