Pages

Showing posts with label 15th Season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 15th Season. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

PAY WHAT YOU CAN: WE ARE PUSSY RIOT (Or Everything Is P.R.)​ Via Red Tape Theatre

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Red Tape Theatre's final show (and cast) 
in our 15th season 
WE ARE PUSSY RIOT 
(Or Everything Is P.R.)​ 
by Barbara Hammond and directed by Kate Hendrickson.



Through Saturday, July 6th, 2019 at 8PM
Runs: Fridays, Saturdays at 8PM / Sundays at 7PM / Mondays (Industry Night) at 8PM

Admission:  FREE ADMISSION with RSVP thanks to our donors to the FREE THEATRE MOVEMENT

Where:  THE READY, 4546 N Western Ave

RSVP HERE for FREE or Pay What You Can Tickets

Captioned Performances: We will be having open captioned performances for this production, dates to be announced.



WHAT:
Following our sold out and critically acclaimed productions In The Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks and The Shipment by Young Jean Lee, Red Tape Theatre will proudly close out our 15th season with Barbara Hammond’s WE ARE PUSSY RIOT (or) Everything is P.R. directed by Kate Hendrickson. Pussy Riot is an anonymous collective of young Russian activists who protested the illegal 2012 presidential elections by marching into the Church of Christ the Savior in the center of Moscow and offering up a punk prayer to the Mother of God—“Virgin Mary, Chase Putin Away!” Their 48-second performance earned them a two-year prison sentence and jettisoned them to super-star status in the West. The spectacle was fueled by an unparalleled P.R. campaign from all sides that pitted church against state; East against West; and youth against tradition. We Are Pussy Riot (or) Everything is P.R. weaves together trial transcripts, letters, interviews, media coverage, and statements from celebrities and public officials, to re-imagine the story of Pussy Riot as told by a troupe of Yurodivy, 'Holy Fools,' who, in the Russian Orthodox tradition, strive with "imaginary insanity to reveal the insanity of the world.”



MEET THE CREATIVE TEAM:
Kate Hendrickson (DIRECTOR, she/her/hers) is a Chicago based director with a particular focus on premiering new plays by radical American playwrights. Over the years has Kate developed and sustained long-term collaborative relationships with several playwrights. She is a resident director at Trap Door Theatre where she has directed world premieres of FANTASY ISLAND FOR DUMMIES and ANGER/FLY by Red Tape Theatre company member Ruth Margraff and COOKIE PLAY, CHASTE and BEHOLDER (Jeff Award for Best New Work, After Dark Award for Best Original Music), by Ken Prestininzi. CHASTE received “Best of the Year″ nods in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Stage Review, and the Huffington Post. ANGER/FLY was recognized in the Chicago Reader’s “Best Of Year” edition as part of a Trap Door season presenting the “best string of theatrical stunners.”  Kate also directed Midwest premieres of Prestininzi’s AMERIKAFKA, Howard Zinn’s EMMA (After Dark Award for Best Ensemble), and 12 OPHELIAS by Caridad Svich. Additional work has included staged readings of MIGRAANTS by Matei Visniec at the International Voices Project and Caridad Svich’s, SPARK; creating and curating STAND UP! FIGHT BACK at Trap Door; the Midwest premiere of Ruth Margraff’s THREE GRACES at Pivot Arts’ Multi-Arts Festival; and Links Hall’s Physical Fest Chicago. Kate is also the founder and director of Summerdale Workshop Youth Theatre. Located in Andersonville, Summerdale Workshop provides children with high-quality acting instruction in a playful yet focused setting.

Barbara Hammond (PLAYWRIGHT, she/her/hers) is a New Dramatists resident playwright. She has been commissioned by the Royal Court Theatre, named one of the “Influential Women” by the Irish Voice, served as lyricist for the 25th anniversary concern of the AIDS Quilt Songbook at National Sawdust, completed residency at Duke University, has a continuing role as Yale Playwrights Festival mentor since 2010, among many other accolades. She was commissioned for the Contemporary American Theatre Festival for her play WE ARE PUSSY RIOT (Or Everything is P.R.). She is a member of the ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild. Her work has been funded by the National Endowment of the Arts, The Venturous Theatre Fund, the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

THE CAST
Dionne Addai, Casey Chapman*, Zoë DePreta*, Jalyn Green, Nora King*, Emilie Modaff, Emily Nichelson*, Alec Phan, Joseph Ramski*, William Rose, Stephanie Shum*, Ann Sonneville*

*indicates Red Tape Theatre Company Member

Dionne Addai (she/her/hers) is an actor and teaching artist, local to Chicago. She is looking forward to making her Red Tape debut! Recently she was seen in Breath, Boom (Eclipse Theater), What of the Night (Cor and Stage Left Theater), Aesops Fables (Raven Theater) and as an understudy with performances at Northlight Theatre, Writer's Theatre, and ETA Creative Arts.  She is a company member/performer with FYI, part of the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health.  For more info on her teaching artist work with youth check out icah.org/fyi. She is represented by Actor’s Talent Group. 


Casey Chapman* (he/him/his) is a proud company member of Red Tape Theatre where he also serves as Marketing Director. He was last seen onstage in In the Blood (Doctor/Trouble) and Round Heads and Pointed Heads (Missena) at Red Tape. He is also a company member with Trap Door Theatre where he was last seen in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Jeff Nomination – best ensemble). Casey is also an award-winning film actor as well, appearing in the feature films Mother’s Milk (Best Actor – New York City Independent Film Festival, Best Actor – International Film Awards Berlin), Canvas, Hell Town, City of Lust, and the upcoming Asymptotes, MyTube, and Not My Brother.


Zoë DePreta* (she/her/hers) is an actor, comedian, and musician from Stamford, CT. She is excited to be performing with Red Tape Theatre, where she is the Associate Marketing & Social Media Manager and a company member. Recent credits include work with Prop Thtr (2 unfortunate 2 travel), Underscore Theatre Company (Family Issues, Tiny Storefront Concert), Lifeline Theatre (Anna Karenina, u/s), and Rhinofest (May Day, 2018). Zoë holds a BA in Theatre and Creative Writing from Oberlin College. Up next: Much Ado About Nothing (Oak Park Festival Theatre).


Jalyn Greene (they/them/she/her) is so happy to be making their Red Tape debut with Pussy Riot! Recent credits include How to Pick a Lock as Zhara (Rhinofest), The Dark at the Top of the Stairs as Cora Flood (U/S) (Eclipse Theatre), The Adventures of Astroman as Dr. Robotica (Runaways Lab), Crumbs from the Table of Joy as Ermina Crump (U/S) (Raven Theatre) and Breathe, Boom as Angel (Eclipse Theatre). Jalyn is also an arts educator for several Chicago theatres including Lifeline Theatre and Emerald City Theatre, as well as CPS schools. Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, they received their BFA from Michigan State University.

Nora King* (she/her/hers) is an actor/improviser living in Chicago. You can see her performing all around town.   Her recent theater credits include; Round Heads and Pointed Heads (Red Tape Theatre Co), Thirteen’s Spring and Metamorphosis (Moving Art Collective-Hollywood Fringe Festival), Cem (UCLA Artist Residency/REDCAT), Cloud 9 (Moving Art Collective, festivals in the Czech Republic and Belgium).  She has studied with the Second City Conservatory and iO Chicago. If you spend time watching cartoons, you may have heard her voice telling you to buy cute dolls, each sold separately. Nora received her BFA in Acting from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).She is stoked to be performing alongside this talented cast! Check out more info at noraking.net.


Emilie Modaff (they/them/theirs) is a Chicago-based multidisciplinary artist. They are grateful to be back at Red Tape Theatre after playing Amiga Gringa in Red Tape's most recent production, In The Blood. Other favorite projects include: In The Canyon (Jackalope Theatre), Les Innocents ((re)discover theatre), Little Flower of East Orange (Eclipse Theatre), Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical (Emerald City Theatre), and Bobby Pin Girls (Nothing Without A Company). They are represented by Shirley Hamilton. You can learn more about their work at www.emiliemodaff.com. Thank you Mom, Dad, Andy, Peter & Selena.


Emily Nichelson* (she/her/hers) is a proud company member at Red Tape Theatre where she also serves as the Director of Development. Past RT shows include Round Heads and Pointed Heads and I Saw Myself. Other Chicago credits include Macbeth (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Tango, Old Woman Broods, Occidental Express, No Matter How Hard We Try, The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls (Trap Door Theatre), as well as work with Griffin Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Writer's Theatre, and more.


Alec Phan (he/him/they/them) is honored and delighted to be working with Red Tape for the first time. He hails from Wisconsin, where he was previously a founding member of Fermat's Last Theatre Co. Most recently, you may have seen him play an undead catholic priest or a moody punk rocker here in the Windy City. Love and thanks to Catherine Miller for building doors in all the walls.


Joseph Ramski* (he/him/his) is a native Chicago actor, writer, and visual artist with a BFA in Theatre and English from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He is an Ensemble Member and the Associate Marketing Manager & Webmaster for Red Tape, and has worked with a number of theatres as an actor and designer, including Oracle Productions, Hobo Junction, The Arc Theatre, The Ruckus, MOZAWA, Organic Theatre Company, Reutan Collective, (re)discover theatre, The Runaways, Mudlark Theatre, The Prop Thtr, Chicago Slam Works, and the Right Brain Project, where he served as Managing Director and Graphic Designer from 2013 to 2017. Joe has also performed his poetry and other written work across the city, and had his first full-length play The Dancing Plague produced in the fall of 2016. Joe can be seen next in Prop Thtr’s 2 unfortunate 2 travel.


William Rose (he/him/his) is making his Red Tape Theatre debut. Previous credits include Gabriel Syme (u/s) in the Lifeline Theater’s The Man Who Was Thursday, Cal in Citadel Theater’s The Little Foxes, and Charlie Barker in Station Theater’s the Foreigner, as well as the solo show Every Brilliant Thing.


Stephanie Shum* (she/her/hers) is excited to be back at Red Tape where she is a company member and previously appeared in Mother of Smoke. Other credits include The Crucible (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Men on Boats (American Theater Company); A Story Told in Seven Fights (The Neo-Futurists); Plainclothes (Broken Nose); All Childish Things (First Folio); Harbur Gate (16th Street Theater); Second Skin (Wildclaw); The Adventures of Spirit Force Five (Factory Theater); Merge, Kin Folk, reWILDing Genius, and Kate and Sam Are Not Breaking Up (The New Colony); among others.  She is Co-Artistic Director of The New Colony, a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and is represented by Shirley Hamilton Talent. She can be seen this spring in Small World at The New Colony. http://www.stephanieshum.com

Ann Sonneville* (she/her/hers) is excited to be back onstage at Red Tape, where she was last seen as Mme. Cornamontis in Round Heads and Pointed Heads. Most recently, she appeared as the title role in Lifeline's production of Frankenstein and as Bridget Cleary in Exit 63's Dark Matters. She is an ensemble member with Trap Door Theatre, where she has appeared in numerous productions, including Monsieur D'eon Is A Woman and Phèdre. Other credits include Dracula at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Venus at The Steppenwolf Garage, Thaddeus & Slocum (u/s) at Lookingglass, Kin with Griffin Theatre (Jeff Nomination - Supporting Actress) and work with Strange Tree, Oracle Productions, the side project, The Chicago Mammals and Bruised Orange. Film/TV credits include Miriam Is Going To Mars (BMA Award - Best Actress), Dig Two Graves (BMA Nomination - Best Actress), Chicago PD, Hunting God, and numerous shorts. She is a professional voiceover artist and instructor at the Vagabond School.

CASTING DIRECTOR: CATHERINE MILLER

In 2018, Red Tape Theatre adopted the FREE THEATRE MOVEMENT along with our sister company, Theatre Y. Red Tape believes that access to the arts is essential for our community's ability to engage in a free exchange of ideas. As an art form, the immediacy of theatre provides a powerful platform for this exchange. We strive to remove the barriers that exist between our community and an increasingly commodified culture. Starting in January of 2018, we have offered all of our quality theatrical productions to the public free of charge. We are thrilled to continue this tradition with WE ARE PUSSY RIOT.



Thursday, March 14, 2019

Shows On Our Radar: BoHo Theatre Launches 15th Season with Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s “Bright Star”

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar
BRIGHT STAR
Music, lyrics, and book by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell
Directed and choreographed by Ericka Mac
Music Direction by Julie Nichols


March 16 – May 5, 2019
Performing at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago


BoHo Theatre begins its 2019 season with BRIGHT STAR, a new musical by playwright Steve Martin and musician Edie Brickell, directed by Ericka Mac. This production marks the company’s first as a resident company at Lincoln Park’s Greenhouse Theater Center and also the first under new artistic director Stephen Schellhardt. BRIGHT STAR was nominated for five Tony Awards and called “a shining achievement” by The New York Times. It received a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and Outer Critics Circles Awards for Outstanding New Broadway Musical and Outstanding Score.

THE PLAY
BoHo is proud to bring to Chicago this new work from Grammy, Emmy, and Academy Award-winner Steve Martin and Grammy Award-winner Edie Brickell. Inspired by a real event, BRIGHT STAR tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and ‘40s. The story follows young writer Billy Cane, recently returned from World War II, and Alice Murphy, the editor who takes a chance on him. As Billy mines his childhood home for engaging stories, Alice sets out to explore the pain and mystery of her own small-town past. The overlapping secrets they uncover lead them a startling and heart-warming connection.

“For me, BRIGHT STAR is about how unconditional love and hope can overcome obstacles,” says director Ericka Mac. “How forgiveness can redeem a person/situation and create miracles.” Similar to many recent BoHo productions, the music  in BRIGHT STAR will be fully integrated into the storytelling by having actors play their own instruments to create a seamless, up-close musical experience.

Left-right: Josiah Robinson, Missy Wise, Jeff Pierpoint, Scott Danielson, Kiersten Frumkin

PERFORMANCE TIMES
Previews: Saturday, March 16 @ 8:00pm, Sunday, March 17 @ 2:00pm, Thursday, March 21 @ 8:00pm, and Friday, March 22 @ 8:00pm
Press Opening / Opening Night: Saturday, March 23, at 8:00 pm 
Performance run: March 24 – May 5
Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm.

TICKETS
General Tickets on sale February 19 at www.BoHoTheatre.com, (773) 975-8150, or the Greenhouse Theater Center box office. Tickets are $25 for previews and $35 for regular performances.

Steve Martin has been a prolific comedian, musician, and writer dating back to the 1960s, when he first came to public notice as a writer for THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR. He began his playwriting career in 1993 with PICASSO AT LAPIN AGILE, and has also written THE UNDERPANTS, and METEOR SHOWER. A life-long banjo-player, he is a frequent collaborator with the bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers.

Edie Brickell is a singer-songwriter who first achieved fame with her band The New Bohemians in the 1980s with the single “What I Am.” She began a successful solo career beginning the in the 1990s and later founded the band The Gaddabouts in 2010. Martin and Brickell collaborated on the bluegrass/folk albums LOVE HAS COME FOR YOU and SO FAMILIAR prior to writing BRIGHT STAR. Their song “Love Has Come For You” won a Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song in 2013.

Ericka Mac is a Chicago-based director and choreographer. Her Chicagoland credits as choreographer/associate director include  MAMMA MIA! (Jeff Award nomination for Best Choreography), SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE! (Marriott Theatre), SHREW’D (First Folio Theatre), RIDE THE CYCLONE (Chicago Shakespeare, MCC Theatre (Off Broadway), & ACT Theatre (Seattle)), DIARY OF A WIMPY KID (World Premiere at The Children’s Theatre of Minneapolis), PARADE and COMPANY (Writer’s Theatre), WTTW’s NIGHT ON BROADWAY Gala featuring Heather Headley (WTTW/WFMT studios), SEUSSICAL (Drury Lane Oakbrook), MADAGASCAR and THE LITTLE MERMAID (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), ALICE’S ROCK & ROLL ADVENTURE (Chicago Children’s Theatre), and THE POLAR EXPRESS (Warner Bro’s./Rail Events). 

CAST
Missy Wise as Alice, 
Josiah Robinson as Jimmy Ray, 
Jeff Pierpoint as Billy,
Scott Danielson as Mayor Dobbs,
Kiersten Fumkin as Margo,
Rachel Whyte as Lucy,
Dwayne Everett as Daryl,
Peter Robel as Daddy Cane
John B. Boss as Daddy Murphy
Jenny Rudnick as Mama Murphy 
with Brittany Sue Hines, Max Kramer, Jennifer Ledesma, Kelan Smith, and Mike Weaver as the ensemble.

PRODUCTION TEAM
Produced by Meg Love
Scenic Design by Lauren M. Nichols, Lighting Design by G. Max Maxin, Costume Design by Bob Kuhn, Sound Design by Joe Palermo, Properties Design by Lacie Hexom, Assistant Music Director by Andrea Swanson, Production Managed by Lindsay Brown, Stage Managed by Dalton Long.




BoHo Theatre tells stories examining and celebrating human relationships — focusing on the Bohemian pillars of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love — using bold, intimate theatrical stagings. Our vision is to create a shared community of artists and patrons in which all members are moved through art to make thoughtful, well-examined, caring relationships the highest priority in their lives.

BoHo’s 2019 mainstage season features BRIGHT STAR by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, directed by Ericka Mac; THE RIVER by Jez Butterworth, directed by Jerrell L. Henderson; and BIG FISH by Andrew Lippa and John August, directed by Stephen Schellhardt. BoHo is a resident company at the Greenhouse Theater Center in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Google Analytics