The VORTEX

🌊 There are only THREE MORE NIGHTS to catch Another Kind of Silence at The VORTEX! Friday and Saturday at 8:00pm, Sunday at 6:00pm

Love. Silence. Desire - Signed, Spoken, and Felt.

🌀 The VORTEX continues its “Pursuit of Happiness” season with the Rolling World Premiere of Another Kind of Silence, a new, bilingual play in English and ASL (American Sign Language) by L M Feldman, directed by MoMo Holt. A National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere, this production unites Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing artists and audiences into a fully integrated bilingual experience.

Performed simultaneously in signed ASL and spoken English, Another Kind of Silence examines relationships shaped by difference. Deaf, Deaf-Blind, hard-of-hearing, and hearing characters are paired with a “chorus” - another voice, another body - revealing interior thoughts and emotional truths through a second language. Layered communication and embodied storytelling drive the work, expanding the possibilities of bilingual theatre while centering collective well-being

The characters’ intersecting stories move through love, fulfillment, hunger, and silence, tracing their journeys as they search for a way forward. What is signed, what is spoken, and what is left unspoken forms a richly textured theatrical language of transformation 🎭

TICKETS 🎟 https://vortexrep.org/38_another_kind_of_silence

📸 Photography by Petersen Photography

💫 SATURDAY - Join us on at The VORTEX for a staged reading of Anne Elliot’s Q***r Little Heart by Taylor Flanagan on Saturday, June 6th at 1:30pm!

In this tender and funny love letter to Jane Austen’s works, Anne Elliot (quintessential middle child of the snooty Elliot family) must choose between moving back in with her uncaring family or watching the courtship between her first love and the closest thing she has to a best friend 🌷

Q***r joy & agony & hope & regret & reclamation & naval officers & love letters & lost family & found family all set in an alternate Regency era. Austen-inspired, Austin-developed

📍The VORTEX
📅 Saturday, June 6th at 1:30pm
🎟 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/staged-reading-anne-elliots-q***r-little-heart-tickets-1986372289991?aff=oddtdtcreator

📣 The VORTEX presents the Inaugural - BLACK Q***R EMANCIPATION & ALLIES INVITATIONAL POETRY SLAM - Friday, June 12th, 2026, 7:00PM - Hosted by Ebony Stewart, Award-Winning Poet & Cultural Leader

🌀 The Vortex is thrilled to announce the launch of its Inaugural Black Q***r Emancipation & Allies Invitational Poetry Slam, an electrifying new event dedicated to celebrating Black q***r artistry, liberation, and community through the power of spoken word. The slam will be hosted by nationally acclaimed poet, playwright, and 2017 Woman of the World Poetry Slam Champion, Ebony Stewart.

Timed in honor of the spirit of the Juneteenth Emancipation, this event creates an intentional platform that centers Black q***r voices while welcoming supportive allies who believe in the transformative force of art. The Black Q***r Emancipation & Allies Invitational Poetry Slam highlights stories of freedom, joy, resistance, memory, and imagination—inviting the Austin community to gather, listen, and celebrate.

The Black Q***r Emancipation & Allies Invitational Poetry Slam will feature a lineup of dynamic poets competing for a total of $500 in prizes.

Competitors 🏆
Akeem Olaj
Breana Miller
Gigi
Jasmine Games
Micailah OCaii
Ms.Trin-I-Tee
Scottie B.
Tender René

🎟 TICKETS https://vortexrep.org/38-black-q***r-emancipation-poetry-slam

🌊 The FINAL WEEKEND of Another Kind of Silence begins tonight at 8:00PM!

Love. Silence. Desire - Signed, Spoken, and Felt.

🌀 The VORTEX continues its “Pursuit of Happiness” season with the Rolling World Premiere of Another Kind of Silence, a new, bilingual play in English and ASL (American Sign Language) by L M Feldman, directed by MoMo Holt. A National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere, this production unites Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing artists and audiences into a fully integrated bilingual experience.

Performed simultaneously in signed ASL and spoken English, Another Kind of Silence examines relationships shaped by difference. Deaf, Deaf-Blind, hard-of-hearing, and hearing characters are paired with a “chorus” - another voice, another body - revealing interior thoughts and emotional truths through a second language. Layered communication and embodied storytelling drive the work, expanding the possibilities of bilingual theatre while centering collective well-being

The characters’ intersecting stories move through love, fulfillment, hunger, and silence, tracing their journeys as they search for a way forward. What is signed, what is spoken, and what is left unspoken forms a richly textured theatrical language of transformation 🎭

TICKETS 🎟 https://vortexrep.org/38_another_kind_of_silence

📸 Photography by Errich Petersen Photography

🎥 The VORTEX is proud to present a screening of, THE HORSE OF JENIN, By Alaa Shehada on May 30th

“The horse in Arabic is a symbol of freedom. But to us, this horse is much more. This horse is us.”

Built from the debris of a major invasion, the Horse of Jenin sculpture became a constant presence in Alaa’s life growing up in Occupied Palestine. It stood proudly in the center of the city for twenty years, symbolizing hope and resistance. Then, on October 29, 2023, an Israeli bulldozer entered the city, ripping the sculpture from its place — and from its people. Now, Alaa is left wondering... What happened to the horse?

Combining storytelling, mask, and stand-up comedy, The Horse of Jenin is constructed from the fragments of Palestinian actor and comedian Alaa Shehada’s own memories and stands as an ode to the power of imagination and the resilience it brings.

Watch the screening of THE HORSE OF JENIN at The VORTEX during our “Clownidarity Forever” event on May 30th 🤡 This fundraising event seeks to remind people that resistance and building hope can take many forms, such as laughter, play, and comedy! Proceeds from ticket sales and a portion of vending sales will be donated to a clown from the Gaza Circus School named, Uncle Tito!

🔗https://www.eventbrite.com/e/clownidarity-forever-tickets-1986361282066?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnr98EsywgikW-WtAmSjoGbbqQsPjGvkFKuStkws5zhthBK0DplgFCd-6DNWU_aem_TDyQd_voQRdRZDc4SQqsgg

🌊 Not in Austin? Catch the LIVESTREAM - Another Kind of Silence TONIGHT ONLY

Love. Silence. Desire - Signed, Spoken, and Felt.

🌀 The VORTEX continues its “Pursuit of Happiness” season with the Rolling World Premiere of Another Kind of Silence, a new, bilingual play in English and ASL (American Sign Language) by L M Feldman, directed by MoMo Holt. A National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere, this production unites Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing artists and audiences into a fully integrated bilingual experience.

Performed simultaneously in signed ASL and spoken English, Another Kind of Silence examines relationships shaped by difference. Deaf, Deaf-Blind, hard-of-hearing, and hearing characters are paired with a “chorus” - another voice, another body - revealing interior thoughts and emotional truths through a second language. Layered communication and embodied storytelling drive the work, expanding the possibilities of bilingual theatre while centering collective well-being

The characters’ intersecting stories move through love, fulfillment, hunger, and silence, tracing their journeys as they search for a way forward. What is signed, what is spoken, and what is left unspoken forms a richly textured theatrical language of transformation 🎭

TICKETS 🎟 available through the link in our bio!

📸 Photography by

🌊 The second weekend of Another Kind of Silence begins TONIGHT! - Shows run through June 7, 2026 - 🎟 SPECIAL TICKET OFFER FOR THURSDAY AT SUNDAY - USE CODE BOGO AT CHECKOUT 🎟

Love. Silence. Desire - Signed, Spoken, and Felt.

🌀 The VORTEX continues its “Pursuit of Happiness” season with the Rolling World Premiere of Another Kind of Silence, a new, bilingual play in English and ASL (American Sign Language) by L M Feldman, directed by MoMo Holt. A National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere, this production unites Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing artists and audiences into a fully integrated bilingual experience.

Performed simultaneously in signed ASL and spoken English, Another Kind of Silence examines relationships shaped by difference. Deaf, Deaf-Blind, hard-of-hearing, and hearing characters are paired with a “chorus” - another voice, another body - revealing interior thoughts and emotional truths through a second language. Layered communication and embodied storytelling drive the work, expanding the possibilities of bilingual theatre while centering collective well-being

The characters’ intersecting stories move through love, fulfillment, hunger, and silence, tracing their journeys as they search for a way forward. What is signed, what is spoken, and what is left unspoken forms a richly textured theatrical language of transformation 🎭

TICKETS 🎟 https://vortexrep.org/38_another_kind_of_silence

📸 Photography by

🌀 From now until July 2026, we are raising $80,000 for Another Kind of Silence, A bilingual collaboration between deaf and hearing artists and audiences and one of our most ambitious productions.

Your gift will go directly to making this groundbreaking show possible! 📣

Donation Impact:
$25: Helps the VORTEX with administrative overhead and artist compensation
$100: Covers 1 ASL interpreter for 1 rehearsal
$200: Covers 1 night of accommodations for 1 artist who travels to participate in Another Kind of Silence
$500: Covers reserving the theater for rehearsals for 1 night
$1000+: Back stage tour on opening night of Another Kind of Silence

Donations can be made at vortexrep.org

✋ Performed simultaneously in signed ASL and spoken English, Another Kind of Silence examines relationships shaped by difference. Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing characters are paired with a “chorus” - another voice, another body - revealing interior thoughts and emotional truths through a second language. Layered communication and embodied storytelling drive the work, expanding the possibilities of bilingual theatre while centering collective well-being 🌊