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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Brian Selznick Video Interview-Author of Hugo Cabret & Houdini Box

Article first published as Interview With Brian Selznick, author of Hugo Cabret & Houdini Box on Technorati.



Check out ChiIL Live Shows original interview with Brian Selznick & Mark Messing on opening day of The Houdini Box, theatrical adaptation, at Chicago Children's Theatre. I caught up with Brian and Mark hours before the first performance of this world premier. Hugo, the movie, adapted from Selznick's book and illustrations, was a huge hit in 2011 and has been nominated for 11 Oscars-the most of any film this year!

Hear how Brian first found out about the nominations, see him dabble in set painting, hear about his stage adaptation of Houdini Box, and get to know the man behind Scorsese's latest masterpiece. Hugo is one of our family's favorite films of all times. The Houdini Box play was also adapted from one of Selznick's original children's book. Mark Messing wrote the score.

Check out ChiIL Mama's prior photo filled Houdini Box coverage for show details.

If you haven't caught this one yet, we highly recommend it!   The Mercury Theater run ends March 4th.   Then the show moves to Skokie.   Catch Houdini Box before it magically disappears!







Monday, February 20, 2012

Act Out: Ending--Zastrozzi-The Division at Viaduct Theater



GET YOUR TICKETS ONLINE NOW, OR AT THE BOX OFFICE ON SHOW NIGHT!


   Final 4 SHOWS THIS WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.
the DIVISION presents ZASTROZZI 
@THE VIADUCT THEATER


ALL SHOWS 7:30PM/$20

3111 North Western Avenue
 (on the east side of lower western, just south
of the western/belmont/clybourn intersection)

773.296.6024


LOBBY BAR OPENS 1 HOUR BEFORE CURTAIN 
$5 PARKING LOT @ S/W CORNER OF BELMONT AND WESTERN

  


BONEdanse-This Is A Damage Manual (photo filled feature)




BONEdanse--This is a Damage Manual was so excellent I came back for the closing performance in Theater Wit's space and brought Sagezilla, too. 
   
































There were quite a few kids in the Sunday afternoon audience and she thoroughly enjoyed the show (and the bone candy & skull shaped lollipops at the afterparty).  




I figured she'd dig the show, since at age 8, she's all about 80's punk, grrrl power, and being mighty, and Atalee Judy and her troupe are some of the mightiest. 


















We also did a little shop therapy and increased our BONEware wardrobes by another tee and a fleece.



Their run at The Wit is over, but they do have some exciting shows coming up at Viaduct Theatre and in conjunction with the Chicago Park District.  




Check out their main site for details and follow them on Facebook, to stay up to date.






Friday, February 17, 2012

Act Out: Top Theatre Picks-Lost & Found at Actors Gymnasium


Gala Fundraiser at Actor's Gymnasium-opening night of Lost & Found 2012

Lost & Found: A Recycled Circus

Back by popular demand!
February 11 – March 11, 2012

"This production will charm, warm and wow you…sly and nuanced clowning…wordless,  impressive poetry" - Chicago Theatre Blog. 

"Director Lawrence DiStasi showcases a wry sense of humor and some superb acrobatics in this quirky Actors Gymnasium show" "Recommended"  - Chicago Reader.



We had the great pleasure of checking out opening night of Lost & Found at The Actors Gymnasium last Saturday.   The caliber of their circus arts is truly top notch.  This colorful extravaganza combines all of our favorite elements--aerial acts, steampunkery, a funky, rag tag band of urchins playing instruments and making mischief, a love triangle, technology as art, low tech fun, recycled and upcycled outfits, drums and toys.  We'll be returning to catch the show again with the kids as soon as possible.  Lost and Found is highly recommended, family friendly fun for all ages.   We were quite impressed with the cast, and the cast off set dressings.  We're also enamored with Co-Artistic Director, Lawrence E. DiStasi's statement about the show.   He says:

I didn't used to like old things.  They kind of depressed me.  But now, when someone takes an old chair or something, a thing that has managed, against all odds, to survive the world for many years, and they give it a little careful attention-I think it's incredibly moving.  And these things have so much personality.  It's almost like they're alive.  Like people.   They have souls in a way.  Unfortunately most of the stuff we all bring into our lives is disposable.  And things that are made to be thrown away, are sad company.  It's so hard to stay away from them, but who needs that kind of sadness?   Anyway, I think there is treasure in our garbage-in what we throw away, and overlook.   And those people we throw away and overlook too.  There is magic in our trash.  And probably our future there too.

ChiIL Mama has potential video interviews in the works with the Artistic Directory and also actor/Chicago Dad, David Catlin, who plays alongside both of his daughters in the show.   Saylor, who is 9 and in 4th grade, went to preschool with ChiIL Mama's Sage.   Saylor's younger sister, Emerson, is a 6 year old first grader and Lost & Found 2012 is her first circus show!   So check back with ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often.   We have lots of exciting things in store.


We also sat next to an accomplished aerialist, whom we photographed and chatted with in the past, when she played Alice in Lookingglass' last remount of their namesake story.  We also saw familiar faces from CircEsteem, including Will, a talented high school senior, who plays the lead juggler in Lost & Found.   We highly recommend checking it out.

Lost & Found gets ChiIL Mama's GRRREAT GREEN SEAL OF APPROVAL:   99% Recycled! - Costumes, props and set pieces used in this show are re-purposed, recycled, found-object art.

Last year's runaway hit, Lost and Found: A Recycled Circus returns to The Actors Gymnasium! A collaborative original work by Co-Artistic Directors Larry DiStasi and Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi, together with an amazing team of designers and performers, this circus production explores the world of second-hand treasure. Cast-off junk and cast-off characters are saved in this show and given thrilling, new life. Lost and Found: A Recycled Circus features aerial acrobatics, live music, and magical, found-object invention. 



Shows run every Friday through Sunday till March 11th.
The Actors Gymnasium
927 Noyes St
Evanston, IL 60201


Recommended for ages 5 and up.   
Adults $15
Students with ID and kids under 13 are $10


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Led Zeppelin 2 at House of Blues Chicago 1-14-12 (live show photos)



Here's a full set of ChiIL Live Shows' pit photos from Led Zeppelin 2 at House of Blues Chicago 1-14-12.   Double click the slideshow for SmugMug and more settings, including easy share options.   We'll be putting up a "best of" much smaller set from this show as well, but these guys were so much fun to shoot and we got so many sweet shots, we didn't want to decimate it down to just a few pictures.   Enjoy!



Here's a video from their recent Ft. Lauderdale, Florida shows and Stairway to Heaven below, so you can get a taste of their live shows.   Check out their Zep2 YouTube Channel for more.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Advanced Auto Parts Monster Truck Jam Rolls Outta Chi-Town Sunday! (photo filled feature)


Check out all of ChiIL Mama's live show shots above.    Monster Jam's sooo much fun to shoot.    Double click on the slide show to get to SmugMug's easy sharing and more options.

Monster Jam is a car crushin', dirt throwin', tire spinnin', truck jumpin' fun for all.
   We had a blast at opening night Friday!    If you haven't gone yet, today's the last day for Chicago, unless you want to wait till next year.   Final Chi-Town shows are Sunday at 2pm & 7:30pm at Allstate Arena.

Helpful hint:   Bring ear protection.   Eh, what was that?    I said, you'll be regretting not throwing in earplugs for everyone.   What?! I can't hear you over the deafening roar of those powerful truck engines.   I SAID....BRING EARPLUGS!  YOU CAN BUY SOME FUN TIRE SHAPED ONES ON SITE FOR $20, BUT IF YOU'D RATHER SPEND THE CASH ON A COOL SHIRT YOU CAN WEAR MORE OFTEN OR A CREEPY SNO CONE CUP, THEN BRING YOUR OWN EARPLUGS.
Check out our past coverage here for our discount ticket code and photo filled feature from last year.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

This is a Damage Manual-BONEdanse Rocks!



In the opening scene of This is a Damage Manual, the ensemble is in suspended animation, frozen in space and time, as the audience filters in.  Take a good look, as this is one of the last moments of calm before a storm of political, passionate, intense dance.  We adored this surreal look at damaged souls, making the best of an insane world.  Damage Manual had the whole audience laughing and cringing in turn.  The music was fantastic and the message right on target.  This show is a must see for self help addicts, skeptics, and nonconformists.   Is the message hitting a little too close to home?  You can even duck out for a hypnotically suggested tranquilizer, in the form of a well stocked lobby bar, over intermission.

I was blown away by the excellent, multimedia presentation, and the way BONEdanse organically melds into the space.   They made great use of the varying textures in The Wit walls, projecting giant images on the black cinder block back wall and throwing visually stunning shadow play across the brick and metal end walls.    The voice overs of Earl Nightingale, self help guru, were even more disturbingly wonderful with the vintage scratch of a record running throughout.   Atalee Judy and the ensemble take us on a vital journey through the eyes of a driven, unbalanced ballerina, an over medicated 50's houswife, a nazi, and more.   The audience is propelled on a journey through dream treatment, tranquilizers, and other attempts to numb people into acquiescence in an unbalanced world.

Conceptually, this is an adult piece, or recommended for mature tweens and teens.   Although there isn't anything objectionable or over the top, if you're considering bringing underagers.   



Here are our post show shots.   Be sure to stick around for snacks and a bit of shopping therapy after the show!    The multifaceted women of BONEdanse not only choreograph, write, and kick butt on stage, but they design amazing, affordable eco-friendly clothes too!!   Instead of a fundraiser, BONEdanse is selling Bone Ware.   Damage Manual was drop dead delicious, but it's well worth the ticket price to get to the goodies.   T's are only $5-$15.   Fleeces are $15.  One of a kind Upcycled T-Shirt dresses are $30-$40.   

Check out photographer, Chrystyne, modeling one in our shots above.   I snagged the awesome black & orange one with excellent text on the back "I will not be a victim...I will not be a perpetrator....above all I will not be a bystander & PEACE...it's what matters.

BONEdanse is one of our favorite Chi-town dance troupes.   Check out their creative and ferocious theatre.   These women are all about being smart AND mighty, and they create some mighty fine, thought provoking pieces of modern dance.   We've been loving their weekly Danse Skitz.   Check 'em all out on YouTube where Danse Skitz #1-10 are all archived.   They were all shot around Chicago last June through August.  

Don't miss the opportunity to see them live.   This is a Damage Manual has just 6 performances left!

Check out ChiIL Mama's prior coverage with more show details and Chrystyne's exceptional photos here. 

this is a DAMAGE MANUAL

february 2-12, 2012 

th/fri/sat 8pm, sun 3pm

theater wit

1229 belmont 

tickets $15-$24

BONEdanse PRESENTS This is a DAMAGE MANUAL THIS WINTER. WHERE THE SUB-TRASH PROPAGANDA OF THE 80S CLASHES WITH THE FEAR OF EVERYTHING 50S WHERE THERAPY PROMISES TO HELP, BUT MORE OFTEN DESTROYS... WHAT’S YOUR DAMAGE?

BONEdanse’s (simplified from its former Breakbone DanceCo), evening length version of This is a Damage Manual premieres this February; a satirical, witty, and humoured performance that offers as many absurd questions about the idiosyncrasies of human behavior as it answers. 

With its title sourced directly from the industrial post-punk music entity The Damage Manual featuring 80s punk era icons Martin Atkins (Public Image Ltd [Pil], Killing Joke), Chris Connelly (Murder, Inc), Geordie Walker (Killing Joke) and Jah Wobble (PiL), BONEdanse’s Damage Manual, also draws largely from the world of vintage instruction manuals and self-help vinyl records to explore how universally damaged we all are and how many of us stay that way.

Once again, here's the basics:
 
WHAT:  Damage Manual, a darkly comedic dance theater work examining vintage self-help books and recordings through dynamic physicality.

WHO: BONEdanse. A solo created by guest choreographer Jyl Fehrenkamp Choreography by Atalee Judy with performances by Janna Barta, Anita Fillmore, Atalee Judy & Mindy Meyers. Lighting Design: Jacob Snodgrass Costumes, Video, and Soundscore: A. Judy

WHEN: Thursdays-Sundays, February 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11 and 12; Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3: 00 pm

WHERE: Theater Wit is located at 1229 W Belmont, Chicago, 60657 in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.

HOW: Ticket prices are Th/Fr $15, Sat $24, and Sunday matinee $20. ALL tickets are available at walk-up or call-in box office: 773.975.8150 (no service fee online or by phone) www.theaterwit.org Follow BONEdanse on Facebook and join their email list for exclusive discount ticket offers at www.bonedanse.com
 
 
 

Make it a whole Wit Weekend:
 
This is a Damage Manual & Punk Rock are both playing at Theater Wit!
  
Kid alert-Punk Rock Contains Adult themes NOT suitable for kids. Damage Manual is appropriate for all ages, but recommended for an adult night out or possibly savvy tweens & teens--conceptually.

Political, passionate, accessible dance. This is a Damage Manual is a must see! Stick around for the Bone Ware--awesome, affordable up cycled clothes. We'll be seeing and reviewing Punk Rock tomorrow.
 
Punk Rock
Griffin Theatre
Theatre Wit

Visiting Company Griffin Theatre
Punk Rock
By Simon Stephens
Directed by Jonathan Berry
Now playing through March 04, 2012


The American Premiere of Simon Stephens' powerful and critically acclaimed drama about a group of high school age students preparing for their final exams and nearing the end of their school lives.
When the whole world opens up before you, there’s a danger it’ll swallow you up, there’s danger all around in this shattering new play that explores the volatility of adolescent life.




*Strong Adult Content

There is no late seating available for this production.
 
 
 
****NOTE:   If you loved This is a Damage Manual.....In a similar vein,  check out Under The Gaslight, coming soon at Aloft.

Under the Gaslight

The Aloft Loft
Chicago, IL


The Aloft Student Ensemble Performance group presents a full length contemporary circus show exploring the line between sane and "crazy". Aloft's signature style of using traditional circus apparatus in new and surprising ways, and spinning clear narrative through movement and risk come alive again through this group of 10 up-coming acrobats, studying at the Aloft Loft, the Midwest's premiere contemporary circus school. Trained by some of the top instructors in the country, and directed by Aloft's Artistic Director, Shayna Swanson, the performers have created a show based in consensus building which questions weather mental illness is just one tragedy away from everyone.

All proceeds from this show will go into a new scholarship fund to assist current Aloft Loft students who lose their incomes due to the economy in continuing their acrobatic training. Some money will also be directed into mirco-grants to help professional artists-in-residence at the Aloft Loft develop new work.

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