ACT OUT OPENING: World Premier of Mojada at Victory Gardens 7/12 and Dig Deeper Events

Rehearsals have just begun for Mojada... ...and much of the team from Oedipus el Rey has reassembled to work on this summer's sizzling interpretation of the Medea myth. The press has already taken notice, with Mojada featured in both the Tribune and Sun-Times.  ChiIL Live Shows will be checking out an open rehearsal soon, as we did for VG's The Whale and Disconnect.   It's incredible to see a show morph and grow from a staged reading into a full blown production in the hands of pros.   It's fascinating to hear audience feedback and be part of the process.   We can't wait for our sneak peek and to see this powerful world premier come to fruition.   Book your seats today. (Check out photos and initial designs from rehearsal over on Victory Gardens' Facebook Page.) For every production, VG constructs a series of public programming based around the issues present in the show. Mojada is no exception. In fact, this is the widest array of events they've ever had for a single production.  For more information on this and other events, visit their website. Check out the full list below: DIG DEEPER - MOJADA PROMISE LAND A Conversation and Film Excerpt July 13 | 6:30pm reception and screening | Post-show Conversation | Free for Mojada ticketholders This world premiere film examines the way immigration affects all of us in different ways. Join filmmaker Kevin Delvi and actor Kamal Hans (Victory Gardens' Disconnect, Rasaka Theater) for an excerpt of the movie and a discussion on its themes of Asian immigration between Resident Company Rasaka Theater and playwright Luis Alfaro. A PATH OR A LABYRINTH? A Town Hall Discussion July 14 | Following the 3pm performance of Mojada | Free for Mojada ticketholders As SB744--the immigration reform bill--works its way through the Senate amidst cheers of support calling it the "biggest victory for advocates of immigrant rights in a generation," one question among many looms large-Might this proposed "path to citizenship" be, in fact, a labyrinth? WEDNESDAY NIGHT OUT! presented in association with Center on Halsted July 17 | 6pm Margarita Hour | Post-show Discussion | Free with ticket to Mojada Start the evening with a margarita at Fiesta Mexicana as we toast playwright Luis Alfaro. Next, head into the theatre to witness his stunning re-imagining of Medea. Then, hang back with us for a special post show conversation featuring respected immigration attorney, Michael R. Jarecki, as we discuss the LGBTQ themes in Mojada. BACK THERE Luis Alfaro in conversation with Marcus Gardley July 21 | Pre-show conversation | Free with ticket to Mojada Both Mojada (by Luis Alfaro) and The Gospel of Lovingkindness (by Ensemble Playwright Marcus Gardley) are set in Chicago neighborhoods with deep cultural roots. Mojada focuses on the Mexican immigrant community in Pilsen, and Lovingkindess focuses on the Black community in Bronzeville with deep ties to the American South. Join these playwrights to discuss how their plays are informed by migration and heritage in Chicago's communities of color. AN EVENING WITH TEATRO VISTA presented in association with Teatro Vista July 26 | 6:30pm reception | Post-show Discussion | Free with ticket to Mojada Mojada cast members Sandra Delgado, Sandra Marquez, Juan Villa, and Charin Alvarez are all company members of Teatro Vista, a VG Resident Theatre and venerable Latino ensemble. Join Teatro Vista as they host a pre-show reception and post-show conversation around Mojada. EMPANADA FOR A DREAM presented in association with Teatro Vista July 28th | 7:30pm | Tickets: $15 or Pay-What-You-Can for Mojada ticketholders Juan Villa (cast as Jason in Mojada) brings his critically acclaimed solo show to Victory Gardens in this special one night only event! Empanada for a Dream is Villa's haunting love song to New York's Lower East Side, where his family immigrated and raised him. Join him for this dangerous and hilarious living memoir about growing up and leaving home. THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY + IMMIGRATION presented in association with Access Living and VG Access Project August 9 | 6:00pm | Free for Mojada ticketholders Join celebrated disability rights activist, Rene David Luna (Access Living), for this special pre-show discussion! Luna leads a panel on the current immigration system and explores the positive and negative impacts the proposed bill might have on persons with disabilities. MOJADA by Luis Alfaro directed by Chay Yew final play of the season Jul 12 - Aug 11, 2013 From the playwright of last season's critically-acclaimed Oedipus el Rey, Mojada is a breathtaking re-imagination of Euripides' Medea transported to Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. With her husband Jason and companion Tita in tow, Medea crosses into the United States illegally to escape a past filled with betrayal. Once here, she is caught in a struggle to adapt to the new country and to keep her family from breaking apart. Alfaro's stunning modern take on the Greek myth tackles American immigration, family, tradition, mysticism, and the explosive moment when they all collide. Victory Gardens Theater announces the world premiere of Mojada by VG Associate Artist Luis Alfaro as its final play of the 2012-2013 season.  Mojada will replace Ensemble Playwright Marcus Gardley’s previously announced Chicago is Burning. Mojada will run July 12-August 11, 2013. From the author of last season’s critically-acclaimed Oedipus El Rey, Mojada is a breathtaking reimagining of Euripides' Medea transported to Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood.  Medea, a young, gifted curandera (healer) in exile, is running from a past filled with betrayals.  With husband Jason and her son in tow, the illegal immigrant is caught in a struggle to adapt to the modern world. Alfaro's stunning modern take on the Greek myth tackles American immigration, family, tradition, culture and the explosive moment when they all collide. Chicago is Burning has been postponed while Marcus Gardley continues work on the play.  Victory Gardens intends to find the appropriate time to present Gardley’s play when it is ready for production. We’re very excited to welcome Luis Alfaro back to Victory Gardens with the world premiere of Mojada. When Luis was in rehearsals with Oedipus el Rey this past summer, we talked much about his writing a new play specifically for the Mexican American community here in Chicago,” says Chay Yew.  “We explored the possibility of producing his new play Bruja, his adaptation of Medea. However, during our dramaturgical sessions and his frequent visits to Pilsen, Luis began to see Bruja with a different set of eyes. Starting with a page one rewrite, Luis and I spent time collaborating and workshopping the new and different version of the play, relocating the play to Chicago. Emotionally raw, political, poignant and powerful, Luis’ Mojada was born.” Chicago has become both an artistic home and a source of great inspiration for me.  I am so excited to be invited back to Victory Garden’s Theater to collaborate with a great group of artists, led by good friend Chay Yew”, comments Luis Alfaro.  “I spent the summer meeting the communities that make up every neighborhood in this amazing city and I was taken by the diversity and politics that Chicagoans wrestle with daily.  Chicago is the third largest Latino city in the country.  Neighborhoods like Pilsen, Little Village and Humboldt Park come with celebration, as well as challenges. Once again, I am using the Greek myths as a way of having a conversation with the Victory Gardens’ audience about the issues that all of us face as citizens in this great country.” Full performance schedule Previews of Mojada are July 12-July 21, 2013: Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. Previews are $20-$40.   The Press opening is Monday, July 22 at 7:30 pm.  Regular performances run through August 11, 2013: Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm; Saturday at 4 pm; Sunday at 3 pm.  Regular performances are $20-$50. Performances are at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.  For tickets and information, call the Victory Gardens Box Office, 773.871.3000 (TTY: 773.871.0682), email tickets@victorygardens.org , or visit www.victorygardens.org .  Ask the Box Office about student tickets ($15), senior, Access, 20 for $20, and rush discounts.  For group discounts, call 773.634.9874. A full and updated schedule of special events, post show discussions and presentations centered around performances of Mojada is available at www.victorygardens.org . Victory Gardens is the winner of Best Accessible Theater, Deaf Illinois Awards 2009.  See www.victorygardens.org  and click on “Enhance Your Visit” for information on other Access services including large print and Braille programs, assisted listening devices, and artist development workshops as well as a full schedule of special events, post-show discussions and presentations. Logistics and Amenities Parking $11 valet parking is available for all performances except weekday matinees. Metered and street parking is available, but mind the neighborhood parking restrictions. Public transit By CTA train, take the Red, Purple or Brown lines to the Fullerton stop.  Walk east on Fullerton to Lincoln, then north 1/2 block to the theater.   The #8 Halsted, #11 Lincoln,  #37 Sedgwick/Ogden, and #74 Fullerton CTA buses all stop at the corner of Fullerton and Halsted, 1/2 block south of the theater.  See transitchicago.com  for times and routes. Pre- and post-show dining See www.victorygardens.org  for a list of Victory Gardens’ neighborhood dining partners.  Each is within walking distance of the Biograph, and all offer a special discount to patrons who present a Victory Gardens ticket stub.  About Victory Gardens Theater Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Executive Director Jan Kallish, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals. Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theatre work and cultivating an inclusive theater community. Victory Gardens’ core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city’s and nation’s culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools,  bringing art and culture to our city’s active student population.   Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Our commitment to developing, supporting and producing new theatre work makes Victory Gardens an American Center for New Plays. In 2006, Victory Gardens successfully completed an $11.8 million renovation of Chicago’s famed Biograph Theater, and moved two blocks north from its longtime venue at 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue, to its beautiful new home in one of Chicago’s most celebrated historic landmarks.  Renamed Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, the new venue is a state-of-the-art 299-seat mainstage which has greatly expanded the company’s artistic flexibility. In 2009, Victory Gardens completed the second phase of renovation at the Biograph, building an intimate, new, 109-seat studio theater on the second floor.  On March 1, 2010, at a special launch event for Victory Gardens $1 million Campaign for Growth, the theater’s new studio was officially named the Richard Christiansen Theater, in honor of the Chicago Tribune chief critic emeritus and longtime champion of Chicago’s live theater scene.  Visit www.victorygardens.org  for more details. Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Alphawood Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Boeing Company, Allstate Insurance, Polk Bros. Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, Leo S. Guthman Fund, National Endowment for the Arts and REAM Foundation. Additional funding is provided by:Illinois Arts Council (a state agency), The Edgerton Foundation, Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund, McVay Foundation, The Seabury Foundation, Wrightwood Neighbors Conservation Association, The Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Illinois Tool Works, Motorola Mobility Foundation, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, a City Arts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, The Irving Harris Foundation and The Saints.

ACT OUT ENDING: There Is A Happiness That Morning Is #review

Catch it while you can.  Happiness is fleeting and Theatre Oobleck's remount is ending this weekend after an extension through April 7th.   The show's upstairs at The Biograph Theatre-Victory Gardens.   

We'll be back at The Biograph for the press opening of The Whale on the 15th--not to be confused with The Elephant and The Whale (at CST-Chicago Children's Theatre).   We're covering their opening Friday the 12th and have some sweet video interviews and a 4 ticket giveaway in the works!

We sat in on an early rehearsal of The Whale, just 3 days in and had an excellent talk back with the actors.   I love to see a piece evolve.   This show has a Mormon (who has friends who went to serve in Africa... like a certain hit Broadway musical), a snarky teenage girl, school papers by an estranged child (like Dream of the Burning Boy), and a gay, obese protagonist who is already a challenge to play in an authentic, truthful way that won't evoke ire.   I'm so intrigued to see where they go with this show!

Back to There is a Happiness, it was an interesting segue to go from Completeness at The Wit on Friday to this show on Saturday.   It was a nerd love fest of a weekend.   This show's a bit more intellectual and esoteric, so less accessible unless you're a true disciple of William Blake's works.   The scenario is a hoot and the characters' responses provide an interesting dynamic, and lend fresh eyes to staid literary staples.  It's certainly worth a look.

Of course Dillinger didn't experience much happiness after seeing a show at The Biograph with The Woman in Red (Ana Sage)  that infamous day in 1934, so my husband and I left our daughter, Sage Ani, at home and had a great time with another woman in red, our long time friend, Cath.

No theatre goers were harmed in the making of this feature.

 

More Happiness!

There Is a Happiness That Morning Is

  "a not-to-be-missed remount" - "soul shaking" - "Killer."
Yes, that one, has been extended until April 7th!
Tickets available here
More info here

There Is a Happiness That Morning Is

by Mickle Maher

“. . . richer, funnier, and more heartbreaking than ever… If the American theater harbors a precedent for Mickle Maher’s astonishing 2011 play There Is a Happiness That Morning Is, I’ve never found it . . .”

–Chicago Reader

“The most remarkable mix of poetry and drama you are ever likely to see.”

-WBEZ

“MAHER’S MOST POWERFUL PLAY TO DATE… SOUL SHAKING”

–Chicago Reader

“an enjoyably lunatic endeavor”

–Chicago Tribune

“Goosed by precise, masterful performances, Maher’s text is almost endlessly engaging and frequently hilarious.”

–Time Out Chicago

“FUNNY, WITTY, LITERATE, and PROFOUND… It’s the actors who make it a slam-dunk”

–Windy City Times

JANUARY 31-MARCH 10, 2013
EXTENDED THROUGH APRIL 7
Thursday-Saturday at 8pm
Sunday at 3pm
(no shows Thursdays March 28 & April 4)
INDUSTRY NIGHT: MONDAY APRIL 1st at 8pm

VICTORY GARDENS BIOGRAPH THEATER
2433 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago
773.871.3000

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW

$15 suggested donation*
More if you got it,
free if you’re broke.

Theater Oobleck revives Mickle Maher’s comedy in rhymed verse told via two lectures on the poetry of William Blake: one given in the morning by Bernard, a middle-aged, barely published poet of scant scholarship, on the Songs of Innocence, and the other in the afternoon by his lover, Ellen, a reputable Ph.D., on the Songs of Experience.

Having engaged the evening before in a highly inappropriate display of public affection on the main lawn of their rural New England campus, the two undergraduate lecturers must now, in class, either apologize for their behavior or effectively justify it if they want to keep their jobs.

Featuring Diana Slickman, Colm O’Reilly, and Kirk Anderson.

The script of There Is A Happiness That Morning Is is also available as part of the book of Oobleck plays More If You’ve Got It. Purchase it directly from us.

*Quick ticket explanation: You can get your “more if you’ve got it, free if you’re broke” tickets (as per Theater Oobleck tradition) by calling the box office 773-871-3000. For on-line tickets, click on the link above, then click on the day you want. Then in the next screen you indicate how many tickets you want. Then in the NEXT screen you are given the option of a “Regular Price” (that would be $15), a $10, or a $1 ticket.

Check out this audio link to an interview with Mickle Maher about how he wrote the play.   Then go already.   This weekend is your last shot at Happiness!   

Happiness playwright Mickle Maher talks about the power of public sex, the actor’s prerogative, and why the play was almost about mummies in this half-hour podcast from Talk Theatre in Chicago. Includes bonus stale bread metaphors!

How does a play get written? In particular, how does a verse play about two college English teachers lecturing on the poetry of William Blake to save their jobs after having public sex on the campus green get written? Mickle Maher joins Anne Nicholson Weber to talk about the genesis of his play, There Is A Happiness That Morning Is, which is currently being remounted by Theater Oobleck at Victory Gardens; and about drafts and redrafts, writing in verse, and finding one's voice as a writer. Listen: (MP3) Time: 31:53