Splash Zone

Theresa Buchheister & Blake Bolan

5.0 (1)
Performing Arts

Experimental performance evangelists Theresa Buchheister and Blake Bolan have been talking about theater for three decades and now it's your problem. Join them as they dive into the contemporary avant garde and experiments past. We will always opt for the Splash Zone. Hosts: Theresa Buchheister & Blake Bolan Editing: Adam Kruckenberg Music: Atom Smashing

5d ago

July Roundup

Highlights of our summer Experimental Text Reading Group, a leisurely trip through July shows, and brief interlude about Blake's somewhat concerning food/drink tastes. Mentioned in the episode: Object Collection Foreman Cameron Stuart SalOn! TDR Handke BAM Scripps Matt Hislope Josh Meyer Rubber Repertory Mike Steele UT Austin Kirk Lynn The Austin Chronicle Heather Barfield Artaud Joco Cruise Teri Madonna Paul Soleil/Christeene Neo-Futurists The Casket of Passing Fancy The Society of the Spectacle Pleasure Activism Amy Mihyang Ginther NACL thingNY Dave Ruder Joey Merlo University of Santa Cruz Orion Bow Echo Lincoln Center Big Feelings Ryan Drake Julia Greer The Cell Girl City In My Basement laihleah IRT The Brick Atom Smashing CATCH Paul Pinto Crackhead Barney Shiloh Blue Michael Oluokun Maggie Hoffman Nicky Paraiso LMCC Moe Yousuf Staff Picks Life World Goodbye Horses Michael Kinnan Never Let Go Elisabeth Vincentelli New York Times Silence of the Lambs Titanic Mind Dream Theater Allyson Dwyer Jerrod Jordahl Kegan Zema KACHONK Suz Murray HB Studio Low Cinema Simple Town Xavier Rice Felipe Du Poi Michael Keaton Mr. Mom Nico Krell Savage Umbrella object permanence Kestrals Mercury Store Yale Djo Forest Hills Post Animal Sheryl Crow Robert Plant What a World! What a World! The Tank Prelude Theaterlab William Sydney all i want is what you want Jo Warren Lena Engelstein Woyzeck Modern Sweater Seth Bockley Laika's Coffin Adult Film Mary Karen Dahl Georg Büchner box machine Travis Just CATS The Jellicle Ball Ryan William Downey Scott Ries Real Estate Isa Spector Rawya El-Chab The Potluck Meaghan Robichaud Miss Slam Pig USA Pageant Celia Krefter Kate Purdum Brick Aux
Jul 22

June Roundup

The vibes were high in June in NYC: Pride Month, Knicks in 5, and for us, a veritable feast of theater. Today's episode covers everything we attended in June 2026. Mentioned in the episode: Bergman-Lansbury Test 2 LifeWorld Evan Spigelman aka Mx Asa Metric Lisa Fagan Maya Sharpe Chris Giarmo DeliaDelia!: The Flat-Chested Witch Pussypaws Puppetry Sugar Sugar! Domino Square Park CATCH Annabel Thompson Alessandra Gomez Kedian Keohan Rocky Horror Bushwick Starr DJ P***y aka K Hurley Aeon Andreas Maxy Starr Abrons Arts Center Brick Aux The Brick Theater Amando Houser The Glorious and Stunning Death of a Faithful Mormon Loading Dock Steven Gridley Erin Treadway Nathan Repasz The Exponential Festival Red Pavillion AAPI Pride Variety Show Snax Cincinatti Fringe Festival Locusta's School for Assassins A Hollywood Horror Story Vampira James Dean Hannah Mitchell TRAD Soap Library Target Margin Derrangements SummerWorks Clubbed Thumb The Wild Project Ecstatic Peephole Crystal Finn Bailey Williams Emma Horwitz The Family Dog Julia Brothers Chad Kaydo Laverne and Shirley Planet Fitness Champagne Dreams Three Sticks Katie Melby Andrew Lynch Cloud City FRONTIERS So Far Justin Dodd george mcconnell Paradise Hotel Billy Mullaney Panoply Performance Lab Nick Robideau Rite of Spring ERF Alex Aguirre SUB Chloe Claudel Mitchell Polonsky The Goat Exchange Colonial Circus-History, Clown Style Two2Mango Slanted Floors Billy McEntee Jack Serio Joey Merlo Peter Mills Weiss Kaye Hurley Brooklyn College New Georges :/secondplace T Ryder Smith Erin Markey Cricket Brown Julia Antinozzi Isa Spector Paul Zimet Lena Engelstein Well, I'll Let You Go Emily Davis Yeti or Not Dropout The Bell House Can I Be Frank? Morgan Bassichis Joe Amstater Sam Reich SoHo Playhouse Phoebe Waller-Bridge Fleabag Moriah Evans }[…/+*^%>€£¥$&@!!!!^^^]{ The Chocolate Factory John Hastings Malcolm-X Betts Fil Vocasek Chris Harder The Slipper Room HOLE PICS Buffy Sierra MTHR TRSA Crackhead Barney Idiot Void David Commander The Collapsable Hole Coney Island Coney Island Show Zilpha Mae Buchheister Ann Marie Dorr Hilary Kelman Scott Johnson Iliana Inocencio Backrooms Jerrod Jordahl Mike Steele Dad Don't Read This Forest Entsminger Kat Sotelo The Woods (bar) The Woods (art space) Alex Romania Stacy Lynn Smith Goodbye Horses Andrew Garman Rocky Horror Stephanie Hsu Paul Soileau aka Christeene Boy Radio Sam Pinkleton Oh Mary! Friday Night Rat Catchers NANCY Brick Aux Joan of Arc Gilles de Rais aka Blue Beard Dark Star Georges Bataille BrickFlix Toney Brown Robin Margolis XFR Collective Iréne Hultman Monti Jackass Baylor Rossi Taylor Briggs The Subplots Lost Children and Other Problems Medussa CREATURE/COMFORT Kevin Chen Babycastles
Jul 6

Fringe Festivals

Fresh off a recent trip to the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, we dive into Blake's abiding appreciation for Fringe. Revisiting four Festivals, we discuss what works (community building! walkable venues!) and what doesn't (too much tech! misaligned expectations!). Shows Blake saw at Cincy Fringe: Locusta's School for Assassins - Samantha Joy WeilA Hollywood Horror Story - Ingrid GarnerChampagne Dreams - 3 SticksFrontier So Far - Justin Dodd & george mcconnellColonial Circus-History, Clown Style - Two2MangoMentioned in the episode: William Sydney Brick Aux Jeb Bolan Minnesota Fringe Cincinnati Fringe Calgary Fringe Kansas City Fringe New York Fringe Frigid Festival Edinburgh Fringe Manhattan Experimental Theater Workshop (MXTW) Bedlam Theatre University of Minnesota george mcconnell Richard Foreman PS122 PSNY University of Kansas Harold Pinter Betrayal Bryant Lake Bowl David Commander Edmonton Fringe Banff Savage Umbrella Jessica Coyle The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Katie Hartman Chris Gregory Nick Ryan WKRP Know Theatre Travis McElroy Alyse Lamb Drama Book Shop Paula Vogel How I Learned to Drive Transatlantic Love Affair Martin Denton Rochelle Denton nytheatre.com The Pearl The Brick The Exponential Festival David Greenspan The Ontological Incubator Arts St Mark's Church Sleth horsefacts.gov/ House of Yes Forest Entsminger Babies on the Street The Million Underscores The Minnesota State Fair Great Plains Theatre Commons International Thespian Conference Camron Cooke Malcolm-X Betts Kat Sotelo Sugar Sugar! Nile Harris Lena Engelstein Lisa Fagan Nico Krell Kestrels Ethan Eva Karas Michael Kinnan Goodbye Horses Never Let Go Bearcat Vital Joint The Family Dog Bailey Williams The Wild Project SalOn! Adam Kruckenberg Matthew Antoci Ryan William Downey Chrissy Reilly Juliana Francis Kelly
Jun 1

Short Forms

Recorded in the Lawrence Public Library basement, we discuss the joys of short form performance events, including !?: New Works, SalOn!, CATCH, and more. Bonus: Blake's lecture on Experimental Theater History - now available on LPL's YouTube! Mentioned in the episode: Lawrence Public Library Experimental Performance Tuesday Experimental Theater 101 Manhattan (Kansas) Public Library JoCo cruise Brick Aux The Raven Bookstore Shauna Kelly I’ve Got the Shakes: Performing Richard Foreman Liberty Hall Memento ?!:New Works SalOn! CATCH The Brick Theater Life World The Exponential Festival TimeOut NY The Silent Barn Title:Point CSAA Gallery Ryan William Downey Deep Cuts Records Reese Wentz The Netherlands Lorissa Reinhart Q&Y: A Brief Comedy About Death Destruction Snack, USA BITER (Every Time I Turn Around) Gravesend Recording Studio Sarah Graalman Jeff Tobias Hannah Weisz Ellen O KRAGTAR River Ramirez Harold Lehmann Joe Hendel Pair of Dice Alyse Lamb Eliza Bent Brian Lady Megan Manowitz Joey LePage Adam Endres Pokemon Vital Joint Helen Shaw The New York Times T Braun Jose Rivera Jr. Garlan Jude Paula Matthusen Brendan Regimbal Forest Entsminger The Million Underscores _ _ Matthew Antoci Derek Smith William Sydney Kevin Laibson Richard Foreman Jacqueline Scaletta Crackhead Barney Peter Mills Weiss Symphony of Rats Jim Fletcher Greg Kowaleski Sarah Kane All the Fringe Festivals Anne Washburn Ohio Theater T Ryder Smith Jay Smith Julia Mounsey Kate McGee Jess Barbagallo Brothers Dawn Herrera Michael Gardner Robert Honeywell Jane Beachy Salonathon The Onanists Hannah Kallenbach Jeb Bolan Catrin Lloyd Bollard Dale Buchheister Steak and Scotch Society Kunal Gupta
May 12

Moi Meme (Guest: Mojo Lorwin)

In this episode, we welcome our first ever special guest, Mojo Lorwin - filmmaker, teacher, dad. As evidenced by the list below, we talk about a lot of things. Extra thanks to our editor Adam Kruckenberg for dealing with the aftermath of this (technically) haunted episode. Mentioned in the episode: Mabou Mines Lee Breuer MXTW Iris Fischer Anthology Film Archives Liza Lorwin Kilkenny Festival Pauline Kael David Lynch Lars Von Trier Alfred Hitchcock Bruce Andrews Sally Silvers Ruth Maleczech David Warrilow Fred Neumann JoAnne Akalaitis Maude Mitchell Barbès Olivier Conan Julie Archer Jay Peck Silent Barn Scott Ries Guy DeBord Richard Foreman Object Collection Kirk Lynn Rude Mechs 53rd St Press French New Wave Post Structuralism Shirley Clarke Viva Agnes Varda Jill Godmilow Wooster Group Title:Point Peter Handke Film Forum Lincoln Center Low Cinema John Wilson Phil Hartman (Two Boots) Gary Balaban Tove Jansson Halle Butler Coney Island Rough Draft Festival Baby Butcher Choke For Free without mirrors The Brick Jerry Lieblich David Greenspan Kate McGee Laia Comas Leah Plante-Wiener Meaghan Robichaud Ende Tymes Festival Brick Aux JoCo Cruise Jon Schatzberg Daphne Always James Sheppard Corook Jonathan Colton Oscar Montoya Jiavani Janet Varney Kate Rubins Ron Funches Traitors Sandeep Parikh Rekha Shankar Marc Evan Jackson Tenacious D Tony Torn Spider Rabbit Dan Safer Travis Amiel Antonin Artaud The Tank Genica - The Jet of My Blood GLADIE LAAND Lizard Brain Trust The Replay Lounge JP Redmon Podstar Jojo Longbottom Aaron Swenson Cameron Hawk Seth Chandler
Mar 20

Lore Drop

Theresa and Blake go deep on the foundational experiences that led them to lives in experimental theater. Mentioned in this episode: James R. Hamilton Manhattan Experimental Theater Workshop for High School Students Patricia Ybarra Frank Wedekind's Lulu Jeffrey M. Jones' 70 Scenes of Halloween Rubber Repertory Antonin Artaud's There Is No More Firmament
Feb 12

Festival Season 2026 (Part 2)

Theresa and Blake return to their mics to catch up on shows they've seen in the second half of festival season, preview future events, and opine on their desires for upcoming episodes. For more information on some of the festivals/events mentioned in the episode: Ecstatic Peephole The Exponential Festival Under the Radar We the People mind dream theater Rough Draft Festival Object Collection The Brick Recorded 2/8/2026
Jan 27

Festival Season 2026 (Part 1)

In Splash Zone's inaugural episode, Theresa and Blake discuss the history of the January festival season in New York, dive into some of their favorite festival (and non-festival) shows so far this year, and spotlight more shows to come. For more information on the festivals mentioned in the episode: The Exponential Festival Under the Radar Prototype Festival Live Artery Phys Fest Recorded 1/19/2026

8 Episodes

Experimental performance evangelists Theresa Buchheister and Blake Bolan have been talking about theater for three decades and now it's your problem. Join them as they dive into the contemporary avant garde and experiments past. We will always opt for the Splash Zone. Hosts: Theresa Buchheister & Blake Bolan Editing: Adam Kruckenberg Music: Atom Smashing

Creator

Theresa Buchheister & Blake Bolan
Years Active

2026
Episodes

8
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Splash Zone 2026
Show Website

Splash Zone