James Bard, Dampfer St. Lawrence, (1850)
Do You Need to Read “The Confidence Man”?
One Woman Show by Elizabeth Doss
Sunday, October 4, 2026 | 7:00pm – 8:00PM
DOORS AT 6:30pm | show at 7:00pm
TICKETS
$35 General | $25 NCHM Member
Back by popular demand!
Performer, playwright, and descendent of Herman Melville, Elizabeth Doss “talks back” to The Confidence Man, the last novel Melville published in his lifetime. Set on a steamboat cruising down Mississippi, Doss jumps aboard, probing this text to grapple with her own encounters with “Confidence Men”, not to mention her own flagging confidence, and what in the world is Melville really getting at in his strange and perplexing text.
Doss asks, “Do you need to read The Confidence Man or does it deserve its obscurity?” This solo performance offers a mixture of insight, ignorance, and some stabs at hilarity.
Come cheer her on for another three consecutive nights at the Neill-Cochran House Museum!
Complimentary refreshments available before the show begins.
Free parking is available behind the museum.
Playwright / Performer:
Elizabeth Doss is a writer, performer, director, and playwright based in Austin, Texas. She is a co-artistic director of the theatre collective Paper Chairs, which has produced world premieres of her original plays Murder Ballad Murder Mystery, Hillcountry Underbelly, Mast, Poor Herman and Catalina de Erauso. Paper Chairs has also produced her translation/adaptations ofThe Audience by Federico Garcia Lorca and The Divine Narcissus by Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz. As a performer, she acts with Austin companies including Salvage Vanguard, Rude Mechs, and Theatre en Bloc. Preceding this performance, she played herself and Herman Melville in Mark Blumberg’s film, The Act of Reading, and her essay, “What Poor Herman Means to Me” was published in Leviathan in 2022. Most recently, Paper Chairs co-produced Poor Herman at Arrowhead 2024 which played to sold-out audiences. Doss holds a BA in Spanish and an MFA in Playwriting, both from the UT Austin.
Director / Dramaturg:
Kristen Osborn is an Austin-based director and creative producer who creates immersive stories that nurture human connection and spark wonder, curiosity, and joy. Her work spans film, theater, magic and live performance, blending narrative, interactivity, and community engagement.
Currently, Kristen collaborates with Texas film company Sailor Bear on film development and production alongside Texas filmmakers David Lowery, Toby Halbrooks, and James M. Johnston, most recently contributing to the soon-to-be-released Mother Mary with A24. Her live work includes projects such as Dear Dickies (Mi Casa Es Tu Teatro Festival), Group Therapy (American Dance Festival, Fusebox Festival), and A Recipe for Action (Rainwater Innovation Grant Recipient, University of Texas at Austin). Her most recent immersive work was showcased at SXSW in collaboration with Whole Foods and Food Tank. She holds a BA in Theater from UCLA, an MFA in Directing from UT Austin, and is a graduate of the Texas Immersive Institute.
