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Showing posts with label Bechdel Fest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bechdel Fest. Show all posts

Friday, October 18, 2019

SAVE THE DATES: Broken Nose Theatre Announces Eighth Season, “Change The Rules”

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World Premiere!
PEG
By Liam Fitzgerald
Directed by Artistic Director Elise Marie Davis
A Co-Production with The New Colony

U.S. Premiere!
LABYRINTH
By Beth Steel
Directed by Spenser Davis

World Premiere!
THIS IS ONLY A TEST
By Eric Reyes Loo
Directed by Toma Langston

BECHDEL FEST 8
BNT’s Perennial Feminist Play Festival


PHOTO CREDIT: Broken Nose Theatre’s 2019-20 season playwrights and directors include (top, l to r) Liam Fitzgerald, Beth Steel, Eric Reyes Loo and Michael Turrentine with (bottom, l to r) Elise Marie Davis, Spenser Davis, Toma Langston and Cassandra Rose.

Broken Nose Theatre is pleased to announce its Eighth Season, exploring the theme “Change the Rules,” with two world premieres and one U.S. premiere to be presented at BNT’s resident home, The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood.

This fall, BNT joins forces with The New Colony to present the world premiere of Liam Fitzgerald’s sexually charged comedy PEG, directed by Broken Nose Artistic Director Elise Marie Davis. PEG will feature Stephanie Shum and Gage Wallace.

Next winter, the 2019-20 season continues with the U.S. premiere of Beth Steel’s propulsive financial drama LABYRINTH, directed by Spenser Davis.

In spring 2020, BNT presents the world premiere of Eric Reyes Loo’s terrifyingly timely drama THIS IS ONLY A TEST, directed by Toma Langston.

The season concludes next summer with BECHDEL FEST 8, BNT’s annual feminist festival, featuring a full slate of new short plays with all female-identifying casts. Playwrights, directors and casting will be announced in 2020.

During its eighth season, BNT will also provide institutional support to two outside playwrights through The Paper Trail – its new play development program. This season’s playwrights include Cassandra Rose and Michael Turrentine.

Comments Artistic Director Elise Marie Davis, “As conversations around concepts like gender roles, class divides and gun safety continue on a national scale, the rules regarding how and when we talk about these issues are also changing. With this upcoming season – my second as Artistic Director – the Broken Nose family is thrilled to bring two world premieres and one U.S premiere to Chicago audiences, stories that illustrate the ways in which societal limits are tested and reset, with a variety of outcomes. Along with these three mainstage productions will be our eighth annual Bechdel Fest and two playwrights whose new work we'll be developing over the course of the season, making this one of our most ambitious years yet. We'll see you at the theater!”

Tickets for all Broken Nose Theatre productions are available on a “pay-what-you-can” basis, allowing patrons to set their own price and ensuring theatre remains economically accessible for all audiences. Tickets for all productions will go on sale at a later date. For additional information, visit www.brokennosetheatre.com.

Broken Nose Theatre’s Eight Season includes:

November 13 - December 14, 2019
PEG – World Premiere/Co-Produced with The New Colony
By Liam Fitzgerald
Directed by Artistic Director Elise Marie Davis
Featuring Stephanie Shum and Gage Wallace

Peg is excited. Steve is nervous. Sure, they've opened a nice bottle of wine, dinner smells delicious... but the brand-new strap-on they ordered has just arrived, and tonight's plan is to flip the script. Peg wants to peg Steve. And even though he was all for it initially, his last-minute hesitation will force this ordinary couple to face their kinks, quirks and societal conditioning, as they're quickly reminded that gender politics follow them everywhere - including the bedroom.

January 31 - February 29, 2020
LABYRINTH – U.S Premiere!
By Beth Steel
Directed by Spenser Davis

New York City, 1978. Having just landed his dream job as a Wall Street banker, John Anderson finds himself swept off on luxurious trips to Latin America with only one goal: selling loans to the region’s developing nations eager to borrow. But as the banks’ excessive lending strategy starts pushing whole countries toward the brink of bankruptcy, and the biggest credit bubble in history threatens to burst, John and his colleagues must come to terms with the true price of chasing their fortunes.

May 1 - May 30, 2020
THIS IS ONLY A TEST – World Premiere!
By Eric Reyes Loo
Directed by Toma Langston

Nowadays, it could happen anywhere, at any time, and the faculty at Washington High have decided to take "being prepared" to a whole new level: through a series of cutting-edge Active Shooter Drills, their students will be trained on how to fight back, just in case their school is the next to hit the news cycle. But as they’re asked to quell violence by responding violently, four teenagers begin to wonder: if we’re so prepared, why do we feel even more unsafe?

Summer 2019
BECHDEL FEST 8

BNT'S perennial favorite feminist festival returns! As with the past seven iterations, BECHDEL FEST 8 will feature an ensemble of female-identifying and nonbinary artists performing new short plays written and directed by some of Broken Nose's favorite artists – and all passing the Bechdel-Wallace Test. Created by cartoonist Alison Bechdel, the Bechdel Test asks whether a work of entertainment features two non-male characters talking about something other than men. Playwrights, directors and casting to be announced in 2020.

About the Artists

Liam Fitzgerald (Playwright, Peg) is a Chicago-based writer, director and producer. He holds a BFA from the University of Miami and an MFA from Northwestern University. His work has been performed and developed in Chicago and nationally with theaters including Stage Left, Broken Nose Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Theatre Masters and the Campfire Theatre Festival. He is a resident designer at Links Hall and has worked for the production departments of Chicago Children’s Theatre, Red Theatre, Theatre Wit, Strawdogs, Pegasus Players, Chicago Dramatists and WildClaw theatre. 

Elise Marie Davis (Director, Peg) is entering her second year as Artistic Director of Broken Nose Theatre, where she has performed in the award-winning productions of Girl in the Red Corner, Plainclothes and At The Table, as well as My First Time, several iterations of Bechdel Fest, and her own play A Phase. She is also an ensemble member with The Factory Theater, where she was onstage for the world premieres of Adventures of Spirit Force Five and Zombie Broads. Other Chicago acting credits include Blue Stockings (Promethean Theatre), Baby With the Bathwater (Eclipse Theatre), Pine (Uncommon Ground), Hot Pink (New American Folk Theatre), Kin Folk and Here After (The New Colony), A Funny Thing… (Route 66, u/s), Speech & Debate (Brown Paper Box), as well as work with Lyric Opera, Strawdog, Artemisia, Midsommer Flight, American Blues and Pride Films and Plays, among others. She recently appeared in Squid, a short-form comedy series now released on Amazon Prime. As a playwright, she has had her work performed at Steppenwolf 1700, First Floor Theater, Broken Nose and Arc Theatre, while her play A Phase has been taught at the University of Chicago. She is represented by Big Mouth Talent Agency.

Beth Steel (Playwright, Labyrinth) is U.K.-based playwright. She was awarded the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Her first play Ditch premiered at the HighTide Festival, transferred to the Old Vic Tunnels and was shortlisted for the John Whiting Award. Wonderland, Steel's critically acclaimed second play, was directed at Hampstead Theatre by Edward Hall; it was broadcast live worldwide through the Guardian website and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, an award for best new play in the English language by a female playwright. Labyrinth is her third play; it had its world premiere at Hampstead Theatre in 2016, with Anna Ledwich directing. This marks the play's U.S. premiere.

Spenser Davis (Director, Labyrinth) is Director of Programming for Broken Nose Theatre, where his directorial credits include At The Table (Jeff Awards – Best Director, Production, Ensemble), his own play Plainclothes (Jeff Award – Best Ensemble), A Phase, From White Plains and several iterations of Bechdel Fest. Other credits include Blue Stockings (Promethean Theatre); May the Road Rise Up and Adventures of Spirit Force Five (The Factory Theater, ensemble member); Bachelorette (Level 11); the upcoming world premiere of Under The Tree with The New Colony; as well as readings, workshops and festivals with American Blues Theater, A Red Orchid, Hell in a Handbag, ATC, Strawdog, Otherworld, First Floor and Pride Films and Plays, to name a few. As a playwright, his play Plainclothes received the 2019 M. Elizabeth Osborn Award from the American Theatre Critics Association and was named a finalist for the 2019 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award. He is currently adapting his first play Merge as a pilot for television. He is a series writer-director on Squid, a short-form comedy series on Amazon Prime. He is proud to be represented by William Morris Endeavor.

Eric Reyes Loo (Playwright, This is Only a Test) is a Los Angeles-based playwright and television writer. He writes for the upcoming Netflix series A.J. & the Queen. Eric’s plays have been developed at LA theatres including Rogue Machine, Moving Arts and East West Players. Eric helps run new play development at Chalk Repertory Theatre, where he is also a company member. His play, Death and Cockroaches was produced by Chalk Rep in Fall 2018. Eric received an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and attended undergrad at Santa Clara University. His mother would want you to know that he’s a product of a prestigious Jesuit education. 

Toma Langston (Director, This is Only a Test) is a freelance theater director. Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre: Hedwig and The Angry Inch. The New Colony: The Light (2018 Joseph Jefferson Nomination for Director – Play). Victory Gardens: 2015 Directors Inclusion Initiative Director Fellowship (Assistant Director) Sucker Punch. Jackalope Theatre: (Assistant Director) 1980 (or Why I’m Voting for John Anderson). Sideshow Theatre: (Assistant Director) truth and reconciliation and Give It All Back. Other directorial credits include The Last Five Years, The Shadow Box, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf. 



About Broken Nose Theatre:

Broken Nose Theatre is a Pay-What-You-Can theatre company. Founded in 2012, BNT was the 2018 recipient of the Emerging Theater Award, presented by the League of Chicago Theatres and Broadway in Chicago. The company has produced and developed 20 full-length plays (including 12 Chicago or world premieres) and over 50 new short plays through our annual Bechdel Fest. We strive to spark conversation, cultivate empathy, and amplify underrepresented voices, and are committed to making new, exciting and relevant theatre that is economically accessible to all audiences. For more information, please visit www.brokennosetheatre.com.



Monday, August 19, 2019

BECHDEL FEST 7: MOMENTUM August 25 – 28, 2019 at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre Via Broken Nose Theatre

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Four Performances Only!
Broken Nose Theatre Presents

BECHDEL FEST 7: MOMENTUM
August 25 – 28, 2019 
at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre
Part of Steppenwolf’s LookOut Series



I caught BECHDEL FEST for the first time last year, and it was amazing. For years, I've been a big fan of applying the Bechdel-Wallace Test to film, theatre and other written works. It's a simple formula that seems like a no brainer, yet somehow in 2019, the idea of female centered works STILL remains a rare and elusive achievement. This annual fest tips those scales a bit further toward something like equality. Created by cartoonist Alison Bechdel, the test asks whether a work of entertainment features at least two women in conversation about something other than a man. Check it out. 


(left to right) Taylor Raye and Sophie Hoyt in FOR THE CULTURE, part of Broken Nose Theatre’s BECHDEL FEST 2018. Photo by Spenser Davis. 

Broken Nose Theatre is pleased to present BECHDEL FEST 7: MOMENTUM, the company’s annual festival of new short plays featuring an ensemble of female-identifying and non-binary actors talking about things other than men. Presented as part of Steppenwolf’s LookOut Series, BECHDEL FEST will play four performances only, August 25 – 28, 2019 at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Tickets for all BNT productions are available on a “pay-what-you-can” basis, allowing patrons to set their own price and ensuring theatre remains economically accessible for all audiences. Suggested price is $25. Tickets are currently available at www.steppenwolf.org or by calling (312) 335-1650.

All the works in BNT’s perennial feminist festival are inspired by the famous Bechdel-Wallace Test. Since the fest's first iteration in 2013, Broken Nose has worked with some of the most exciting voices in the Chicago theater landscape on over 40 stories that, by design, do not revolve around men. This year's lineup includes both female-identifying and non-binary characters.

Performances: Sunday, August 25 at 7 pm, Monday, August 26 at 7 pm, Tuesday, August 27 at 8 pm and Wednesday, August 28 at 8 pm.

"Political primaries are kicking off on the national stage, the state of Illinois is embracing policies that look toward the future, the Chicago theatre community continues leading the charge to create a better environment for all its artists... and in all of this, we feel a certain sense of momentum, a sense that change is coming and coming fast," comments BNT artistic director Elise Marie Davis. "These nine short plays look at this same concept from a variety of angles. After selling out all three performances at last year's fest, we're thrilled that the Steppenwolf LookOut Series family is not only welcoming us back into their home, but also allowing us to add a fourth performance to account for demand. We cannot wait to be back at the 1700!”

 BechdelFest2018-2 (left to right) Tanikia Carpenter and Brittani Yawn in PROM REBEL, part of Broken Nose Theatre’s BECHDEL FEST 2018. Photo by Spenser Davis. 



BECHDEL FEST 7: MOMENTUM includes:


ALL I REALLY WANT
By Jillian Leff | Directed by Becca Holloway
Featuring Amy Johnson and Alice Wu

A first-year cadet at West Point decides to share some unexpected news with a military veteran - who also happens to be her mother.


DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI OF THE STANTON SCHOOL 
By Ryan Oliveira | Directed by Alison Dornheggen
Featuring Diana Lee, Vero Maynez and Alison Plott

The annual fundraising dinner for a prestigious all-girls school hits a major speed-bump when one of their "unsuccessful" alumni starts speaking her mind.

harderfasterharderfaster
By Grace McLeod | Directed by Madisen Dempsey
Featuring Rebecca Flores, Sophie Rosado and Shaina Schrooten. Additional casting to be announced.

Alone in her bedroom, a horny teenager journeys deep into her own personal dreamscape in search of satisfaction.


REHEARSAL
By Dolores Diaz | Directed by Ben Locke
Featuring Teresa Kuruvilla, Carmen Liao, Aziza Macklin, Jackie Seijo and Mindy Shore

Five girls on a drum-line consider the terrifying future that awaits them if the current tempo of the nation keeps accelerating.


LAUGH OUT LOUD
By Michael Turrentine | Directed by Alejandro Tey
Featuring Imani Hayes and Maria Stephens

In the unforgiving world of stand-up comedy, two women look behind the jokes to explore what's really on each other's mind.



THE GREAT WHIRLPOOL OF THE NIAGARA 
By Robert Koon^ | Directed by Jen Poulin*
Featuring Jean Marie Koon and Teresa Kuruvilla

A concerned daughter follows her hydrologist mother north of the border in the wake of a family tragedy.



PLANNED SISTERHOOD 
By Michael Allen Harris^ | Directed by Brittney Brown
Featuring RjW Mays and Sarah Rachel Schol

In a deep-South state where abortion has just been outlawed, the wife of a prominent politician seeks help from a woman who runs a clandestine health clinic.



OPERATION MARSHMALLOW FLUFF
By Hallie Palladino | Directed by Taylor Raye
Featuring Renee Denham, Leilanii Mesa Ellis, Kelsey McGrath, Song Marshall, Hallie Palladino and Ann Wiggs

A famed clairvoyant, who claims to speak to the dead, is confronted by a group of outspoken women who are not quite "True Believers."

THROW AWAY
By Jenni Lamb | Directed by Julia Skeggs
Featuring Claire Alpern, Deveon Bromby and Aria Szalai-Raymond

Stationed along the conveyor belt at a recycling sorting center, three employees grapple with questions of idealism, reality, and planning for the future.



^BNT artistic associate/Resident Playwright    *BNT company member



(left to right) Eli Sulkowski-Altman and Allie Weisel in GOLDSTAR, part of Broken Nose Theatre’s BECHDEL FEST 2018. Photo by Spenser Davis.


About Broken Nose Theatre:

Broken Nose Theatre is a Pay-What-You-Can theatre company. Founded in 2012, BNT was last year's recipient of the Emerging Theater Award, presented by the League of Chicago Theatres and Broadway in Chicago. The company has produced and developed 15 full-length plays (including 8 Chicago or World Premieres) and over 40 new womencentric short plays through their annual Bechdel Fest. We strive to spark conversation, cultivate empathy, and amplify underrepresented voices, and are committed to making new, exciting and relevant theatre that is economically accessible to all audiences. For more information, please visit www.brokennosetheatre.com.



About Steppenwolf’s LookOut Series:

LookOut is Steppenwolf’s performance series that presents the work of artists and companies across genre and form, emerging artists and performance legends, quintessential Chicago companies and young aspiring ensembles, familiar Steppenwolf faces and new friends. steppenwolf.org/lookout

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