Free: Midwest Premiere of Paris Now Playing at Steep Theatre Through July 23rd

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

PARIS

By Eboni Booth

Directed by Jonathan Berry

A Midwest Premiere

Running Time: 1:30 with no intermission

Content Advisory: This production is intended for adult audiences. For more information about the content of this show, please click here.

Masks and vaccines are required at Steep Theatre. Please review our COVID safety protocols prior to reserving your tickets. 

All performances of Paris are currently sold out. We are working to increase seating capacity, but in the meantime, we encourage you to sign up for the wait list.

Ticket Price: In celebration of Steep’s return to Edgewater, this production will be free to attend. Donations are accepted.

Returning home to the small town of Paris, Vermont, Emmie tries to make ends meet while navigating the challenges of being Black in a predominantly white community. After finally landing a second job at a retail giant, her search for connection and identity leads her to a stark realization. Eboni Booth’s Paris, an off-beat workplace comedy, explores the impacts of race and economics on the wage-earners of rural America.

All Photos by Randall Starr

“A master class in putting on a play in a raw space.”

”It’s a heck of a reminder of what we have been missing.”

-Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

Performance Schedule

Previews: June 11 - June 16

Press Opening: Friday, June 17

Performances: June 17 - July 23

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:30 pm

Sunday afternoons at 3 pm

Performance Location

Steep Theatre

At the corner of Berwyn & Kenmore in Chicago

Please visit our Location Page for more details.

COVID SAFETY PROTOCOLS

Accessibility

Audio Description and a Touch Tour will be available on Sunday, June 26. Open Captioning will be available on Sunday, July 3. 

Contact us at access@steeptheatre.com or 773-649-3186 for more information or to reserve tickets.

Production Sponsors: Dr. Susan Burland & George Plumb, Ken Burlington, James T. O’Neill, Barbara & Randy Thomas, Lisa & Randy White, Jan Willer & Mark Osing, Martha Anne & Stephen Yandle

Ticketing: We use a paperless ticketing system, and there are no physical tickets to pick up. When you arrive at the theatre, your reservation will be under your last name at the Box Office.

The Box Office will open 45 minutes prior to show time

The house will open for seating 15 minutes prior to show time

Late Seating: Please note that late seating is not possible and that all tickets not claimed by the scheduled performance time may be released to the waitlist. For questions about this, please contact our box office.

About the Venue: 1044 W Berwyn Ave is our new home, and we couldn’t be more excited, but it’s not quite a theatre yet. We have a renovation project in the works, but in the meantime Paris will give you the chance to join us in exploring the space pre-renovation. The former church is ADA accessible and offers ample restrooms, but some of the trappings of the Steep experience (such as beverage service in the lobby lounge) are still waiting in the wings. The art we create and the community we bring together will be 100% Steep, but the physical space is still somewhere between church and theatre. 

CAST

Alex Gillmor^

Alex Levy

Josh Odor

Michaela Petro

Amber Sallis^*

Lynda Shadrake

Terence Sims

Norm Woodel (voiceover)

CREATIVE TEAM

Director – Jonathan Barry^

Stage Managers – Jennifer Aparicio*, Hannah Weiss

Costume Designer – Alexia Rutherford

Co-Lighting Designers – Conchita Avitia, Heather Gilbert

Sound Designer – Daniel Etti-Williams

Props Designer - Carol-Delaney Gibson

Scenic Consultant – Eleanor Kahn

Intimacy Choreographer - Tristin Hall

Production Manager – Julie Siple^

Production Electrician – Mark Brown

Technical Director  – Evan Sposato

Assistant Director –Lisa Troi Thomas^

Assistant Stage Managers – Ender Collins, Andrea Enger, Rachel Silver

Makeup Assistant - Liz Sharpe

Casting Director – Lucy Carapetyanˆ

Photographer - Randall Starr

ˆ Steep Company Member

 ˆˆ Steep Artistic Associate

* Appearing through an Agreement between Steep Theatre and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

In the Press

“…what comes across clearly in this work—the first live production from Steep since 2020, and the first in their new space on Berwyn—is that Booth is a fierce and funny writer to watch.”

-Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader

Eboni Booth

Eboni Booth is a writer and actress from New York City. Her play Paris had its premiere at the Atlantic Theater Company. Her work has been developed with Victory Gardens Theater, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Cape Cod Theater Project, WP Theater, Two River Theater, Clubbed Thumb, and Northern Stage. Eboni is a resident playwright at New Dramatists and the recipient of a Steinberg Playwright Award, a Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting, and a John Gassner award. She is a graduate of Juilliard’s playwriting program and the University of Vermont.

PAY WHAT YOU CAN: WE ARE PUSSY RIOT (Or Everything Is P.R.)​ Via Red Tape Theatre

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Red Tape Theatre's final show (and cast) 

in our 15th season 

WE ARE PUSSY RIOT 

(Or Everything Is P.R.)​ 

by Barbara Hammond and directed by Kate Hendrickson.

Through Saturday, July 6th, 2019 at 8PM
Runs: Fridays, Saturdays at 8PM / Sundays at 7PM / Mondays (Industry Night) at 8PM

Admission:  FREE ADMISSION with RSVP thanks to our donors to the FREE THEATRE MOVEMENT

Where:  THE READY, 4546 N Western Ave

RSVP HERE for FREE or Pay What You Can Tickets

Captioned Performances: We will be having open captioned performances for this production, dates to be announced.



WHAT:
Following our sold out and critically acclaimed productions In The Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks and The Shipment by Young Jean Lee, Red Tape Theatre will proudly close out our 15th season with Barbara Hammond’s WE ARE PUSSY RIOT (or) Everything is P.R. directed by Kate Hendrickson. Pussy Riot is an anonymous collective of young Russian activists who protested the illegal 2012 presidential elections by marching into the Church of Christ the Savior in the center of Moscow and offering up a punk prayer to the Mother of God—“Virgin Mary, Chase Putin Away!” Their 48-second performance earned them a two-year prison sentence and jettisoned them to super-star status in the West. The spectacle was fueled by an unparalleled P.R. campaign from all sides that pitted church against state; East against West; and youth against tradition. We Are Pussy Riot (or) Everything is P.R. weaves together trial transcripts, letters, interviews, media coverage, and statements from celebrities and public officials, to re-imagine the story of Pussy Riot as told by a troupe of Yurodivy, 'Holy Fools,' who, in the Russian Orthodox tradition, strive with "imaginary insanity to reveal the insanity of the world.”



MEET THE CREATIVE TEAM:
Kate Hendrickson (DIRECTOR, she/her/hers) is a Chicago based director with a particular focus on premiering new plays by radical American playwrights. Over the years has Kate developed and sustained long-term collaborative relationships with several playwrights. She is a resident director at Trap Door Theatre where she has directed world premieres of FANTASY ISLAND FOR DUMMIES and ANGER/FLY by Red Tape Theatre company member Ruth Margraff and COOKIE PLAY, CHASTE and BEHOLDER (Jeff Award for Best New Work, After Dark Award for Best Original Music), by Ken Prestininzi. CHASTE received “Best of the Year″ nods in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Stage Review, and the Huffington Post. ANGER/FLY was recognized in the Chicago Reader’s “Best Of Year” edition as part of a Trap Door season presenting the “best string of theatrical stunners.”  Kate also directed Midwest premieres of Prestininzi’s AMERIKAFKA, Howard Zinn’s EMMA (After Dark Award for Best Ensemble), and 12 OPHELIAS by Caridad Svich. Additional work has included staged readings of MIGRAANTS by Matei Visniec at the International Voices Project and Caridad Svich’s, SPARK; creating and curating STAND UP! FIGHT BACK at Trap Door; the Midwest premiere of Ruth Margraff’s THREE GRACES at Pivot Arts’ Multi-Arts Festival; and Links Hall’s Physical Fest Chicago. Kate is also the founder and director of Summerdale Workshop Youth Theatre. Located in Andersonville, Summerdale Workshop provides children with high-quality acting instruction in a playful yet focused setting.

Barbara Hammond (PLAYWRIGHT, she/her/hers) is a New Dramatists resident playwright. She has been commissioned by the Royal Court Theatre, named one of the “Influential Women” by the Irish Voice, served as lyricist for the 25th anniversary concern of the AIDS Quilt Songbook at National Sawdust, completed residency at Duke University, has a continuing role as Yale Playwrights Festival mentor since 2010, among many other accolades. She was commissioned for the Contemporary American Theatre Festival for her play WE ARE PUSSY RIOT (Or Everything is P.R.). She is a member of the ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild. Her work has been funded by the National Endowment of the Arts, The Venturous Theatre Fund, the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

THE CAST
Dionne Addai, Casey Chapman*, Zoë DePreta*, Jalyn Green, Nora King*, Emilie Modaff, Emily Nichelson*, Alec Phan, Joseph Ramski*, William Rose, Stephanie Shum*, Ann Sonneville*

*indicates Red Tape Theatre Company Member

Dionne Addai (she/her/hers) is an actor and teaching artist, local to Chicago. She is looking forward to making her Red Tape debut! Recently she was seen in Breath, Boom (Eclipse Theater), What of the Night (Cor and Stage Left Theater), Aesops Fables (Raven Theater) and as an understudy with performances at Northlight Theatre, Writer's Theatre, and ETA Creative Arts.  She is a company member/performer with FYI, part of the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health.  For more info on her teaching artist work with youth check out icah.org/fyi. She is represented by Actor’s Talent Group. 


Casey Chapman* (he/him/his) is a proud company member of Red Tape Theatre where he also serves as Marketing Director. He was last seen onstage in In the Blood (Doctor/Trouble) and Round Heads and Pointed Heads (Missena) at Red Tape. He is also a company member with Trap Door Theatre where he was last seen in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Jeff Nomination – best ensemble). Casey is also an award-winning film actor as well, appearing in the feature films Mother’s Milk (Best Actor – New York City Independent Film Festival, Best Actor – International Film Awards Berlin), Canvas, Hell Town, City of Lust, and the upcoming Asymptotes, MyTube, and Not My Brother.


Zoë DePreta* (she/her/hers) is an actor, comedian, and musician from Stamford, CT. She is excited to be performing with Red Tape Theatre, where she is the Associate Marketing & Social Media Manager and a company member. Recent credits include work with Prop Thtr (2 unfortunate 2 travel), Underscore Theatre Company (Family Issues, Tiny Storefront Concert), Lifeline Theatre (Anna Karenina, u/s), and Rhinofest (May Day, 2018). Zoë holds a BA in Theatre and Creative Writing from Oberlin College. Up next: Much Ado About Nothing (Oak Park Festival Theatre).


Jalyn Greene (they/them/she/her) is so happy to be making their Red Tape debut with Pussy Riot! Recent credits include How to Pick a Lock as Zhara (Rhinofest), The Dark at the Top of the Stairs as Cora Flood (U/S) (Eclipse Theatre), The Adventures of Astroman as Dr. Robotica (Runaways Lab), Crumbs from the Table of Joy as Ermina Crump (U/S) (Raven Theatre) and Breathe, Boom as Angel (Eclipse Theatre). Jalyn is also an arts educator for several Chicago theatres including Lifeline Theatre and Emerald City Theatre, as well as CPS schools. Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, they received their BFA from Michigan State University.

Nora King* (she/her/hers) is an actor/improviser living in Chicago. You can see her performing all around town.   Her recent theater credits include; Round Heads and Pointed Heads (Red Tape Theatre Co), Thirteen’s Spring and Metamorphosis (Moving Art Collective-Hollywood Fringe Festival), Cem (UCLA Artist Residency/REDCAT), Cloud 9 (Moving Art Collective, festivals in the Czech Republic and Belgium).  She has studied with the Second City Conservatory and iO Chicago. If you spend time watching cartoons, you may have heard her voice telling you to buy cute dolls, each sold separately. Nora received her BFA in Acting from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).She is stoked to be performing alongside this talented cast! Check out more info at noraking.net.


Emilie Modaff (they/them/theirs) is a Chicago-based multidisciplinary artist. They are grateful to be back at Red Tape Theatre after playing Amiga Gringa in Red Tape's most recent production, In The Blood. Other favorite projects include: In The Canyon (Jackalope Theatre), Les Innocents ((re)discover theatre), Little Flower of East Orange (Eclipse Theatre), Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical (Emerald City Theatre), and Bobby Pin Girls (Nothing Without A Company). They are represented by Shirley Hamilton. You can learn more about their work at www.emiliemodaff.com. Thank you Mom, Dad, Andy, Peter & Selena.


Emily Nichelson* (she/her/hers) is a proud company member at Red Tape Theatre where she also serves as the Director of Development. Past RT shows include Round Heads and Pointed Heads and I Saw Myself. Other Chicago credits include Macbeth (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Tango, Old Woman Broods, Occidental Express, No Matter How Hard We Try, The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls (Trap Door Theatre), as well as work with Griffin Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Writer's Theatre, and more.


Alec Phan (he/him/they/them) is honored and delighted to be working with Red Tape for the first time. He hails from Wisconsin, where he was previously a founding member of Fermat's Last Theatre Co. Most recently, you may have seen him play an undead catholic priest or a moody punk rocker here in the Windy City. Love and thanks to Catherine Miller for building doors in all the walls.


Joseph Ramski* (he/him/his) is a native Chicago actor, writer, and visual artist with a BFA in Theatre and English from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He is an Ensemble Member and the Associate Marketing Manager & Webmaster for Red Tape, and has worked with a number of theatres as an actor and designer, including Oracle Productions, Hobo Junction, The Arc Theatre, The Ruckus, MOZAWA, Organic Theatre Company, Reutan Collective, (re)discover theatre, The Runaways, Mudlark Theatre, The Prop Thtr, Chicago Slam Works, and the Right Brain Project, where he served as Managing Director and Graphic Designer from 2013 to 2017. Joe has also performed his poetry and other written work across the city, and had his first full-length play The Dancing Plague produced in the fall of 2016. Joe can be seen next in Prop Thtr’s 2 unfortunate 2 travel.


William Rose (he/him/his) is making his Red Tape Theatre debut. Previous credits include Gabriel Syme (u/s) in the Lifeline Theater’s The Man Who Was Thursday, Cal in Citadel Theater’s The Little Foxes, and Charlie Barker in Station Theater’s the Foreigner, as well as the solo show Every Brilliant Thing.


Stephanie Shum* (she/her/hers) is excited to be back at Red Tape where she is a company member and previously appeared in Mother of Smoke. Other credits include The Crucible (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Men on Boats (American Theater Company); A Story Told in Seven Fights (The Neo-Futurists); Plainclothes (Broken Nose); All Childish Things (First Folio); Harbur Gate (16th Street Theater); Second Skin (Wildclaw); The Adventures of Spirit Force Five (Factory Theater); Merge, Kin Folk, reWILDing Genius, and Kate and Sam Are Not Breaking Up (The New Colony); among others.  She is Co-Artistic Director of The New Colony, a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and is represented by Shirley Hamilton Talent. She can be seen this spring in Small World at The New Colony. http://www.stephanieshum.com

Ann Sonneville* (she/her/hers) is excited to be back onstage at Red Tape, where she was last seen as Mme. Cornamontis in Round Heads and Pointed Heads. Most recently, she appeared as the title role in Lifeline's production of Frankenstein and as Bridget Cleary in Exit 63's Dark Matters. She is an ensemble member with Trap Door Theatre, where she has appeared in numerous productions, including Monsieur D'eon Is A Woman and Phèdre. Other credits include Dracula at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Venus at The Steppenwolf Garage, Thaddeus & Slocum (u/s) at Lookingglass, Kin with Griffin Theatre (Jeff Nomination - Supporting Actress) and work with Strange Tree, Oracle Productions, the side project, The Chicago Mammals and Bruised Orange. Film/TV credits include Miriam Is Going To Mars (BMA Award - Best Actress), Dig Two Graves (BMA Nomination - Best Actress), Chicago PD, Hunting God, and numerous shorts. She is a professional voiceover artist and instructor at the Vagabond School.

CASTING DIRECTOR: CATHERINE MILLER

In 2018, Red Tape Theatre adopted the FREE THEATRE MOVEMENT along with our sister company, Theatre Y. Red Tape believes that access to the arts is essential for our community's ability to engage in a free exchange of ideas. As an art form, the immediacy of theatre provides a powerful platform for this exchange. We strive to remove the barriers that exist between our community and an increasingly commodified culture. Starting in January of 2018, we have offered all of our quality theatrical productions to the public free of charge. We are thrilled to continue this tradition with WE ARE PUSSY RIOT.

Goodman Theatre FREE With RSVP: PlayBuild Youth Intensive and Musical Theater Intensive August 10th & 11th

GOODMAN THEATRE YOUTH PROGRAM 

PARTICIPANTS COMMEMORATE 1968 

HISTORICAL EVENTS IN PUBLIC SHOWCASES

***AUGUST 10 AND 11 PERFORMANCES FEATURE PARTICIPANTS FROM PLAYBUILD YOUTH INTENSIVE AND MUSICAL THEATRE INTENSIVE (RESPECTIVELY)*** 

More than 60 Chicagoland students make their Goodman Theatre debut on the mainstage to conclude summer programming—PlayBuild Youth Intensive and Musical Theater Intensive—on August 10 and 11 at 7pm. The free programs were taught over a course of seven-to-eight weeks in the Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement. This year’s theme is 1968, marking the 50th anniversary of the now historic year—Musical Theater Intensive will feature selections from the rock musical Hair and more. The PlayBuild final performance will also feature members of the Goodman’s InterGens program—participants who have previously participated in the Goodman’s education programs—to create a special opening piece for the August 10 performance. The final showcases takes place on Friday, August 10 and Saturday, August 11 at 7pm at Goodman Theatre (170 N. Dearborn). Tickets are free but reservations are required; call 312.443.3800. For more information, visit GoodmanTheatre.org/PlaybuildYouthFinal and GoodmanTheatre.org/MusicalTheaterFinal.

Now in its 11th year, PlayBuild Youth Intensive’s seven-week curriculum uses all elements in the creation of theater to cultivate participants own voice and potential for creativity through personal history and storytelling techniques. Led by Walter Director of Education and Engagement Willa J. Taylor and 11 teaching artists—Amanda Delheimer, Khanisha Foster, Charles Gardner, Brandi Lee, Airos Sung-En Medill, Tony Sancho, Paul Whitehouse and Walker Zupan—more than 600 students have participated in PlayBuild (formerly General Theater Studies) since its inception.

Musical Theater Intensive, now in its third year, is led by acclaimed Chicago-based musical director Doug Peck together with Goodman teaching artists—Breon Arzell, Mark Jacob Chaitin, McKenzie Chinn, Liam Collier, Mateo Hernandez and Darian Tene. The eight-week program designed for young artists wishing to pursue a musical theater career. Through skill-building workshops designed to refine skills in acting, dancing, singing, storytelling and ensemble work, participants build a final musical showcase of original creations, works of classic and contemporary musical theater, and pop.

The Goodman is grateful for the generous support of its Education and Engagement program sponsors. The James and Madeleine McMullan Family Foundation is the Major Supporter of the Musical Theatre Intensive. PepsiCo is the Official Nutrition Sponsor for PlayBuild | Youth Intensive. The Goodman Scenemakers Board is the Sponsor Partner for PlayBuild | Youth intensive. KPMG is the Supporter of PlayBuild | Youth Intensive. The Goodman Women’s Board is the Major Supporter of Education and Engagement.

ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE

AMERICA’S “BEST REGIONAL THEATRE” (Time magazine), Goodman Theatre is a premier not-for-profit organization distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and civic engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics (celebrated revivals include Falls’ productions of Death of a Salesman and The Iceman Cometh). Goodman Theatre artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards, over 160 Jeff Awards and many more accolades. In addition, the Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle” and its four-decade annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, which has created a new generation of theatergoers. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production partner with local off-Loop theaters and national and international companies by providing financial support or physical space for a variety of artistic endeavors.

Committed to three core values of Quality, Diversity and Community, the Goodman proactively makes inclusion the fabric of the institution and develops education and community engagement programs that support arts as education. This practice uses the process of artistic creation to inspire and empower youth, lifelong learners and audiences to find and/or enhance their voices, stories and abilities. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of such programming, most offered free of charge, and has vastly expanded the theater’s ability to touch the lives of Chicagoland citizens (with 85% of youth participants coming from underserved communities) since its 2016 opening.

Goodman Theatre was founded in 1925 by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr.is Chair of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Denise Stefan Ginascol is Women’s Board President and Megan McCarthy Hayes is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

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. 

FREE Open House Event Featuring FIVE ORIGINAL WORKS-IN-PROCESS via House Theatre at Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts

THE HOUSE THEATRE OF CHICAGO 

HOSTS 

FREE OPEN HOUSE EVENT 

FEATURING 

FIVE ORIGINAL WORKS-IN-PROCESS 

AS PART OF THE UCHICAGO PERFORMANCE LAB SATURDAY, AUGUST 5

13 Works Have Been Supported by The House this Summer in Partnership with University of Chicago at their Logan Center for the Arts for the Fourth Year Running.

The House Theatre of Chicago, in partnership with University of Chicago’s Theatre and Performance Studies Program and their Logan Center for the Arts, presents an afternoon Open House touring new works in development. Guests will have the opportunity to see short selections from five projects, and meet the creative artists spearheading them. The audience in attendance will break into small groups and tour each project in various creative spaces in the state-of-the-art Logan Center.  

The Open House is held Saturday, August 5 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E 60th St, Chicago IL on the University of Chicago campus. Refreshments to follow. 

**Admission is Free with RSVP via The House’s website, thehousetheatre.com.**

The House is providing varying levels of support for 13 projects through the UChicago Performance Lab in the summer of 2017. Five of those are featured in the Open House event on August 5.

WHAT: Open House featuring five theatrical works in development in five spaces of the Logan Center for the Arts. Guests will be lead on a guided tour stopping at each project’s station for a short presentation.

WHO: Company Members and guests artists of The House Theatre of Chicago will present short selections. The public is invited to attend. The event is recommended for ages 10 and up.

WHERE: The Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E 60th St, Chicago IL on the University of Chicago campus.

WHEN: Saturday, August 5, from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. with refreshments following


Projects to be Featured at the August 5 Open House
Verboten
By Brett Neveu and Jason Narducy
Directed by Nathan Allen
The story of how punk rock saved a lost kid's present and future life. It’s 1982. After making the long flight from Seattle, Dave and his parents head to his cousin Tracey’s home in Evanston for a summertime visit. Tracey and her teenage bandmates, all serious punk rockers stuck in suburbia, blow Dave away with their stories, their brashness, their ability to overcome damaging family crap with their overall punk excellentness as they head toward playing a make-or-break show.

Ellen Bond, Union Spy
Written by Jenni Lamb
Music, Lyrics & Movement by Tanji Harper & Blu Rhythm Collective
Conceived & Directed by Jess McLeod
*Included in The House’s upcoming Season 16*
The year is 1864. The Civil War has ripped America in half, and while Union forces greatly outnumber the Confederates, Jefferson Davis and his generals doggedly persevere. Who can help end the war and free slaves once and for all? Enter Ellen Bond, Union Spy! Mary Bowser is the (real!) freed former slave woman who risked her life to go undercover as "Ellen Bond, dim-witted but able servant" inside the Confederate White House. "Ellen" cooks, cleans, and uses her photographic memory to collect military intelligence from the papers on Davis's desk to help win the war and free American slaves. Meet Mary/Ellen, her fellow spies, and the generals and gentility of the Confederacy in this new multi-genre serio-comedy featuring contemporary music and fantastical breakout dance sequences!

Hatfield & McCoy
By Shawn Pfautsch
Music by Matt Kahler and Shawn Pfautsch
Directed by Matt Hawkins
**Included in The House’s upcoming Season 16**
Murder and moonshine! Hoe-Downs and Holy Rollin’! It’s the true tale of the most infamous family feud in American history. Gunplay and romance erupt between the Hatfields and McCoys, served up with a heaping helping of bluegrass and bloody revenge. Shawn Pfautsch’s love letter to Romeo and Juliet in a philosophically polarized America was originally produced in Season 4. This revised piece now features a new score, expanded to included a wide variety of Americana music styles from blues, to gospel, to pop, and of course, bluegrass.

Little Girl, Don't Fall
By Jesse Roth, with music by Matthew Muñiz
An adaptation of the Bluebeard fairytale, Little Girl, Don’t Fall is a heroine’s journey, a gothic ghost-story, and a fairytale mash-up musical for young women who don’t know how to fall in love–and are too chippy to listen to those who try to tell them.

Nova to Lodestar
By Nathan Allen, Lee Keenan, Sandor Weisz
Nova to Lodestar is a live, asymmetric, cooperative game played by two teams in two separate rooms. Lead by the creators of Season 14’s The Last Defender, this all-new adventure will once again set audience-teams to work on challenging puzzles and collaborations.  Players will take on the roles of space miners set adrift after their ships collide, and must learn to spend resources between their two ships to get everyone home safely.

Additional projects receiving support from The House this summer as part of the UChicago Performance Lab include Pinocchio, by Ben Lobpries and Joey Steakley, Thatcher Woods by Monty Cole, Borealis by Bennett Fisher, The Violet Sequence by John Henry Roberts, TONY KUSHNER CONSIDERS WRITING A GAY FANTASIA BASED ON NATIONAL THEMES: A FANTASIA BY CALAMITY WEST by Calamity West with director Seth Bockley, The Ragged Claws  by Lina Patel in collaboration with Silk Road Rising, Kissing by Abigail Boucher, and Saved by the Bell by Marika Mashburn. 

SAVE THE DATES: ATC Announces 12 New CORE Projects Throughout Season 33

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

American Theater Company’s 

Chicago Open Residency Experiment (CORE) workshops 12 new projects throughout Season 33

Public CORE performances (free/suggested $15 donation) 

throughout season from August to June

American Theater Company’s (ATC) Chicago Open Residency Experiment (CORE) program, a series of week-long residencies for artists of all disciplines, continues its second year with 25 artists workshopping 12 new projects throughout Season 33

"At ATC, we are invested in exploring unique ways of making new plays for the American theatre,” says Artistic Programs Manager Sarah Slight. “The artists who've received residencies this year are looking at new work from a variety of perspectives and approaches. On the presentation date, you might experience anything from a movement sequence to a staged reading to a guided design tour. For us, the anticipation of cutting-edge artistry is incredibly exciting. We've spread the residencies out this season to ensure that ATC’s space is filled with as many artists as possible throughout the year. Please join us in celebrating their tremendous work all season.”

CORE awards a free week of rehearsal space and a presentation of the work to groups of artists and works in progress. CORE artists will receive space to work and present, as well as basic artistic, technical and box office support. 

Tickets to CORE performances are free with a suggested donation of $15. To make a reservation, please visit http://www.atcweb.org/.  



SEASON 33 CORE PROJECTS INCLUDE:

Black Like Me – Monday, August 7, 2017
Adapted and directed by Monty Cole
Based on the book by John Howard Griffin

In 1959, John Howard Griffin--a white man from Texas--began the process of dyeing himself black. Two pills and regular sessions under a sun lamp made Griffin’s skin “black enough” to pass, and he set out on a journey through the South to discover what it was like to be a black man. His book, Black Like Me, was published in 1961 and made into a movie in 1965. Now Cole, working with an ensemble of actors, will explore the question “What does it mean to be black in America?” and, ultimately, create a script that depicts Griffin’s experience against the contemporary black experience.

Kissing – Monday, August 14, 2017
Conceived by Abigail Boucher
Co-created by Abigail Boucher and Carolyn Defrin
With Brock Alter

Kissing is a multidisciplinary piece which explores cultural customs and personal stories around kissing. It explores how this simple gesture might invigorate our current world order with more joy, love and tenderness.

About Face Theatre’s Untitled Project Inspired by James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room– Monday, August 21, 2017
by Benjamin Sprunger and Paul Oakley Stovall
Directed by Cheryl Lynn Bruce

Presented in conjunction with About Face Theatre's First DrAAFT Series - a program designed to feature the artistic work of AFT's Artistic Associates - playwrights Sprunger and Stovall will workshop and present an adaptation of Baldwin's 1956 novella Giovanni's Room.

Dig – Monday, August 28, 2017
By Theodore Germaine
Directed by Gina Marie Hayes
With Avi Roque

Dig is a new work in development which explores the themes of romantic love, non-monogamy, trans identities, mental illness, and how to overall exist within, challenge, and/or fight the flawed legal system within this country. On the night after their lover's funeral - a trans-masculine person from a highly conservative and religious small-town family - 2/3rds of the remaining romantic triad sneak into their deceased partner's apartment to try to come to terms with the tragedy at hand, but the night takes another-worldly, empowering, and illegal turn as they piece together the truth around their partner's death. 

(saliva) things that i like about my partner that are not their mouth or genitals – Monday, September 18, 2017
By Jasmine Jordan and Valerie Gallucci

(saliva) is about sex, about discovering sex and sharing every detail with a best friend, about keeping score, about discretion, about bodies, about lust, about shame, about exes, about celebration. It is by two friends who don't have sex the same way or make art the same way and are figuring that out. It requires those two friends to learn how to dance, learn how to give a lecture, and learn how to work together for the first time since they were sixteen.

Untitled Project – Monday, December 11, 2017
Directed by Jess McLeod

Any of my Enemies – Monday, December 18, 2017
Molly Brennan (Lead Artist)

Through a series of performance pieces called Any of my Enemies, using a shared title, themes, and devising techniques, an assembly of performers and designers will collaborate to build a series of short performance scenes. This will be a radically inclusive project that incorporates multiple modes of accessibility.

Diagram of a Paper Airplane – Monday, March 12, 2018
By Carlos Murillo
Directed by Bonnie Metzgar

Javier C. is dead, and in his wake are fragments and scraps of his magnum opus mailed mysteriously from New Mexico to his group of ex-friends in New York. Carlos Murillo's Diagram of a Paper Airplane is the first in a trilogy of plays that examine the capacity of friendships to withstand the unimaginable.

As part of their process leading up to production, Metzgar and Murillo will receive a CORE pre-production week to explore a key element(s) of the play.

To The Moon – Monday, March 19, 2018
Written by Beth Kander
Artistic collaborators: Allyce Torres, Amanda Long, Arian Thigpen, Sallee Murphy

To The Moon is a clear-eyed, unapologetic, fierce and tender portrayal of domestic abuse and its survivors. Knowing that such abuse impacts people from all walks of life, five diverse women collaborated to interview survivors and weave together their narratives - stories of strength and wit and loss and hope. Led by playwright Beth Kander, these collaborators' efforts yield a tough and touching true-stories-inspired stage play, which documents and dramatizes the tragic realities of domestic abuse in America.

La Ronde – Monday, March 26, 2018
A reimagining based on the play by Arthur Schnitzler
Directed by Dani Wieder
Choreography by Andy Slavin

This re-imagining explores Arthur Schnitzler's play from 1900 that, while innovative in its form, imagines intimacy as limiting us from reaching our fullest potential - a closed circle, la ronde. Through a combination of his original text and choreography by Andy Slavin, Dani Wieder and the ensemble ask how we can grow wider and become more as we move through and around the lives of others.

FARMED: The Orwell Radio – Monday, June 18, 2018
A song-setting by Trevor Bachman
Inspired by George Orwell's “Animal Farm”

FARMED is a socio-political musical by composer and singer Trevor Bachman. Inspired by the text of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, FARMED combines song, literature, and interview to examine race and class structures in America. Continuing in the tradition of artists like Liz Swados and Joe Papp, Bachman sews a soul-stirring patchwork of fabrics from a diverse and divided country.

Soot & Linen – Monday, June 25, 2018
By BrittneyLove Smith

A young black woman enters the house of a ruined tobacco plantation, as an indentured servant, two years after the Civil War. She is swept away in the world of this South Carolina grand plantation, now reduced to nothing more than a farm, and finds herself entangled in a triangle of both love and lust between herself, the misses of the house, and the misses’ husband. Soot & Linen is a historical and daring TV series that explores the prominent ways black women were desired, hated, loved and abused during slavery and in many ways still are.

Season subscriptions for Season 33 are on sale now and range from $40-$114, with special pricing available for members under the age of 35. To purchase a subscription or for more information, visit
www.atcweb.org or call the ATC Box Office at 773-409-4125.

About American Theater Company
American Theater Company (ATC) challenges and inspires its community by exploring stories that ask the question, "What does it mean to be an American?" ATC’s Ensemble includes Patrick Andrews, Kareem Bandealy, Jaime Castañeda, Kelly O’Sullivan, Tyler Ravelson, and Sadieh Rifai.

American Theater Company is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince, the Shubert Foundation, ArtsWork Fund, Lagunitas Breweing Co, Actors’ Equity Foundation,
The Pauls Foundation and Robert & Isabelle Bass Foundation.

64th Season of Theater on the Lake: The Chicago Summer Theater Festival

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Theater on the Lake: The Chicago Summer Theater Festival, may be "Theater off the Lake" for 2016, while the historic lakefront venue is being prepared for renovation. Still, they're off to a strong start with one show down and one currently running. Their whole summer lineup looks amazing! Prices vary but are generally quite reasonable, ranging from free to $10.

This summer, performances will hit the road again, featuring shows at Berger Park Cultural Center, Washington Park, and Smith Park.

Five encore presentations from artistically diverse Chicago theater companies will be staged across the city for eight weeks. Performances at Berger Park Cultural Center will be held Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Performances at Washington Park and Smith Park will be held Wednesdays through Fridays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 2:30 p.m.

Each production will have a two-week run. Performance locations help introduce the Festival to new neighborhoods citywide. In keeping with Theater on the Lake’s 63-year tradition of producing plays lakeside, the Festival will once again be anchored at Berger Park Cultural Center, 6205 N. Sheridan, in the Edgewater community.

Now Playing:

• Oracle Productions presents THE HAIRY APE 
• July 6-10 & July 13-17 
• Wednesdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. & Sundays at 2:30 p.m. 
• Berger Park Cultural Center, 6205 N. Sheridan Rd. 
• Admission is FREE [Advance reservations are strongly encouraged.] 
• Written by Eugene O’Neill and Directed by Monty Cole 

• Six African-American actors portray multiple roles in O’Neill’s harrowing critique of class stratification. Yank is the master of his world, shoveling coal on an ocean liner. But when a wealthy woman descends to see life on the lower decks, their encounter propels Yank onto the streets of New York City, where he seeks validation, belonging and revenge. Monty Cole’s charged staging captures the caged mind of a young black man yearning to belong. Oracle’s production of The Hairy Ape examines O’Neill’s work through the lens of America’s ugly legacy of racism and oppression.

The Complete Theater on the Lake 2016 Schedule can be found here

Chicago Theatre Week Listing of FREE Events

League of Chicago Theatres to host FREE series of engagement events at Theatre Week Central, February 11 – 21, 2016  

It's here people! Get out and see a show and/or explore these FREE special events. Here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows we adore the Chicago Theatre scene and see copious numbers of shows year round. In fact we're reviewing 6 shows this week alone. The next 11 days are YOUR turn to do a full on Chicago theatre immersion, like a critic, without breaking the bank! Check back with ChiIL Live Shows (adult) and ChiIL Mama (fam friendly) like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often. We feature full reviews, theatre news, and lots of original content.

Value-priced tickets for over 115 Theatre Week productions now on sale!

Chicago Theatre Week, an annual celebration of the rich tradition of theatre-going in Chicago, will take place February 11 – 21, 2016, spanning a week and two full weekends. Now in its fourth year, Chicago Theatre Week is a program of the League of Chicago Theatres in partnership with Choose Chicago. In addition to offering tickets at $30, $15, or less to over 115 productions across the city the League will also host a series of FREE audience engagement events at Theatre Week Central, located in the historic Water Works Building, 163 East Pearson in Chicago. 

The League of Chicago Theatres will be hosting a series of FREE special events as part of Theatre Week to help audiences further engage with Chicago's extraordinary range of theatrical offerings.  Events include lunchtime Showcases featuring short performances, artist chats, and more; a Staged Reading of Stage Left Theatre’s The Body of An American by Dan O’Brien, directed by Jason A. Fleece; and Playwrights at Work, which allows audiences to watch the creation of the next great Chicago play in real time.  All events are free, open to the public, and will take place at Theatre Week Central (163 E. Pearson, along the Magnificent Mile).

The Theatre Week Central event schedule is as follows:

SHOWCASES

Fridays, February 12 and 19 at 12 pm

Lunchtime showcase events featuring short performances, artist chats, and more. Audiences are encouraged to arrive early and bring a lunch. These events will be no longer than 45 minutes.

Friday, February 12, 2016 at 12 pm

Hosted by Benno Nelson from The Common Room

Barrel of Monkeys – That’s Weird, Grandma

American Blues Theater – Looking Over the President’s Shoulder

Rivendell Theatre and Waltzing Mechanics – Body/Courage

Friday, February 19, 2016 at 12 pm

Featuring songs from 3 musicals

BoHo Theatre – Fugitive Songs 

Filament Theatre – Pinocchio: A Folk Musical

Porchlight Music Theatre – Far From Heaven

STAGED READING

Stage Left Theatre’s production of

The Body of an American

Saturday, February 20, 2016 at 2 pm

Stage Left Theatre will present a free staged reading of The Body of an American by Dan O'Brien. Directed by Jason A. Fleece, the cast includes Don Bender and Ryan Hallahan.

In 1993, Canadian photojournalist Paul Watson took a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of a dead American soldier being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. In 2007, writer Dan O’Brien was struggling to finish his play about ghosts. A chance encounter over the airwaves sparks an extraordinary friendship that sees the two men journey from some of the most dangerous places on earth to the depths of the human soul. Flying from Kabul to the Canadian Arctic, The Body of an American sees two actors play more than thirty roles in an exhilarating new form of documentary drama.

PLAYWRIGHTS AT WORK

February 11 – 21, 2016

Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10am to 6pm, and Sundays from 11am to 4pm

Following the success of the Storefront Playwright Project in 2013-2015, the League of Chicago Theatres is again supporting and providing space for nearly 20 emerging and established playwrights to work on a current writing project in view of the public.  From a large screen facing outward, visitors will be able to read what the playwright is writing and watch the creation of the next great Chicago play in real time. The aim of the project is to raise the visibility of playwrights in Chicago and encourage audiences to engage more deeply with Chicago theatre and the creative process of writing a new play for the theatre. Participating Playwrights at Work include: Randall Colburn, Philip Dawkins, Ike Holter, Evan Linder, Jessy Lauren Smith, Laura Stratford, Regina Taylor, Calamity West, and more.

The League will also present a variety of public tours of the Belmont Theater District, the Auditorium Theatre, Broadway in Chicago, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Please note that the Theatre Tours will take place on location, not at Theatre Week Central.

The Chicago Theatre Week Tour Schedule is as follows:

Belmont Theater District - Open House Tour 2016

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Celebrate Chicago Theatre Week with the Belmont Theater District at our 2016 Open House Tour on Saturday, February 13. It's cold outside, but it's warm in our Belmont Theater District theaters, where throughout the day you will experience behind-the-scenes access to theaters, show excerpts, and complimentary drinks, snacks and goodies from BTD Partner restaurants, bars, cafes and businesses. Reserve your place for the Belmont Theater District Open House Tour by registering your information here. And stay tuned to BTDChicago.com for up-to-the-minute information on event timings, directions and enticing event details!

Auditorium Theatre Tours

Thursdays, February 11 and 18, 2016 at noon

Monday, February 15 at 10:30am

Tickets: $12

Go behind the scenes of this National Historic Landmark, built by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, and view it as few do. Enjoy the radiant 24-karat gold-leafed ceiling arches, hundreds of Sullivan’s beautifully restored intricate stencil patterns, ornate gilded and bas-relief designs, and the endless floor and wall mosaics and murals by Charles Holloway and Albert Fleury. February 11, 15 and 18. For reservations and more information visit www.auditoriumtheatre.org.

Broadway In Chicago Historic Theatre Tours

Saturdays, February 13 at 20 at 11am

Tickets: $12

Each public tour visits two of the three Broadway in Chicago theatres: the Oriental Theatre, the Cadillac Palace and The PrivateBank Theatre. The tour showcases the glittering vintage décor inspired by the foremost theatre designers of our time, who created through their designs in the French Renaissance styling. Visitors will also learn about the cutting edge technology that makes each theatre the home to today’s most complex theatrical productions and the recent restorations that brought beauty and elegance back to these century-old theatres. For reservations and more information visit www.broadwayinchicago.com.

Glenwood Avenue Arts District

Saturday, February 20 at 2pm

Explore the burgeoning Glenwood Avenue Arts District during Chicago Theatre Week and take a special walking tour of the theatres on Saturday, February 20 at 2 pm. The tour will begin at Lifeline Theatre (6912 N Glenwood Ave) before heading north on Glenwood Ave to Theo Ubique and finishing up at BoHo Theatre. Tour each of the theatre's unique spaces and learn more about their programming and how they use their spaces. Approximately 60 minutes. Click here to register for the FREE tour. 

Lyric Opera of Chicago Backstage Tours

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Tours depart within half hour time slots between 11am and 2pm

Tickets: $45

Journey into the heart of opera at one of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Backstage Tours. This 2 hour and 30 minute 10-stop walking tour will be guided by professional staff and trained volunteers, peppered with interesting discussions and demonstrations by experts in various staging areas. For reservations and more information visit www.lyricopera.org.

The Chicago Theatre

February 11-21, 2015 at noon

Tickets: $13

Experience one of the country's last remaining movie palaces. Stand on our world famous stage, view the autographed backstage wall and explore the beautiful Baroque interiors. Tours are available year-round. Tour Schedule: 12pm. Tours Daily February 11 through 21. Use code THWEEK for discounted $13 tickets. Tour Duration: 1 hour. For reservations and more information click here. 

In February 2015, 116 productions offered value-priced tickets for performances during Chicago Theatre Week. Almost 10,000 Chicago residents and visitors spanning 40 states attended a show during Chicago Theatre Week. This coming February, visitors and residents will again have the opportunity to sample the extraordinary range of theatrical offerings throughout Chicagoland.  Over 100 participating Theatre Week shows and offer details are currently listed on the website, ChicagoTheatreWeek.com, with tickets on sale now. It is recommended to follow @ChicagoPlays on Twitter for CTW announcements.

Chicago Theatre Week is presented by the League of Chicago Theatres in partnership with Choose Chicago. The lead hotel sponsor for 2016 is Sheraton Grand Chicago – Special CTW hotel rates are available at the Sheraton Grand Chicago, dana hotel & spa, and Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel.

For more information about Chicago Theatre Week or Theatre Week Central, please visit ChicagoTheatreWeek.com.

About Chicago theatre

Chicago theatre is a leader in the U.S. with more than 250 theatres throughout Chicagoland, comprising a rich and varied community ranging from storefront, non-union theaters to the most renowned resident theatres in the country, including 5 that have been honored with Regional Tony Awards, and the largest touring Broadway organization in the nation. Chicago’s theatres serve 5 million audience members annually and have a combined budget of more than $250 million. Chicago produces and/or presents more world premieres annually than any other city in the nation. In the 2014-2015 season, Chicago theatre companies produced more than 100 world premiere productions and adaptations. Each year, Chicago theatres send new work to resident theatres across the country, to Broadway, and around the world.

About the League of Chicago Theatres

The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theatres which leverages its collective strength to promote, support, and advocate for Chicago's theatre industry locally, nationally, and internationally. The League of Chicago Theatres Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the art of theatre in the Chicago area through audience development and support services for theatres and theatre professionals.

For a comprehensive list of Chicago productions, visit the League of Chicago Theatres website, www.chicagoplays.com.  Half-price tickets are available year-round at www.hottix.org.  Additional information about Chicago Theatre Week is available at www.chicagotheatreweek.com.