James Bard, Dampfer St. Lawrence, (1850)
Do You Need to Read the Confidence Man?
Herman Melville Descendent Elizabeth Doss “Talks Back” to Melville’s Final Novel, The Confidence Man
Friday, June 26, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
DOORS OPEN AT 6:30pm for the 7:00pm show
Registration Opens Soon
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 the hell Melville is really getting at in his strangest and most provocatively perplexing text. Still in its larval stage, Doss asks, “Do you need to read THE CONFIDENCE MAN?”, or does it deserve its obscurity? This solo performance (hopefully) offers a mixture of insight, ignorance and some stabs at hilarity. Come cheer her on (or boo her off) for three consecutive nights only at the Neill-Cochran House Museum.
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 of Federico Garcia Lorca’s, The Audience and The Divine Narcissus by Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz. Her play Slumber Party, was featured as part of the UTNT new theatre festival in March 2017 and Theatre En Bloc produced her play Severe Weather Warning at the Long Center in May 2019. Doss holds a BA in Spanish and an MFA in Playwriting, both from the University of Texas at Austin. She played herself and Herman Melville in Mark Blumberg’s film, The Act of Reading. And her personal 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. As a performer she performs with Austin companies including Salvage Vanguard (Cry Pitch Carols, Americamisfit), Rude Mechs (Dionysus in ‘69, B Beaver Animation, Fixing TImon of Athens) Theatre en Bloc (The Totalitarians.) She’s currently developing a new solo work based on Melville’s last published novel: Do You Need to Read the Confidence Man? She recently performed an excerpt of the piece for Frontera Fest which was selected for “ Best of the Fest.” She’ll present another version of the work in June 2026 at the Neil Cochran House Austin, and again at Arrowhead July 2026.
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.