REVIEW: Stories With Branches Enlighten in I Do Today at Greenhouse Theater Center

THE GREENHOUSE THEATER CENTER 

PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF 

“I DO TODAY” 

Through OCT. 9th

Chicago natives, playwright Sarah Myers and Carin Silkaitis make a stellar story telling team, and this tale has branches and tangents galore. Sarah's family tree has roots and a lineage of Biblical proportions that fills an entire wall! She's delightfully full of contradictions, ordained to marry others, yet cynical about the marriage institution. She's a bisexual woman who has loved other women, yet marries men. Both of her parents are serial divorce/remarriage machines and she's lost track of all the step siblings, relatives never met. Sarah includes an assortment of lovers, crushes, imaginary friends, and religious figures to the mix. Add in the tangle of separating an inescapable Jewish heritage from an optional active Jewish faith, and you've got a unique take on not only Sarah's personal story, but that of modern families as well. 

All photos by Michael Brosilow

Carin does justice to this quirky script with the charisma and character necessary to carry a solo show. The personal is political with this production and I Do Today does an excellent job of highlighting the hypocrisy and hope of society's current marriage issues. I Do Today throws in current legal marriage contradictions, including quotes from "The Notorious RBG", Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and others. Our take away was, stop waiting around and embrace your own unique family past and future. Marry your best friend, someone who accepts the best and worst of you, through doubts, fears and good times. Ultimately this show highlights just how complicated and wonderful relationships, family, religion, sexuality, and the messy business of being human can be. Recommended. 

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Failed relationships, former lovers and half-eaten wedding cake clutters the mind of one Jewish woman determined to track the trajectory of love and loss in her life thus far. As the play builds a constantly confounding and quickly changing family tree of many marriages (and even more divorces), it poses questions about how modern marriage fits in with potentially outdated ideals. Bisexuality, Kabbalah and baby teeth dangle from the many branches of this thoughtful play, exploring how we might use our inheritances to reimagine what's possible.

Carin Silkaitis Stars In a One- Person Play Challenging Old Ideals of Love, Sexuality and Commitment

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we've caught all but 2 of the Solo Celebration Shows so far this season and highly recommend coming out to Greenhouse Theatre for this excellent series. The topics have run the gamut from heartfelt to hilarious and everything in between. All have brought something unique to the table. 

The World Premiere of “I Do Today” will run at the Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln Ave) through Oct. 9. Co-produced with The Other Theatre Company, written by Sarah Myers and starring Carin Silkaitis, “I Do Today” will be directed by Greenhouse’s Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, making his Chicago directorial debut.   

In “I Do Today,” Silkaitis portrays a Jewish woman determined to uproot a family tree grown wild with multiple marriages, dates and even more divorces. As she delves deeper into her own subconscious, she must grapple with her past, questioning how it has defined her and what it means in this moment. She quickly discovers that she must challenge the notions of love, sexuality and commitment in a world where modern marriage refuses to fit into old ideals.

“This innovative new play about one woman’s internal explorations allows all of us an opportunity to identify and assemble the pieces of ourselves that constitute who we are today and who we might be tomorrow,” said Harvey.  “Myers has crafted a theatrical puzzle that this ensemble of collaborators and I has been able to assemble in an unexpected and captivating evening of theater.”

The performance schedule for “I Do Today” is as follows: Thursday – Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.  and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Performances continue through Oct. 9.

Flex passes to the Solo Celebration! series, which offers admissions to three plays for $99 or five plays for $164, are now on sale.  Single tickets, which range in price from $34 – 48 are also on sale.  Flex passes and tickets can be purchased by contacting the box office at 773-404-7336 or by visiting greenhousetheater.org.

Sarah Myers is a Chicago native currently living in Minneapolis. Her work has been produced and developed at the Wild Project (New York); the Side Project with The Other Theatre Company, The Women & Theater Conference (Chicago); FronteraFest, the Off Center, the Blue Theater, the David Mark Cohen New Works Festival (Austin); and Indiana Repertory Theater (Indianapolis), among others. Myers’ published plays include “The Realm” (Bonderman National Youth Playwriting Award), “God of the Gaps” (Pushcart Prize nominee), and “In and Out.” Myers is a former company member of Austin-based theater collective Rude Mechanicals, an associate member of Twin Cities-based Workhaus Collective, and an ongoing collaborator with Sod House Theater, a company that creates adaptations and new works with communities throughout Minnesota.

Carin Silkaitis is the founding Artistic Director of The Other Theatre Company where her credits include “The Realm and Other Letters,” “Others,” “Daughters of Ire” and “Barney the Elf.”  Notable television/film credits include: a co-staring role on “Chicago Fire,” nurse in “Unexpected” and Maggie in the short film “Blood and Water.” Silkaitis recently shot back-to-back commercials for the Arkansas Lottery, a recent spot for The Onion and a commercial for Progressive Insurance and Instant Care. Notable theater credits include Chloe in “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” “Sons of the Prophet,” Queen Margaret in “Richard III,” Mama/Sherry/Vera in “Distracted” and Izzy in “Rabbit Hole” (Goodman Theatre).

Jacob Harvey is the Artistic Director of the Greenhouse Theater Center. Harvey is also a producer for Your Theatrics International, a full service entertainment production company, specializing in the production of theatrical events around the world. He was awarded the Bret C. Harte Director/Producer Fellowship for Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s 2013/14 Season; served as Associate Producer and Interim Director of Programming for the Drama Desk Award Winning New York Musical Theatre Festival; and served as the Co-Artistic Director of the Ovation Award-Nominated Mechanicals Theatre Group in Los Angeles. He was the co-producer of “Ladyhawks” (NYMF 2013 Best of Fest under the title Volleygirls); the associate producer of Ryan Scott Oliver’s “35MM: A Musical Exhibition” and the director of the Eberhardt and Collyer musical “Right Together, Left Together.”  Other directing credits include, “Mr. Marmalade” (The Theatricians), “The Shape of Things” (Silver Bell Productions), the world premiere of “The Many Selves of Mia Scott” (Carrie Hamilton Theater) and assistant director of the world premiere of Marcus Gardley’s “The House The Will Not Stand” (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). 

About The Other Theatre Company

The Other Theatre Company is dedicated to telling the stories of individuals or groups who are “othered” by systems of oppression. Othering individuals or groups sustains power and privilege and is an "us" vs. "them" mentality often centered around race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, identity, class, religion, and ability. The Other Theatre Company is committed to telling these stories in the hope that we can lessen the amount of discrimination and oppression in our world. 

An Illinois non-profit, TOTC was founded in 2014 in Chicago, Illinois with their first festival titled “Others: A 24 Hour Play Festival.”  Since then, their season has expanded to include three shows a year, including their annual production of “Barney the Elf” (a musical parody of the film Elf starring Will Ferrell). 

About Solo Celebration! 

 “I Do Today” is one of 12 plays featured in Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!,” which includes ten full productions, two limited engagements and other special events running June 2016 through February 2017. Among the other directors connected to solo series are Goodman Theatre Producer and Artistic Collective Member Steve Scott, Writer’s Theatre Resident Director Kimberly Senior, Directors Lab Chicago Artistic Director Elizabeth Margolius and Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate Linda Gillum. Some of the performers confirmed to star in solo works include Jeff Award-winners Kate Buddeke, Gene Weygandt, Linda Reiter acclaimed British actor Simon Slater, Will Allan and Carin Silkaitis. Most productions will be produced in their entirety by Greenhouse, while other plays will be stated with co-producers including Sideshow Theatre Company and The Other Theatre Company. Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” is co-produced by Forum Productions and underwritten by the Wendy and William Spatz Charitable Foundation.

About the Greenhouse Theater Center. 

The Greenhouse Theater Center is a nonprofit performance venue located at 2257 N Lincoln Ave, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Our complex offers two newly remodeled 190-seat main stage spaces, two 60-seat studio theaters, an in-house rehearsal room, and Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre book store.

Our mission at the Greenhouse is first and foremost to grow local theatre. We strive to cultivate a fertile environment for local artists, from individual renters to our bevy of resident companies, to develop and produce their work. In 2014 alone, The Greenhouse Theater Center provided space for almost 1,000 ticketed performances, serving more than 54,000 patrons. Among these events were at least 30 productions by our resident companies, including the celebrated American Blues Theater and Remy Bumpo Theatre Company. Through our Trellis Program, we offer the community affordable access to our work by housing Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre bookstore, located on the second floor of our complex, as well as offering a free reading series each Tuesday night where local artists workshop their latest scripts. Additionally, we also continue to play an active role in cultivating and nurturing our community through continued partnerships with the League of Chicago Theaters and local Chambers of Commerce.

As of 2016, the Greenhouse Theater Center embraced the true spirit of growth and launched its producing entity. With the announcement of our 8 month long Solo Celebration Series, helmed by Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, we will produce 12 solo plays from June 2016 to February 2017. Through this inaugural effort, we hope to expand the solo play cannon while also cultivating a larger conversation about the possibilities of the one-person play.

With new ideas always incubating, the Greenhouse Theater Center is flourishing.

Come grow with us!

Dutchman / TRANSit Opens Season at American Blues Theater

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Dutchman by Amiri Baraka; 

TRANSit by Darren Canady  

                    Now running through September 25, 2016

Joseph Jefferson Award recommended “PROFOUND IN CONCEPTION. Daring! High-stakes pairing. Timeless complexities.” – Chicago Tribune “TRANSit is the PERFECT JUXTAPOSITION to Dutchman. These train rides are filled with the RAW, UNCUT issues of our society.” – Newcity “BEST BETS for fall theater - a double bill of PROVOCATION!” – Chicago Reader “RIVETING, EXPLOSIVE, & TRUTHFUL!!” – Chicago Critic “THRILLING THEATER.” – Windy City Times “MUCH-VITAL STAGING with thoroughly MODERN TWIST!” – Chicago Theatre Review Dutchman / TRANSit All photos to the credit of Michael Brosilow AUGUST 26 — SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 DUTCHMAN/TRANSit 2 PLAYS. 1 RIDE. Dutchman by: Amiri Baraka Dutchman Directed by: Chuck Smith TRANSit by: Darren Canady TRANSit Directed by: Lisa Portes Experience two powerful plays in one event. See Dutchman—one of the most important plays in 20th-century culture to take on race relations. Then inspired by Baraka’s pivotal work, watch the world-premiere commission TRANSit, about an encounter between two strangers that reveals more than planned when an explosive mix of identity, sex, and betrayal is unleashed. Featuring Ensemble member Manny Buckley.  To learn more about Dutchman / TRANSit, read our Backstage Guide. PERFORMANCE INFO This production must close September 25, 2016. (773) 404-7336 box office Thursday: 7:30pm Friday: 7:30pm Saturday: 3:00pm & 7:30pm Sunday: 2:30pm There's an additional performance on  9/12 @ 7:30pm  Duration: Runs 2 hours with one intermission. Location: Greenhouse Theater Center at     2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago Ticket Price: $19-$49 Recommended for ages 14 yrs +; Adult language & themes, and violence. Town Halls: We offer free post-show events on Sundays and other events. Learn more. ARTISTS CAST (in order of appearance): Michael Pogue (“Clay” in Dutchman), Amanda Drinkall (“Lula” in Dutchman), Manny Buckley* (“Veronica” in TRANSit), Jake Szczepaniak(“Luke” in TRANSit), and Edgar Miguel Sanchez (“Lalo” in TRANSit). ENSEMBLE (in alphabetical order): Grant Carriker, Sawyer Krause, Warren Levon, Kirstin McGinnis,and Nicola Rinow. PRODUCTION TEAM: Amiri Baraka (playwright of Dutchman), Chuck Smith (director of Dutchman), Darren Canady* (playwright of TRANSit), Lisa Portes (director ofTRANSit), Sarah E. Ross* (scenic), Sarah Hughey* (lights), Christopher J. Neville* (costumes), Thomas Dixon (sound), Alec Long (properties), Ricardo Garcia (dance choreographer), Vincent Teninty (fight director), and Kevin Gregory Dwyer (production stage manager). Schedule:  Thursday: 7:30 p.m. Friday: 7:30 p.m. Saturday:  3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday: 2:30 p.m. Location:                      Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago Ticket prices:                $19 - $49 Box Office:                   Buy online at AmericanBluesTheater.com or by calling 773.404.7336.

SAVE THE DATES: CHICAGO PREMIERE OF “UNCLE PHILIP’S COAT” To Star Gene Weygandt

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

THE GREENHOUSE THEATER CENTER PRESENTS THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF “UNCLE PHILIP’S COAT” 

PLAYING NOVEMBER 27 – DECEMBER 31

Chicago/Broadway Actor and 

Three-Time Jeff Award Winner Gene Weygandt 

Stars in this Personal Journey 

of Self-Discovery

Here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows we've adored Gene Weygandt's work since long before we had the chance to catch him for a video interview during his stint as Jean Shepherd in “A Christmas Story, The Musical.”at Chicago Theatre. We can't wait to see his take on “Uncle Philip’s Coat” for Solo Celebration! at Greenhouse.

The Chicago Premiere of playwright Matty Selman’s “Uncle Philip’s Coat” will run at the Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln Ave) Nov. 27 – Dec. 31. Directed by Elizabeth Margolius and starring Gene Weygandt (best known as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in “Wicked” in Chicago and on Broadway), “Uncle Philip’s Coat” follows Matty on his humorous and heartfelt journey of personal discovery, sparked by his inheritance of a tattered coat from his eccentric Russian-Jewish immigrant uncle Philip. The press opening will be on Friday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. 

When Matty, an unemployed actor, is given an old, decrepit coat from his recently deceased great-uncle Philip, he is unsure whether he has been given an heirloom or a heap of rags. Through his attempts to find the answer, he travels across time, territories and tragedies in an effort to uncover the history of an unfaltering dreamer. “Uncle Philip’s Coat” poses larger questions of family, mythology and the inheritance of a Jewish son. How did a man who made it to the land of opportunity become a homeless wanderer, and what can he teach us about the stories that we tell to surround ourselves and keep away the cold?

“This play questions the ways in which we inherit our history, and asks us to follow Matty as he discovers a past that his parents would rather remain a distant yesterday,” said Greenhouse Artistic Director Jacob Harvey.  “I am thrilled to have the incomparable Gene Weygandt in this series and with Elizabeth Margolius at the helm, ‘Uncle Philip’s Coat’ promises to be a vibrant and haunting production.”

Lawrence Van Gelder, reviewing the play for The New York Times, called “Uncle Philip’s Coat”  “funny, insightful and often touching.”  Clive Barnes, reviewing “Uncle Philip’s Coat” in the New York Post called it "a remarkable and virtuosic one-man, one-act play.”  Miriam Rinn, reviewing for The Jewish Standard, called it “riveting and touching, an evocation of a man who deserves our attention, and a poignant assertion of the value of a life.”

The performance schedule for “Uncle Philip’s Coat” is as follows: Wednesday – Saturdays at 8 p.m.  and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Previews begin Nov. 27, and the opening night is Friday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue through Dec. 31.  The press opening will be on Friday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. 

Flex passes to the Solo Celebration! series, which offers admissions to three plays for $99 or five plays for $164, are now on sale.  Preview tickets are $34.  Single tickets range in price from $42 – 48.  Flex passes and tickets can be purchased by contacting the box office at 773-404-7336 or by visiting greenhousetheater.org.

Gene Weygandt is one of Chicago’s most acclaimed actors, perhaps best known for his portrayal of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in “Wicked” in Chicago, and on Broadway. He also starred as Jean Shepherd in “A Christmas Story, The Musical.” Also on Broadway, Weygandt originated the role of Paul in “Big: The Musical.” He is a three-time Jeff Award recipient for “A Day in Hollywood/A Night in The Ukraine,” and “Me and My Girl” at The Marriott Theatre, and for “Little Shop of Horrors.” He received an After Dark Award for his role as Max in the long-running hit, “Lend Me a Tenor” at The Royal George Theatre. Other credits include “Inspecting Carol” at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, “The Taming of the Shrew” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and principal roles in “Old Jews Telling Jokes,” “The Miser,” “Arthur: the Musical,” “The Light In The Piazza,” “Hairspray,” “The Music Man,” Don’t Dress for Dinner,” “Little Me,” and “The Man Who Came To Dinner.” Weygandt’s TV and film credits include “The Birdcage,” “The Babe,” and “The Pager,” “Chicago Fire,” “Betrayal,” “Boss,” “Mind Games,” “The Beast,” “Home Improvement,” “Cybill,” “Murphy Brown,” “Drew Carey” and more.

Elizabeth Margolius has worked with theaters and universities in various capacities throughout the country, including the Santa Fe Opera, Florida Studio Theatre, the Virginia Shakespeare Festival, New York’s Encompass New Opera Theatre, Millikin University, the University of Northern Iowa, and the University of Nebraska. In 2015, Margolius was invited back to her alma mater, Converse School of Music in Spartanburg, SC, to direct the world premiere of a new opera/oratorio, “Troiades.” Her Chicago directorial credits include “Sitayana” (Gift Theatre's TEN Festival), “L'Occasione Fa Il Ladro (A Thief by Chance)” and “Twelfth Night” (DePaul Opera Theatre), “The Girl in the Train,” “The Land of Smiles” and “The Cousin from Nowhere” (Chicago Folks Operetta), “Goldstar, Ohio” (American Theater Company), “The Ballad of Baby Doe” (North Park University), “The Merry Wives of Windsor” (Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Assistant Director to Barbara Gaines), “The Mikado” (Savoyaires), “The Last Cyclist” (Genesis Theatrical Productions), “Death Takes a Holiday” for Circle Theatre and “Opus 1861” (City Lit Theater; nominated for three Joseph Jefferson Awards) “Violet” (Bailiwick Chicago; nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Awards), “Broadway Sings the Silk Road” (Silk Road Theatre Project) and “Bernarda Alba” and “Songs for a New World” (Bohemian Theatre Ensemble). Margolius has also directed works at Harper College, Theatre Building Chicago/New Musical Development, Theatre on the Lake, Stage Left Theatre, Live Bait Theater and the Center for Cultural Interchange. Margolius is an alumna of the 2004 and 2005 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab in New York, a 2007 recipient of a full directorial scholarship at the Wesley Balk Opera-Music Theater Institute in Minneapolis, a 2009 respondent and workshop artist for the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival, and a 2010 finalist for the Charles Abbott Fellowship. She is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of DirectorsLabChicago, a forum for emerging nationally and internationally based stage directors.

Matty Selman is the author of “Uncle Philip’s Coat,” a Herbert Berghof Memorial Play, which is included in the permanent collection of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. Selman has written three musicals in collaboration with “Agnes of God” playwright John Pielmeier, including “Young Rube” (music and lyrics) “Steeplechase The Funny Place” (music and lyrics) and “Slow Dance with a Hot Pickup” (music and lyrics). Selman was selected by A.R.T. Founder and Artistic Director, Robert Brustein, to write the lyrics for “Lysistrata,” with music by “HAIR” composer, Galt MacDermot, and starring Tony Award winner Cherry Jones. “Lysistrata” was a co-production of A.R.T. in Cambridge, MA and The Prince Music Theatre, Philadelphia, PA.  Galt and Selman then wrote “Goddess Wheel” developed at CAP21 (Collaborative Arts Project 21) and currently, “The Tinderbox,” which had its premiere performance at Carnegie Hall’s Weil Hall.  Selman’s Irish musical, “Parcel From America,” was produced in at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland, Oregon. Selman received the Emmy Award for writing and producing the theme and incidental music for “Martha Stewart Living” on CBS and “B. Smith with Style.” Other awards include a playwriting grant from BACA (Brooklyn Arts and Cultural Association). Selman is a writer/publisher member of ASCAP, a member of the Dramatists Guild and serves on the Board of Directors/Script Selection Committee for the New Harmony Project, a not-for-profit organization that supports writers whose work explores the journey of the human spirit.

About Solo Celebration! 

“Uncle Philip’s Coat” is one of 12 plays featured in Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!,” which includes ten full productions, two limited engagements and other special events running June 2016 through February 2017. Among the other directors connected to solo series are Goodman Theatre Producer and Artistic Collective Member Steve Scott, Writer’s Theatre Resident Director Kimberly Senior, Directors Lab Chicago Artistic Director Elizabeth Margolius and Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate Linda Gillum. Some of the performers confirmed to star in solo works include Jeff Award-winners Kate Buddeke, Gene Weygandt, Linda Reiter acclaimed British actor Simon Slater, Will Allan and Carin Silkaitis. Most productions will be produced in their entirety by Greenhouse, while other plays will be stated with co-producers including Sideshow Theatre Company and The Other Theatre Company. Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” is co-produced by Forum Productions and underwritten by the Wendy and William Spatz Charitable Foundation.

About the Greenhouse Theater Center. 

The Greenhouse Theater Center is a nonprofit performance venue located at 2257 N Lincoln Ave, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Our complex offers two newly remodeled 190-seat main stage spaces, two 60-seat studio theaters, an in-house rehearsal room, and Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre book store.

Our mission at the Greenhouse is first and foremost to grow local theatre. We strive to cultivate a fertile environment for local artists, from individual renters to our bevy of resident companies, to develop and produce their work. In 2014 alone, The Greenhouse Theater Center provided space for almost 1,000 ticketed performances, serving more than 54,000 patrons. Among these events were at least 30 productions by our resident companies, including the celebrated American Blues Theater and Remy Bumpo Theatre Company. Through our Trellis Program, we offer the community affordable access to our work by housing Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre bookstore, located on the second floor of our complex, as well as offering a free reading series each Tuesday night where local artists workshop their latest scripts. Additionally, we also continue to play an active role in cultivating and nurturing our community through continued partnerships with the League of Chicago Theaters and local Chambers of Commerce.

As of 2016, the Greenhouse Theater Center embraced the true spirit of growth and launched its producing entity. With the announcement of our 8 month long Solo Celebration Series, helmed by Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, we will produce 12 solo plays from June 2016 to February 2017. Through this inaugural effort, we hope to expand the solo play cannon while also cultivating a larger conversation about the possibilities of the one-person play.

With new ideas always incubating, the Greenhouse Theater Center is flourishing. Come grow with us!

OPENING: Solo Celebration Continues With PHILIP DAWKINS’ THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH 9/17 - 10/23

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

THE GREENHOUSE THEATER CENTER PRESENTS PHILIP DAWKINS’ 

“THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH,” 

RUNNING SEPT. 17 – OCT. 23

Acclaimed Playwright to Star in his Autobiographical Work as Part of Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” Series

Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln Ave ) and Sideshow Theatre Company present the world premiere of “The Happiest Place on Earth,” written by and starring Joseph Jefferson Award-winning playwright and Sideshow Artistic Associate Philip Dawkins and directed by Sideshow Artistic Director Jonathan L. Green.  The show runs Sept. 17 – Oct. 23 with the press opening on Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m.  Once upon a time in an Anaheim, California orange grove, a magical kingdom was built and dedicated to America’s history, dreams and wildest hopes. Eight years later, one family’s American prince died on live television while delivering the Albuquerque sports scores, leaving his four daughters and their mother behind. Left reeling from the loss of their patriarch, the family underwent a quest to reach the magical kingdom and seek solace and recovery. Now, more than fifty years after their journey, acclaimed playwright Philip Dawkins retraces and illustrates the true story of the women in his family, exploring their history and asking if there really is a place where the dream that we wish can come true. “Philip Dawkins is one of Chicago’s most fascinating and intriguing theatrical voices,” said Jacob Harvey, artistic director of the Greenhouse Theater Center.  “His work is unapologetic, witty and vibrant, exploring themes and perspectives others often avoid. This play is no exception, as he deftly navigates his own family’s history to show us all something about our own.” The performance schedule for “The Happiest Place on Earth” is as follows: Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Previews begin Sept. 17 and the opening night is Thursday, Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue through Oct. 23. Flex passes to the Solo Celebration! series, which offers admissions to three plays for $99 or five plays for $164, are now on sale.  Preview tickets are priced at $34. Single tickets, which range in price from $42 – $48 are also on sale.  Flex passes and tickets can be purchased by contacting the box office at 773-404-7336 or by visiting greenhousetheater.org. Philip Dawkins is a Chicago playwright whose plays have been produced all over the country and the world. His critically acclaimed works include “Charm” (Northlight Theatre) and “Miss Marx: Or The Involuntary Effect of Living” (Strawdog Theatre), which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work, as well as “The Homosexuals” (About Face Theater) and “Failure: A Love Story” (Victory Gardens Theater), both of which received Joseph Jefferson Nominations for New Work. Dawkins’ play, “Le Switch,” just concluded a sold-out run with About Face Theatre, where he is an Artistic Associate. He is also an Ensemble Playwright at Victory Gardens. Dawkins teaches playwriting at Northwestern University, Loyola University Chicago, his alma mater, and through the Victory Gardens ACCESS Program for writers with disabilities. Most of his plays, including his plays for young performers, are available through Playscripts, Inc. and Dramatic Publishing. Jonathan L. Green has been the Artistic Director of Sideshow Theatre since its founding in 2007. He has directed and assisted for Sideshow, Lookingglass, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Chicago Dramatists, Theatre Seven of Chicago, Pavement Group, Live Arts and the Earl Hamner, Jr. Theatre. Recent projects include “Antigonick,” “Stupid Fucking Bird,” “The Golden Dragon (co-direction with Marti Lyons),” “Idomeneus” (Jeff Award for best ensemble), “The Gacy Play,” “Midway Liquors, “Heddatron” and others. Recent dramaturgy credits include “Rapture,” “Blister,” “Burn,” “Feathers and Teeth” (New Stages), “Disgraced,” “Mother Road” (New Stages), “The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window,” and “War Paint,” all at Goodman Theatre. Green currently serves on the board of directors of the League of Chicago Theatres, and is the literary management associate for Goodman Theatre. About Sideshow Theatre Company It is the mission of Sideshow Theatre Company to mine the collective unconscious of the world we live in with limitless curiosity, drawing inspiration from the familiar stories, memories and images we all share to spark new conversation and bring our audiences together as adventurers in a communal experience of exploration. From its first production, 2008’s Dante Dies!! (and then things get weird) to its Jeff Award-winning productions of Roland Schimmelpfennig’s “Idomeneus” (named one of the best plays of 2012 by Time Out Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times) and Elizabeth Meriwether’s runaway robotic hit “Heddatron” at Steppenwolf Theatre, to the recent re-mount of its smash hit “Stupid F##king Bird,” Sideshow has consistently produced engaging, transcendent works across Chicago. Sideshow continues its multi-year residency at Victory Gardens in the historic Biograph Theater in the 2016/17 season. Sideshow also produces the “Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers” (CLLAW), a wildly popular interactive fundraising event that benefits Sideshow Theatre Company and other local charities. CLLAW has been featured in local and national press, including The Washington Post, Reuters, Penthouse Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times and on WGN Morning News, ABC 7’s Windy City Live and CBS 2. For more information about CLLAW, visit cllaw.org. For additional information on Sideshow Theatre Company, visit sideshowtheatre.org. About Solo Celebration!  “The Happiest Place on Earth” is one of 12 plays featured in Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!,” which includes ten full productions, two limited engagements and other special events running June 2016 through February 2017. Among the other directors connected to solo series are Goodman Theatre Producer and Artistic Collective Member Steve Scott, Writer’s Theatre Resident Director Kimberly Senior, Directors Lab Chicago Artistic Director Elizabeth Margolius and Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate Linda Gillum. Some of the performers confirmed to star in solo works include Jeff Award-winners Kate Buddeke, Gene Weygandt, Linda Reiter acclaimed British actor Simon Slater, Will Allan and Carin Silkaitis. Most productions will be produced in their entirety by Greenhouse, while other plays will be stated with co-producers including Sideshow Theatre Company and The Other Theatre Company. Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” is co-produced by Forum Productions and underwritten by the Wendy and William Spatz Charitable Foundation. About the Greenhouse Theater Center.  The Greenhouse Theater Center is a nonprofit performance venue located at 2257 N Lincoln Ave, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Our complex offers two newly remodeled 190-seat main stage spaces, two 60-seat studio theaters, an in-house rehearsal room, and Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre book store. Our mission at the Greenhouse is first and foremost to grow local theatre. We strive to cultivate a fertile environment for local artists, from individual renters to our bevy of resident companies, to develop and produce their work. In 2014 alone, The Greenhouse Theater Center provided space for almost 1,000 ticketed performances, serving more than 54,000 patrons. Among these events were at least 30 productions by our resident companies, including the celebrated American Blues Theater and Remy Bumpo Theatre Company. Through our Trellis Program, we offer the community affordable access to our work by housing Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre bookstore, located on the second floor of our complex, as well as offering a free reading series each Tuesday night where local artists workshop their latest scripts. Additionally, we also continue to play an active role in cultivating and nurturing our community through continued partnerships with the League of Chicago Theaters and local Chambers of Commerce. As of 2016, the Greenhouse Theater Center embraced the true spirit of growth and launched its producing entity. With the announcement of our 8 month long Solo Celebration Series, helmed by Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, we will produce 12 solo plays from June 2016 to February 2017. Through this inaugural effort, we hope to expand the solo play cannon while also cultivating a larger conversation about the possibilities of the one-person play. With new ideas always incubating, the Greenhouse Theater Center is flourishing. Come grow with us!

Solo Celebration Continues at Greenhouse Theatre With I Do Today

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

THE GREENHOUSE THEATER CENTER 

PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF 

“I DO TODAY” 

SEPT. 2 – OCT. 9

Carin Silkaitis Stars In a One- Person Play Challenging Old Ideals of Love, Sexuality and Commitment

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we've caught all but 2 of the Solo Celebration Shows so far this season and highly recommend coming out to Greenhouse Theatre for this excellent series. The topics have run the gamut from heartfelt to hilarious and everything in between. All have brought something unique to the table. We're looking forward to a first look at this world premiere. 

The World Premiere of “I Do Today” will run at the Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln Ave) Sept. 2 – Oct. 9. Co-produced with The Other Theatre Company, written by Sarah Myers and starring Carin Silkaitis, “I Do Today” will be directed by Greenhouse’s Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, making his Chicago directorial debut.   The press opening will be on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m. 

In “I Do Today,” Silkaitis portrays a Jewish woman determined to uproot a family tree grown wild with multiple marriages, dates and even more divorces. As she delves deeper into her own subconscious, she must grapple with her past, questioning how it has defined her and what it means in this moment. She quickly discovers that she must challenge the notions of love, sexuality and commitment in a world where modern marriage refuses to fit into old ideals.

“This innovative new play about one woman’s internal explorations allows all of us an opportunity to identify and assemble the pieces of ourselves that constitute who we are today and who we might be tomorrow,” said Harvey.  “Myers has crafted a theatrical puzzle that this ensemble of collaborators and I has been able to assemble in an unexpected and captivating evening of theater.”

The performance schedule for “I Do Today” is as follows: Thursday – Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.  and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Previews begin Sept. 2, and the opening night is Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue through Oct. 9.

Flex passes to the Solo Celebration! series, which offers admissions to three plays for $99 or five plays for $164, are now on sale.  Single tickets, which range in price from $34 – 48 are also on sale.  Flex passes and tickets can be purchased by contacting the box office at 773-404-7336 or by visiting greenhousetheater.org.

Sarah Myers is a Chicago native currently living in Minneapolis. Her work has been produced and developed at the Wild Project (New York); the Side Project with The Other Theatre Company, The Women & Theater Conference (Chicago); FronteraFest, the Off Center, the Blue Theater, the David Mark Cohen New Works Festival (Austin); and Indiana Repertory Theater (Indianapolis), among others. Myers’ published plays include “The Realm” (Bonderman National Youth Playwriting Award), “God of the Gaps” (Pushcart Prize nominee), and “In and Out.” Myers is a former company member of Austin-based theater collective Rude Mechanicals, an associate member of Twin Cities-based Workhaus Collective, and an ongoing collaborator with Sod House Theater, a company that creates adaptations and new works with communities throughout Minnesota.

Carin Silkaitis is the founding Artistic Director of The Other Theatre Company where her credits include “The Realm and Other Letters,” “Others,” “Daughters of Ire” and “Barney the Elf.”  Notable television/film credits include: a co-staring role on “Chicago Fire,” nurse in “Unexpected” and Maggie in the short film “Blood and Water.” Silkaitis recently shot back-to-back commercials for the Arkansas Lottery, a recent spot for The Onion and a commercial for Progressive Insurance and Instant Care. Notable theater credits include Chloe in “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” “Sons of the Prophet,” Queen Margaret in “Richard III,” Mama/Sherry/Vera in “Distracted” and Izzy in “Rabbit Hole” (Goodman Theatre).

Jacob Harvey is the Artistic Director of the Greenhouse Theater Center. Harvey is also a producer for Your Theatrics International, a full service entertainment production company, specializing in the production of theatrical events around the world. He was awarded the Bret C. Harte Director/Producer Fellowship for Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s 2013/14 Season; served as Associate Producer and Interim Director of Programming for the Drama Desk Award Winning New York Musical Theatre Festival; and served as the Co-Artistic Director of the Ovation Award-Nominated Mechanicals Theatre Group in Los Angeles. He was the co-producer of “Ladyhawks” (NYMF 2013 Best of Fest under the title Volleygirls); the associate producer of Ryan Scott Oliver’s “35MM: A Musical Exhibition” and the director of the Eberhardt and Collyer musical “Right Together, Left Together.”  Other directing credits include, “Mr. Marmalade” (The Theatricians), “The Shape of Things” (Silver Bell Productions), the world premiere of “The Many Selves of Mia Scott” (Carrie Hamilton Theater) and assistant director of the world premiere of Marcus Gardley’s “The House The Will Not Stand” (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). 

About The Other Theatre Company

The Other Theatre Company is dedicated to telling the stories of individuals or groups who are “othered” by systems of oppression. Othering individuals or groups sustains power and privilege and is an "us" vs. "them" mentality often centered around race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, identity, class, religion, and ability. The Other Theatre Company is committed to telling these stories in the hope that we can lessen the amount of discrimination and oppression in our world. 

An Illinois non-profit, TOTC was founded in 2014 in Chicago, Illinois with their first festival titled “Others: A 24 Hour Play Festival.”  Since then, their season has expanded to include three shows a year, including their annual production of “Barney the Elf” (a musical parody of the film Elf starring Will Ferrell). 

About Solo Celebration! 

 “I Do Today” is one of 12 plays featured in Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!,” which includes ten full productions, two limited engagements and other special events running June 2016 through February 2017. Among the other directors connected to solo series are Goodman Theatre Producer and Artistic Collective Member Steve Scott, Writer’s Theatre Resident Director Kimberly Senior, Directors Lab Chicago Artistic Director Elizabeth Margolius and Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate Linda Gillum. Some of the performers confirmed to star in solo works include Jeff Award-winners Kate Buddeke, Gene Weygandt, Linda Reiter acclaimed British actor Simon Slater, Will Allan and Carin Silkaitis. Most productions will be produced in their entirety by Greenhouse, while other plays will be stated with co-producers including Sideshow Theatre Company and The Other Theatre Company. Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” is co-produced by Forum Productions and underwritten by the Wendy and William Spatz Charitable Foundation.

About the Greenhouse Theater Center. 

The Greenhouse Theater Center is a nonprofit performance venue located at 2257 N Lincoln Ave, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Our complex offers two newly remodeled 190-seat main stage spaces, two 60-seat studio theaters, an in-house rehearsal room, and Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre book store.

Our mission at the Greenhouse is first and foremost to grow local theatre. We strive to cultivate a fertile environment for local artists, from individual renters to our bevy of resident companies, to develop and produce their work. In 2014 alone, The Greenhouse Theater Center provided space for almost 1,000 ticketed performances, serving more than 54,000 patrons. Among these events were at least 30 productions by our resident companies, including the celebrated American Blues Theater and Remy Bumpo Theatre Company. Through our Trellis Program, we offer the community affordable access to our work by housing Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre bookstore, located on the second floor of our complex, as well as offering a free reading series each Tuesday night where local artists workshop their latest scripts. Additionally, we also continue to play an active role in cultivating and nurturing our community through continued partnerships with the League of Chicago Theaters and local Chambers of Commerce.

As of 2016, the Greenhouse Theater Center embraced the true spirit of growth and launched its producing entity. With the announcement of our 8 month long Solo Celebration Series, helmed by Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, we will produce 12 solo plays from June 2016 to February 2017. Through this inaugural effort, we hope to expand the solo play cannon while also cultivating a larger conversation about the possibilities of the one-person play.

With new ideas always incubating, the Greenhouse Theater Center is flourishing.

Come grow with us!

OPENING: Polarity Ensemble Theatre Presents World Premiere Play LEAVINGS by Award Winning Chicago Native Gail Parrish

Polarity Ensemble Theatre Presents the World Premiere Play 

LEAVINGS 

by Gail Parrish, 

October 21 - November 20, 2016 

New Play Explores the Intergenerational Trauma of Slavery 

Polarity Ensemble Theatre presents the world premiere of Gail Parrish's LEAVINGS, a story of racial reconciliation that brings an important voice to the public dialogue on Black Lives Matter. Directed by Ashley Honore Roberson, it plays October 21 - November 20, 2016 at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614, where Polarity is a resident company. Tickets are on sale at www.petheatre.com or by calling the box office at 773-404-7336. 

About the play: Co-winner of our 2015 Dionysos Cup Festival of New Plays, LEAVINGS follows the final days of Mama Bea, a 111 year old African American in Chicago. Mama Bea uses her last strength to unite with Governor Skinner, the white governor of Mississippi, to set to rest the spirits that haunt her family. She and the governor are both descended from a nineteenth century slave owner who left the White half of the family with a heritage of privilege and economic security and the Black half with a history of familial separation, segregation and violence. Only by uniting the White and Black sides in a ritual of reconciliation can the tortured spirits that haunt the family be put to rest. 

LEAVINGS was developed in Polarity Ensemble Theatre's 2015 Dionysos Cup Festival of New Plays. It is the tenth Polarity-developed play by a Chicago-area playwright to reach its world premiere on a Chicago stage. 

The production team for LEAVINGS includes Charles C. Palia Jr (set design), Benjamin L. White, USA (lighting design), Spence Andrew Batho (sound design/composer), Rachel C. Boylan, (costume design), Deborah Baxter (properties), Jill Perez (dramaturg), and Hazel Flowers McCabe (stage manager). 

SCHEDULE AND TICKET INFORMATION 

Location: Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614

Dates: Previews: Friday, October 21 at 8:00 PM and Saturday, October 22 at 8:00 PM 

Press Opening: Sunday, October 23 at 3:00 PM

Regular Run: Thursday, October 27 - Sunday, November 20, 2016. Additional performance Monday, November 7 at 8:00 PM.

Curtain Times: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM

Tickets: Previews: $15. Press Opening and Regular Run: $25. Students: $10, Seniors: $20. 

Tickets are available at www.petheatre.com and 773-404-7336

About the Playwright

Gail Parrish is a Chicago-born playwright whose plays have been produced and developed at Polarity Ensemble Theatre, Karamu Theatre, Juneteenth Legacy Theatre at Actor's Theatre of Louisville, City 616, Black Women Playwrights Group at Studio Theatre, Amelia Earhart Playhouse at Wiesbaden, Germany, eta Creative Arts Foundation, In Good Company Children's Theatre, Extra Mile Playwrights, Michigan Playwrights, Chicago Dramatists and Black Writers in Production. She studied playwriting as an undergraduate at Howard University and has continued to write plays throughout her life.

Ms. Parrish's Leavings was the winner (tied) of Polarity Ensemble Theatre's Dionysos Cup Festival and a semi-finalist in American Blues Theater's Blue Ink Award. Her one-act play, Elevator, was awarded grand prize in Daimler-Chrysler's Dreambuilder's National Playwriting Competition. She received an Emmy nomination from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Midwest chapter for the Elevator screenplay. Other awards include The Black Gospel Play Association's National Stage Play Competition grand prize for Bringing Back Josephine and grand prize in Black Writers in Production National Playwriting Competition. Other plays and screenplays written by Parrish include Tribute, Prodigal, Meeting, Hear the Drum, Making of a Man, Brookland, Not Brooklyn (co-writer) and Neighbors of the Forest.

Ms. Parrish lives in Oswego, Illinois with her husband Maurice Parrish.

About the Director

Ashley Honore Roberson has been working as an artist in the Chicagoland area for the past eight years. She has worked on stage with Chicago Children's Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, and Court Theatre. As a teaching artist Ashley works all over the city with several theatres/programs such as Congo Square, Northlight, Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens, Writers Theatre and PureArt. She recently wrote and directed her first play, Once Upon A Zombie Apocalypse for the Chicago Kid's Fringe Festival, assistant directed for Emerald City and Chicago Children's Theatre and directed in the Black Lives, Black Words International Project and The Artistic Home Studio's Cut to the Chase play festival. 

About Polarity Ensemble Theatre

Founded in 2004, Polarity Ensemble Theatre is a professionally diverse group of artists who strive to advance the state of Chicago theater for both local and international audiences by developing new works and bringing new life to the classics through live performance, workshops, and publishing. For more information, visit www.petheatre.com.

REVIEW: Nuanced Noir And Magnificent Misdirection Prevail in Bloodshot

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Bloodshot at Solo Celebration

I caught opening night with my 15 year old son and we both loved it! This show is full of magic, mystery, misdirection, miscreants, swallowed razor blades and a few sweet sax solos in the mix too. I've got to admit, Bloodshot is one of our favorites of all the productions currently running citywide. Highly recommended.

THE GREENHOUSE THEATER CENTER PRESENTS THE U.S. PREMIERE OF THE HIT FROM LONDON’S WEST END, 

“BLOODSHOT,” 

RUNNING THROUGH SEPT. 10

Written by award winning Chicago playwright Douglas Post and directed by Patrick Sandford

Greenhouse’s Solo Celebration! Continues with a Thriller Written By Chicago Playwright Douglas Post and Starring Simon Slater. 

Simon Slater was born to play this role... literally. In a part custom written to show off his skills, this jaded 1950's gumshoe takes audiences on a wild ride that runs the gamut from banjo strumming and Vaudeville schtick to nuanced noir and convoluted plots that will captivate till the final curtain call! If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?! GO already. Highly recommended. 

“Bloodshot” makes its U.S. debut at the Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln Ave.) Aug. 10 – Sept. 10 as part of Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” series. Starring acclaimed international actor, the multi-talented Simon Slater, written by award winning Chicago playwright Douglas Post and directed by Patrick Sandford, “Bloodshot,” is a one-man murder mystery following the character Derek Eveleigh, a photographer in 1957 London. The thriller is co-produced by Ingenious Purpose Ltd. The press performance for “Bloodshot” is Saturday, August 16 at 7:30 p.m.

“In curating the Solo Celebration series, we were searching for plays that not only celebrated the form but redefined what it could do. Douglas Post has done all of that and more with his one-man thriller,” says Jacob Harvey, Artistic Director. “We are honored to host the premiere of the international efforts of a local playwright, and are thrilled that it brings acclaimed artists Simon Slater and Patrick Sandford to our city.”

The one-man murder mystery “Bloodshot” tells the story of Derek Eveleigh as he is hired by an anonymous client to follow a mysterious showgirl in the streets of London. After witnessing the woman’s murder by an unknown assailant, he begins an investigation through the bowels and backstreets of London where he finds himself falling in love with a dead woman he’s never even met.

Post was commissioned by Slater to write a play to showcase his diverse talents as a singer, actor, magician and musician (equally adept on multiple instruments,) and the product of their partnership was “Bloodshot,” one of the only solo thriller plays written. Charles Spencer of the The Telegraph praised the play, saying “the ingenious writing of Douglas Post … has so cleverly reinvented the possibilities of the stage thriller.” Spencer called the show “a thriller that genuinely holds the spectator in its thrall.” Touring in England and throughout Europe, “Bloodshot” has amazed, thrilled and rattled audiences since 2011.

Simon Slater is an award-winning composer of more than 200 original scores for theater, film, television and radio. As an actor he is a familiar face on British television, as well as having appeared in films and many critically-acclaimed theater productions in London and abroad. Recently, Slater’s theater credits include “Chariots Of Fire,” “Wonderland,” “Bloodshot” (St James' Theatre London, Vertigo Theatre Calgary), “Viva Forever,” and “Mamma Mia!” Slater was nominated for a Betty award in the category of “best performance in a drama” for his role in “Bloodshot.” Slater’s film appearances include “The Iron Lady,” “Dealers,” “The Fool,” and the award winning short film “Detour.” Most recently he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his music for “Constellations,” “Great Expectations,” “Raving,” “The Lady and the Van” and “Romeo and Juliet.”

Doulas Post is a Chicago-based award winning playwright. Post has written works including “Cynical Weathers,” “Blissfield,” “Drowning Sorrows,” “Earth and Sky” and “Murder in Green Meadows.” Post has also written several musicals, which include “God and Country,” “The Real Life Story of Johnny de Facto” and “The Wind in the Willows.” His work have been produced in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Canada, England, Wales, Germany, Austria, Russia and China. He has also been commissioned to write screenplays for Warner Bros. and NBC, teleplays for WMAQ­TV, and several radio adaptations of his scripts. On three occasions, he has been selected to develop his work at the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and once at the O'Neill National Music Theater Conference. He has received the L. Arnold Weissberger Playwriting Award, the Midwestern Playwrights Festival Award, the Cunningham Commission Award, the Blue Ink Playwriting Award and three Playwriting Fellowship Awards from the Illinois Arts Council, and has been nominated for a Jeff Award and an Emmy Award.

Patrick Sandford is a British producer, director and artistic director. Sandford won the UK Theatre Managers Association award for Best Director for “The Winter Wife,” a play by Claire Tomalin, and for Shakespeare's “Much Ado About Nothing.” He has worked extensively across the UK and in London, both in the West End and on the Fringe. His recent work includes “Bully Boy,” a new play by Sandi Toksvig. His production of Chekov's “Three Sisters” was nominated Best Touring Production. He directed A “Midsummer Night's Dream” in Capetown shortly after the ending of Apartheid, “Oedipus Rex” in the ancient outdoor amphitheater in Paphos, Cyprus, and “Twelfth Night,” in French at the Theatre des 2 Rives in Rouen, France.

About Solo Celebration! 

“Bloodshot” is one of 12 plays featured in Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!,” which includes ten full productions, two limited engagements and other special events running June 2016 through February 2017. Among the other directors connected to solo series are Goodman Theatre Producer and Artistic Collective Member Steve Scott, Writer’s Theatre Resident Director Kimberly Senior, Directors Lab Chicago Artistic Director Elizabeth Margolius and Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate Linda Gillum. Some of the performers confirmed to star in solo works include Jeff Award-winners Kate Buddeke, Gene Weygandt, Linda Reiter acclaimed British actor Simon Slater, Will Allan and Carin Silkaitis. Most productions will be produced in their entirety by Greenhouse, while other plays will be stated with co-producers including Sideshow Theatre Company and The Other Theatre Company. Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” is co-produced by Forum Productions and underwritten by the Wendy and William Spatz Charitable Foundation.

About the Greenhouse Theater Center. 

The Greenhouse Theater Center is a nonprofit performance venue located at 2257 N Lincoln Ave, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Our complex offers two newly remodeled 190-seat main stage spaces, two 60-seat studio theaters, an in-house rehearsal room, and Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre book store.

Our mission at the Greenhouse is first and foremost to grow local theatre. We strive to cultivate a fertile environment for local artists, from individual renters to our bevy of resident companies, to develop and produce their work. In 2014 alone, The Greenhouse Theater Center provided space for almost 1,000 ticketed performances, serving more than 54,000 patrons. Among these events were at least 30 productions by our resident companies, including the celebrated American Blues Theater and Remy Bumpo Theatre Company. Through our Trellis Program, we offer the community affordable access to our work by housing Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre bookstore, located on the second floor of our complex, as well as offering a free reading series each Tuesday night where local artists workshop their latest scripts. Additionally, we also continue to play an active role in cultivating and nurturing our community through continued partnerships with the League of Chicago Theaters and local Chambers of Commerce.

As of 2016, the Greenhouse Theater Center embraced the true spirit of growth and launched its producing entity. With the announcement of our 8 month long Solo Celebration Series, helmed by Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, we will produce 12 solo plays from June 2016 to February 2017. Through this inaugural effort, we hope to expand the solo play cannon while also cultivating a larger conversation about the possibilities of the one-person play.

With new ideas always incubating, the Greenhouse Theater Center is flourishing.

Come grow with us!