OPENING: Haven at Raven US PREMIERE OF THE DISTANCE

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HAVEN THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS THE U.S. PREMIERE OF 

THE DISTANCE 

WRITTEN BY DEBORAH BRUCE AND DIRECTED BY ELLY GREEN, AT THE RAVEN THEATRE COMPLEX, MAY 20 – JUNE 26 

Tonight we'll be ChiILin' with Haven at The Raven for opening night of the US Premiere of The Distance. Check back soon for our full review. 

Haven Theatre Company announces the United States premiere of Deborah Bruce’s The Distance, directed by Elly Green, at the West Stage within the Raven Theatre Complex, 6157 N. Clark St., May 20 – June 26. The regular schedule is Thursday – Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Regular run tickets are $28, senior/student/industry tickets are $14 and preview tickets are $10. You may purchase tickets and get more information at www.haventheatrechicago.com.

Good friends should be there for one another - no matter what. However, when Bea returns home to England after five years abroad, having made a bold choice about her life, old friends struggle to support her or even to understand. One night in Brighton, things threaten to slide into chaos...The Distance is a painfully funny play about motherhood and fatherhood, about keeping control and about letting go.

Cast for The Distance includes: Abigail Boucher (Bea), Allison Latta (Alex), Megan Kohl (Kate), Layne Manzer (Darragh), Patrick Gannon (Vinnie), Josh Odor (Man and Dewy U/S), Nik Kmiecik (Liam), Jon Beal (Vinne/Man U/S), Julie Dahlinger (Kate U/S), Adithi Chadrashekar (Alex U/S), Erin Rein (Bea U/S) and James C. Romney (Liam U/S).

The production team for The Distance includes: Elly Green (director), Emily Dillard (stage manager), Krista Mickelson (production manager), Anna Trachtman (asst. production manager), Alyssa White (asst. director), Joseph Schermoly (set designer), Rachel Sypniewski (costume designer), Claire Chrzan (lighting designer), Joe Court (sound designer), Stephen O’Connell (music composition), Archer Curry (props designer), Adam Goldstein (dialect coach), Cody Ryan (master electrician/ALD), Alan Weusthoff (technical director) and Justin Lance (digital marketer).

ABOUT PLAYWRIGHT DEBORAH BRUCE

Deborah Bruce is a celebrated theatre director with over 20 years of experience. She recently began writing and several of her works have been published by Nick Hern books. The Distance has recently been performed in Melbourne Australia, as well as enjoying a revival in the UK. It was a finalist in the 2012/13 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Bruce is currently writing an original drama for the BBC with Tanya Ronder. She has been commissioned to write plays for the National Theatre and The Royal Court in London. Other work Bruce has written include Joanne (Clean Break), Same (National Theatre) and Godchild (Hampstead Theatre Downstairs).

ABOUT DIRECTOR ELLY GREEN

Elly Green is a British freelance text-based theatre director based in Chicago who received her MFA in Theatre Directing at Birkbeck College, University of London from 2004-2006. Since moving to Chicago, she has directed for Sideshow Theatre Company, Strawdog Theatre Company, Trap Door Theatre, Stage Left Theatre, Redtwist Theatre, Theatre Seven, Livewire Theatre Company and assisted for the Court Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. Her first production in the United States. was The TomKat Project at the Playground Theatre, which then transferred to the New York Fringe in 2013. 

Previously, Green worked as a freelance director in the United Kingdom for several years in London and in regional theatres, including the Royal National Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, AlmeidaTheatre and Royal & Derngate, Northampton. She has an equal passion for classic and contemporary material and for several years in London, worked as a director and producer for Brother Tongue, a company she co-founded which focused on producing new translations of European work.

ABOUT HAVEN THEATRE COMPANY

Haven Theatre Company, led by Artistic Director Josh Sobel and Executive Director and Founder Carol Cohen, is dedicated to nurturing empathy and passion in the Chicago community through championing artistic voices, visions and values that are staking their claim within the immediate future of the American Theatre. 

ACT OUT HOLIDAY: “A KLINGON CHRISTMAS CAROL” at The Raven 11/30-12/29 & ECC 12/7 Only

COMMEDIA BEAUREGARD’S

“A KLINGON CHRISTMAS CAROL”

COMES TO THE ECC ARTS CENTER

FOR ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY,

DEC. 7 AT 7:30 P.M.

Want a truly unique holiday treat?   How about dinner and a Klingon Christmas Carol?!

Commedia Beauegard brings their new production of “A Klingon Christmas Carol” written by Christopher Kidder-Mostrom and Sasha Walloch and translated into Klingon by Laura Thurston, Bill Hedrick, Chris Lipscombe, and Christopher Kidder-Mostrom, to the ECC Arts Center, on the Elgin Community College Campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin, for one performance only, Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. For more information visit tickets.elgin.edu.  In addition to this special performance at the ECC Arts Center, “A Klingon Christmas Carol” runs Nov. 30-Dec.29 at The Raven Theatre. For more information visit cbtheatre.org.

 “A Klingon Christmas Carol,” directed by Kidder-Mostrom, adapts Dickens’ classic tale of ghosts and redemption into a story of Klingon SQuja' (pronounced SKHOO-jah) overcoming cowardice to reclaim his honor. Performed in Klingon with English supertitles and a Vulcan narrator, Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike will love this inspired take on a holiday classic. “Those of you who can’t wait for ComiCon to break out that red shirt costume or your forehead ridges will undoubtedly find this a most honorable way to get into the holiday spirit…3 Stars,” says Chicago Theater Beat.

Kidder-Mostrom and Walloch’s “A Klingon Christmas Carol” was first performed in  St. Paul, Minn. in 2007.  2013 marks the 8th time that Commedia Beauregard has produced the play (four times in St. Paul, Minn.; four times in Chicago; 2010 had shows in both cities).  The exciting new 2013 production features a new multi-level set, new costumes that blend Victorian England with Klingon aesthetics and a 15-person cast with Elizabeth Richards as Narrator, Clark Bender as SQuja’ (Scrooge), Colin Fewell as QachIt (Bob Cratchit). For a complete list of the cast and design team, visit cbtheatre.org.

The mission of Commedia Beauregard is “to translate the universal human experience to the stage: to expand our horizons and share knowledge of all cultures, translating between languages and between arts to create theater that is beautiful in expression.” Commedia Beauregard was founded 1999 in St. Paul, Minn., by Christopher Kidder-Mostrom (then, Christopher O. Kidder).Commedia Beauregard has been headquartered in Chicago since 2011 and recently became a resident company of the West Stage of the Raven Theatre Complex in Chicago.

Tickets for the ECC Arts Center Saturday, Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m. performance of “A Klingon Christmas Carol” are $32. A three-course, pre-show dinner prepared by ECC’s award-winning Culinary Arts and Hospitality program can be purchased online for an additional $29. The menu includes a Mixed Green Salad with Pickled Red Beets (inspired by the Klingon dish Gagh), Sliced Beef with Horseradish Sauce accompanied by Roasted Shallot and Garlic Shipped Potatoes (inspired by the Klingon dish Heart of Targ), and Cranberry Panna Cotta (inspired by a favorite Klingon beverage, Bloodwine).  Dinners are served at 5:30 p.m. in the Spartan Terrace Restaurant, located in the lobby of the ECC Arts Center. Dinners must be ordered on or before Monday, Dec. 2.

Tickets for the ECC Arts Center performance and pre-show dinner can be purchased online at tickets.elgin.edu or at the ECC box office located in the Arts Center. Box office hours are noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 5 p.m. Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. To purchase tickets by phone, call 847-622-0300. All major credit cards are accepted.

In addition to this special performance at the ECC Arts Center, “A Klingon Christmas Carol” also runs Nov. 30-Dec.29 at The Raven Theatre, 6157 N Clark St. For tickets and more information, visit cbtheatre.org or call 773-338-2177.

The ECC Arts Center, located in Building H on the Elgin Community College Campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin, presents amazing artists in intimate theater settings. Delicious dinners prepared through a partnership with the ECC's award-winning culinary arts program often accompany events. Parking is plentiful and free.

For more information about the ECC Arts Center, visit tickets.elgin.edu or call 847-622-0300. The arts center also can be followed on Twitter at twitter.com/ECCArtsCenter. Become a fan of the arts center on Facebook at facebook.com/ECCArtsCenter.