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Showing posts with label babes with blades. Show all posts
Showing posts with label babes with blades. Show all posts

Friday, April 5, 2024

Babes With Blades Theatre Company Presents World Premiere of The S Paradox April 7th Through May 18th, 2024

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

BABES WITH BLADES THEATRE COMPANY’S WORLD PREMIERE OF 

THE S PARADOX

WINNER OF INTERNATIONAL PLAYWRITING COMPETITION


Please note: masks are required for all performances. 

The running time is 95 minutes with no intermission. 

True to Chicago Being a Hub for New Work, Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s 10th Winner Of The International Playwriting Competition Joining Sword & Pen and The Margaret W. Martin Award Opens this Sunday, April 7

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU FIGHT FOR

Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s (BWBTC) 2024 season opens this Sunday, April 7 with The S Paradox, written by Joining Sword & Pen International Playwright Competition (JS&P) and Margaret W. Martin Award Winner Jillian Leff, directed by Morgan Manasa with fight direction by Samantha Kaufman at The Factory Theater, 1623 W. Howard St. The S Paradox runs through May 18 with preview performances Sunday, April 7 at 3 p.m.; Thursday, April 11 at 8 p.m. and Friday, April 12 at 8 p.m. The press opening is Saturday, April 13 at 8 p.m. with a performance schedule of Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. The streaming dates are Saturday May 11  at 8 p.m.; Sunday, May 12 at 3 p.m.; Thursday, May 16 and Friday, May 17 at 8 p.m. available via Vimeo.com.  Open Caption performances are available Saturday, May 4 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, May 5 at 3 p.m., and Thursday and Friday, May 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. with sensory-friendly performances Sundays, April 21 and 28 at 3 p.m. Tickets for the live and the streaming productions are $28 - $35 and available at BabesWithBlades.org.

Taking place in a distant future where the United States has undergone sweeping reform, The S Paradox is a world where guns are banned, healthcare is free,and numerous tax and economic bills have helped lessen the division of classes and pulled millions out of poverty. Sloane (first name Bridget, but don’t call her that) is a young woman who has been tapped by a watchdog intelligence agency called the CRC, led by the odd, yet domineering William Hale. As Sloane triumphantly (and a little drunkenly) leaves a warehouse after signing her contract, she is stopped by a mysterious woman who says she has come back in time to stop Sloane from making the biggest mistake of her life. 

“Chicago’s storefront theatre scene as a whole is very passionate about creating something that makes a lasting impact and is new and fresh and bold,” states winning Playwright Jillian Leff*. “Most of the time, you're going to find that in a new play.” 

“The S Paradox is an “Alias” meets “Looper” type tale, a sci-fi adventure that is an addition to the canon of new plays cultivated by BWBTC. The ensemble, originally founded as a company for women trained in stage combat, found few scripts outside of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew that called for femme actors to fight,” said Artistic Director Hayley Rice*. “Scripts that did “benefit” from having a woman trained in stage combat typically involved scenarios where female characters were the victims of the violence happening in a play.”

Now in its 19th year, Joining Sword & Pen International Playwright “continues to give space and a voice for stories from marginalized voices in theater,”added Rice. “With the total prize and award being a combination of developing the new script that leads to a full production and a cash prize, this is rare in the theater industry and we want to continue this as an opportunity for the development of new work in the industry.

Chicago playwright Jillian Leff talks about her experience through the development process with BWBTC: “I've done mostly one-off workshops for my other plays, which are definitely helpful, but I enjoy BWBTC’s Fighting Words program because it's working with your script over the better part of a year, with mainly the same people. I've felt it's helped The S Paradox grow exponentially.”

The S Paradox’s ensemble cast of 12 artists includes Elisabeth Del Toro (she/her, Dez); Luz Espinoza (she/her, Dez U/S and Older Dez); Cat Evans (any with respect, Ava); Kayla Marie Klammer (she/her, Sloane); Sonja Lynn Mata (she/her, Older Dez); Deanna Palmer (she/her, Nameless, Sloane U/S); Steve Peebles (he/him, William); Jessica Pennachio (she/her, Nameless, S U/S); Thomas Russell (he/they, Nameless, William U/S); Emily Sturges (she/they, Nameless U/S); Tina-Kim Nyguen (she/her, Nameless, Ava U/S) and Maureen Yasko* (she/her, S).

The production team includes BWBTC Ensemble Members Line Bower* (they/them, technical director), Jillian Leff* (she/her, playwright) and Morgan Manasa* (she/her, director) as well as Evy Burch (they/her, props designer), Rose Hamill (she/her, production manager), Rose Johnson (they/them, scenic designer); Samantha Kaufman (she/her, fight director), L.J. Luthringer (he/him, sound designer); Payton Shearn (she/they, production assistant), Taylor Stageberg (she/they, stage manager); Rachel M. Sypniewski (she/her, costume designer); Laura J. Wiley (she/her, lighting designer) and Theo Yaeck (they/them, assistant stage manager). 

*Denotes BWBTC ensemble member


ABOUT JILLIAN LEFF, PLAYWRIGHT OF THE S PARADOX

Jillian Leff (she/her/hers) is a Chicago based playwright and actor, whose work has been

produced in Chicago, Los Angeles, Florida and Indiana. The world premiere of Small

World (co-written with Joe Lino) was a Jeff Award nominee for New Work. She is an

ensemble member with Babes With Blades Theatre Company, where she has appeared in Richard III (Buckingham), Women of 4G (Pierce) and The Good Fight (Cicely) and is excited to work with BWBTC as a playwright again after workshopping her play The Mark through Fighting Words. She has a BFA in acting from Ball State University and is an advanced actor combatant with The Society of American Fight Directors. 

ABOUT MORGAN MANASA, DIRECTOR OF THE S PARADOX

Morgan Manasa (she/her/hers), a graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts and Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University, has been a theatremaker in Chicago for the past 20 years. Manasa is an ensemble member of Babes With Blades Theatre Company where she’s been seen in their production of Henry V (Fluellen) and Witch Slap! (Goody Blunt). She has directed a handful of one-acts and 10-minute play festivals but made her mainstage directorial debut with Arthur M. Jolly’s The Lady Demands Satisfaction (Jeff Recommended) with BWBTC. Most recently she directed JANE: The Abortion Underground with Idle Muse Theatre Company where she also directed In The Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 

ABOUT JOINING SWORD & PEN INTERNATIONAL PLAYWRITING COMPETITION AND THE MARGARET W. MARTIN AWARD

The Joining Sword & Pen international playwriting competition launched in 2005 to generate more scripts that featured women in roles involving stage combat.  Created in collaboration with Artistic Advisor and Fight Master in the Society of American Fight Directors David Woolley who sponsors the competition, scripts inspired by a specific image are submitted and go through a blind judging process.  The winning script goes through BWBTC’s new play development program, but also receives a full production, cash prize and the Margaret W. Martin Award.

Margaret W. Martin was ahead of her time. In the 1960s and 70s, she maintained her full time job, taught piano, and raised a family of 6 children (4 girls, two boys) all while she traveled the globe from the States to Saudi Arabia, across Europe and Vientiane Laos during the height of the Vietnam war. She founded the American International School – Riyadh (K-12) in Saudi Arabia in 1963, and it has flourished as an institution since then. The Margaret W. Martin Award is in honor of Artistic Advisor and SAFD Fight Master David Woolley’s mother. 


ABOUT BABES WITH BLADES THEATRE COMPANY

Babes With Blades Theatre Company – for over the past 20 years, and moving into the future – strives to develop and present scripts focused on complex, dynamic (often combative) characters who continue to be underrepresented on theatre stages based on gender. Babes With Blades Theatre Company uses (and will continue to use) stage combat to tell stories that elevate the voices of underrepresented communities and dismantle the patriarchy.

In each element of their programming, they embrace two key concepts:

1) Folks of marginalized genders and underrepresented communities are central to the story, driving the action rather than responding or submitting to it.

2) Everyone is capable of a full emotional and physical range, up to and including violence and its consequences.

The company offers participants and patrons alike an unparalleled opportunity to experience every person as heroes and villains; rescuers and rescues; right, wrong and everywhere in between: exciting, vivid, dynamic PEOPLE. It’s as simple and as subversive as that. 

BWBTC’s 2024 programming is partially made possible by the kind support of The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, a grant from The Illinois Arts Council Agency, a CityArts Grant from the the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events (DCASE), and the support of the Small Business Alliance Shuttered Venue Operators (SVOG) grant program.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT STATEMENT:

Babes With Blades Theatre Company produces theatre in venues located on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. Many other tribes such as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, and Fox also called this area home. This region that we now commonly refer to as “The Chicagoland Area”, has long been a center for Indigenous people to gather, trade, and maintain kinship ties. Today, one of the largest urban Native American communities in the United States resides in Chicago. Members of this community continue to contribute to the life of this city and to celebrate their heritage, practice traditions and care for the land and waterways.


Wednesday, August 17, 2022

OPENING: BABES WITH BLADES' RICHARD III, AUGUST 25 – OCTOBER 15th AT THE EDGE THEATER

 COME SLAY WITH US: 

 BABES WITH BLADES THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM FOR RICHARD III, AUGUST 25 – OCTOBER 15, 

AT THE EDGE THEATER

Directed By Richard Costes, Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s Shakespeare Features Non-Traditional Casting and is Informed by a Collaboration with the University Of Illinois Chicago and their incubators for Disability Arts and Culture

Babes With Blades Theatre Company (BWBTC) returns to live performances with its 2022 season and its presentation of William Shakespeare’s Richard III, in partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago’s Disability Cultural Center and directed by Richard Costes, August 25 – October 15, at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway Ave., with select performances being live streamed. Previews are Thursday, Aug. 25 – Saturday, Aug. 27 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 28 at 3 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 1 and Friday, Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. I'll be out for the press opening Sept. 3rd so check back shortly after for my full review. The regular performance schedule is Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. All performances are presented with open captioning and select performances will be live streamed. Tickets are $20-35 available HERE.

Babes With Blades Theatre Company brings the tale of Shakespeare’s most complex, cruel and fascinating protagonist to life this summer in a new version that accounts for previously disregarded perspectives.  BWBTC Shakespeare’s Richard III tells the story of Richard of Gloucester, who uses intelligence, deception and political manipulation towards his ultimate goal: England’s crown. Babes With Blades’ production is a partnership with a project called “Making Inclusive Theatre: Richard III as Disability Art,” a collaboration with the University of Illinois Chicago’s Disability Cultural Center, the UIC Department of Theatre and Bodies of Work, a network of disability arts and culture. BWBTC Shakespeare’s production of Richard III adds a new layer to the complex tale by making it more inclusive in order to further explore othering and disability culture.  

“This production represents so many aspects that are priorities for BWBTC: focusing on marginalized stories, telling complicated tales of flawed humans and our signature of stage combat as a storytelling tool,” states Artistic Director Hayley Rice. “This team is ready to tell Richard III’s story in the manner it should be told, with the artists who should be telling it, but are so often left out of the conversation completely.”

The ensemble cast of 13 artists features Kristen Alesia,  (she/her/hers/they/them/theirs; Lady Anne/Lord Hastings), Aszkara Gilchrist, (she/her/hers; Richard III); Madison Hill, (they/them/theirs; Ratcliffe/Duke of York); Leah Huskey, (she/her/hers; Lord Grey/Duchess of York); Kayla Marie Klammer, (she/her/hers; Lord Lovell/Archbishop of Canterbury); Lauren Paige, (she/her/hers; Queen Elizabeth); Pat Roache, (they/them/theirs; Queen Margaret/Brackenbury); Genesis Sanchez, (she/her/hers/they/them/theirs; Earl of Richmond); Symmone Sill, (she/her/hers; Marquis of Dorset/Prince Edward); Marianna Gallegos, (she/her/hers; understudy for Margaret/Brackenbury, Ratcliffe/York, Catesby); Jo Hoch, (she/her/hers, understudy Richard III); Alison Kertz, (she/her/hers, understudy Queen Elizabeth/Richmond, Grey/Duchess of York); Emma Norville, (she/her/hers, understudy Clarence/Stanley/Lord Mayor, Anne/Hastings); Elizabeth Quilter, (she/her/hers, understudy Lovell/Archbishop, Buckingham) and Xela Rosas, (she/her/hers, understudy Rivers/Bishop of Ely/Messenger, Dorset/Prince Edward, King Edward IV) along with BWBTC ensemble members Kim Fukawa, (she/her/hers, Catesby/King Edward IV); Jillian Leff, (she/her/hers; Duke of Buckingham); Jennifer L. Mickleson, (she/her/hers; Duke of Clarence/Lord Stanley/Lord Mayor); Izis Mollinedo, (they/them/theirs/she/her/hers; Rivers/Bishop of Ely/Messenger).  

The production team includes Richard Costes, (he/him/his; director); Claire Alston, (she/her/hers; dramaturg); Esau Andaleon, (he/him/his; assistant stage manager); Dr. Margaret Fink, (she/her/hers; director of Disability Cultural Center, UIC); Bianca C. Frazer, PhD (she/her/hers; UIC Disability Culture Advisory Team) Rose Hamill, (she/her/hers; production manager); Carrie Hardin, (she/her/hers; text coach); Jesse D. Irwin, (he/him/his; sound design); Matt Lauterbach, (he/him/his; accessibility coordinator); Sydney Lynne, (she/her/hers; scenic design); Clare McKellaston (she/her/hers; costume design), Tab Mocherman (they/them/theirs; COVID compliance officer); AJ Morley (he/him/his; props design); Gabrielle Owens, (she/her/hers/they/them/theirs; stage manager); Kat Pleviak, (she/her/hers; puppet design); Keyana Robinson, (she/her/hers); UIC videographer); Carrie Sandahl, (she/her/hers, PhD, professor of Department of Disability and Human Development; UIC Disability Culture Advisory Team), Rachelle Tsachor, (she/her/hers; UIC Disability Culture Advisory Team), Becca Veneable, (she/her/hers; lighting design) and BWBTC Ensemble Members Maureen Yasko, (she/her/hers; fight/intimacy design) and Jillian Leff, (she/her/hers; assistant fight/intimacy design). 

 

ABOUT RICHARD COSTES, DIRECTOR OF RICHARD III 

Richard Costes is a deaf artist of color who has also worked as an actor, director, playwright and accessibility consultant. Costes grew up near Youngstown, Ohio where he graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies. His professional career began in Chicago, where he fell in love with the storefront theater scene and its continued work towards diversity and inclusion. Since 2014, he has performed at Steep Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Red Tape Theatre, Redtwist Theatre, Broken Nose Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, Rasaka Theatre Company and many others.  He is a 2017 recipient of a 3Arts Make a Wave grant. He has presented at Gallaudet University’s symposium on Visual Shakespeare and was a member of the 2019 Deaf Theatre Action Planning Session hosted by HowlRound at Emerson College. 


ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CHICAGO DISABILITY CULTURAL CENTER (UIC DCC)

As one of the first Disability Cultural Centers in the country, the UIC DCC is committed to building community around disability experience and anti-ableism. It centers disability issues as social justice issues, exploring intersectional identities, developing disability culture, fostering a sense of belonging, and imagining radically different futures. Most UIC DCC programming is open to everyone--students, staff, faculty, and community members--and nondisabled allies are welcome to join; the Center also hosts intentional spaces for disabled people to find community. The UIC DCC's programs include public lectures, discussion series, arts-based workshops and one-on-one support.

 

ABOUT BWBTC SHAKESPEARE

Aligned with their mission of representing marginalized voices, BWBTC Shakespeare specifically features actors of marginalized genders to provide an opportunity for audiences to perceive these classic stories through a new lens.  For this production, BWBTC has partnered with UIC’s Disability Cultural Center, the department of Theatre, and Bodies of Work to tell the tale of Richard of Gloucester’s rise to power. Casting both disabled and non-disabled actors and exploring disability beyond the role of Richard III, this production will not only examine stage combat as a storytelling tool, but also interrogate the barriers that the theatre industry often creates when it comes to accessibility for actors.


ABOUT BABES WITH BLADES THEATRE COMPANY

Babes With Blades Theatre Company – over the past 20 years and moving into the future – strives to develop and present scripts focused on complex, dynamic (often combative) characters who continue to be underrepresented on theatre stages based on gender. Babes With Blades Theatre Company uses (and will continue to use) stage combat to tell stories that elevate the voices of underrepresented communities and dismantle the patriarchy.

In each element of their programming, they embrace two key concepts:

1)     Folks of marginalized genders and underrepresented communities are central to the story, driving the action rather than responding or submitting to it.

2)     Everyone is capable of a full emotional and physical engagement, up to and including violence and its consequences.

The company offers participants and patrons alike an unparalleled opportunity to experience every person as heroes and villains; rescuers and rescues; right, wrong and everywhere in between: exciting, vivid, dynamic PEOPLE. It’s as simple and as subversive as that.

This production of Richard III is supported by a UIC Creative Activity Award for a project called "Making Inclusive Theatre: Richard III as Disability Art." 

BWBTC’s 2022 programming is partially made possible by the kind support of The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, a grant from The Illinois Arts Council Agency, a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events (DCASE), and the support of the Small Business Alliance Shuttered Venue Operators (SVOG) grant program.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT STATEMENT:

Babes With Blades Theatre Company produces theatre in venues located on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. Many other tribes such as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, and Fox also called this area home. This region that we now commonly refer to as “The Chicagoland Area”, has long been a center for Indigenous people to gather, trade, and maintain kinship ties. Today, one of the largest urban Native American communities in the United States resides in Chicago. Members of this community continue to contribute to the life of this city and to celebrate their heritage, practice traditions and care for the land and waterways.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

FREE With RSVP: Babes With Blades' First Fighting Words Festival at Strawdog Theatre 5/19 & 5/20/18

Fest Alert: Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Two Days...
Three Great New Plays.

Want to see the newest woman-centered plays featuring the art of stage combat? Be there for BWBTC's first ever 
Fighting Words Festival!



Farce, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy...all in one weekend!


ChiIL Mama will be there... will YOU?!


May 19-20, 2018
Strawdog Theatre (1802 W Berenice Ave., Chicago)

Saturday 5/19:
12:00pm -
The Lady Demands Satisfaction* by Arthur Jolly
2:30pm -
Women of 4G by Amy Tofte

Sunday 5/20:
7:00pm -
The Witches of Birnam by Sara Murdock

FREE ADMISSION! Refreshments and a talkback follow each reading.

To reserve your FREE SEAT, go here.

*Winner of Joining Sword & Pen 2017-18




Check Out These Babes

Chloe Baldwin is off to California this summer to apprentice with Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, appearing in their productions of Othello and Two Noble Kinsmen.

Barbara Lhota's new play GIRL FOUND, produced by Idle Muse Theatre Company, with Alison Dornheggen directing, intimacy design by Jennifer L. Mickelson, and featuring Kathrynne Wolf, plays at The Edge Theater from May 17 thru Sunday, June 10th, Previews: May, 12th, 13th, 16th.

Barbara Lhota's play RAEANN'S GOTTA WIN: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO DRAGON SLAYING, will be read at Prop Theater's Church of the New Play on Sunday, July 15th at 11AM. 

Check out Artistic Associate Elizabeth MacDougald in Down the Rock Road and all the Way to Bedlam with Otherworld Theatre, running through May 13th at Fox Arca Theatre. 



Thursday, January 4, 2018

OPENING: The Good Fight at City Lit Via Babes With Blades Through February 17th

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

BABES WITH BLADES THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES CHICAGO PREMIERE OF
THE GOOD FIGHT AT THE CITY LIT THEATER,
JANUARY 6 – FEBRUARY 17, 2018

A Remarkable True Chapter in the Struggle for Women’s Suffrage:
The English Suffragettes who Learned Jujutsu


running time is 1 hour and 45 minutes 
including intermission

Babes With Blades Theatre Company (BWBTC) has been a favorite of ours here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows for decades! We adore their female centered period pieces and original works, and we're particularly jazzed to see The Good Fight. We're also completely down with their mission statement:

In each element of their programming, BWBTC embraces two key concepts:

1)     Women are central to the story, driving the action rather than responding or submitting to it

2)     Women are capable of a full emotional and physical range, up to and including violence and its consequences.

The company offers participants and patrons alike an unparalleled opportunity to experience women as heroes and villains; rescuers and rescuees; right, wrong, and everywhere in between: exciting, vivid, dynamic PEOPLE. It’s as simple and as subversive as that.

 I'll be out on MLK Day, Monday the 15th, for the press opening, so check back shortly after for my full review. I love that in the microcosm of Chicago's theatre world, this show is coming on the heels of Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's incredible Women's suffrage version of Taming of the Shrew, conceived and directed by the inimitable Barbara Gaines. It's my least favorite Shakespearian work and I'm still stunned and elated that Barbara was able to work some serious magic with this historically problematic, misogynistic piece and turn it into a feminist masterpiece, while remaining true to Shakespeare's original words and themes.

I can't wait to immerse myself in the women's suffrage era once again, with Babes With Blades, and experience a kick ass element of the movement we never learned in school, The English Suffragettes who Learned Jujutsu.





BWBTC continues its 20th Anniversary Season: “Origins” with the Chicago premiere of The Good Fight, playing at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., January 6 – February 17, 2018.  

Developed in 2011 through BWBTC’s Fighting Words program under the title Deeds Not Words, the play is written by Anne Bertram, executive director of Theatre Unbound, a Minneapolis/St. Paul company devoted to work by and about women. Elizabeth Lovelady, a Jeff Award-winning artist based in Chicago, directs The Good Fight, which features combat by Fight Choreographer Gaby Labotka. Preview performances are Saturday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 7 at 3 p.m., Friday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. Opening Night is Monday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. Regular performances are Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Preview tickets are $10, student and senior tickets are $15, early bird general admission (available online through January 15, 2018) are $20 and general admission (after January 15, 2018) are $25. To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit BabesWithBlades.org.

The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), led by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel, was the primary militant group pushing for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. Under the slogan "Deeds, not words," the WSPU advocated targeting property as a form of protest, from smashing shop windows to burning and bombing buildings. Imprisoned WSPU members – including Pankhurst – launched hunger strikes, which were initially countered by the authorities with force-feeding; later the government introduced the "Cat and Mouse Act," under which starving suffragettes were released, only to be re-imprisoned once regaining their health. To defend their leaders and comrades, the WSPU established "The Bodyguard" – a secret, all-female security team, trained in jujutsu – and the good fight began.

So what do British women from the early 20th century have to say to today's audiences?

“They had to arrive at answers for questions that sound awfully familiar: When is it OK to use violence? What difference does it make if women are in power? If you believe a law is unjust, should you break it?” said Playwright Anne Bertram. “It’s also good to remind ourselves about the price these women paid to secure women’s voting rights. They were imprisoned, tortured, force-fed. Some died.”  Adds Director Elizabeth Lovelady, "The US has plenty of problems, but we have so many rights and comforts that women in other parts of the world don't enjoy. During our auditions, as an example of how 'this is still happening,' I frequently referenced the fact that women in Saudi Arabia aren't allowed to drive. But since our auditions took place, the law has changed – and the change was largely influenced by women who broke the law and drove, and posted videos of it online. I think there's a lesson there, that you have to resist, but you also have to publicize your resistance to really influence a change. And that's a thing the women in this play do really well.”

Lovelady continues, “Lately there's so much discussion of white feminism (meaning white women who only care about moving themselves forward and don't recognize or try to address the unique issues that women of color face), which has been an issue with feminism since the get-go. So one way that I'm trying to bring this play out of the "history" department and into the "now" department is by casting a diverse array of women. To be clear, it's still set in the original time period, but we are populating the play with a group of women who don't look like you would expect. Instead they look like the people you'd ride the el with, making it speak more to the present. I hope that including women of color in this production will be a reminder that we are all in this together. And her rights are my rights. And if she's oppressed, we all need to stand up and fight.”

The cast of The Good Fight includes Scottie Caldwell, “Gertrude Harding;” Elisabeth Del Toro, "Mary;" Alison Dornheggen*, "Christabel Pankhurst/Edith Garrud;" Delia Ford*, "Harriet Kerr;" David Kaplinsky, "Mr. Dickinson/Charlie/Inspector McBrien/Constable;" Jean Marie Koon, "Emmeline Pankhurst;" Jillian Leff, "Cicely;" Arielle Leverett, "Grace Roe;" C. Jaye Miller, "Hilda;" Taylor Raye, "Emily Wilding Davison/Wardess;" Joseff Stevenson, "Home Secretary McKenna/Constable/Inspector Gray/Jujutsu Demonstrator" and Richard Traub, "Mr. Hunt/Bill/Constable/Prison Guard" with Tina Arfaee and Catherine Dvorak*, understudies.

The production team for The Good Fight includes Anne Bertram, Playwright and Elizabeth Lovelady, Director with Samantha Barr, Production Manager; Lauren Brady, Assistant Stage Manager; Kenya Hall, Dramaturg; Rose Hamill, Stage Manager; Carrie Hardin, Dialect Coach; Gaby Labotka, Fight Choreography; Kimberly G. Morris*, Costume Design; Patrick O’Brien, Sound Design; Rachel Rauscher, Scenic Design; Julia Skeggs, Assistant Director; Arielle Valene, Properties Design and Becca Venable, Lighting Design, Technical Director.

*denotes BWBTC ensemble member

The Good Fight SPECIAL EVENTS
“No Man Shall Protect Us” filming
Throughout January

“No Man Shall Protect Us” is a documentary on a secret society of women who served as bodyguards for the leaders of the radical suffragette movement in England during 1913/14. The documentary was crowd funded via a successful Kickstarter campaign during October 2017.  The production will make use of rare archival media, including photographs and silent film, as well as the narrative device of interview-style monologues by actors portraying key historical figures, such as suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst.  Re-enactment sequences, including action scenes, will be shot during January and February of 2018 and the completed documentary will then be made freely available online as an educational resource, marking the 100th anniversary of women's voting rights in England.

Writer/producer Tony Wolf is the author of the young-reader biography “Edith Garrud: The Suffragette Who Knew Jujutsu” (2009) and the graphic novel trilogy “Suffrajitsu: Mrs. Pankhurst's Amazons” (2015).  He also wrote and co-produced the feature documentary Bartitsu: The Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes (2011).  Wolf has served as a historical consultant for several playwrights writing on the suffragette Bodyguard theme, including The Good Fight author Anne Bertram, as well as for BBC television productions including “Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting: The Rise of Martial Arts in Britain” (2013) and “The One Show” (2014).

The collaboration with Babes With Blades Theatre Company's production of The Good Fight will take place during January of 2018 and will involve shooting scenes from the play, which will then be edited to feature as re-enactment sequences in the documentary. 

Open Caption Weekend
January 25 – 28

All performances this weekend of The Good Fight feature open captioning by Caption Point, on a screen provided by the Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium (CCAC) Accessible Equipment Loan Program. 

“Women’s Suffrage: A Radical Difference in Tactics” – A Post-Show Talkback Sunday, Jan. 28

Emily E. LB. Twarog, PhD (Assistant Professor of History and Labor Studies at the University of Illinois’ School of Labor and Employment Relations - Labor Education Program; Director of the Regina V. Polk Women’s Labor Leadership Conference) and Tony Wolf (author of “Edith Garrud: The Suffragette Who Knew Jujutsu, Suffrajitsu: Mrs. Pankhurst's Amazons;” co-producer of No Man Shall Protect Us) compare and contrast the largely peaceful and law-abiding women's suffrage movement in the US with the radical militancy that characterized the UK movement between the years 1902-1914.

Pay What You Can Performances
Thursdays, Jan. 18 and 25 and Feb. 1 and 8
To reserve a PWYC seat, call 773-904-0391. 

IMPACT Weekend February 15 – 17
The Babes will be taking a post-show collection in honor of IMPACT Chicago at all performances this weekend. IMPACT is committed to ending violence and building a non-violent world in which all people can live safely and with dignity. By teaching self-defense, IMPACT provides women and girls with the tools they need to prevent, minimize, and stop violence.  IMPACT Chicago is committed to making its programs accessible to people of all economic, racial/ethnic, and social groups. For more information on IMPACT Chicago, please go to www.impactchicago.org.

ABOUT ANNE BERTRAM, PLAYWRIGHT

Anne Bertram is a founding artistic associate of Theatre Unbound, a Minneapolis/St. Paul company devoted to work by and about women. She currently serves as its executive director. Her work as a playwright has been seen in venues from off-Off Broadway to middle-school classrooms in Fargo, as well as successful runs with Theatre Unbound, including Murderess (2011) and The Good Fight (2012). Awards and commissions include Northwestern University’s Agnes Nixon Playwriting Award (lovehateforgive), The Playwrights’ Center’s Jones Commission (The Donner Gold), Studio Z’s Playwright in Electronic Residence Commission (St. Luke’s) and the Tennessee Williams One-Act Prize (Liability).

ABOUT ELIZABETH LOVELADY, DIRECTOR

Elizabeth Lovelady is a director, playwright, arts administrator and sometimes performer. She won the 2016 non-equity Jeff for Best Adaptation for D.O.A. with Strawdog Theatre, which she also directed. She is an artistic associate of Red Theater where she directed Prince Max's Trewly Awful Trip to the Desolat Interior and 20% Theatre where she directed Fanny's First Play and Photograph 51. Other favorite directing credits include Lone Star/Laundry and Bourbon, Crimes of the Heart, The Dining Room (Oil Lamp); The War to End War: Los Alamos (The Island) and Off the Spectrum, a devised piece she created as part of Red Tape Theatre’s Fresh Eyes project. She also created and performed the one-woman show A Simple Lesson in Baking with Marie Antoinette. 

ABOUT GABY LABOTKA, FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER

Gaby Labotka previously worked with BWBTC as assistant violence designer and Gloucester/Hartleur/John Bates for Henry V. Most recently, Labotka directed Wasteland Hero for the Reutan Collective and was the violence director for Night in Alachua County presented by WildClaw Theatre. She is currently the fight choreographer/assistant director for 'Twas the Night Before Christmas presented by Emerald City Theatre.  She is an advanced actor combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) and is frequently a teaching assistant for stage combat classes at Movement and Combat Education (MACE), The Actors Gymnasium and regional stage combat workshops. She is a proud member of the Alliance of Latinx Theatre Artists (ALTA).



ABOUT BABES WITH BLADES THEATRE COMPANY

Gender parity is a hot topic, with news clip after article after report documenting how women, and women’s stories, are still underrepresented. Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s response – now, for the past 20 years, and moving forward – is to develop and present scripts focused on complex, dynamic (and often combative) female characters.

In each element of their programming, they embrace two key concepts:

1)     Women are central to the story, driving the action rather than responding or submitting to it

2)     Women are capable of a full emotional and physical range, up to and including violence and its consequences.

The company offers participants and patrons alike an unparalleled opportunity to experience women as heroes and villains; rescuers and rescuees; right, wrong, and everywhere in between: exciting, vivid, dynamic PEOPLE. It’s as simple and as subversive as that.

Babes With Blades Theatre Company (BWBTC) continues its 20th Anniversary Season: “Origins” with the Chicago premiere of The Good Fight, playing at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., January 6 – February 17, 2018.  Developed in 2011 through BWBTC’s Fighting Words program under the title Deeds Not Words, the play is written by Anne Bertram, executive director of Theatre Unbound, a Minneapolis/St. Paul company devoted to work by and about women. Elizabeth Lovelady, a Jeff Award-winning artist based in Chicago, directs The Good Fight, which features combat by Fight Choreographer Gaby Labotka. Preview performances are Saturday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 7 at 3 p.m., Friday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. Opening Night is Monday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. Regular performances are Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Preview tickets are $10, student and senior tickets are $15, early bird general admission (available online through January 15, 2018) are $20 and general admission (after January 15, 2018) are $25. To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit BabesWithBlades.org. 

BWBTC’s 2017-18 programming is partially made possible by the kind support of The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council Agency, and a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

SAVE THE DATES: CAST ANNOUNCED FOR BABES WITH BLADES' THE GOOD FIGHT 1/6/18-2/17/18

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

BABES WITH BLADES THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES CAST FOR THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF 
THE GOOD FIGHT 
AT THE CITY LIT THEATER, 
JANUARY 6 – FEBRUARY 17, 2018


A Remarkable True Chapter in the Struggle for Women’s Suffrage: 
The English Suffragettes who Learned Jiu-jitsu

Babes With Blades Theatre Company (BWBTC) continues its 20th Anniversary Season: “Origins” with the Chicago premiere of The Good Fight, playing at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., January 6 – February 17, 2018.  Developed in 2011 through BWBTC’s Fighting Words program under the title Deeds Not Words, the play is written by Anne Bertram, executive director of Theatre Unbound, a Minneapolis/St. Paul company devoted to work by and about women. Elizabeth Lovelady, a Jeff Award-winning artist based in Chicago, directs The Good Fight, which features combat by Violence Designer Gaby Labotka with Assistant Violence Designer Almanya Narula. 

Preview performances are Saturday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 7 at 3 p.m., Friday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. Opening Night is Monday,Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. Regular performances are Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Preview tickets are $10, student and senior tickets are $15, early bird general admission (available online through January 15, 2018) are $20 and general admission (after January 15, 2018) are $25. To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit BabesWithBlades.org.

The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), led by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel, was the primary militant group pushing for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. Under the slogan "Deeds, not words," the WSPU advocated targeting property as a form of protest, from smashing shop windows to burning and bombing buildings. Imprisoned WSPU members – including Pankhurst – launched hunger strikes, which were initially countered by the authorities with force-feeding; later the government introduced the "Cat and Mouse Act," under which starving suffragettes were released, only to be re-imprisoned once regaining their health. To defend their leaders and comrades, the WSPU established "The Bodyguard" – a secret, all-female security team, trained in jiu-jitsu – and the good fight began. 

“The Good Fight imagines the personal lives of the historical women who literally fought for the vote in London in the early 20th century. The parallel to continued struggles for women's autonomy and gender parity cannot be ignored,” says Co-Artistic Director Kathrynne Wolf. Co-Artistic Director Elyse Dawson agrees and adds, “Babes With Blades Theatre Company is proud to shed light on this neglected corner of women's martial history as part of our 20th Anniversary Season. We're premiering The Good Fight in Chicago to remind our audiences that our good fight is far from over.”

The cast of The Good Fight includes Elisabeth Del Toro, "Mary;" Alison Dornheggen*, "Christabel Pankhurst/Edith Garrud;" Delia Ford*, "Harriet Kerr;" Jyreika Guest, "Gertrude Harding;" David Kaplinsky, "Mr. Dickinson/Charlie/Inspector McBrien/Constable;" Jean Marie Koon, "Emmeline Pankhurst;" Jillian Leff, "Cicely;" Arielle Leverett, "Grace Roe;" C. Jaye Miller, "Hilda;" Taylor Raye, "Emily Wilding Davison/Wardess;" Joseff Stevenson, "Home Secretary McKenna/Constable/Inspector Gray/Prison Guard" and Richard Traub, "Mr. Hunt/Bill/Constable/Jujitsu Demonstrator" with Tina Arfaee and Catherine Dvorak*, understudies.

*denotes BWBTC ensemble member

ABOUT ANNE BERTRAM, PLAYWRIGHT
Anne Bertram is a founding artistic associate of Theatre Unbound, a Minneapolis/St. Paul company devoted to work by and about women. She currently serves as its executive director. Her work as a playwright has been seen in venues from off-Off Broadway to middle-school classrooms in Fargo, as well as successful runs with Theatre Unbound, including Murderess (2011) and The Good Fight (2012). Awards and commissions include Northwestern University’s Agnes Nixon Playwriting Award (lovehateforgive), The Playwrights’ Center’s Jones Commission (The Donner Gold), Studio Z’s Playwright in Electronic Residence Commission (St. Luke’s) and the Tennessee Williams One-Act Prize (Liability).

ABOUT ELIZABETH LOVELADY, DIRECTOR
Elizabeth Lovelady is a director, playwright, arts administrator and sometimes performer. She won the 2016 non-equity Jeff for Best Adaptation for D.O.A. with Strawdog Theatre, which she also directed. She is an artistic associate of Red Theater where she directed Prince Max's Trewly Awful Trip to the Desolat Interior and 20% Theatre where she directed Fanny's First Play and Photograph 51. Other favorite directing credits include Lone Star/Laundry and Bourbon, Crimes of the Heart, The Dining Room (Oil Lamp); The War to End War: Los Alamos (The Island) and Off the Spectrum, a devised piece she created as part of Red Tape Theatre’s Fresh Eyes project. She also created and performed the one-woman show A Simple Lesson in Baking with Marie Antoinette. 

ABOUT GABY LABOTKA, VIOLENCE DESIGNER 
Gaby Labotka previously worked with BWBTC as assistant violence designer and Gloucester/Hartleur/John Bates for Henry V. Upcoming, Labotka is directing Wasteland Hero for the Reutan Collective, the violence director for Night in Alachua County presented by WildClaw Theatre and the fight choreographer/assistant director for 'Twas the Night Before Christmas presented by Emerald City Theatre.  She is an advanced actor combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) and is frequently a teaching assistant for stage combat classes at Movement and Combat Education (MACE), The Actors Gymnasium and regional stage combat workshops. She is a proud member of the Alliance of Latinx Theatre Artists (ALTA).

ABOUT ALMANYA NARULA, ASSISTANT VIOLENCE DESIGNER
Almanya Narula is an actor, combatant, fight choreographer and voiceover artist from Bangkok, Thailand. She is affiliated with both the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) and the British Academy of Stage & Screen Combat (BASSC). Most recently she was the fight choreographer and lead actor in the music video for Nickelback's “Feed the Machine.” In Chicago, she is currently featured in the Factory Theater's production of Fight Cityand will be the fight choreographer for upcoming productions with Steep Theatre Company and Jackalope Theatre Company.



BABES WITH BLADES THEATRE COMPANY – NEXT PRODUCTION
The Invisible Scarlet O’Neil
September 2 – October 14

Written by BWBTC Ensemble Member Barbara Lhota
Directed by BWBTC Ensemble Member Leigh Barrett
Violence Design by BWBTC Ensemble Member Libby Beyreis
Factory Theater, 1623 W. Howard Street
Previews: Saturday, Sept. 2 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 3 at 3 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 7 and Friday, Sept. 8 at 8 p.m.
Press Opening: Saturday Sept. 9 at 8 p.m.
Regular run: Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.
Ticket Price: Previews $10.00; Early Bird General Admission $20.00 (available through September 9); General Admission $25.00 (after September 9)

A mishap in her father's lab gave Scarlet O'Neil the power of invisibility – a power she promised him she'd never use. But Daddy never knew there'd be days like these….

It's the Windy City of the 1940s, and Dr. O'Neil's ex-lab assistant Evanna Keil is desperate to perfect her mind-controlling Ruby Red Lipstick before selling it to the KGB. The ensuing mayhem threatens everything Dr. O'Neil worked for, and everything Scarlet holds dear. Can Scarlet save her deceased father’s reputation, his scientific collaborators, AND their military secrets, plus her kidnapped landlady, a young prodigy, a small dog, the gals at the City News and all of Chicago – if not the world? It's the Invisible Scarlet O’Neil to the rescue! 



ABOUT BABES WITH BLADES THEATRE COMPANY
Gender parity is a hot topic, with news clip after article after report documenting how women, and women’s stories, are still underrepresented. Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s response – now, for the past 20 years, and moving forward – is to develop and present scripts focused on complex, dynamic (and often combative) female characters.

In each element of their programming, they embrace two key concepts: 
1) Women are central to the story, driving the action rather than responding or submitting to it
2) Women are capable of a full emotional and physical range, up to and including violence and its consequences.

The company offers participants and patrons alike an unparalleled opportunity to experience women as heroes and villains; rescuers and rescuees; right, wrong, and everywhere in between: exciting, vivid, dynamic PEOPLE. It’s as simple and as subversive as that.


BWBTC’s 2017-18 programming is partially made possible by the kind support of The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council Agency, and a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

OPENING: Henry V, with an all female cast at City Lit Theater Via Babes With Blades

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Babes With Blades Theatre Company presents 
Henry V, with an all female cast, 
opening February 27, 2017

BWBTC’s ’16-‘17 season, WOMEN ON THE FRONT LINES, wraps up with William Shakespeare’s story of war and redemption.


“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.”

Babes With Blades Theatre Company is back with their newest biennial all-female Shakespeare production, Henry V, to be performed at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., in Chicago. Previews will be Saturday, February 18 at 8PM, Sunday, February 19 at 3PM, Friday, February 24 at 8PM, Saturday, February 25 at 8PM, and Sunday, February 26 at 3PM. The press opening is Monday, February 27 at 8PM, and the show will run Thursdays-Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 3 through Saturday, April 1.

Henry V is directed by Hayley Rice with Violence Design by Kim Fukawa*. The cast features Diana Coates, Catherine Dvorak*, Delia Ford*, Kim Fukawa*, Samantha Kaufman, Gaby Labotka, Morgan Manasa*, Jennifer L. Mickelson*, Chelsea Rolfes, Alexis Randolph, Alison Vodnoy Wolf, and understudy Rachel Mock.

The design and production team of Henry V  includes Elyse Balogh (Scenic Design), Lara Caprini (Stage Manager), Carrie Hardin (Dialect Coach), Scott Leaton (Props Design), Matthew Reich (Sound Design), Dustin Spence (Production Manager), Rachel Sypniewski (Costume Design), and Andrea Trygstad (Lighting Design).

*denotes BWBTC ensemble member

About the Play
Ascending the throne of England after the death of his father, young Henry V faces suspicion from within his country and pressure from without. Hoping to unite his kingdom and ensure its future security, he embarks on a risky campaign to conquer France. As a newly-anointed king with a lot to atone for, the odds are against him… but will his people rally around him?

 “The action of Henry V takes place during the Hundred Years' War between France and England,” says director Hayley Rice. “While the time span is not as long, the United States has been engaged in conflicts in the Middle East for over 15 years, embroiled in the region's unrest for decades beyond that, and one cannot help but feel that nothing will be resolved in the near future. The undeniable parallel - the sense of slogging through a battle that's both predestined and never-ending - makes this play both timely and accessible.”  

Tickets:
$25 general admission ($20 with online reservation before Feb 18)
$15 students and seniors
$10 previews
Available at babeswithblades.org or 773-904-0391.

About the Director
Hayley Rice is a Chicago-area director whose work has been seen at such theaters as First Folio Theatre, Focal Point Theatre Company, & Prairie Fire Children’s Theatre in Minnesota. As an actor, she’s worked with The Factory Theater, Prologue Theatre, AstonRep Theatre, The Chicago Mammals, Circle Theatre, LiveWire Theatre, and Illinois Theatre Center, among others. She is a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University’s School of Theatre Arts and is a proud Artistic Associate of First Folio Theatre. 

About the Company
Babes With Blades Theatre Company uses stage combat to place women and their stories center stage. Through performance, script development, training, and outreach, our ensemble creates theatre that explores the wide range of the human experience, and cultivates broader perspectives in the arts community and in society as a whole.

Monday, April 25, 2016

OPENING: Babes With Blades' 180 Degree Rule

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s 180 Degree Rule,
Opening April 25, 2016


**Do note, there is violence & violence of a sexual nature**


A love story wrapped in a mystery.

Come see the show inspired by the pioneering female film directors in early Hollywood...and the world that was stacked against them.

Here at ChiIL Live Shows and ChiIL Mama we've long been fans of Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s excellent productions. I'll be there for the press opening so check back soon for our full review. They're excellent about providing a showcase for women in stage combat roles as well as showcasing talents of female directors and writers. They excel at historical pieces and this show will be their 18th world premiere production!


About the Play
 A 1960s film professor searches for the missing film masterpiece of an obscure lesbian director - killed pre-World War II at the height of her talent - and speculates she was murdered because of her defiant flaunting of her sexuality with the studio’s “it” girl. But once the director’s former lover, now an aging, reclusive German movie star, is involved in the search, a more disturbing narrative unravels. Moving between 1930s Berlin and Hollywood and the late ’60s, this play shifts from film to live action, flashback to the present as it reveals the truth behind a doomed romance.

 “This is a murder mystery, but it’s also a memory play,” says director Rachel Edwards Harvith. “It involves characters reaching across time to find each other. Memory plays tricks on us. Sometimes we remember hard facts, and other times we fill in gaps with assumptions—over time those assumptions become rewritten history. This production has visual poetry layered in with scenes, weaving between time periods, as characters struggle to find the truth, detect the lies, and express love they have been afraid to show.”

Inspired by the pioneering female directors of early Hollywood, such as Dorothy Arzner, Alice Guy-Blaché, and Lois Weber, 180 Degree Rule’s  most extensive historical nod is to Arzner, an open lesbian who was notorious for affairs with her leading women, including Joan Crawford.  She worked throughout the 1920s-40s, creating films with independent, complex female protagonists – often with lesbian subtext.

180 Degree Rule is a 2013 graduate of BWBTC’s Fighting Words script development program, was a finalist in the 2013 Pride Series Women’s Work Competition (for works by women with lesbian characters or themes), and was hosted for a final public reading by Chicago Dramatists.

This production has been awarded grants by the Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation and the Dramatists Guild Fund.



Post-show discussion, pay-what-you-can dates, and lots of desserts are in store for audiences during the run of the show

Events and deals have been announced for Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s 180 Degree Rule, written by Chicago playwrights Barbara Lhota (playwright, The Double and BWBTC ensemble member) and the late M.E.H. Lewis, to be performed at City Lit Theatre, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., in Chicago. The show will run Thursdays-Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 3 from April 28 - May 21, plus Wednesdays May 11 and May 18 8pm.

180 Degree Rule is directed by Rachel Edwards Harvith (Associate Artistic Director, Chicago Dramatists) and the cast features Kate Black-Spence, Tommy Bullington, Chris Cinereski, Amy E. Harmon*, Lisa Herceg*, Kimberly Logan*, Jason Narvy, and Kelly Yacono.*

The design and production team of 180 Degree Rule includes Leigh Barrett* (Sound Design), Libby Beyreis* (Violence Design), Kurt Brandt (Props Design), Jason Fleece (Dialect Coach), Adam Greye (Stage Manager), Kaitlyn Grissom (Technical Director), Amy E. Harmon* (Production Manager), Beth Laske-Miller (Costume Design), Barbara Lhota* (Production Manager), Carter Martin (Film Director/Editor), G. Max Maxin IV (Projection & Scenic Design), Heather Meyers (Dramaturg), Tim Tavano (Director of Photography), and Laura Wiley (Lighting Design).

*denotes BWBTC ensemble member



EVENTS
The Thursday performances of May 5 and May 12 will offer pay-what-you-can admission.

Sunday, May 8, stick around after the show for a post-show dessert buffet, featuring an array of tasty treats, homemade by the BWBTC ensemble. Delicious and free!

Wednesday, May 11, join us for “Cookies and Collaboration,” a post-show discussion with playwright Barbara Lhota.

Wednesday, May 11 and Wednesday, May 18 will be Industry Nights, offering ½ price tickets to anyone with proof of industry affiliation.

All closing weekend, May 18-21, BWBTC will be collecting monetary donations for the Pro Bono Network (http://www.pro-bono-network.org/)

Additional discounts and deals will be offered on BWBTC’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bwbtc

180 Degree Rule is a 2013 graduate of BWBTC’s Fighting Words script development program, was a finalist in the 2013 Pride Series Women’s Work Competition (for works by women with lesbian characters or themes), and was hosted for a final public reading by Chicago Dramatists.

This production has been awarded grants by the Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation and the Dramatists Guild Fund.


Tickets:
$22 general admission
$14 students and seniors
$10 previews
Available at babeswithblades.org or 773-904-0391.

About the Company


Babes With Blades Theatre Company uses stage combat to place women and their stories center stage. Through performance, script development, training, and outreach, our ensemble creates theatre that explores the wide range of the human experience, and cultivates broader perspectives in the arts community and in society as a whole.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

CLOSING: Babes With Blades Witch Slap!

Act Out:
Chicago Theatre openings, closings, reviews, giveaways, ticket sale dates and more. Chi, IL Live Shows on stage and on our radar.

FALL 2014: Witch Slap!
by Jeff Goode
WORLD PREMIERE!

We've been promoting this show since the first read through and have heard great things. Sadly, we've been shooting travel features out of state and we've been swamped since they opened and haven't made it over there to review. Still, check it out if you can. We are long time fans of Babes With Blades and so stoked that they call Chicago home. We've seen them tackle some amazing works over the years.

Like Hunger Games and women as protagonists who don't just lay around like the Disney coma princesses, waiting to be rescued?   Come check out some real life women who kick booty with sword fights & stage combat.  

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, Babes With Blades have been favorites of ours for years.   Their shows are aimed at adults, but my tweens adore them, too!


“Under Delia Ford’s direction, the actors take on their roles with distinction…Kimberly Logan (Crone) anchors the show with cackling wisdom…(Stefanie) Johnsen nails the physical comedy…Jennifer L. Mickelson garners laughs from her stoic presence…Loren Jones charms as the high-strung-witch-in-training” – Katy Walsh, The Fourth Walsh

Mass hysteria grips a colonial town as public witch hunts pit brother against brother. But when local witches attempt to band together to stop the madness, they quickly discover that sister against sister can be far more wicked.

Directed by Delia Ford*
Violence Design by Maureen Yasko*

“…The cast assembled by Delia Ford for this Babes With Blades production swaps vaudeville chat with precision timing…” – Mary Shen Barnidge, Windy City Times

SHOW DATES:
RUN: 8/17 – 9/20, Thurs – Sat at 8pm, Sun at 3:30pm

On the West Stage at the Raven Theatre Complex
6157 N. Clark St., Chicago

Get your tickets HERE! Or call to reserve: 773-904-0391
Check out our Promos & Events page for special deals!

CAST: Alison Dornheggen* (Jezebella), Stefanie Johnsen (Minerva), Loren Jones (Novella), Kimberly Logan* (Crone), Morgan Manasa* (Goody Blunt), Jennifer L. Mickelson* (Widow), Patti Moore (Sylvia)

STAFF: Kimberly Morris* (Costume Design), Justin Castellano (Lighting Design), Lindsey Miller (Stage Manager), Kait Mikitin (Production Manager), Claire Nelson (Props Design), Mason Absher (Sound Design), Nicci Schumacher (Scenic Design/Technical Director)
* denotes Babes With Blades company member



Witch Slap is the winner of the 2013-14 Joining Sword & Pen competition, sponsored since its inception by Fight Master David Woolley, SAFD. 

**(COINCIDENCE ALERT: We just saw David Woolley in the audience and spoke with him at the after party last night at the press opening of King Lear at Chicago Shakespeare. You may recognize him from The Swordsmen, frequent favorites on the Bristol Renaissance Faire and the Ohio Ren Faire circuits. We've been covering them for years.)

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