TONIGHT: Dueling Caesars In More Ways Than One

ACT OUT OPENING:

Beware the Ides of March indeed!   (That was March 15th, for those of you wondering...  an infamous line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and thought to be his assassination date.   In lucky 2013, Chi-town has not one but TWO productions of Julius Caesar currently playing.   Babes With Blades dueling Julius was in previews and Chicago Shakespeare's version was well into their run for the Ides of March.    

ChiIL Live Shows will be there for opening night tonight, and we can't wait.    They're one of our local favorites for sure.   I've been a sucker for stage combat since I took college level classes in fencing, and stage fighting as part of my theatre/pr/marketing degree at Miami of Ohio.   

As far as this Julius goes, Babes With Blades is doing an all female version...fair play turnabout for all the years Shakespearian women were played by men!   We've been impressed for years by their creative staging, and adept casts.   We'll have a full review up shortly. 

BWBTC's All-Female-Cast Production of  "Julius Caesar"    Babes With Blades Theatre Company reprises our popular all female-cast format to present Shakespeare's tale of love, loyalty, and betrayal.  As classical simplicity meets modern ambiguity -  when the honorable path is clouded by conspiracy - how do you choose where to stand? 3/9 - 4/20/13 Raven Theatre 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago (Lot parking / easy street parking) Opening M 3/18, 8:00 Run Th-Sa 8:00, Su 3:30 The performance on Thursday, March 21 will be a Theatre Thursday event, held in collaboration with The League of Chicago Theatres. Patrons are invited to come to Fritzy’s Tavern, directly across the street from Raven Theatre at 6156 N Clark, at 6:00PM for a pre-show wine tasting event. A professional wine consultant from PRPWine International will be directing a tasting of six different wines, as well as sharing food/wine pairing ideas and other tasty suggestions. Light refreshments will be served. Tickets are $25, and reservations can be made online at babeswithblades.org or by calling 773-904-0391 and mentioning “Theatre Thursdays.” More information about Fritzy’s Tavern: http://www.fritzystavern.com More information about PRPWine International: http://prpwine.com/ In addition to the Theatre Thursday event, BWBTC is pleased to announce the following updates and discounts: ·         The Thursday performances of 3/28, 4/4, 4/11, 4/18 are industry nights; tickets will be half-price for anyone with proof of industry affiliation (call/walk-in only). ·         The Sunday performances of 3/31, 4/7, 4/14 will be Pay-What-You-Can shows (call/walk-in only). ·         There will be a prize drawing each week of the run. Audience members get one free drawing entry with admission and can purchase additional entries for $2, or three for $5. ·         During the final weekend of the show, April 18-20, BWBTC will be accepting donations for Sarah’s Circle (www.sarahs-circle.org), which provides housing assistance, case management, referral services, and life necessities for women who are homeless or in need of a safe space. ·         Additional discount codes will be made available to BWBTC’s Facebook friends. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.  For special pricing and events during the show run, please visit our website. Director: Wyatt Kent   Violence Design: Libby Beyreis*   CAST: Diana Coates (Antony), Alison Dornheggen* (Casca), Catherine Dvorak (Trebonius), Ashley Fox (Lucius), Kim Fukawa* (Portia), Sara Gorsky (Cassius), Kimberly Logan* (Brutus), Kalina "Kitten" McCreery (Metellus), Jennifer L. Mickelson* (Cinna), Aila Peck (Calphurnia), Maureen Yasko (Caesar)   STAFF: Leigh Barrett* (Lighting Design), Leigh Barrett* & Amy E. Harmon* (Production Managers), David Blixt (Dramaturgy), Kjerstine Humiston* (Stage Manager), Kimberly Morris (Costume Design), Grant Sabin (Scenic Design), Melissa Schlesinger (Sound Design) *denotes BWBTC ensemble members Fighting Words Our 2013 new plays development series continues!  Want to be a part of the creative process? Please join us for the first readings of these exciting new plays and give your input. 180 Degree Rule by M.E.H. Lewis & Barbara Lhota* 5/4, 1pm at Profiles Alley Stage (4147 N. Broadway, Chicago)  Patchwork Drifter by Jennifer L. Mickelson* 6/8, 1pm at Profiles Alley Stage (4147 N. Broadway, Chicago) Want to know more about Fighting Words?  Go here.    *denotes BWBTC ensemble members Check Out These Babes Dawn Alden moved to Los Angeles in January of 2009 to pursue film and television work.  Since arriving in SoCal, she has appeared in indie features, short films, webseries, on stage, and even an episode of "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant."  She is still pursuing her goal of a recurring role on a sci-fi television series.  Updates on her adventures are at her website, www.dawnalden.com. Brooke Elliot is starring in Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva as Jane/Deb. Check it out!  Lisa Herceg is now an Ensemble Member with Stage Left Theatre, as well as an Artistic Associate with Babes With Blades Theatre Company.  She will be appearing as Dana Wing in SLT's upcoming Leapfest X production of Blue Whitney by Steven Haworth, opening in June at the Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph.    Barbara Lhota's play Echo is a Semifinalist for the 2013 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference.  The play has also been selected for the Athena Project Festival in Denver, Colorado, March 14-31.  The play has a one-in-four chance of full production by the Athena Project in 2014.  Kimberly Logan is super-excited to be a newly-minted Artistic Associate with Stage Left Theatre.  After playing as Brutus in BWBTC's production of Julius Caesar, she will be appearing as Jan Jan in Fight Girl Battle World with Infusion Theatre (5/14 - 6/16). Kathrynne Wolf and Dawn Alden can be seen on the new web series, "Dark Age" - http://www.darkage.tv. Niema Lightseed recently published a book, "Cosmonautica: Graphic Love Songs to God", a collection of poems based on the Heroine's Journey as channeled into a quest for the Beloved.  https://www.createspace.com/3696619, check out her website: www.lightseed.info.           Calling all active & emeritus Babes: please keep us up-to-date on your activities! Email notgonnalie@babeswithblades.org about a listing in the Babes With Blades BroadSheet! Fabulous Women (and Friends) At Work   Genesis Theatrical Productions (Elaine LeTraunik, Associate Artistic Director) will be producing Woman Before a Glass by Lanie Robertson as part of their Athena's Wisdom Series.  For more information, please visit the website. Is your organization providing opportunities for women in theatre or film? Want the Babes to promote your work? Email postal@BabesWithBlades.org about a listing in the Babes With Blades BroadSheet!   Chicago Shakespeare's Caesar by William Shakespeare directed by Jonathan Munby in Chicago Shakespeare's Courtyard Theater Navy Pier 600 E. Grand Through March 24, 2013 Audience Notice: Gunshots, strobe lights, loud sound effects, stage blood and haze will be used in the performance. performances Tuesdays at 7:30pm, Wednesdays 1pm and 7:30pm, Thursdays/Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays 3pm and 8pm, Sundays 2pm and 6pm.  Tickets are $58-$78, and are available by phone (312-595-5600) or online (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com).  (Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes, includes an intermission) “ Visually thrilling, exciting and richly wrought… you won’t have any trouble embracing this production” –Chicago Tribune “Spectacle-filled...a story for the ages. Contemporary staging a relevant sign of the times.” –Chicago Sun-Times When men feel they can no longer trust their elected leader, where is the line between patriotism and personal ambition? Acclaimed British director Jonathan Munby—whose work has graced the stages of Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare's Globe—ignites the fiery power of the most enduring political assassination in history. Within the uniquely personal setting of CST’s Courtyard Theater, audience members feel each spark of emotion as words are wielded like knives in Shakespeare’s epic tale of ambition, betrayal and consequence. Approximate Running Time: 2 hours and 30 min (includes intermission) Click here to order tickets & find out more all production photos by Liz Lauren