The Texas Song Theater is song and spoken word that is brought to the stage by three performing songwriters working together as a play of voices, imagery, and emotion.

First conceived by performing songwriter Eric Taylor, he has engaged two of his most respected and accomplished writing friends, David Olney and Denice Franke, to join the “Theater.”

At first glance, Eric Taylor, David Olney, and Denice Franke appearing together on stage would not be considered as something unique. Singers and songwriters have been getting together in “rounds” for years. But it is the presentation that these three bring to the performance that invents something quite different. They come together on the stage, just as a theater ensemble might bring an adaptation of a gathering of playwrights.

Eric Taylor says, “The first time I saw Lightnin’ Hopkins do a live version of Black Cadillac, he performed a spoken word piece, a story that went along with the playing of the song. I felt like I knew where he was going. I was going with him and it wasn’t by his invitation. He was taking me there. There was the song and there was the theater. To some degree, I’ve worked spoken word into my songs since that day, but I seem to do it with more conscious effort these days because I just enjoy the performance piece so much.

“A few years ago I became intrigued with the idea of performing songwriters working together on the stage and using spoken word to form a ‘cast’ that interacts in each other’s songs, interaction that is sometimes written and sometimes spontaneous. The idea is that this could all be done on the theater stage and would require very little other than varied lighting and a minimal notion of props.”

Denice Franke says, “The Texas Song Theater is a performance that will leave you on the edge of your seat........ provocative and compelling........Eric Taylor is onto something here.”

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David Olney, a performing songwriter who was one of the original cast members of The Texas Song Theater, says, “Singers can come together and blend harmonically on a particular song. At the end, the audience will hopefully show their approval. Then the process is repeated, and each performance is a separate little dot. This project is about connecting the dots thematically so that each piece becomes part of a greater whole. When it works, it’s gangbusters. When it doesn’t, it’s still fun to watch Eric sweat.”

Marilyn Rea Beyer, Music Director and midday host at America’s only full-time folk/songwriter format radio station, WUMB Folk Radio (91.9fm Boston), is schooled in theatre and holds an M.A. in the Oral Interpretation of Literature from Northwestern University. Besides her daily airshift, she is also a spoken word performer.

Of The Texas Song Theater, Beyer says, “Today, we’re all accustomed to ‘layering,’ what with Adobe Photoshop, multi-tracked audio, sliding layers of video montage. But to do it live, acoustic...the only electricity supplied by the human voice and the visions of those three human minds! That’s Greek. It reminds us of why the ancients trusted in myth, followed their bards, and heeded The Oracle.

“Eric Taylor, David Olney, and Denice Franke individually have the power to move you. The Texas Song Theater will make you believe.”

Sean La Roche has worked in legitimate theater and the popular music business since 1958. He says, “I’ve never heard or seen anything like it. I was fortunate to attend the first performance of The Texas Song Theater in a packed showcase room at The Northeast Regional Folk Alliance in Monticello, New York.

“If ever a performance was more than the sum of its parts, this was it. People coming to see Denice Franke, David Olney, and Eric Taylor because of their individual reputations as poets and musicians were totally surprised by the energy and deep soulfulness projected from these three.