OPENING: World Premiere of The Displaced Via Haven Theatre at The Den Theatre

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:

Haven Theatre Present the World Premiere of

THE DISPLACED

By Isaac Gomez

Directed by Jo Cattell

May 31 – July 1, 2018 at The Den Theatre

Haven Theatre is pleased to conclude its 2017-18 Season with the world premiere of THE DISPLACED, an electrifying thriller exploring the heartbreak of gentrification and the scars we leave on each other. Written by Isaac Gomez and directed by Jo Cattell, THE DISPLACED will play May 31 – July 1, 2018 at The Den Theatre's Janet Bookspan Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets go on sale shortly at haventheatrechicago.com. 

THE DISPLACED features Rashaad Hall and Karen Rodriguez.

Marísa and Lev have just moved into their new Pilsen apartment in hopes of rekindling a spark that’s long been extinguished. While looking for the circuit breaker in the attic, a mysterious coconut appears, leftover from the previous tenants with a dark history inside it. The Displaced explores the wake of pain and yearning left behind when gentrification forces people out of their homes and the kind of vengeance that can come from it.

Comments Haven Artistic Director Josh Sobel, "The best horror stories, in my view, always have something deeper to say about the world we live in – a warped-mirror reflection of the reality we so often choose to ignore, an attempt to shock us into seeing. This is so much of the power and potency of Isaac Gomez's electrifying new play, The Displaced – a thriller with its heart anchored in the devastating cost of gentrification that is happening even right now in our very own city. Isaac's voice first blew me away in 2016 with his utterly riveting and ravaging The Way She Spoke, and it became immediately clear that this is someone whose point of view I dearly wanted at Haven Theatre. It is a privilege to make that dream a reality with Isaac's stunning world premiere."

The production team for THE DISPLACED includes Arnel Sancianco (scenic design), Christine Pascual (costume design), Erik Barry (lighting design), Sarah D. Espinoza (sound design), Emily Boyd (props design), Rachel Flesher (intimacy/fight/rigging design), Marika Mashburn (casting director), Rebecca Adelsheim (dramaturg), David Moreland (technical director) and MJ Dougherty (stage manager).

Location: The Den Theatre's Bookspan Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Dates: 
Previews: Thursday, May 31 at 8 pm, Friday, June 1 at 8 pm, Saturday, June 2 at 8 pm and Tuesday, June 5 at 8 pm

Regular run: Thursday, June 7 – Sunday, March 11, 2018
Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 3 pm.

Tickets: Previews: pay-what-you-can. Regular run $18. Tickets on sale at haventheatrechicago.com.

Artist Biographies
Isaac Gomez (Playwright) is a playwright and dramaturg currently working as the Director of New Play Development at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago where he curates the Public Programs series, directs the new play development department and heads the IGNITION Festival of New Plays. As a playwright, he has worked with the Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theater Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Victory Gardens Theater, Pivot Arts, American Theater Company, Chicago Dramatists, Teatro Vista, Definition Theater Company, Greenhouse Theater Center, Sideshow Theater Company, Broken Nose Theater and Something Marvelous. He is the Co-Creative Director at the Alliance of Latinx Theatre Artists in Chicago where he runs and is a participant of El Semillero: ALTA Chicago's Latinx Playwrights Circle, a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists, an Ensemble Member with Teatro Vista, Artistic Associate with Pivot Arts, Artistic Curator for Theater on the Lake 2017/2018, a steering committee member of the Latinx Theatre Commons (LTC) and an artistic community member at The Hypocrites in Chicago. He is also a Professional Lecturer of Theater Studies at The Theatre School at DePaul University. 

Jo Cattell (Director) is currently creating An Epic Tale of Scale for Chicago Childrens’ Theatre, with Henry Wishcamper for performance in 2018. She is part of the LightPoets (along with dandypunk and Darin Basile), whose immersive theatre show, HEARTCORPS: Riders of the Storyboard premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and is currently in development for a full production. Recent credits: Associate Director on Shakespeare in Love (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Tumbao (Steppenwolf 1700 Theatre), Don Chipotle: Origin, a pilot webisode. Jo has worked with numerous theatre and television companies, including the BBC, Sky Television, Cirque du Soleil, Chicago the Musical (West End, Korean/Japanese Tour), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (West End), Stomp Out Loud (Las Vegas), Pentabus Theatre, Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, Goodman Theatre, Route 66, Origin Theatre, Leviathan Lab and Culture Project. Jo was awarded the 3Arts Award for her work as a theatre maker in 2016.


About Haven Theatre:
NEXT GENERATION. NEW CANON. SOCIAL PROFIT.

We exist to be a Haven for The Future. We achieve this through championing the next generation of playwrights, directors and actors by producing and promoting plays and performances that are staking their claim as the immediate future of this art form, and by investing in those at the very beginning of their professional journeys. Through this inspiration, we seek to ignite in each audience member a hope for the Future - the Future of theatre and performance, the Future of each other, the Future of our community.

KUDOS TO JO CATTEL, MICHAEL MAGGIO DIRECTING FELLOW AT GOODMAN THEATRE

JO CATTELL NAMED 2017/2018 MICHAEL MAGGIO DIRECTING FELLOW AT GOODMAN THEATRE

***FORMER MICHAEL MAGGIO FELLOW VANESSA STALLING DIRECTS THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF THE WOLVES, NOW EXTENDED THROUGH MARCH 18TH***

Goodman Theatre announces Jo Cattell as the recipient of the 2017/2018 Michael Maggio Directing Fellowship, an honor reserved for early-career Chicago-based directors. Cattell will gain complete access to the artistic process at the Goodman, including the opportunity to assist on a Goodman production—from early research and design through the casting and rehearsal process to the opening. The annual fellowship was established in 2002 to honor the memory and artistry of Goodman Associate Artistic Director Michael Maggio (1951 – 2000) who directed a total of 22 productions at the Goodman and more than 60 productions around the country.

“Exposure is part of an artist’s process, so it is thrilling to be gifted a year submerged in the expertise of the Goodman’s creative and production team(s), and I eagerly anticipate the many ways in which my work will be, consequently lifted,” said Cattell. “My artistry is taking me on adventures exploring different theatrical forms and how that impacts both the space we share and storytelling. Now, more than ever, it is imperative for us to create space for people to come together and share experience.”

Cattell is currently creating An Epic Tale of Scale for Chicago Children’s Theatre, with Goodman Artistic Associate Henry Wishcamper, for a performance later this year. She is part of the LightPoets (along with dandypunk and Darin Basile), whose immersive theater show, HEARTCORPS: Riders of the Storyboard, premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and is currently in development for a full production. Recent credits include associate director on Shakespeare in Love (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Tumbao (Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s 1700 Theatre) and Don Chipotle: Origin, a pilot webisode. Cattell has worked with numerous theater and television companies, including the BBC, Sky Television, Cirque du Soleil, Chicago the musical (West End, Korean/Japanese tour), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (West End), Stomp Out Loud (Las Vegas), Pentabus Theatre, Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, Route 66, Origin Theatre, Leviathan Lab and Culture Project. Cattell was awarded the 3Arts Award for her work as a theatermaker in 2016.

Former Michael Maggio Directing Fellow Vanessa Stalling (2015/2016) launches the 2018 Owen Theatre season with the Chicago premiere of Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves. Hailed as a “smart, hilarious, delightful meditation on society, sex and soccer” (The Village Voice), the play features a 10-member all-female, all-Chicago cast and follows a suburban soccer girls team as they navigate life’s big questions and wage their own tiny battles. The Wolves is now extended through March 18, 2018 in Goodman Theatre’s 350-seat flexible Owen Theatre. Tickets ($10 - $47; subject to change) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/TheWolves by phone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 N. Dearborn).

Previous Maggio Fellows also include: Jess McLeod (2016/2017), Marti Lyons (2014/2015), Erica Weiss (2013/2014), Jimmy McDermott (2012/2013), Anna Bahow (2011/2012), Joanie Schultz (2009/2010), Anthony Moseley (2007/2008), Dado (2006/2007), Ann Filmer (2005/2006), Mignon McPherson-Nance (2003/2004) and Lynn Ann Bernatowicz (2002/2003).

ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
AMERICA’S “BEST REGIONAL THEATRE” (Time magazine), Goodman Theatre is a premier not-for-profit organization distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and civic engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics (celebrated revivals include Falls’ productions of Death of a Salesman and The Iceman Cometh). Goodman Theatre artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards, over 160 Jeff Awards and many more accolades. In addition, the Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle” and its annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this season, has created a new generation of theatergoers. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production partner with local off-Loop theaters and national and international companies by providing financial support or physical space for a variety of artistic endeavors.

Committed to three core values of Quality, Diversity and Community, the Goodman proactively makes inclusion the fabric of the institution and develops education and community engagement programs that support arts as education. This practice uses the process of artistic creation to inspire and empower youth, lifelong learners and audiences to find and/or enhance their voices, stories and abilities. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of such programming, most offered free of charge, and has vastly expanded the theater’s ability to touch the lives of Chicagoland citizens (with 85% of youth participants coming from underserved communities) since its 2016 opening.

Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr. is Chair of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Cynthia K. Scholl is Women’s Board President and Justin A. Kulovsek is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.