Pages

Showing posts with label Ruth Page Center for The Arts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ruth Page Center for The Arts. Show all posts

Thursday, May 2, 2013

SAVE THE DATE: THODOS DANCE CHICAGO 13 TH NEW DANCES SERIES JULY 19-21 AT THE RUTH PAGE




THODOS DANCE CHICAGO DEVELOPS AND CELEBRATES ITS DANCERS' SKILLS AS CHOREOGRAPHERS AT  
13 TH NEW DANCES SERIES, JULY 19-21 AT THE RUTH PAGE

 
 
 
Thodos Dance Chicago will celebrate 13 years of dance creation with its annual New Dances performance series, July 19-21, 2013 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago.  Performances are Friday and Saturday, July 19 and 20 at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, July 21 at 5 pm. Tickets are $35; $28 for students and seniors; $20 industry (dancers and teachers); $10 for children 12 and under and for groups of 10 or more. Tickets are on sale now at thodosdancechicago.org or by calling 312.266.6255.

Dovetailing this year's lucky 13 theme, 13 Thodos Dance Chicago ensemble members will create 10 world premieres including three collaborations for this year's festival of new work: Cara Carper and Brian Hare, John Cartwright, Caitlin Cucchiara and Diana Robertson, Annie Deutz, Ray Doñes and Jon Sloven, Kyle Hadenfeldt, Joshua Manculich, Jessica Miller Tomlinson, Alissa Tollefson and Carrie Patterson.

In addition to works created from within by TDC ensemble members, each year a guest choreographer is selected from the community to create a new work for the project. This year, Ahmad Simmons, a dancer with River North Dance Chicago, is guest choreographer for New Dances.

Through New Dances, TDC's company members are not only given the freedom to create their own new work, they are also put in a directive position to make all production decisions for their work. This includes casting their dance with dancers from within as well as outside the company in the greater Chicago dance community, scheduling rehearsal time, collaborating with lighting and costume designers, budgeting, marketing and even creating and executing a fundraiser for the project. By being nurtured and promoted within the organization, Thodos ensemble members gain much-needed hands-on experience as choreographers backed up with strong production skills. This experience will serve them well during and following their careers as performers.



 
 

Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of New Dances for TDC's dancer/choreographers is the opportunity to be mentored during the creation process by some of Chicago's top dance professionals. This year's panel is comprised of Jeff Hancock, founding member of River North Dance Chicago, now a lecturer at Northwestern University's dance program; Kristina Fluty, movement collaborator with Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak; Willy Shives, former dancer with the Joffrey Ballet; and Meghann Wilkinson, collaborating ensemble member with Lucky Plush Productions. This diverse and knowledgeable group will come together for two extensive private showings of all ten dances. During these showings they will share their feedback, advice and expertise to help guide the choreographers as they prepare to debut their work for the public in July.                                                                                                                  
Last year's New Dances was hailed as "sharp, engaging and tightly produced" by the Chicago Tribune, boasting "top flight work...polished to a high shine" according to seechicagodance.com.  Since the series' debut 12 years ago, Thodos' New Dances has provided the framework for nearly 100 Chicago-based choreographers and more than 200 dance artists to develop and showcase their skills and build their reputations.  Many works from past New Dances series have entered the repertory of Thodos Dance and been showcased at festivals ranging from Dance Chicago to the prestigious Jacob's Pillow. Others were embraced and received subsequent productions by noted directors Gerald Arpino of the Joffrey and Jim Vincent of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

New Dances choreographers have gone on to set works on Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, River North Dance Chicago, Dutch National Ballet Project, Dance Kaleidoscope, Atlanta Ballet, Dance Works Chicago, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Idaho Dance Theatre, Grand Rapids Ballet, Giordano Dance Chicago, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble and the second companies of Alvin Ailey and American Ballet Theater.  Likewise, Thodos New Dances choreographers have won many awards and top honors including the Ruth Page Award on two occasions, the Cliff Dwellers Award for Choreography, even a Top Chicagoan in the Arts by the Chicago Tribune. In 2009 and 2010 New Dances choreographers won the top prize in The A.W.A.R.D. Show! presented by The Joyce Theater Foundation in association with The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and On the Boards (Seattle).

About Thodos Dance Chicago   

According to Melissa Thodos, company founder, artistic director and creator of this nationally unique series, "New Dances embodies one of the many things we value so much at Thodos Dance Chicago - dance creation. It is a critical component of our mission - nurturing and supporting talented dance artists from within our own ensemble by creating a platform to express their own choreographic vision."

In 1992, Thodos, a young Evanston-born, Chicago-based dancer and choreographer, was frustrated with the lack of opportunities for local dancers to work in what in her mind was the obvious environment for any well-rounded dance professional:  A place to perform. A place to create. And a place to educate. Fast forward 20 years, and Thodos is the only female choreographer to have helmed her own mid-sized, contemporary dance company in Chicago for two decades with this unique mission, and perhaps the only local artistic director who offers her ensemble the honor and responsibility to pursue dance as a performer, choreographer and educator. 

In addition to dance creation and performance, dance education is the third critical focus of Thodos Dance Chicago's mission. As a teaching company, company members hold BAs and MFAs in dance, teach at the elementary, high school and university levels, and regularly lead workshops and master classes as part of company residencies around the country.  TDC also fulfills the education component of its mission by offering dance instruction for ages 3 to adult at its rehearsal space, Chicago's Menomonee Club for Boys and Girls, where it also trains its own Thodos Youth Ensemble.     

 


Thodos Dance Chicago continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Founder and Artistic Director Melissa Thodos, Executive Director Gail Ford, Grants and Booking Director Rick Johnston, Board President Elaine Rosenfeld Margulis, a dedicated board of directors and administrative staff, and the support of thousands of contemporary dance enthusiasts both in Chicago and nationwide. 

 Current TDC ensemble members, who each teach, choreograph and perform with innovative flair, include Cara Carper, John Cartwright, Caitlin Cucchiara, Annie Deutz, Ray Dones, Alissa Tollefson, Kyle Hadenfeldt, Brian Hare, Joshua Manculich, Jessica Miller Tomlinson, Diana Robertson and Jon Sloven. Laura Gates is the company's rehearsal director and ballet mistress.  The company is supported by the Illinois Arts Council - a state agency, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs - City Arts Program II, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Saints and many individual and corporate sponsors.  For more information, visit thodosdancechicago.org.



All Photos by Cheryl Mann--Thodos Dance Chicago's 12th annual New Dances series in 2012: Cara Carper and Carrie Nicastro in Scaled Gray by Brian Hare; Caitlin Cucchiara in Two Too by John Cartwright; Ray Doñes and Cecilia Ferguson-Bell in Phylum by Jon Sloven; Brian Hare and Caitlin Cucchiara in Lullaby by 2012 guest choreographer Brian Enos. 


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Multicultural Dance: KARIM TONSY “CURFEW” PRODUCTION 12/6 & 7



Karim Tonsy is excited to announce his upcoming show “CURFEW,” as he embarks on the creation of his 21st theatrical production with the ever-evolving “Karim Tonsy Egyptian Physical Dance Company” (KTED). From Italy to Egypt, London, Lebanon and now America, Karim has captured the hearts of those who share his love and passion of Dance and the Performing Arts.

“CURFEW” examines the boundaries and the liberties of “freedom” in its many forms- physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Karim seeks to provoke thoughtful contemplation of how we become at peace with what we can control and what we cannot. This will be a personal and intimate poetic journey as Karim recalls the recent, heartbreaking loss of his father and the restrictive circumstances that prevented Karim from reaching him in his final days. Karim reflects on the turmoil and constraints in his beloved homeland, Egypt, coupled with the hope of the freedom he aspires to in making a new home in America. Karim seeks a harmonious marriage of the two countries he loves.  The mission of KTED is to connect the cultures through the universal expression of dance and movement.

KTED celebrates six years of cross cultural dance theatre in Chicago. As a part of the company’s outreach agenda, KTED, a nonprofitorganization, is committed to broadening cultural awareness through ancient and modern dance movement.

Karim Tonsy is an international choreographer from Cairo, Egypt. After finishing his studies in theatre and movement at the American University in Cairo, Karim attended London Contemporary Dance School for further training in contemporary dance. He began his career with the establishment of his dance company, KTED, and directed his first performance in Cairo, Egypt. Karim has experience working with directors in Egypt, Italy, London, Lebanon, and Chicago, and teaches classes at the renowned Equinox Fitness Clubs.

“Curfew” runs Thursday Dec. 6th and Friday Dec. 7th at Ruth Page Center of the Arts, Chicago IL. Purchase tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com. General tickets are $25.00, Seniors/Students are $20.00, and Children under 12 are $10.00.



Thursday, October 11, 2012

ACT OUT: 2012-13 Season Begins TODAY In New Digs for Chicago Children's Theatre





ITINERANT NO MORE, CHICAGO CHILDREN’S THEATRE’S 2012-13 SEASON TO BE STAGED IN ONE CONVENIENT LOCATION: THE RUTH PAGE CENTER FOR THE ARTS


THREE
FAMILY-FRIENDLY SHOWS ON TAP FOR 2012-13:
HAROLD AND THE
PURPLE CRAYON
, BUD, NOT BUDDY AND THE
PREMIERE OF
THE ELEPHANT & THE WHALE WITH
REDMOON


Woo hoo!   Harold and the Purple Crayon opens today!!  Check it out.   This book was one of my kids' childhood favs and I remember it from my early days, too.   We can't wait to see what magic Chicago Children's Theatre and director, Sean Graney, have planned for the musical adaptation.   Get your tickets today for this Chicago premier!   Ages 3 and up...and up....and up.

ChiIL Mama was thrilled to meet with Jacqueline Russell, Frank Maugeri and other key production staff for the upcoming season at Chicago Children's Theatre.   We're beyond stoked to see our favs play so well with others.   The collaboration between Redmoon's Frank Maugeri and Chicago Children's Theatre on The Elephant & The Whale is bound to be epic!

We hope to have more original video interviews here at ChiIL Mama/ChiIL Live Shows and we'll have loads of updates as each show opens.   Right now we're so excited to see Harold and the Purple Crayon opening this weekend.   Our readers will get a sneak peek at the early production sketches for this season's sets, costumes and so much more.


Chicago Children’s Theatre (CCT) and Artistic Director Jacqueline Russell are delighted to announce the company has a new home and will be an Artist
In-Residence at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago for the entire 2012-2013 season.



In addition to welcoming its audience to one convenient destination all
season, Chicago’s #1 presenter of top-quality professional
children’s theater is thrilled to confirm three wildly imaginative productions for 2012-2013 – the Chicago premiere of a new musical version of
Harold and the Purple Crayon, directed by Sean Graney
(Oct. 11-Nov. 4, 2012),


an adaptation of the Newberry Medal winning novel
Bud, Not Buddy,
directed by
Derrick Sanders (Jan.12-Feb. 24, 2013),

and the world premiere of The Elephant & The Whale, created by Frank Maugeri, co-directed by Maugeri and Leslie Buxbaum Danzig, with a script by Seth Bockley and music by Kevin O’Donnell, produced in association with Redmoon (Apr. 10-May 26, 2013).
After seven years of being itinerant, we are so looking forward to our new
residency at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts because it gives Chicagoland families one consistent location to experience a full season of exceptional theatrical programming,” said Chicago Children’s Theatre Artistic Director and Co-Founder Jacqueline Russell. “Ruth Page was home for our 2010 smash hit Jackie and Me so we can’t wait to bring our audience back for three consecutive productions sure to delight children of all ages.”

Also new for 2012-2013: The performance schedules for all three
productions include family-friendly 6:30 pm Thursday shows, proceeded
by pizza parties in the Ruth Page Center’s multi-purpose room
starting at 5:30 pm. On Friday evenings, families are encouraged to
kick off their weekend by wearing their PJs to the 6:30 pm show, and
stay after for a fun post-show PJ Party with members of the cast.

In addition to its three-play season at the Ruth Page Center, Chicago
Children’s Theatre will take its season-opener Harold and the Purple Crayon on a regional tour after its downtown run, with performances November 7-11 at the Beverly Arts Center, 2401 W. 111th
St. in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, and November 14-18 at the
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 N. Skokie Blvd. in
Skokie.



2012-2013
Family Membership Passes on sale now


For complete season information, visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org
or call (773) 227-0180 x 11.
For group inquiries, contact GroupTix at (773)
327-3778
or visit GroupTix.net.



More about Chicago Children’s Theatre’s 2012-2013 season:



Harold and the Purple Crayon
A Chicago Children’s Theatre Chicago premiere

Based on the books
by
Crockett
Johnson



Text by Don Darryl Rivera, Lyrics by Robert Burgess, 
Music by Auston James
Directed by Sean Graney

October 11-November 4, 2012 
Recommended for ages 3 and up

Also touring to The Beverly Arts Center, 2401
W. 111
th St., Chicago, November 7-11
And the North Shore Centre for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd.,
Skokie, November 14-18


Harold and the Purple Crayon teaches young audiences that anything is possible with a crayon and a bigimagination. Meet Harold, a curious four year old boy who, armed with his trusty purple crayon, has the power to create a world of his own simply by drawing it. This imaginative musical uses breathtaking animation, inventive puppetry, and original music to bring Harold’s
purple-hued world to life; it is perfect for introducing young children to theatre while simultaneously captivating their older companions.



Harold and the Purple Crayon will be helmed by CCT Artistic Associate Sean Graney, who directed the company’s productions of The Hundred DressesHonus and Me,and Hana’s Suitcase.

**Graney, Founding Artistic Director of The Hypocrites, is the
recipient of a Career Development for Directors Program award from
the National Endowment for the Arts and Theatre Communications Group, the winner of two non-Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards, and was named Chicago’s Best Avant-Garde Director by Chicago
Magazine 
and 2004’s Chicagoan of the Year: Theater by the Chicago
Tribune.



Bud, Not Buddy
Based on the Newberry winning novel by Christopher Paul Curtis
Adapted by Reginald Andre Jackson
Directed by Derrick Sanders


January 12-February 24, 2013
Recommended
for ages 8 and up


Bud, Not Buddy
follows the journey of a young African-American orphan as he searches for his
father. Clues kept in a suitcase lead him to adventures in
Depression-era Michigan, where he finds community among a group of
jazz musicians and, ultimately, an unexpected sense of home.




Popular reading in the classroom, author Christopher Paul Curtis’ Bud, Not Buddy was the winner of the 2000 Newberry Medal and the Coretta Scott King
Award. In 2010, Jackson's stage adaptation won the Distinguished Play Award from The American Alliance for Theater and Education.


Award-winning director Derrick Sanders – Founding Artistic Director of Congo Square Theatre Company, a Chicago Tribune Chicagoan of the Year in 2005, winner of multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards and Black Theater Alliance Awards, and director of CCT’s 2010 world premiere Jackie
and Me
– has a national reputation, having directed at countless Chicago, regional and New York theaters. He is known for his many collaborations with the legendary August Wilson, including in Chicago his award-winning
productions of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and Seven
Guitars
for Congo Square.  His Off-Broadway directorial debut, Wilson’s King
Hedley II
for Signature Theatre, received two Lucille Lortel and Audelco nominations. He was also a part of August Wilson’s World premiere productions of Radio Golf and Gem of the Ocean on Broadway and at the Huntington Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and the Goodman.


The Elephant & The Whale
A Chicago Children’s Theatre world premiere, presented in association
with Redmoon 
Created by Frank Maugeri


Co-directed by Frank Maugeri and Leslie Buxbaum Danzig
Script by Seth Bockley

Music by Kevin O’Donnell

April 10 –May 26, 2013 
Recommended for all ages

CCT’s seventh season will conclude with a world premiere collaboration with
Redmoon’s Frank Maugeri to create The Elephant & The Whale,
an all new family fable featuring sea shanties, wild mechanical
objects, theatrical clowning, hand painted imagery, exquisite shadow
puppets and an innovative sound design. This new work is conceived by
Maugeri with an original story and songs by
Seth Bockley
with composer
Kevin O’Donnell.


Co-directed by Leslie Buxbaum Danzig (of 500 Clown),
this epic tale invites audiences of all ages to discover the majesty
of the largest animals on our planet, and a story of friendship
conquering the sea itself. 

The year is 1901. On the largest steamship in the world, a captive
African Gray Elephant is bound for America. Mid-Atlantic, the boat
encounters a massive blue whale. What happens next is a love story
spanning species, time zones and many nautical miles. The performance will feature a live band and three performers who crank contraptions, pedal panoramic painting apparatuses, operate wild puppets and manipulate shadow sequences all while they sing shanty-like songs to weave this original and epic tale.  


Redmoon Co-Artistic Director Frank Maugeri
during his 15 year tenure with the company has created countless spectacle
productions and events seen around Chicago. Highlights include serving
as director, co-creator, and designer of the recent Astronaut’s Birthday,
a large-scale animated, graphic novel projected on the Museum of
Contemporary Art’s 80-foot façade; co-creation and design of the
critically acclaimed The Feast: an intimate Tempest
at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; seven of the famed All Hallow’s Eve
ritual celebrations in Logan Square; over a dozen annual family-friendly Winter
Pageant 
performances; Once Upon a Time
(Jeff Award, After Dark Award) with its subsequent tour to France;
Laika's Coffin and Cape and Squiggle for the Chicago Humanities Festival at MCA; Boneyard Prayer; and Redmoon’s longest running production The Cabinetits remount and tour of Brazil.


Seth Bockley
the critically-acclaimed writer and adapter, is a playwright in
residence at the Goodman Theater and book writer for the new musical
February House.  He is also an artist in residence at the University of Chicago, and was a recipient of Theater Communications Group's New Generations
Grant for which he spent two years with Redmoon as Directing
Apprentice.


Leslie Buxbaum Danzig (co-director)
co-created Lucky Plush Productions’ The Better Half,
which premiered at MCA Chicago and tours in 2012-2013 throughout the
US.  She was resident 
director with 500 Clown for 10 years, directed Redmoon’s Hunchback at New Victory Theater (NYC), and is Program Curator for the Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry at University of Chicago. 

Kevin O’Donnell (composer) is a Chicago-based musician; he has worked in Chicago theater for the last 10 years, during which time he has been
nominated for 19 Jeff Awards (receiving 8), and 2 consecutive After
Dark Awards (Outstanding Season).  He has worked around the
country, both in theatre and as a musician, having recorded and
toured with Andrew Bird, Kelly Hogan, Nickel Creek, and many others. 


About The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, Chicago Children’s Theatre’s
home for 2012-2013

The Ruth Page Center for Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., is located just
steps from Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile. The historic 1927
building in which The Center resides sits on a lovely tree-lined
street in the heart of Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, near the
CTA Red Line and the Clark, Broadway and Division bus lines. Under
the aegis of The Ruth Page Foundation, the Ruth Page Center for the
Arts has for over 40 years committed its resources to supporting
dance and theater in Chicago through its initiatives and programs.
Among these is its Artist In-Residence program where emerging and
established artists and organizations can have a home, office space,
rehearsal space, collaborative programming, and performance
opportunities. Lookingglass Theater and Chicago Shakespeare Theater
have both called the Ruth Page Center home before moving on to
establish their own venues. In addition to Chicago Children’s
Theatre, the 2012-2013 Ruth Page Artist-In Residence program includes
ShawChicago Theatre Company, River North Dance Chicago, CDI/Concert
Dance Inc, DanceWorks Chicago and the Ruth Page Civic Ballet.
Chicago’s top dance companies also perform at the Ruth Page Center
as part of its Subsidized Theater Rental Program. For more
information, visit
ruthpage.org.


About
Chicago Children’s Theatre


Chicago Children’s Theatre focuses on the production of first-rate
children’s theatre in Chicago, with top writing, performing and
directorial talent and high-quality design and production expertise.
Chicago Children’s Theatre aspires to enrich our community through
diverse and significant theatrical and educational programming that
engages and inspires the child in all of us.



Launched in 2005, Chicago Children’s Theatre strives to provide affordable
and accessible theatre for families and area school children. To
enhance the impact of any given production’s themes, Chicago
Children’s Theatre offers educational materials and programs for
families and educators.

This summer, Chicago Children’s Theatre is expanding
its operations with the launch of the company’s first-ever Summer
Theater Camp, July 16-27, 2012 at
Franklin Fine Arts Center in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood.
Guided by artists and arts educators with extensive experience in the
Chicago theater industry, CCT summer campers will learn to create
their own stories and work as a team to turn those stories into one
big theatrical adventure. For more information and to register visit
chicagochildrenstheatre.org/summercamp
or call 773.227.0180.

In addition to its mainstage programming for families, schools and
groups, Chicago Children’s Theatre will also continue
its Red Kite Project in 2012-2013, creating multi-sensory, interactive theater programming tailored specifically to the needs and interests of children on the
autism spectrum. CCT’s Red Kite Project
also includes Camp Red Kite, an annual summer arts camp tailored specifically to the unique interests and needs of children on the autism spectrum. For
the most up-to-date information on every
Red
Kite 
development, including the upcoming summer session of Camp
Red Kite
, June 25-July 13 at Chicago’s Cleveland Elementary School, call
773.227.0180 x15 or visit www.theredkiteproject.org.
Led by Artistic Director Jacqueline Russell,
and Board Chair Todd Leland, the company is supported by a committed Artistic Council of
Chicago-based actors, directors, musicians and designers, and a
dynamic Board of Directors comprised of dedicated individuals from
the fields of entertainment, philanthropy and business. Officers
include David Saltiel, President; J. Scot Pepper
and Jacqueline Tilton,Vice Chairs; Lynn Lockwood Murphy, Vice Chair and Secretary; and David Chung,Treasurer.


Chicago Children’s Theatre’s 2012-2013 season is made possible in part by
the generosity of its sponsors:  ComEd
is the Official Lighting Sponsor. Goldman
Sachs Gives is the Official Season Sponsor.
JPMorgan Chase is the Official Education Sponsor. Target
is the Official School Field Trip Sponsor. United
is the Chicago Premiere Sponsor as well as the Official and Exclusive
Airline Sponsor. 

For more information about Chicago Children’s Theatre visit
chicagochildrenstheatre.org
or call 773.227.0180.

Google Analytics