THEATRE NEWS: Kokandy Productions’ Producing Artistic Director Allison Hendrix To Step Down

Kokandy Productions announced today that Allison Hendrix will step down as the company’s Producing Artistic Director. Hendrix has served as PAD since the company was founded in 2010. Kokandy will launch a search for a new Producing Artistic Director this week.

Allison Hendrix is stepping down from her role at Kokandy to pursue her yoga career. 

(Popio Stumpf Photography)

Under Hendrix’s leadership, Kokandy has presented 13 musicals and numerous staged musical readings, establishing the company as a leader in the growth and visibility of storefront musical theatre in Chicago. During her tenure, Kokandy has earned over 40 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, including four wins, and gained national recognition in publications such as American Theatre and The Sondheim Review. Hendrix’s credits with Kokandy include music direction for The Great American Trailer Park Musical, The Last Five Years and Bonnie and Clyde; direction of Loving Repeating and Little Fish; and acting in The Last Five Years and Assassins. 

Board President Scot Kokandy comments, “I can’t believe it was six years ago this summer that we produced our first musical and since have produced a total of 13 shows. Allison has been a great influence on Kokandy Productions from the very beginning and the company wouldn’t be what it is today without her. I want to thank Allison for her time, talent and contributions in the various roles she served over the last six years. Allison will remain on the board of directors and the board and I will be posting the position of Producing Artistic Director this week."

Adds Hendrix, “Working with Scot and so many of Chicago’s exceptionally talented actors and musicians has been one of the formative experiences of my lifetime. I’ve grown as a human and an artist, in ways I could never have expected. As so many storefront theatre makers know, the work is demanding and time-consuming, and I’ve reached a place where I need to take my energy and focus into my personal life and yoga teaching career.”

About Kokandy Productions
Founded in 2010, Kokandy Productions seeks to leverage the heightened reality of musical theater to tell complex and challenging stories, with a focus on contributing to the development of Chicago-based musical theater artists, and raising the profile of Chicago's non-Equity musical theater community.

For additional information, visit www.kokandyproductions.com.

Lifeline Theatre's Long-Time Artistic Director Dorothy Milne To Transition Out Of Leadership Position

LIFELINE THEATRE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR DOROTHY MILNE

ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP TRANSITION

Dorothy Milne. Photo credit: Carolyn Panknin

There's big news from one of our favorites in the Chicago theatre world today. Slow change is in the works for Lifeline's leadership as a search will commence for their next Artistic Director, over the coming year, with Dorothy Milne staying at the helm through the transition. She's one of a kind, but we're excited to see what's next for Lifeline, and Milne has vowed to stay involved with the company, while passing the torch (and the long hours) on to another.

As Lifeline Theatre continues its 35th season, long-time Artistic Director Dorothy Milne has announced she will transition out of her leadership role during the coming year. “I love my job and I won't be leaving Lifeline,” Milne said. “I will still be an active ensemble member and volunteer. But I'm over 60 years old and I look forward to spending more time away from a desk. 

“Lifeline will conduct a search that invites both internal and external candidates to apply,” Milne continued. “The successful candidate would become a Lifeline ensemble member, if they are not already, and would engage in our ensemble development process. This is not a traditional AD role: we are a true collective, deciding all artistic programming for the season as an ensemble. The ideal candidate is both a creative force and someone who finds passion in mentoring, creating opportunity for others, growing Lifeline's family, engaging our community partners, and actively collaborating with Lifeline's ensemble, board, and staff.”

The search for Milne’s successor will take place over the coming months. The search committee includes members of Lifeline’s Board of Directors, artistic ensemble, and staff. Lifeline hopes to have a successor in place by the end of the current season, but Milne will transition out of her role on a schedule that best suits the new hire and the organization.

Milne joined the Lifeline Artistic Ensemble in 1992 and was chosen as artistic director in 1999, following the departure of founding Producing Director Meryl Friedman. During Milne’s 19-year tenure, the organization has grown dramatically, increasing its annual operating budget from just over $300K to just under $1M. Along the way, Milne has directed 22 shows at Lifeline, produced 116 plays, curated eight outings of the Fillet of Solo live lit/storytelling festival (runs January 12-28), served on the Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest planning committee for 16 years, and acted as a fierce ambassador for Lifeline and the Glenwood Avenue Arts District across the community.

“To try to measure the impact that Dorothy has had over the past 19 years is an impossible task,” Managing Director Allison Cain said. “Through her leadership, creative guidance, and dedication, she has not only transformed Lifeline but our neighborhood and theatrical community. I have been so honored to work by her side for the past nine years, and will miss her beyond words. I’m also thankful for the flexible transition timeline she has proposed as it will allow us to be thoughtful in finding the right person to take up the mantle as we move into our next 35 years.”

The remaining shows in the 2017-2018 season:
Click links for our prior coverage & Montauciel Takes Flight ticket giveaway.

The 21st Annual Fillet of Solo Festival
January 12–28, 2018
Lifeline Theatre (6912 N. Glenwood Ave.) and Heartland Studio (7016 N. Glenwood Ave.)
Full Schedule: www.lifelinetheatre.com
Tickets: $10 per performance; Festival Pass: $50 

Celebrating the breadth of Chicago’s enduring storytelling and live lit scene, Lifeline brings together a dozen storytelling collectives and numerous solo performers for a three-week, multi-venue selection of powerful personal stories.

Full details, including participant information, locations and scheduling, for the 2018 Fillet of Solo Festival can be found at www.lifelinetheatre.com

Solo participants include Lily Be, Ada Cheng, Shelby Marie Edwards, Julie Ganey, Carly Jo Geer, R.C. Riley and Jameson Wentworth.

Participating storytelling collectives include Around the World: Immigrant Stories, GayCo, GeNarrations, the kates, The Lifeline Storytelling Project, Sappho’s Salon, Serving the Sentence, Stir Friday Night, The Stoop, Sweat Girls, Tellin’ Tales Theatre, and You’re Being Ridiculous.


Montauciel Takes Flight
World Premiere
A new musical inspired by historical events
Book by Lifeline Theatre ensemble member James E. Grote
Music & Lyrics by Russell J. Coutinho
Directed by Aileen McGroddy

January 13–February 18, 2018

Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., 773.761.4477, www.lifelinetheatre.com

All tickets: $15

Previews: Saturday, Jan. 13 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; and Sunday, Jan. 14 at 11 a.m. 

Press Opening: Sunday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. Regular Run: Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.



Anna Karenina
World Premiere
Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy
Adapted by Lifeline Theatre ensemble member Jessica Wright Buha
Directed by Lifeline Theatre ensemble member Amanda Link

February 16–April 8, 2018

Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., 773.761.4477, www.lifelinetheatre.com

Regular tickets $40; preview tickets $20

Previews: Fridays, Feb. 16 and 23 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, Feb. 17 and 24 at 8 p.m.; Sundays, Feb. 18 and 25 at 4 p.m. 

Press Opening: Monday, Feb. 26, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. (press also invited to final preview on Feb. 25 at 

4 p.m.) 

Regular Run: Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 4 p.m.

Now in its 35th season, Lifeline Theatre is driven by a passion for story. Our ensemble process supports writers in the development of literary adaptations and new work, and our theatrical and educational programs foster a lifelong engagement with literature and the arts. A cultural anchor of Rogers Park, we are committed to deepening our connection to an ever-growing family of artists and audiences, both near and far. Lifeline Theatre – Big Stories, Up Close.

Lifeline Theatre’s programs are partially supported by Alphawood Foundation; A.R.T League Inc.; Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; Chicago CityArts, a grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; FGMK LLC; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; The Grover Hermann Foundation; The Michael and Mona Heath Fund at The Chicago Community Foundation; Illinois Arts Council Agency; Illinois Humanities Council; Lagunitas Brewing Co. Community Grant Program; MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince; The PAV Grant Fund; The Polk Bros. Foundation; Poubelle Fund, a Donor Advised Fund of Renaissance Charitable Foundation; Rogers Park Social; The Saints; S&C Electric Company Fund; The Shubert Foundation; and the annual support of businesses and individuals.