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Showing posts with label Rivendell Theatre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rivendell Theatre. Show all posts

Saturday, September 2, 2017

OPENING: World Premiere of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace at Rivendell Theatre

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble in association with Brian Nitzkin 
announces cast for the World Premiere of
Alias Grace
By Margaret Atwood
Adapted for the Stage by Jennifer Blackmer 
Directed by RTE Co-Founder Karen Kessler


Cast features RTE members Ashley Neal and Jane Baxter Miller 
with Steve Haggard, Maura Kidwell, Ayssette Muñoz, 
David Raymond, Amro Salama and Drew Vidal 

September 1 – October 14, 2017

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (RTE), Chicago’s only Equity theatre dedicated to producing new work with women at the core, in association with Brian Nitzkin, announces casting for the world premiere of Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, adapted for the stage by Jennifer Blackmer, and directed by RTE Co-Founder Karen Kessler. Alias Grace runs September 1 – October 14, 2017, at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago. 

*This production of Alias Grace replaces the previously announced Cal in Camo, which will now be presented in January 2018.

The cast includes RTE members Ashley Neal (Grace Marks) and Jane Baxter Miller (Mrs. Humphrey), with Steve Haggard (Simon Jordan), Maura Kidwell (Nancy Montgomery), Ayssette Muñoz  (Mary Whitney), David Raymond (James McDermott), Amro Salama (Jerimiah /Jerome Dupont) and Drew Vidal (Thomas Kinnear).

The designers include RTE member Elvia Moreno (scenic), RTE member Janice Pytel (costumes) and Michael Mahlum (lighting).

A world premiere adaptation of Margaret Atwood's acclaimed novel Alias Grace takes a look at one of Canada's most notorious murderers. In 1843, 16-year-old Grace Marks was accused of brutally murdering her employer and his housekeeper. Imprisoned for years, Grace swears she has no memory of the killings. A doctor in the emerging field of mental health arrives to try to find out the truth of the matter. Alias Grace is a fascinating study of memory, culpability, and the shadowy spaces within the human mind.    

This play was originally developed in collaboration with the Department of Theatre and Dance at Ball State University (http://cms.bsu.edu). 

Following the success of Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale on hulu, Alias Grace has been adapted into a six-part miniseries to debut this fall on Netflix. The miniseries was adapted and produced by Sarah Polley (Away From Her), directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho), and features Anna Paquin.



About the Artists
Karen Kessler (Director) is returning to Rivendell Theatre, a company she was helped found. She is a member of the ensemble at A Red Orchid Theatre where she most recently directed a production of Jennifer Healy’s The Nether. Among Karen’s directing credits are: Wrens (1996 and 2012), The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek, Hamlet, and Ten Tiny Fingers, Nine Tiny Toes at Rivendell; Solstice, Blasted, Gagarin Way, and Mr. Kolpert at Red Orchid; A Number, God of Hell, Into the Woods, and War at other theatres around Chicago; Glengarry Glen Ross at the Northern Stage Ensemble in Newcastle, UK; Macbeth, Scapin, The Three Musketeers, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew and All’s Well That Ends Well at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Karen is a professor of Directing and Shakespeare at Ball State University.

Jennifer Blackmer (Playwright) is the 2015 PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theatre Award winner for Emerging American Playwright. Her plays have been seen in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Berkeley and St. Louis, and include Human Terrain, Unraveled, Alias Grace, Delicate Particle Logic, and Borrowed Babies. In 2016, Jennifer’s screenplay for Human Terrain won the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Foundation prize through the Tribeca Film Institute, and the film is currently in pre-production. Jennifer has also been a finalist for the Sundance Film Institute Sloan Prize, the David Charles Horn Prize for Emerging Playwrights, the Fratti-Newman Political Play Contest, the Firehouse Festival of New American Theatre, and The O’Neill National Playwrights’ Conference, and her writing has been short-listed for both the Princess Grace Award and the Shakespeare’s Sister Fellowship. Her work has been developed by Seven Devils, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, The Playwrights’ Center, The Lark and Activate Midwest. Jennifer is a Professor of Theatre and Associate Provost for Entrepreneurial Learning at Ball State University.

Steve Haggard (Simon Jordan) most recently appeared at Rivendell as Evan in Winter. Chicago credits: 3C, Sender, The Mutilated, Accidentally Like A Martyr, The Aliens, Kimberly Akimbo and The Mandrake (A Red Orchid Theatre) Tribes (Steppenwolf); Doubt, Old Glory, The Subject Was Roses, and Our Town (Writers’); Funnyman, Season’s Greetings, and She Stoops to Conquer (Northlight); Wasteland (Timeline); King Lear, As You Like It and Romeo and Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare). Regional Credits: Arcadia, R+G are Dead, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Tempest, Hay Fever, Comedy of Errors, and Ah Wilderness (American Players Theatre); Almost Maine (Milwaukee Repertory) and Fallen Angels (Indiana Repertory). Steve has appeared in Chicago Fire, Prison Break and several national commercials. He is an ensemble member of A Red Orchid Theatre and a graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University.

Maura Kidwell (Nancy Montgomery) is making her Rivendell debut in Alias Grace. In her eleven years acting in Chicago, Maura has enjoyed working on stage at Theatre Wit, The Gift, Erasing the Distance (ensemble member), and Court Theatre, on television in the series' Sirens, Chicago Fire, Chicago Justice, Mind Games and Boss, in various films including Canal Street ET and Tim Kasher's debut feature No Resolution, and as an on-camera instructor at Vagabond School of the Arts. 

Jane Baxter Miller (Mrs. Humphrey) is a member of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. RTE credits include American Wee-Pie; Falling; A Wake; Self-Defense, or the death of some salesmen; Silence; Faulkner's Bicycle; The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 ¾; and WRENS. Additional Chicago credits include Dandelion Wine with Chicago Children’s Theatre; The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer with Next Theatre; Mr. Kolpert with A Red Orchid Theatre; The Irish and How They Got That Way at the Mercury Theatre, Cowgirls with Northlight Theatre and Pump Boys and Dinettes at Theatre at the Centre. Her film credits include NBC's Chicago Justice and an upcoming Captive State feature film. Jane is a singer and songwriter appearing on numerous recordings through Bloodshot Records. She composed the children’s musical Dirty Cowboy (with follow RTE ensemble member Victoria DeIorio) for Lifeline Theatre. Her critically acclaimed solo recording, Harm Among the Willows, is available through Bloodshot Records and iTunes.

Ayssette Muñoz (Mary Whitney) is an ensemble member with Teatro Vista, where her credits include Wolf at The End of the Block; In the Time of the Butterflies; Between You, Me, and the Lampshade; Romeo & Juliet; and A View from the Bridge. Additional Chicago credits include Ah, Wilderness; Marisol (Goodman Theatre) and understudying in Short Shakes! Romeo & Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). Regional credits include The Comedy of Errors; Richard III (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival). Television credits include Chicago P.D. and she was featured as one of the Chicago Tribune’s “Top 10 Hot New Faces of Chicago Theatre” in 2015.

Ashley Neal (Grace Marks) is an RTE ensemble member and has appeared in many productions including: WRENS, 26 Miles, The Walls, Be Aggressive, and others. Ashley most recently appeared in A Red Orchid Theatre’s The Nether where she also appeared in A Red Handed Otter. Other shows you may have seen her in include: London Wall, Men Should Weep and Stage Door with Griffin Theatre, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle with Steep Theatre, as well as work with Chicago Dramatists, Pine Box, Irish Theatre Company, Step Up, Jackalope Theatre, Victory Gardens, Strawdog, The Greenhouse Theatre, and others. Ashley is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago and The School at Steppenwolf.

David Raymond (James McDermott) has appeared in Chicago in Good People (Redtwist Theatre), It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (Brightside Theatre), and Posh (u/s Steep Theatre, Jeff Award Winner–Best Ensemble). Bay Area credits include work with San Francisco Playhouse, Stanford Repertory Theater, and Custom Made Theatre Company’s 2015 production of This Is Our Youth for which David won an SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award (Best Principal Actor). He has also appeared in commercials and online content. David is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf (2016).

Amro Salama (Jerimiah / Jerome Dupont) is making his Rivendell Theatre debut. His theatre credits include Yasmina's Necklace, the 2016 Jeff Award nominee for Best New Work at 16th Street theatre. Additional Chicago theater credits include the Goodman Theatre where he will be reprising his role in Yasmina's Necklace this fall at the Goodman Theatre. He has performed in numerous play readings at Silk Road Rising and Dramatists. Regional credits: St. Louis: Mustard Seed Theatre; Los Angeles: Cornerstone Theatre, Pacific Resident Theatre, The Hudson Theatre and ACME; NYC: (Off Broadway) Theatricum Botanicum with the premiere of the 2004 Pulitzer Nominated Omnium Gatherum. TV Credits include: Recurring role on the upcoming TV show The Chi for Showtime. Past TV and Film includes: Chicago PD, Shameless, Modern Family, Law and Order, Children's Hospital and Suite Life on Deck.

Drew Vidal (Thomas Kinnear) is returning to Rivendell, having started there as a Fight Director on Silence. Coming up in Chicago, Drew appeared on stage with Famous Door, The Hypocrites, Defiant, Boxer Rebellion, Red Hen, Collaboraction and Tin Fish, among others. More recently, acting credits include The Glass Menagerie (Jim) at Human Race, The Book Club Play (Rob) at KU Rep, Angels in America (Joe) at Ball State, and The Three Musketeers (D’Artagnan) at Illinois Shakespeare Festival; and as a Fight Director, Solstice at A Red Orchid, Water by the Spoonful at Off Square Theatre Company, and Holes at Indiana Repertory Theatre. 

Previews: 
September 1 – 9, 2017 
Friday, September 1 at 8:00pm
Saturday, September 2 at 8:00pm

Wednesday September 6 at 8:00PM
Thursday, September 7 at 8:00pm
Friday, September 8 at 8:00pm
Saturday, September 9 at 8:00pm

VIP Opening: Sunday, September 10, 2017 at 6:00pm
Press opening: Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at 7:00pm
Regular run: September 14 – October 14, 2017

Schedule:
Thursdays-Saturdays at 8:00pm
Saturdays at 4:00pm (select performances)
Sunday, October 8th at 3:00pm
Town Hall Discussions will follow select Saturday matinees

Location: Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago

Tickets: 
General Admission
Previews: $28
Regular: $38

Student, Senior, Active Military, Veteran
Previews: $18
Regular: $28

Pay What You Can: Five seats (10% of the house) are available for each performance. Reservations are made on a first come first served basis.
Subscriptions: $59-$80 for 3-plays  

Box Office: (773) 334-7728 or www.RivendellTheatre.org

Parking and Transportation: Free parking is available in the Senn High School parking lot (located a block and a half from the theatre behind the school off Thorndale Avenue). There is limited paid and free street parking in the area and the theatre is easily accessible via the Clark (#22) or Broadway (#36) bus, and is a short walk from the Bryn Mawr Red Line El station.



About Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Founded in 1994, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble advances women’s lives through the power of theatre. Rivendell cultivates the talents of women artists—writers, actors, directors, designers and technicians—
by seeking out innovative plays that explore unique female experiences and producing them in intimate, salon environments.

Rivendell fills an important role in the Chicago region as the only Equity theatre dedicated to producing artistically challenging and original plays created by and about women. After years of being an itinerant company, we moved into our own theater space in 2010 in Edgewater. As new members of the neighborhood, we are focused on becoming an integral community partner and serving as a catalyst to engage our audiences in a discussion of local social issues.

For more information about Rivendell Theater Ensemble, visit http://rivendelltheatre.org. Follow RTE on Facebook at Facebook.com/rivendelltheatre and on Twitter @RivendellThtr.

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble is supported by generous grants from; The Lester and Hope Abelson Fund; The Alphawood Foundation; The Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development; The Chicago Community Trust; The Chicago Foundation for Women; The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; The Reva and David Logan Foundation; The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust; SIF Fund at The Chicago Community Trust; Cultural Outreach Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events; and the Illinois Arts Council Agency. 

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

OPENING: Skin For Skin at Rivendell Theatre Via The Agency Theater

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

THE AGENCY THEATER COLLECTIVE PRESENTS  
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF 
SKIN FOR SKIN, 
WRITTEN BY PAUL PASULKA AND DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MENENDIAN, 
FEBRUARY 28 – APRIL 2 AT RIVENDELL THEATRE



ChiIL Live Shows will be there for the opening so check back after 3/4 for our full review. 

The Agency Theater Collective is pleased to announce its spring production of the world premiere of Skin For Skin, written by Paul Pasulka and directed by Michael Menendian, February 28  – April 2, at the Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Ave. Previews are Wednesday, Feb. 28 – Friday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. Opening night is Saturday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m. (press are also invited to the final preview, Friday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m.) The performance schedule is Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. The running time is 90 minutes, without intermission. Ticket prices for previews are $20 and for the regular run $28.  For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit WeAreTheAgency.org or call 773.680.4596. 

Skin for Skin depicts the biblical Job as a Muslim-American contractor in Baghdad who is suspected of aiding Al-Qaeda. He is imprisoned in an Abu Ghraib-type ‘black site’ and subjected to ‘enhanced interrogation’ as supervised by an American psychologist. The play explores the unintended consequences of torture in the name of God, country and money. Skin for Skin, originally read at Chicago Dramatists, features choreography from members of Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble and Actors Gymnasium.


The Agency Theater Collective’s Skin for Skin acting company includes: Sunny Anam as “Abdul Walli;” David Goodloe as “Pvt. Ethan Michaels;” Robert Hardaway as “Lt. Milo;” Shariba Rivers as “Dr. O’Brien;” Steve Silver as “Ayyub;” Tony St. Clair as “Colonel Lewis;” Hannah Tarr as “Sgt. Lindsey” with understudies Marcellus Burt, as “Pvt. Ethan Michaels;” as Audrey Gladson,  as “Sgt. Lindsey” and Denise Hoeflich, as “Dr. O’Brien.”

The artistic and production staff of Skin for Skin includes: Michael Menendian, director; Jack Schultz*, assistant director/associate producer; Kat McNall, production manager; Bailey Howard, stage manager; Scott Dare, choreographer; Ellyzabeth Adler, choreographer; Alexandra Garfinkle, dramaturg; Ray Toler, set designer; Cristian Esparza, costume designer; Taylor Tolleson, properties designer: Sebby Woldt, sound designer; Jake Engram, scenic painter; Michael Rathbun, lighting designer; Huck Poe*, projection designer; Manny Ortiz, technical director; Fouad Teymour, script consultant; Andrew Gallant, artistic director of The Agency; Sommer Austin, managing director of the Agency; and Tim Touhy, company manager of The Agency. 
*indicates The Agency Theatre Collective Company member

ABOUT PAUL PASULKA, playwright 
Paul Pasulka is a Chicago playwright and a clinical psychologist in private practice and on faculty at Northwestern University School of Medicine. His plays have been produced and read throughout Chicago and in New York. La Maestra, the story of Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi, received a staged reading with dance, movement and song at Chicago DanzTheatre Ensemble in June 2016 and is scheduled for production in its 2017-18 season.  Gruoch, or Lady Macbeth  was produced by Death and Pretzels in 2015.  When the Levee Breaks was produced as part of The Best of the 10's at Chicago Dramatists and Second City Theatre and was selected as a finalist and for publication at Secret Theatre in New York. Dark Angels was performed at the American Theatre Company (ATC) and Roberto Clemente High School in ATC’s Bridge Program. He has worked with Adventure Stage Theatre in assisting middle school students in writing plays for Young Playwrights for Change. He presented "Neuropsychology, Creativity, and Storytelling" at the Steel Pen Creative Writers' Conference in 2015. He has presented autobiographical stories throughout Chicago, including at Rhinofest and with the GenNarrations Project of The Goodman Theatre, and was invited to read at The International Storytelling Festival in San Miguel Allende, Mexico in 2014.

ABOUT MICHAEL MENENDIAN, director
Michael Menendian is a founding member and the producing artistic director of Raven Theatre, where he has directed and designed sets for many productions, earning numerous Joseph Jefferson and After Dark awards. Along with JoAnn Montemurro, Menendian received a 2007/2008 Jeff Award for Outstanding Contribution to Chicago Theatre and he recently received a 2016 Jeff nomination for his direction of Raven's Direct From Death Row the Scottsboro Boys, which earned a Jeff Award for Outstanding Ensemble. Other local directing credits include productions at Victory Gardens, Chicago Dramatists and Lake Forest College,

ABOUT THE AGENCY THEATER COLLECTIVE
Founded in 2010, The Agency Theater Collective creates relevant, authentic work with a focus on new or rarely produced plays. Past productions include Mia McCullough’s Chagrin Falls this fall at The Den Theatre, Copi’s Four Twins, Clifford Odets’ Paradise LostOut of Tune Confessional, I Wish to Apologize to the People of IllinoisAt the CenterTruth in Context (Non-Equity Jeff Award nominee for Best New Work in 2015/2016) and The Spirit of ’76. The Agency also hosts “No Shame Theatre,” a weekly theatrical open mic, every Saturday night at The Lincoln Loft. The Agency Theater Collective hold the follow principles sacred: revelation, paradox, humor, mischief and collaboration.



Tuesday, January 13, 2015

REVIEW: Cor Theatre's A Map of Virtue at Rivendell

Cor Theatre, the new Chicago company that made its mark with 
Skin Tight at A Red Orchid Theatre in 2012, returns with 
the Midwest premiere of 

Erin Courtney's A Map of Virtue
directed by Cor Theatre Artistic Director Tosha Fowler.

This sinister, symmetrical, and cyclical drama is a multilayered miasma of victims, abuse, love and obsessions. And woven throughout the coincidences and compulsions are the birds. Inescapably everywhere are the birds. We enjoyed the creative verbal structure of the production which has very little dialogue or action, a sentient bird statue, a lot of interconnecting monologues and a few disturbing songs. The Cor in Cor Theatre stands for Courage and this courageous cadre of actors does their theme and mission statement justice with A Map of Virtue. Check out this Obie Award winner (2012) and New York Times Critic’s Pick. Highly recommended.


Adam Benjamin is Ray and Scottie Caldwell is The Bird 
in Cor Theatre’s Midwest premiere of Erin Courtney’s A Map of Virtue. 
Cor Artistic Director Tosha Fowler directs Courtney’s psychological thriller, playing through February 14, 2015 at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Ave, Chicago. 
For tickets and information, visit cortheatre.org or call (866) 811-4111.  Photo credit: Ryan Bourque



Scottie Caldwell plays The Bird in Cor Theatre’s Midwest premiere of Erin Courtney’s A Map of Virtue. Photo credit: Ryan Bourque

The uncanny coincidences seem almost predestined and it's a pleasure to get inside these fabulously flawed characters' heads. It's intriguing how molded and changed they are by the real and the imagined. Their obsessions and inner thought processes alter them and their trajectory as much as actual life events.

 

(standing) Scottie Caldwell (The Bird), (below, from left) Eleni Pappageorge (June), Nick Mikula (Nate), Mallory Nees (Sarah) and Will Von Vogt (Mark). Photo credit: Ryan Bourque

A Map of Virtue is a powerful and poetic look at the cyclical nature of abuse and opposites. The plot expands with the interconnectedness of people via random repeat meetings and a reoccurring bird motif in statue, tattoo, mask, story, and actual form. The bird mask terrified the protagonists and ultimately enabled their rescue. The tattoos were inked and then removed with great thought and intent. And the statue was let go and came back. 

I'm fascinated that opposite desires and motivations caused the protagonists, Mark and Sarah, to make the very same dangerous choices. Audiences will be mulling over, and circling back to the themes of this production days later. This brilliant piece speaks as loudly in the spaces between words, and the thoughts unspoken, as it does in the human interaction between characters, and that's rare to pull off on stage, in a medium where words are king. 

Act Out: Chicago Theatre openings, closings, reviews, giveaways, ticket sale dates and more via ChiIL Live Shows. 


Part interview, part comedy, part middle-of-the-night horror story, 
A Map of Virtue is a hauntingly romantic play about a shared obsession 
that leaves a group of friends stranded in the woods. A bird statue is the guide through this symmetrical tale about the limits of our virtues and what we leave behind.

"one of the most terrifying plays of the past decade" 
- The New York Times 

*Free parking is available at Senn High School.*






A hauntingly romantic play with a mystery at its center, A Map of Virtue was hailed “one of the most terrifying plays of the past decade” by the New York Times. It premiered at New York’s 13P in 2012, won an Obie Award and was named a New York Times Critic’s Pick. 

Cor Theatre's Midwest premiere of A Map of Virtue will be only the play's second professional production. Cor Artistic Director Tosha Fowler will direct. The cast includes Will Von Vogt (Mark), Mallory Ness (Sarah), Nick Mikula (Nate), Ruben Adorno (Victor), Eleni Pappageorge (June), Adam Benjamin (Ray) and Scottie Caldwell  (The Bird). 

Designers are Tierra G. Novy (set), Stefin Steberl (costumes and props), Eric Vigo (lights) and Jeffrey Levin (sound). Elyse Cowles is assistant director/dramaturg. Production stage manager is Navid Afshar.

Cor Theatre will present A Map of Virtue January 8-February 14, 2015 at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Ave., in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood. Previews are Thursday and Friday, January 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. Soft Opening is Saturday, January 10 at 7:30 p.m. Preview and Soft Opening tickets are $10. 

Regular performances continue January 15 through February 14: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 5 p.m. Performances are $25; $10 students and industry. Tickets to A Map of Virtue go on sale December 1. For tickets and information, visit cortheater.org or call (866) 811-4111.





Adam Benjamin is Ray and Eleni Pappageorge plays June in Cor Theatre’s Midwest premiere of Erin Courtney’s A Map of Virtue. Photo credit: Ryan Bourque


Will Von Vogt is Mark and Eleni Pappageorge plays June. Photo credit: Ryan Bourque 
  
More about Cor Theatre's A Map of Virtue
Tosha Fowler (director) is the co-founder of Cor Theatre, where she produced and acted in the critically acclaimed Skin Tight, under the direction of Victoria Delorio. Also with Cor she co-produced, wrote and performed in her original solo show, Mami, Where'd my O go? Fowler has produced theatre for almost ten years for companies including Mary-Arrchie Theatre, The Chicago Fringe Festival, The Academy Theatre in Atlanta, and her founding company, Fowl Brick in Savannah, Georgia. Her directing credits include A Doctor's Stories, Poof! and Bash and Bully Breakdown in HD. As an actress, Fowler has performed in Chicago with Lifeline Theatre, Emerald City, MPAACT, Cock & Bull and Circle Theatre. She has worked as a playwright with American Theatre Company's "Chicago Chronicle Project," the DePaul University Diversity Initiative, and the Academy Theater. Fowler is an adjunct professor in Theatre at DePaul University, and she holds an MFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul.

Erin Courtney (playwright) has said A Map of Virtue "is about people fantasizing about other people's lives, thinking their lives are better than their own lives, and really we are all just trying to get by." 

A Map of Virtue has been published along with her play Black Cat Lost by 53rd State Press. Courtney's other works include Honey Drop, Alice the MagnetQuiver and Twitch, and Demon Baby. Her work has been produced and developed by Clubbed Thumb, The Flea, New York Stage and Film, Adhesive Theater, Soho Rep, The Vineyard and The Public. She collaborated with Elizabeth Swados on the opera Kaspar Hauser and is starting work on a new musical with Swados on the life of Isabelle Eberhardt. She was a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2013, a NYSCA grant, two MAP Fund grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, and has been a resident at the MacDowell Colony. Demon Baby is published in two anthologies; New Downtown Now, edited by Mac Wellman and Young Jean Lee and published by University of Minnesota Press, and Funny, Strange, Provocative: Seven Plays by Clubbed Thumb edited by Maria Striar and Erin Detrick and published by Playscripts, Inc. She is an affiliated artist with Clubbed Thumb, a member of 13P, and a member of New Dramatists. She teaches in the MFA playwriting program at Brooklyn College and is a co-founder of Brooklyn Writers Space. She is a graduate of Mac Wellman's MFA program at Brooklyn College in 2003, and earned her BA at Brown University in 1990.



(From left/back to front) Scottie Caldwell (The Bird), Mallory Nees (Sarah), Nick Mikula (Nate), Ruben Adorno (Victor) and Will Von Vogt (Mark). Photo credit: Ryan Bourque

About Cor Theatre
Cor Theatre (cortheater.org) is a professional theatre company committed to producing stories about courage and exploring the hidden hero within us all. The company believes that there are certain intrinsic values that connect people at the core of their being. Cor Theatre seeks to expose those values.

Cor debuted in September 2012 with its production of Skin Tight by Gary Henderson at Chicago's A Red Orchid Theatre. About a powerful, enduring love, complete with punches, laughter, knife fights, confessions and forgiveness, Skin Tight was rewarded with enthusiastic audiences, critical acclaim and made just enough money to establish a not-for-profit corporation. The company named itself Cor Theatre, deriving its name from the Latin root of courage - meaning heart.

Today, Cor is a new and ambitious Chicago professional theatre company under the leadership of Tosha Fowler, Artistic Director, and Navid Afshar, Managing Director. Company members include Chris Brickhouse, Elyse Cowles, Brian Crawford, Claire Meyers, Stefin Steberl and Will Von Vogt.With strong experience behind it, Cor is committed to produce works that provide an environment in which its audience can explore the unexplored and expect the unexpected.

Cor will return to Rivendell Theatre in the spring, June 4-July 11, 2015 with Love and Human Remains, the first Chicago professional production in nearly 20 years of the ground-breaking play originally titled Unidentified Human Remains and the Nature of True Love. Ernie Nolan will direct.




Will Von Vogt is Mark and Scottie Caldwell is The Bird in Cor Theatre’s Midwest premiere of 
Erin Courtney’s A Map of Virtue. Photo credit: Ryan Bourque 


(from left) Will Von Vogt is Mark, Mallory Nees plays Sarah and Nick Mikula is Nate in Cor Theatre’s Midwest premiere of Erin Courtney’s A Map of Virtue. Photo credit: Ryan Bourque

For more information, visit cortheater.org, call (866) 811-4111, like Cor Theatre on Facebook or follow the company on Twitter, @TheatreCor.

Rivendell Theatre
5779 N. Ridge Ave
Chicago, IL 60660
Edgewater Neighborhood
Rivendell is a few short blocks away from both the Bryn Mawr Red Line el stop, as well as the Clark Street #22 bus. 

Sunday, January 11, 2015

OPENING: Cor Theatre's A Map of Virtue at Rivendell Theatre 1/8-2/14


A Map of Virtue by Erin Courtney

Part interview, part comedy, part middle-of-the-night horror story, 
A Map of Virtue is a hauntingly romantic play about a shared obsession 
that leaves a group of friends stranded in the woods. A bird statue is the guide through this symmetrical tale about the limits of our virtues and what we leave behind.

ChiIL Live Shows is catching the press opening tonight, so check back like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often. Our full review will be live soon.

"one of the most terrifying plays of the past decade" 
- The New York Times 


Act Out:  Chicago Theatre openings, closings, reviews, giveaways, ticket sale dates and more via ChiIL Live Shows. 

ChiIL Live Shows will be there for the press opening, so check back soon for our full review. In the meantime, book your tickets now for the best selection on dates. Seating is GA.

*Free parking is available at Senn High School.*


A hauntingly romantic play with a mystery at its center, A Map of Virtue was hailed “one of the most terrifying plays of the past decade” by the New York Times. It premiered at New York’s 13P in 2012, won an Obie Award and was named a New York Times Critic’s Pick. 



Cor Theatre, the new Chicago company that made its mark with 
Skin Tight at A Red Orchid Theatre in 2012, returns with the Midwest premiere of 
Erin Courtney's A Map of Virtue
directed by Cor Theatre Artistic Director Tosha Fowler.

  
Cor Theatre's Midwest premiere of A Map of Virtue will be only the play's second professional production. Cor Artistic Director Tosha Fowler will direct. The cast includes Will Von Vogt (Mark), Mallory Ness (Sarah), Nick Mikula (Nate), Ruben Adorno (Victor), Eleni Pappageorge (June), Adam Benjamin (Ray) and Scottie Caldwell  (The Bird). 

Designers are Tierra G. Novy (set), Stefin Steberl (costumes and props), Eric Vigo (lights) and Jeffrey Levin (sound). Elyse Cowles is assistant director/dramaturg. Production stage manager is Navid Afshar.

Cor Theatre will present A Map of Virtue January 8-February 14, 2015 at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Ave., in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood. Previews are Thursday and Friday, January 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. Soft Opening is Saturday, January 10 at 7:30 p.m. Preview and Soft Opening tickets are $10. 

Regular performances continue January 15 through February 14: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 5 p.m. Performances are $25; $10 students and industry. Tickets to A Map of Virtue go on sale December 1. For tickets and information, visit cortheater.org or call (866) 811-4111.



  
More about Cor Theatre's A Map of Virtue
Tosha Fowler (director) is the co-founder of Cor Theatre, where she produced and acted in the critically acclaimed Skin Tight, under the direction of Victoria Delorio. Also with Cor she co-produced, wrote and performed in her original solo show, Mami, Where'd my O go? Fowler has produced theatre for almost ten years for companies including Mary-Arrchie Theatre, The Chicago Fringe Festival, The Academy Theatre in Atlanta, and her founding company, Fowl Brick in Savannah, Georgia. Her directing credits include A Doctor's Stories, Poof! and Bash and Bully Breakdown in HD. As an actress, Fowler has performed in Chicago with Lifeline Theatre, Emerald City, MPAACT, Cock & Bull and Circle Theatre. She has worked as a playwright with American Theatre Company's "Chicago Chronicle Project," the DePaul University Diversity Initiative, and the Academy Theater. Fowler is an adjunct professor in Theatre at DePaul University, and she holds an MFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul.

Erin Courtney (playwright) has said A Map of Virtue "is about people fantasizing about other people's lives, thinking their lives are better than their own lives, and really we are all just trying to get by." 

A Map of Virtue has been published along with her play Black Cat Lost by 53rd State Press. Courtney's other works include Honey Drop, Alice the MagnetQuiver and Twitch, and Demon Baby. Her work has been produced and developed by Clubbed Thumb, The Flea, New York Stage and Film, Adhesive Theater, Soho Rep, The Vineyard and The Public. She collaborated with Elizabeth Swados on the opera Kaspar Hauser and is starting work on a new musical with Swados on the life of Isabelle Eberhardt. She was a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2013, a NYSCA grant, two MAP Fund grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, and has been a resident at the MacDowell Colony. Demon Baby is published in two anthologies; New Downtown Now, edited by Mac Wellman and Young Jean Lee and published by University of Minnesota Press, and Funny, Strange, Provocative: Seven Plays by Clubbed Thumb edited by Maria Striar and Erin Detrick and published by Playscripts, Inc. She is an affiliated artist with Clubbed Thumb, a member of 13P, and a member of New Dramatists. She teaches in the MFA playwriting program at Brooklyn College and is a co-founder of Brooklyn Writers Space. She is a graduate of Mac Wellman's MFA program at Brooklyn College in 2003, and earned her BA at Brown University in 1990.


  
About Cor Theatre
 Cor Theatre (cortheater.org) is a professional theatre company committed to producing stories about courage and exploring the hidden hero within us all. The company believes that there are certain intrinsic values that connect people at the core of their being. Cor Theatre seeks to expose those values.

Cor debuted in September 2012 with its production of Skin Tight by Gary Henderson at Chicago's A Red Orchid Theatre. About a powerful, enduring love, complete with punches, laughter, knife fights, confessions and forgiveness, Skin Tight was rewarded with enthusiastic audiences, critical acclaim and made just enough money to establish a not-for-profit corporation. The company named itself Cor Theatre, deriving its name from the Latin root of courage - meaning heart.

Today, Cor is a new and ambitious Chicago professional theatre company under the leadership of Tosha Fowler, Artistic Director, and Navid Afshar, Managing Director. Company members include Chris Brickhouse, Elyse Cowles, Brian Crawford, Claire Meyers, Stefin Steberl and Will Von Vogt.With strong experience behind it, Cor is committed to produce works that provide an environment in which its audience can explore the unexplored and expect the unexpected.

Cor will return to Rivendell Theatre in the spring, June 4-July 11, 2015 with Love and Human Remains, the first Chicago professional production in nearly 20 years of the ground-breaking play originally titled Unidentified Human Remains and the Nature of True Love. Ernie Nolan will direct.

For more information, visit cortheater.org, call (866) 811-4111, like Cor Theatre on Facebook or follow the company on Twitter, @TheatreCor.

Rivendell Theatre
5779 N. Ridge Ave
Chicago, IL 60660
Edgewater Neighborhood
Rivendell is a few short blocks away from both the Bryn Mawr Red Line el stop, as well as the Clark Street #22 bus. 

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