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Showing posts with label Wandachristine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wandachristine. Show all posts

Friday, November 30, 2018

Welcome five new American Blues Theater Ensemble members

Welcome five new American Blues Theater Ensemble members
Elyse Dolan, Jared Gooding, Philip Earl Johnson, Chuck Smith, and Wandachristine,
 and new Artistic Affiliate Zachary Stevenson


American Blues Theater announces the addition of five new Ensemble members and one new Artistic Affiliate to the Blues family. Joining the Ensemble is director, designer and Associate Producer Elyse Dolan, who directed several works in past Ripped and Blue Ink festivals; designer Jared Gooding, lighting designer of Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story; actor Philip Earl Johnson, who is slated to appear in the upcoming Chicago premiere of Steven Dietz’s On Clover Road; director Chuck Smith, director of the recent American Blues production of Pearl Cleage’s Flyin’ West; and actress and playwright Wandachristine, who won many awards for her solo performance Beauty’s Daughter. Actor Zachary Stevenson has been named an Artistic Affiliate. Stevenson recently made his Chicago debut as “Buddy Holly” in American Blues Theater’s Joseph Jefferson Award-winning musical Buddy – the Buddy Holly Story, in which he also won a Jeff Award for Performance in a Musical.

“We are thrilled to announce the addition of these incredible artists into the Ensemble and Artistic Affiliates. We’ve enjoyed amazing collaborations with all of these artists over the years and are so excited to deepen our commitment to making great art together. We look forward to the amazing work we have planned with this extremely talented group in upcoming seasons,” comments Gwendolyn Whiteside, Artistic Director of American Blues Theater.

About the Artists

ELYSE DOLAN is a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater where she is also the Associate Producer. She has directed several short plays in past Ripped festivals, staged readings in the annual Blue Ink Festival, and has been Assistant Director on a handful shows including Six Corners (dir. Gary Griffin) and Little Shop of Horrors (dir. Jonathan Berry). Her directing work has been seen across Chicago at The New Colony (where she is also their Director of Education), Broken Nose Theatre, Prop Thtr, Commission Theatre, Babes with Blades, 20% Theatre Company, Pride Films & Plays, and more. She has also served as Assistant Director on productions at Raven Theatre, Oracle Theatre, 16th Street Theater, and Redtwist Theatre. She also does set dressing and properties design for the annual production of It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! Elyse holds a B.A. from Denison University.

JARED GOODING is a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater where he has designed lighting for Flyin’ West, Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story, This Wonderful Life, Beauty’s Daughter, and The Columnist. His other design credits include the Associate Design of Lookingglass Alice (Lookingglass Theatre Company), serving as the Lighting Assistant for The Wiz Live on NBC, designs for Victory Gardens Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, UIC Theatre, Writers Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, The Hypocrites, TimeLine Theatre, Madison Children's Theatre, Definition Theatre, Windy City Playhouse, Sideshow Theatre, First Floor Theater, About Face Theatre, MPAACT, Pegasus Theatre, Next Theatre, Congo Square Theatre, Citadel Theatre, ETA, and Fleetwood Jourdain Theatre. He is a company member with MPACCT. He spends his off time managing a DJ company for Chicago area bars.

PHILIP EARL JOHNSON is a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater where he performed in David Auburn’s Chicago premiere of The Columnist and upcoming Chicago premiere Steven Dietz’s On Clover Road. He has appeared Goodman Theater in Enemy of the People, Talking Pictures, The Actor and Brutality of Fact. Other Chicago credits include: A Christmas Story at The Paramount Theatre; Danny Casolaro Died For You at TimeLine Theatre Company; The Dance of Death and Old Glory at Writers Theatre; The Royale and The Big Meal (Jeff Award for Best Ensemble) at American Theatre Company; Tartuffe, Skylight, James Joyce's The Dead and The Mystery Cycle at Court Theatre; Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and The Conquest of The South Pole at Famous Door Theatre. He was in the first national tour of Angels in America: Millenium Approaches and Perestroika, launching at The Royal George Theatre. He has spent 10 seasons at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival appearing in many productions including the title roles in Macbeth, Cyrano De Bergerac, Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra. Other regional credits include A Moon for The Misbegotten at Laguna Playhouse and Just Men at Stella Adler Theatre. Recent television credits include “Empire”, “Chicago Med”, “Chicago Fire”, and “Mind Games”. When not in Chicago, he tours the country with his European-style clown act MooNiE: Juggler Ropewalker, Foolish Mortal!

CHUCK SMITH is a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater where he directed Pearl Cleage’s Flyin’ West and Leroi Jones’ Dutchman. He is a member of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees and is Goodman Theatre’s Resident Director. He is also a resident director at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe in Sarasota, Florida. Goodman credits include the Chicago premieres of Pullman Porter Blues; By the Way, Meet Vera Stark; Race; The Good Negro; Proof; and The Story; the world premieres of By the Music of the Spheres and The Gift Horse; James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner, which transferred to Boston’s Huntington Theatre Company, where it won the Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Award for Best Direction; A Raisin in the Sun; Blues for an Alabama Sky; August Wilson’s Two Trains Running and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; Objects in the Mirror; Having Our Say; Ain’t Misbehavin’; the 1993 to 1995 productions of A Christmas Carol; Crumbs From the Table of Joy; Vivisections from a Blown Mind; and The Meeting. He served as dramaturg for the Goodman’s world-premiere production of August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. He directed the New York premiere of Knock Me a Kiss and The Hooch for the New Federal Theatre and the world premiere of Knock Me a Kiss at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater, where his other directing credits include Master Harold... and the Boys, Home, Dame Lorraine, and Eden, for which he received a Jeff Award nomination. Regionally, Mr. Smith directed Death and the King’s Horseman (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Birdie Blue (Seattle Repertory Theatre), The Story (Milwaukee Repertory Theater), Blues for an Alabama Sky (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), and The Last Season (Robey Theatre Company). At Columbia College he was facilitator of the Theodore Ward Prize playwriting contest for 20 years and editor of the contest anthologies Seven Black Plays and Best Black Plays. He won a Chicago Emmy Award as associate producer/theatrical director for the NBC teleplay Crime of Innocence and was theatrical director for the Emmy-winning Fast Break to Glory and the Emmy-nominated The Martin Luther King Suite. He was a founding member of the Chicago Theatre Company, where he served as artistic director for four seasons and directed the Jeff-nominated Suspenders and the Jeff-winning musical Po’. His directing credits include productions at Fisk University, Roosevelt University, Eclipse Theatre, ETA, Black Ensemble Theater, Northlight Theatre, MPAACT, Congo Square Theatre, The New Regal Theater, Kuumba Theatre Company, Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, Pegasus Players, the Timber Lake Playhouse in Mt. Carroll, Illinois, the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He is a 2003 inductee into the Chicago State University Gwendolyn Brooks Center’s Literary Hall of Fame and a 2001 Chicago Tribune Chicagoan of the Year. He is the proud recipient of the 1982 Paul Robeson Award and the 1997 Award of Merit presented by the Black Theater Alliance of Chicago.

WANDACHRISTINE is a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater. She has starred on many stages throughout the country in such notable productions as the touring company of Fences, The Vagina Monologues, Gees Bend, and Thyestes just to name a few. She was recognized for her work in the acclaimed production of Old Settler; for which she was a Supporting Actress nominee for the prestigious Joseph Jefferson Award and a Best Actress nominee for the noted Ruby Dee/Black Theater Alliance Award as well. Once again she was recognized for her work in another acclaimed production, produced by American Blues Theater, Beauty’s Daughter and this time she won the Ruby Dee/Black Theater Alliance Award for her solo performance.  Earlier this year she toured in Dani Gurira’s (“Black Panther” and “Walking Dead”) production of Familiar.  Now she’s hard at work appearing in the new staging of A Wonder in My Soul at Baltimore Center Stage. On film she’s worked alongside of Whoppie Goldberg in “Clara’s Heart”, starred in the hit comedy as Mrs. Jones, in the film “Me and Mrs. Jones” with Kym Fields, and Birdie on “Chicago PD”.  Her voice can be heard daily in numerous television and radio commercials, along with a few animated characters, for such shows as “The PJ’s”, “The Justice League” and “Scarface” the video game. She’s written her first fiction novel, “I LOVE YOU MORE…THAN SHOES!”, which is about four actresses over 50 still trying to make it in Hollywood. As a playwright, she now has two plays that will be produced soon; “One Day?” and “Sammy, Harry, Oscar and Me…Morris”, this one will be directed by another Blues Ensemble member Chuck Smith.

ZACHARY STEVENSON is a proud Artistic Affiliate of American Blues Theater who recently made his Chicago debut as “Buddy Holly” in American Blues Theater’s Joseph Jefferson Award-winning musical Buddy – the Buddy Holly Story, in which Zach also won a Jeff Award for Performance in a Musical. Originally from Vancouver Island, Canada, Zach recently relocated to Chicago after spending the last few years being based in Kansas City, MO. Select credits include: Million Dollar Quartet (Paramount Theatre – “Carl” U/S), Hair (CanStage), Ring of Fire (Chemainus Theatre Festival / Western Canada Theatre), Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave (Blue Bridge Repertory), Urinetown (Belfry Theatre), Red Rock Diner (Arts Club Theatre), Assassins (Quintessence), and over ten productions of Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story throughout the US and Canada, for which he’s been nominated for a Jessie Richardson Award and Ovation Award. Zachary has also had the pleasure of music directing several productions, including Million Dollar Quartet (Arts Club), and Ring of Fire (Chemainus Theatre Festival), as well as performing in countless headlining concerts across North America. Off stage, Zach is busy writing a one-man show about the 1960s folksinger and activist, Phil Ochs.

About American Blues Theater 
Winner of the American Theatre Wing’s prestigious 2016 National Theatre Company Award, American Blues Theater is a premier arts organization with an intimate environment that patrons, artists, and all Chicagoans call home.  American Blues Theater explores the American identity through the plays it produces and communities it serves. 

The diverse and multi-generational artists have established the second-oldest professional Equity Ensemble theater in Chicago.  The 33-member Ensemble has 600+ combined years of collaboration on stage. As of 2018, the theater and artists received 195 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations that celebrate excellence in Chicago theater and over 35 Black Theatre Alliance Awards. The artists are honored with Pulitzer Prize nominations, Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades.   

American Blues Theater programs and activities are made possible, in part by funding by The MacArthur Funds for Arts & Culture at Prince, the Shubert Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust, SMART Growth Grant, Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Anixter Foundation, Actors’ Equity Foundation, and the Chip Pringle Fund. ComEd is the Season Lighting Sponsor.


Thursday, August 3, 2017

LAST CALL/ REVIEW: American Blues Theater's Beauty's Daughter

Chicago Premiere
by Dael Orlandersmith, Directed by Ron OJ Parson
Featuring Artistic Affiliate Wandachristine


 All photos feature Wandachistine and are to the credit of Michael Brosilow

Review: 
The final days of American Blues Theater's acclaimed one woman show, Beauty's Daughter, are upon us. Wandachristine is nothing short of stunning as she embodies a host of diverse characters with ease. We adored this exploration of community, love and loss, families we choose and those we're born into. 

With the slight exception of a bit of confusion when one monologue jumps locations from New York to Ireland, her storylines and characters were clear and easy to follow. We particularly liked the overlap in narrative where the various personas introduced us to the others before we met them. This show is thought provoking, multilayered and magnificent and Wandachristine brings the words to life in a captivating collage of the senses.



Kudos also to the set designers and the brains behind the projections. The imagery was evocative and provided a fabulous canvas for the storyline to play out on. I've never seen projections concentrated directly on a character's clothing before and it was eerily effective.


If there's any drawback it's the sight lines in some of the upper seats. It's an intimate venue so audio is fine anywhere, but if you want an unobstructed view of the seated monologues, arrive early and aim for the lower rows. 


Beauty's Daughter is highly recommended. Don't miss this!


Beauty's Daughter Trailer from American Blues Theater on Vimeo.


Ending August 5, 2017


Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:
Beauty’s Daughter
American Blues Theater

American Blues Theater season with the Chicago Premiere of Beauty’s Daughter by Dael Orlandersmith, directed by Ron OJ Parson, and Artistic Affiliate Wandachristine. Beauty’s Daughter runs July 7 – August 5, 2017 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. 

Schedule: 
Thursday:7:30 p.m.
Friday: 7:30 p.m.
Saturday:7:30 p.m.
Sunday: 2:30 p.m. 

Regular Run: through August 5, 2017

Additional performances on Wednesdays, July 12, 19 & 24 at 7:30pm; Wednesday, August 2 at 2:30pm; and Saturday, August 5 at 3:00pm.  There will be no performance on Saturday, August 5 at 7:30 pm.

Location: Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago

Ticket prices: $19 - $49

Box Office: Buy online at AmericanBluesTheater.com or by calling 773.327.5252.





This Obie Award-winning play by Dael Orlandersmith depicts one woman’s journey through life’s obstacles in an East Harlem neighborhood. Artistic Affiliate Wandachristine takes on 6 different characters during the course of this solo play—some broken, some on the way down, but all memorable.

“Wandachristine’s performance is wholly engrossing as she embodies the gestures, voices, and exceptional rhythms of Ms. Orlandersmith’s world,” says Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside.

The creative team for Beauty’s Daughter includes Caitlin McLeod (scenic design), Artistic Affiliate Jared Gooding (lighting design), Michael Alan Stein (costume design), Eric Backus (sound design), Mary O’Dowd (props design), and Artistic Affiliate Paul Deziel (projection design). The assistant director is Artemis Steakley Freeman, the dramaturg is Wilson Cain and the stage manager is Cara Parrish.




About the Artists
Dael Orlandersmith is a Goodman Artistic Associate and Artist-in-Residence at the new Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement at the Goodman. Ms. Orlandersmith collaborated with the Goodman on Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men during the 2012/2013 Season and Stoop Stories during the 2009/2010 Season. Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men was developed as a co-commission between the Goodman and Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where it was staged in May 2012. Ms. Orlandersmith first performed Stoop Stories in 2008 at The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival and Apollo Theater’s Salon Series; Washington, D.C.’s Studio Theatre produced its world premiere in 2009. Her play Forever, commissioned by the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, was performed at the Mark Taper Forum in fall 2014. The show was then performed at the Long Wharf Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop and Portland Center Stage in 2015. Her play Until the Fall will play the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in fall 2016. Her play Horsedreams was developed at New Dramatists and workshopped at New York Stage and Film Company in 2008, and was performed at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in 2011. Bones was commissioned by the Mark Taper Forum, where it premiered in 2010. Ms. Orlandersmith premiered The Blue Album, in collaboration with David Cale, at Long Wharf Theatre in 2007. Yellowman was commissioned by and premiered at McCarter Theatre in a co-production with the Wilma Theater and Long Wharf Theatre. Ms. Orlandersmith was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Drama Desk Award nominee for Outstanding Play and Outstanding Actress in a Play for Yellowman in 2002. The Gimmick, commissioned by McCarter Theatre, premiered in their Second Stage OnStage series in 1998 and went on to great acclaim at Long Wharf Theatre and New York Theatre Workshop; Ms. Orlandersmith won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for The Gimmick in 1999. Her play Monster premiered at New York Theatre Workshop in November 1996. Ms. Orlandersmith has toured extensively with the Nuyorican Poets Café (Real Live Poetry) throughout the United States, Europe and Australia. Yellowman and a collection of her earlier works have been published by Vintage Books and Dramatists Play Service. Ms. Orlandersmith attended Sundance Institute Theatre Lab for four summers and is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Grant, the Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, a Guggenheim award and the 2005 PEN/Laura Pels Foundation award for a playwright in mid-career. She is the recipient of a Lucille Lortel Foundation Playwrights Fellowship and an Obie Award for Beauty’s Daughter.

Ron OJ Parson is a native of Buffalo, New York, and a graduate of the University of Michigan’s professional theatre program. He is the co-founder and former Artistic Director of The Onyx Theatre Ensemble of Chicago, a Resident Artist at Court Theatre and an Associate Artist with Teatro Vista and Writers Theatre. Since moving to Chicago from New York in 1994, he has worked as both an actor and director. His Chicago credits include work with Victory Gardens, Goodman, Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Northlight Theatre, Court Theatre, Black Ensemble Theatre, Congo Square Theatre, Urban Theatre Co., ETA Creative Arts Foundation, Chicago Theatre Company, and Writers Theatre. Regionally, Ron has directed shows at Studio Arena Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, Geva Theatre, Virginia Stage and Portland Stage (Maine), among others. Ron also has directed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada. Acting credits on television and film include ER, Early Edition, Turks, American Playhouse, Vamping, Barbershop 2, Primal Fear, Ali, Drop Squad, Boss and most recently Fox’s Empire.



Wandachristine has graced the small screen in many memorable guest starring roles; the last one playing Birdie on Chicago PD. On the large screen, she’s worked alongside talents like Whoopi Goldberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Paul Newman, Tom Selleck, Clifton Davis; and she starred as Mrs. Jones, in the hit dramedy Me and Mrs. Jones along with Kim Fields and Brian White. On stage, she has appeared in such notable productions as, Spunk, The Vagina Monologues, Oo-Bla-Dee, and the touring company of Fences. However, her role as Quilly in the Writer’s Theatre production of Old Settler, garnered both a Supporting Actress nomination and the Best Actress nomination for the noted Ruby Dee/Black Theater Alliance Award, which was also the last time she and director Ron Oj Parson worked together. Her voice work includes commercials for Mc Donald’s, political campaigns, Scarface the video game, The Justice League and work with Eddie Murphy on the PJ’s. As an alumni of Loyola University, she was commissioned to write a one-act play Welcome Home for the opening of the Newhart Family Theater.  Recent literary projects include her first novel, “I Love You…More Than Shoes!” and her most recent play One Day.



About American Blues Theater
Winner of the American Theatre Wing’s prestigious 2016 National Theatre Company Award, American Blues Theater is a premier arts organization with an intimate environment that patrons, artists, and all Chicagoans call home.  American Blues Theater explores the American identity through the plays it produces and communities it serves.

The diverse and multi-generational artists have established the second-oldest professional Equity Ensemble theater in Chicago.  The 37-member Ensemble has 530+ combined years of collaboration on stage. As of 2016, the theater and artists received 186 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations that celebrate excellence in Chicago theater and over 31 Black Theatre Alliance Awards. The artists are honored with Pulitzer Prize nominations, Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades.  


The American Blues Theater Ensemble includes all four Founders Ed Blatchford, Rick Cleveland, James Leaming, and William Payne with Dawn Bach, Matthew Brumlow, Manny Buckley, Kate Buddeke, Sarah Burnham, Dara Cameron, Casey Campbell, Darren Canady, Brian Claggett, Dennis Cockrum, Austin Cook, Laura Coover, Ian Paul Custer, Lauri Dahl, Joe Foust, Cheryl Graeff, Marty Higginbotham, Jaclyn Holsey, Lindsay Jones, Nambi E. Kelley, Kevin R. Kelly, Steve Key, Ed Kross, Warren Levon, Michael Mahler, Heather Meyers, John Mohrlein, Christopher J. Neville, Suzanne Petri, Carmen Roman, Editha Rosario, Sarah E. Ross, and Gwendolyn Whiteside.


American Blues Theater programs and activities are made possible, in part by funding by The MacArthur Funds for Arts & Culture at Prince, the Shubert Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust, SMART Growth Grant, Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Anixter Foundation, Actors’ Equity Foundation, and the Chip Pringle Fund. ComEd is the Season Lighting Sponsor.

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

OPENING: Chicago Premiere of Beauty's Daughter Season Opener for American Blues Theater at Stage 773

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

American Blues Theater Presents the Chicago Premiere of
Beauty’s Daughter
by Dael Orlandersmith, Directed by Ron OJ Parson
Featuring Artistic Affiliate Wandachristine


July 7 – August 5, 2017

We can't wait to catch Beauty's Daughter a the press opening on July 13th. Check back soon for our full review.

American Blues Theater opens its 2017-2018 Season with the Chicago Premiere of Beauty’s Daughter by Dael Orlandersmith, directed by Ron OJ Parson, and Artistic Affiliate Wandachristine. Beauty’s Daughter runs July 7 – August 5, 2017 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. 

Dates: July 7 – August 5, 2017
Previews: July 7 – July 12, 2017
Press Opening: Thursday, July 13, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.
Regular Run: July 14 – August 5, 2017

Schedule: 
Thursday:7:30 p.m.
Friday: 7:30 p.m.
Saturday:7:30 p.m.
Sunday: 2:30 p.m. 

Additional performances on Wednesdays, July 12, 19 & 24 at 7:30pm; Wednesday, August 2 at 2:30pm; and Saturday, August 5 at 3:00pm.  There will be no performance on Saturday, August 5 at 7:30 pm.

Location: Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago

Ticket prices: $19 - $49
Box Office: Buy online at AmericanBluesTheater.com or by calling 773.327.5252.

This Obie Award-winning play by Dael Orlandersmith depicts one woman’s journey through life’s obstacles in an East Harlem neighborhood. Artistic Affiliate Wandachristine takes on 6 different characters during the course of this solo play—some broken, some on the way down, but all memorable.

“Wandachristine’s performance is wholly engrossing as she embodies the gestures, voices, and exceptional rhythms of Ms. Orlandersmith’s world,” says Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside.

The creative team for Beauty’s Daughter includes Caitlin McLeod (scenic design), Artistic Affiliate Jared Gooding (lighting design), Michael Alan Stein (costume design), Eric Backus (sound design), Mary O’Dowd (props design), and Artistic Affiliate Paul Deziel (projection design). The assistant director is Artemis Steakley Freeman, the dramaturg is Wilson Cain and the stage manager is Cara Parrish.

About the Artists
Dael Orlandersmith is a Goodman Artistic Associate and Artist-in-Residence at the new Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement at the Goodman. Ms. Orlandersmith collaborated with the Goodman on Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men during the 2012/2013 Season and Stoop Stories during the 2009/2010 Season. Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men was developed as a co-commission between the Goodman and Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where it was staged in May 2012. Ms. Orlandersmith first performed Stoop Stories in 2008 at The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival and Apollo Theater’s Salon Series; Washington, D.C.’s Studio Theatre produced its world premiere in 2009. Her play Forever, commissioned by the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, was performed at the Mark Taper Forum in fall 2014. The show was then performed at the Long Wharf Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop and Portland Center Stage in 2015. Her play Until the Fall will play the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in fall 2016. Her play Horsedreams was developed at New Dramatists and workshopped at New York Stage and Film Company in 2008, and was performed at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in 2011. Bones was commissioned by the Mark Taper Forum, where it premiered in 2010. Ms. Orlandersmith premiered The Blue Album, in collaboration with David Cale, at Long Wharf Theatre in 2007. Yellowman was commissioned by and premiered at McCarter Theatre in a co-production with the Wilma Theater and Long Wharf Theatre. Ms. Orlandersmith was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Drama Desk Award nominee for Outstanding Play and Outstanding Actress in a Play for Yellowman in 2002. The Gimmick, commissioned by McCarter Theatre, premiered in their Second Stage OnStage series in 1998 and went on to great acclaim at Long Wharf Theatre and New York Theatre Workshop; Ms. Orlandersmith won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for The Gimmick in 1999. Her play Monster premiered at New York Theatre Workshop in November 1996. Ms. Orlandersmith has toured extensively with the Nuyorican Poets Café (Real Live Poetry) throughout the United States, Europe and Australia. Yellowman and a collection of her earlier works have been published by Vintage Books and Dramatists Play Service. Ms. Orlandersmith attended Sundance Institute Theatre Lab for four summers and is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Grant, the Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, a Guggenheim award and the 2005 PEN/Laura Pels Foundation award for a playwright in mid-career. She is the recipient of a Lucille Lortel Foundation Playwrights Fellowship and an Obie Award for Beauty’s Daughter.

Ron OJ Parson is a native of Buffalo, New York, and a graduate of the University of Michigan’s professional theatre program. He is the co-founder and former Artistic Director of The Onyx Theatre Ensemble of Chicago, a Resident Artist at Court Theatre and an Associate Artist with Teatro Vista and Writers Theatre. Since moving to Chicago from New York in 1994, he has worked as both an actor and director. His Chicago credits include work with Victory Gardens, Goodman, Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Northlight Theatre, Court Theatre, Black Ensemble Theatre, Congo Square Theatre, Urban Theatre Co., ETA Creative Arts Foundation, Chicago Theatre Company, and Writers Theatre. Regionally, Ron has directed shows at Studio Arena Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, Geva Theatre, Virginia Stage and Portland Stage (Maine), among others. Ron also has directed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada. Acting credits on television and film include ER, Early Edition, Turks, American Playhouse, Vamping, Barbershop 2, Primal Fear, Ali, Drop Squad, Boss and most recently Fox’s Empire.

Wandachristine has graced the small screen in many memorable guest starring roles; the last one playing Birdie on Chicago PD. On the large screen, she’s worked alongside talents like Whoopi Goldberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Paul Newman, Tom Selleck, Clifton Davis; and she starred as Mrs. Jones, in the hit dramedy Me and Mrs. Jones along with Kim Fields and Brian White. On stage, she has appeared in such notable productions as, Spunk, The Vagina Monologues, Oo-Bla-Dee, and the touring company of Fences. However, her role as Quilly in the Writer’s Theatre production of Old Settler, garnered both a Supporting Actress nomination and the Best Actress nomination for the noted Ruby Dee/Black Theater Alliance Award, which was also the last time she and director Ron Oj Parson worked together. Her voice work includes commercials for Mc Donald’s, political campaigns, Scarface the video game, The Justice League and work with Eddie Murphy on the PJ’s. As an alumni of Loyola University, she was commissioned to write a one-act play Welcome Home for the opening of the Newhart Family Theater.  Recent literary projects include her first novel, “I Love You…More Than Shoes!” and her most recent play One Day.

Community Service
American Blues Theater is proud to continue “Pink Previews” for this production. Proceeds from preview performances are donated to the Lynn Sage Foundation for breast cancer research.

Additional community partners for this production include the Night Ministry, Young Chicago Authors, and The Family Institute at Northwestern University.

Accessible Performance Schedule
Touch Tour and Audio Described Performance: Sunday, July 16. Touch Tour begins at 1:30pm, performance begins at 2:30pm.  Closed Caption Performance: Sunday, July 23 begins at 2:30pm.

Post-Show Town Hall Meetings and Special Events
American Blues Theater offers free post-show events following Sunday performances of Beauty’s Daughter, July 9 – 30, 2017. 

About American Blues Theater
Winner of the American Theatre Wing’s prestigious 2016 National Theatre Company Award, American Blues Theater is a premier arts organization with an intimate environment that patrons, artists, and all Chicagoans call home.  American Blues Theater explores the American identity through the plays it produces and communities it serves.

The diverse and multi-generational artists have established the second-oldest professional Equity Ensemble theater in Chicago.  The 37-member Ensemble has 530+ combined years of collaboration on stage. As of 2016, the theater and artists received 186 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations that celebrate excellence in Chicago theater and over 31 Black Theatre Alliance Awards. The artists are honored with Pulitzer Prize nominations, Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades.  

The American Blues Theater Ensemble includes all four Founders Ed Blatchford, Rick Cleveland, James Leaming, and William Payne with Dawn Bach, Matthew Brumlow, Manny Buckley, Kate Buddeke, Sarah Burnham, Dara Cameron, Casey Campbell, Darren Canady, Brian Claggett, Dennis Cockrum, Austin Cook, Laura Coover, Ian Paul Custer, Lauri Dahl, Joe Foust, Cheryl Graeff, Marty Higginbotham, Jaclyn Holsey, Lindsay Jones, Nambi E. Kelley, Kevin R. Kelly, Steve Key, Ed Kross, Warren Levon, Michael Mahler, Heather Meyers, John Mohrlein, Christopher J. Neville, Suzanne Petri, Carmen Roman, Editha Rosario, Sarah E. Ross, and Gwendolyn Whiteside.

American Blues Theater programs and activities are made possible, in part by funding by The MacArthur Funds for Arts & Culture at Prince, the Shubert Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust, SMART Growth Grant, Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Anixter Foundation, Actors’ Equity Foundation, and the Chip Pringle Fund. ComEd is the Season Lighting Sponsor.

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