Around Town: The Foreign Legion
Abbas Amirabadi, Menelaos Prokos, Leng Wong, Andreas Fabis, Gene Zhou/photo by Yimou Lee/KUTAs everyone in Austin knows, it’s too hot to go outside for entertainment during the summer months, and this is why our fabulous intern, Yimou Lee, fled to the theatre for story ideas during July. It turns out that what he found may have been hotter than the record breaking temperatures we’ve seen in these parts.
Saturday night July 30th at The Salvage Vanguard Theatre, The Foreign Legion, an improv troupe made up of non-US nationals comprised of Abbas Amirabadi, Andreas Fabis, Menelaos Prokos, Leng Wong, and Gene Zhou, set out to explore the wonderful world of the great American roadways as they performed a sketch about trying to obtain a drivers license as a foreigner.
“It’s pretty much the way it is. Most of us may have already been driving for like 10 years, but we have to be treated like a fifteen-year-old again,” said Leng Wong, an actress from Malaysia.
For most Austinites and US citizens it can be very interesting to see ones culture through an “outsiders” eyes. Things that most of us take for granted, like getting a diver’s license, can be major hurdles if you aren’t a native. With the opportunity to take a glimpse into this experience The Foreign Legion has given us a unique gift.
“Our main goal is to entertain our audience. I think the guilty pleasure of seeing people on stage making good-natured fun of their ignorance is a liberating experience,” said Andreas Fabis, the show’s creator.
Catch their next performance August 18th at The Hideout, and “like” The Foreign Legion on Facebook to make sure you know where you can check them out around town throughout the year.
