Solo Celebration Play Selections Announced Via Greenhouse Theatre Center

GREENHOUSE THEATER CENTER ANNOUNCES PLAY SELECTIONS FOR “SOLO CELEBRATION!” RUNNING JUNE 2016- FEBRUARY 2017 12-Play Series Includes Works by Chicago Playwrights Douglas Post, Philip Dawkins,  Susan Padveen and Brett Neveu As Well as Critically Acclaimed Work  From London and Off-Broadway    Creative Teams Include Jeff and Tony Award Winners and Nominees

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we're excited about the upcoming Solo Celebration featuring some of our favorite Chicago-based playwrights including Isaac Gomez, Brett Neveu, Douglas Post, Susan Padveen and Philip Dawkins (who will also be performing his solo work). Joining these local artists are award-winning authors Stacyann Chin (who will also star in her autobiographical piece), Laurence Leamer, John Walch, Sarah Myers andMatty Selman.  The series will include ten full productions and two limited engagements. 

Among the directors connected to solo series are Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award-winner Cynthia Nixon, Goodman Theatre Producer and Artistic Collective Member Steve Scott, Writer’s Theatre Resident Director Kimberly Senior, Directors Lab Chicago Artistic Director Elizabeth Margolius and Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate Linda Gillum. Some of the performers confirmed to star in solo works include Jeff Award-winner Kate Buddeke, acclaimed British actor Simon Slater, Karen Rodriguez and Carin Silkaitis.  Most productions will be produced in their entirety by Greenhouse, while other plays will be stated with co-producers including Sideshow Theatre Company, The Other Theatre Company and Rosie O’Donnell. Jacob Harvey, Artistic Director of the Greenhouse Theater Center, announced the 12 plays that will be presented as part of the “Solo Celebration!” series, running June 2016 – February 2017.  “I was surprised at the breadth of submissions we received, not only in genre and sheer volume, but also in the exciting ways in which playwrights are experimenting with the form of the one-person play,” said Harvey. “Each of the works that we have selected for full production possesses something special that we think contributes to the national conversation about solo-plays, as well as creates a diverse and robust series. Our series encapsulates everything from comedy to tragedy, and features new works by both local and national playwrights that have crafted compelling and challenging new roles for each show’s solo-actor.” The 12 plays included in this series are as follows: “MotherStruck!”                                            Chicago Premiere of the Off-Broadway Hit Written and Performed by Staceyann Chin; Originally Directed by Cynthia Nixon Co-Production with Rosie O’Donnell, Robert Dragotta and Culture Project June 10 – July 17 Audaciously funny and powerful, “MotherStruck!” is Staceyann Chin’s Off-Broadway hit exploring her deeply personal journey to motherhood, as a single woman, lesbian and activist who does not have health insurance or a ‘serious, stable financial set up.  Told through Chin’s uniquely poetic lens, her magnetic performance takes audiences on a bullet train adventure as she reflects on how the process changed her life and making peace with what she learned along the way. “The Way She Spoke: A Docu-mythologia”’                     World Premiere Written by Isaac Gomez; Directed by Laura Baker; Starring Karen Rodriguez June 10 – July 10 When an actress enters an empty warehouse to read a new play about the missing and murdered women of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, she embarks on an expedition through the broken roads of a city offering far more questions than answers. With thousands of women disappearing every year, who is responsible for these crimes? “The Way She Spoke: A Docu-mythologia” is a daring solo-performance piece pulling from hundreds of interviews collected down a rabbit hole of drug cartels, ex-convicts, unsavory reporters and resilient women; asking audiences, “what lies in the shadows of telling a story that isn't yours?”  “The Portrait”                                                                       World Premiere Written and Directed by Susan Padveen Co-Production with The Neopolitans July 15 – August 14 Gustav Klimt, the famous Viennese painter of The Kiss, crafted a multitude of beloved and enigmatic works while struggling to support his family in a world that did not yet recognize his genius. This provocative new play renders a portrait of the artist as he tries to win an attractive young woman’s interest and a sizable commission, as he wrestles with a decision that could alter the trajectory of his life. Torn between duty and defiance how will Klimt navigate the tumultuous decisions ahead? “Bloodshot”                                                               U.S. Premiere of the London Hit Written by Douglas Post; Directed by Patrick Sandford; Starring Simon Slater August 5 – September 11 Taut and suspenseful, “Bloodshot” is a one-man murder mystery following photographer Derek Eveleigh, as he is hired by an anonymous benefactor to pursue a showgirl through the streets of 1957 London.  After witnessing the young woman’s murder by an unknown assailant, he embarks on an investigation to find her killer that takes him through the bowels and backstreets of London, to find the young woman’s killer.  Along the way he meets hustlers, musicians and magicians and begins to find himself falling in love with a dead woman that he’s never met. “Rose”                                                            Chicago Premiere of the Off-Broadway Hit Written by best-selling author Laurence Leamer; Directed by Steve Scott August 19 – September 25 "There will be great presidents again, but there will never be another Camelot." In this intimate portrait of Camelot’s queen-mother, we meet a stalwart 79-year old Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy just after the tragedy at Chappaquiddick, which led to the accidental death of Mary Jo Kopechne at the hands Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Alone with her invalid husband in the house in Hyannis Port, Rose attempts to retrace the rise and fall of this great family that traversed continents, shaped history, and inspired a people. The Kennedy’s story is the story of our nation, as it implores audiences to access the costs of creating a political dynasty. “I Do Today”                                                                          World Premiere Co-Production with The Other Theater Company Written by Sarah Myers; Directed by Jacob Harvey; Starring Carin Silkaitis September 2-October 9, 2016 Failed relationships, former lovers and half eaten wedding cake clutter the mind of one Jewish woman determined to track the trajectory of love and loss in her life. “I Do Today” builds a constantly confounding and quickly changing family tree of many marriages (and even more divorces), posing questions about how modern marriage fits into old ideals.  Bisexuality, kabbalah and baby teeth dangle from the branches of this thoughtful play exploring how we might use our inheritances to re-imagine what’s possible.  “The Happiest Place on Earth”                                          World Premiere Co-Production with Sideshow Theatre Company Written and Performed by Philip Dawkins; Directed by Jonathan L. Green September 17-October 23 Once upon a time in an Anaheim, California orange grove, a magical kingdom was built and dedicated to America's history, dreams and wildest hopes. Eight years later, one family’s American prince died on live television while delivering the Albuquerque sports scores, leaving his four daughters and their mother behind. Left reeling from the loss of their patriarch, the family underwent a quest to reach the magical kingdom and seek solace and recovery. Now, more than fifty years after their journey, acclaimed playwright and storyteller Philip Dawkins retraces and illustrates the true story of the women in his family, exploring their history and asking if there really is a place where the dream that we wish can come true. “Uncle Philip’s Coat”                                                           Chicago Premiere Written by Matty Selman; Directed by Elizabeth Margolius November 27 – December 31, 2016 When Matty, an unemployed actor, inherits an old, decrepit coat from his recently deceased great-uncle Philip, he is unsure whether he has been given an heirloom or a heap of rags. Through his attempts to find the answer he travels across time, territories and tragedies in an effort to uncover the history of an unfaltering dreamer. “Uncle Philip’s Coat” takes Matty on a journey of self-discovery that poses larger questions of family, mythology and the inheritance of a Jewish son. How did a man who made it to the land of opportunity become a homeless wanderer, and what can he teach us about the stories that we tell to surround ourselves and keep away the cold? “Miss America”                                                                     World Premiere Written by Brett Neveu; Directed by Linda Gillum; Starring Kate Buddeke January 6-February 12, 2017 The Midwest sits, still and silent, between two oceans in the center of a continent, and beneath we find “Miss America” in a cold and cluttered basement. Written for award-winning actress Kate Buddeke, Brett Nuveu’s stark and entrancing sketch of an ordinary woman will leave you shaken and unsure, as she uncovers the artifacts of her youth and comes to terms with the forces that have made her who she is today.  “Circumference of a Squirrel”                                            Chicago Premiere Written by John Walch; Directed by Jacob Harvey January 13 – February 12, 2017 An inner-tube, a bagel, a donut, a lifesaver, a holiday wreath, a tire-swing, a cycle of abuse: circles. And at the center of them all sits an enigmatic squirrel. Orbiting that squirrel is Chester, a self-described “rodentophobe” who spins the outlandish, funny, and bruising tale of growing up with a father who developed a rabid hatred for squirrels that eventually infected every aspect of his life. Pursued by memories of his father’s intolerant legacy, Chester is pulled into the black hole at the center of his own life, unsure of how he will break free from the darkness that encircles him in this savagely comic one-man show. Limited Engagments “Squeeze My Cans”                                                               Chicago Premiere Written and performed by Cathy Schenkelberg Directed by Shirley Anderson July 14-July 24 Limited Engagement Have you ever wondered if Bozo was a suppressive person? Have you ever considered what it might be like to audition to be Tom Cruise’s girlfriend? What do you do if the” carrot of spiritual freedom” was dangled in front of you, waiting to be seized? Writer performer Cathy Schenkelberg decided to chase it and what she found was Scientology, America’s foremost intergalactic theology. After studying and searching to become “more herself” she found herself blowing alien life forms off her body and moving farther from than ever from who the person she had hoped to be. Now she is sharing the story in this no holds barred cautionary tale of how she survived the pseudoscience. *”Squeeze My Cans” received its first developmental workshop production at Lifeline’s Filet of Solo Festival. “Mother (and me)”                                        Chicago Premiere of FringeNYC Award-Winner Written and performed by Melinda Buckley As originally directed by Kimberly Senior August 4 – 14 Limited Engagement A larger-than-life Hungarian “Mama Rose” is slowing slipping into dementia as her Broadway baby, Melinda slips into “de’middle age.”  A brilliantly funny and touching story of two women who are losing everything they’ve ever been—in very different ways—as they lose each other. This one-woman tour-de-force by Broadway performer and comedian Melinda Buckley was an award-winner at the 2014 New York International Fringe Festival. The play asks “who’s it harder for?  The one who can’t remember?  Or the one who can’t forget?” Performance Schedule and Ticket Information The performance schedule for each play will be announced at a future date.  Most plays will be performed Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and Saturday and Sunday matinees.  The press opening dates will be announced at a future date.  All performances will take place at one of the venues within the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. Flex passes are on sale now.  Flex passes provide guests with admissions to five different full-production plays at a cost of $160 (or $32 per performance).   Flex pass-holders may also purchase tickets for additional plays for $32, and may purchase tickets for limited engagement productions for $20 (a 33% savings).  Flex passes can be obtained by visiting or calling the Greenhouse Theater box office at 773-404-7336 or by visiting greenhousetheater.org. Additional casting, special events and appearances, including musical performances and comedians, will be announced at a future date. About the Greenhouse Theater Center The Greenhouse Theater Center is a nonprofit performance venue located at 2257 N Lincoln Ave, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Our complex offers two newly remodeled 190-seat main stage spaces, two 60-seat studio theaters, an in-house rehearsal room, and Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre book store. Our mission at the Greenhouse is first and foremost to grow local theatre. We strive to cultivate a fertile environment for local artists, from individual renters to our bevy of resident companies, to develop and produce their work. In 2014 alone, The Greenhouse Theater Center provided space for almost 1,000 ticketed performances, serving more than 54,000 patrons. Among these events, were at least 30 productions by our resident companies, including the celebrated American Blues Theater and Remy Bumpo Theatre Company. Through our Trellis Program, we offer the community affordable access to our work by housing Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre bookstore, located on the second floor of our complex, as well as offering a free reading series each Tuesday night where local artists workshop their latest scripts. Additionally, we also continue to play an active role in cultivating and nurturing our community through continued partnerships with the League of Chicago Theaters and local Chambers of Commerce. As of 2016, the Greenhouse Theater Center embraced the true spirit of growth and launched its producing entity. With the announcement of our 8 month long Solo Celebration Series, helmed by Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, we will produce 10 solo plays from June 2016 to February 2017. Through this inaugural effort, we hope to expand the solo play cannon while also cultivating a larger conversation about the possibilities of the one-person play. With new ideas always incubating, the Greenhouse Theater Center is flourishing. Come grow with us!

OPENING: Dry Land at Rivendell Theatre

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble presents

the Midwest Premiere of

Dry Land

by Ruby Rae Spiegel

Directed by RTE Member Hallie Gordon

Featuring Jessica Ervin and Bryce Gangel

April 22 – May 28, 2016

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (RTE), Chicago’s only Equity theatre dedicated to producing new work with women at the core, announces the midwest premiere of Dry Land by Ruby Rae Spiegel. The production, directed by RTE member Hallie Gordon, runs April 22 – May 28, 2016, at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago.

Sometimes high school boils down to one thing - survival. And the only way to stay afloat is to find yourself an ally…

Set in the girls' locker room of a Florida high school, Ruby Rae Spiegel's ferocious new play looks at the unlikely friendship between Esther and Amy, two high school swimmers under uncommon pressure. Called a “remarkable new play” by The New York Times, Dry Land is alternately harrowing and hilarious, as it homes in on the issue of DIY abortion, the complexities of female friendship, and the impossible pressures that build up at the brink of adulthood.   

VIP Opening: Thursday, April 28 at 7:00pm

Regular run: April 29 – May 28, 2016

Schedule: Thursdays-Saturdays at 8:00pm

                 Saturdays at 4:00pm

    Town Hall Discussions will follow the Saturday matinees on May 7, 14 and 21

Location:  Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 

                 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago

Tickets: General Admission

Pre-sale: $32

Walk-up: $35

Student, Senior, Active Military, Veteran

Pre-sale: $22

Walk-up: $25

Pay What You Can: Five seats (10% of the house) are available for each performance. Reservations are made on a first come first served basis.

Flex Pass: $110 ($80 for Student/ Senior/ Active Military/ Veteran)

Includes four tickets to use in any combination for the season.

Box Office:                  (773) 334-7728 or www.RivendellTheatre.org

Parking and Transportation: Free parking is available in the Senn High School parking lot (located a block and a half from the theatre behind the school off Thorndale Avenue). There is limited paid and free street parking in the area and the theatre is easily accessible via the Clark (#22) or Broadway (#36) bus and is a short walk from the Bryn Mawr Red Line El station.

Artistic Director Tara Mallen comments, “Dry Land is the second production in RTE's 2016 “The Body Politic” season consisting of three important new plays in which the political is deeply personal.  The play begins with two teenage girls attempting a do-it-yourself abortion. It is a precarious subject, rife with shame and secrecy, not to mention being a political time bomb. The play doesn't pick sides or ask you to pick sides -- it simply reflects a growing reality, particularly for women and girls living in areas where it is now most difficult to get abortions. In the midst of this election circus, as we sift through the candidate’s policies and platforms, Dry Land tackles this hot button issue with extreme truth - and a great dose of humor -- engendering an imperative dialogue about women’s bodies in this crucible of politics."

“What struck me the first time I read Dry Land, this expertly written play by the young Ruby Rae Spiegal, was how unbelievably real, how lively and true and recognizable these characters were,” comments directorHallie Gordon.  “While the play has at its center a harrowing and dramatic incident, what matters about the play is not its plot, but its themes – at its heart, this is a work about friendship. The play asks how we are connected, and how we conduct ourselves when that connection is tested.”

Dry Land features Jessica Ervin as “Ester” and Bryce Gangel as “Amy” with Charlotte Thomas, Matt Farrabee, Ric Walker, Olivia Shine and Ireon Roach. The design team includes Joanna Iwanicka (scenic design), Charles Cooper (lighting design), Janice Pytel (costume design), Sarah Putts (sound) and David Blixt (fight choreography).

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Ruby Rae Spiegel (Playwright) is a graduate of Yale University. Her Susan Smith Blackburn Prize nominated play, DRY LAND, premiered Off-Broadway in 2014 in a sold-out, critically acclaimed run at Colt Coeur, following development in New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Theater Readings Festival and the Ojai Playwrights Conference. Her play Carrie & Francine premiered in the Summer Shorts Festival in 2011 at 59E59 alongside work by Neil LaBute and Christopher Durang. Dubbed “the prodigy of Summer Shorts” by the Theatre Development Fund, she received a rave review in the The New York Times for the piece and won Stephen Sondheim’s Young Playwrights Inc.’s National Competition (her second consecutive win after 2010’s All Ye Know). Ruby currently writes for Netflix’s forthcoming original series “The OA.”

Hallie Gordon (Director) is an RTE member and Artistic Producer at Steppenwolf and Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Young Adults.  As a theatre artist Hallie has directed for Rivendell, Eat Your Heart Out, Eclipsedat Northlight Theatre, for Steppenwolf 1984, Animal Farm, Leveling Up, the world premiere of The Book Thief, To Kill A Mockingbird, the world premiere of a new adaptation by Tanya Saracho of The House on Mango Street, and Harriet Jacobs, adapted for the stage by Lydia R. Diamond. A new premier of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, also adapted by Lydia R. Diamond, which won a Black Excellence Award from the African American Arts Alliance of Chicago. This production also transferred Off-Broadway to The New Victory Theatre. She has directed staged readings for The Goodman Theatre, Timeline Theatre, Chicago Dramatists and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.  Hallie is the recipient of The Helen Coburn Meier & Tim Meier Achievement Award

Jessica Ervin (Ester) is a recent graduate of Ball State University with a B.F.A. in Acting. Her Chicago credits include Walkabout Theater Company’s Summer in the Parks production of The Wild, The Public House Theatre’s 12 Ways to Play Festival, Collaboraction’s final Sketchbook Festival, and understudying Rivendell’s touring production of WOMEN AT WAR. Some of her other favorite projects are The Skriker (Josie),Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (Tillie). 

Bryce Gangel (Amy) makes her Rivendell Theatre debut. Recent Chicago credits include: The U.S. premiere of Posh (Steep Theatre); Between You, Me, and the Lampshade (Teatro Vista); All American (Redtwist Theatre); the Chicago premiere of Hank Williams: Lost Highway (Filament Theatre Ensemble); and You Never Can Tell (Remy Bumppo Theatre U/S). She has appeared on television in “Crisis” (NBC).  Bryce is a graduate of Loyola University and The School at Steppenwolf.  She is proudly represented by Paonessa Talent.

                        

About Rivendell Theatre Ensemble

Founded in 1994, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble advances women’s lives through the power of theatre. Rivendell cultivates the talents of women artists -- writers, actors, directors, designers and technicians – by seeking out innovative plays that explore unique female experiences and producing them in intimate, salon environments. 

Rivendell fills an important role in the Chicago region as the only Equity theatre dedicated to producing artistically challenging and original plays created by and about women. After years of being an itinerant company, we moved into our own theater space in 2010 in Edgewater. As new members of the neighborhood, we are focused on becoming an integral community partner and serving as a catalyst to engage our audiences in a discussion of local social issues. 

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble is supported by generous grants from The Alphawood Foundation; The Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development; The Chicago Community Trust; The Chicago Foundation for Women; The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; The Reva and David Logan Foundation; The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust; Cultural Outreach Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events; and the Illinois Arts Council Agency. Rivendell Theatre Ensemble is also very grateful for the support received from 100 Women Who Care.

For more information about Rivendell Theater Ensemble, http://rivendelltheatre.org.  Follow RTE on Facebook at Facebook.com/rivendelltheatre and on Twitter @RivendellThtr

Kudos To Sideshow Theatre Company Winners of Broadway in Chicago's Emerging Theatre Award

 Sideshow Theatre Company 

to be awarded 

the 2016 Broadway In Chicago 

Emerging Theatre Award

 Award to be presented at the League of Chicago Theatres Annual Gala

May 23 at the Chicago History Museum

The League of Chicago Theatres announces Sideshow Theatre Company as the winner of the 2016 Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award.  The award will be presented at the League of Chicago Theatres Annual Gala, an elegant event that brings together friends of Chicago theatre to raise funds for programs to support Chicago’s 240 member theatre companies, on May 23, 2016 at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St.

Tickets for the Gala are available for $325 per person, and all proceeds benefit the League of Chicago Theatres which promotes, supports, and advocates for theatre in Chicago.  To purchase tickets, or for sponsorship opportunities and participation information, visit www.chicagoplays.com or call 312-554-9800.

The Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award was created in 2007 to encourage, support, and promote young theatres in Chicago that have demonstrated great ability and promise, artistic excellence and fiscal responsibility in business practices.  Eligible companies are members of the League of Chicago Theatres, have been incorporated at least 3 and no longer than 10 years, and have demonstrated artistic excellence, fiscal responsibility, community leadership and potential for future growth.

Nominated by a committee of industry professionals, educators and League of Chicago Theatres board members, five finalists are selected each year, and from those, a majority vote from the League membership determines the winner.  Broadway In Chicago provides a $5,000 cash prize and marketing support, including a substantial advertising package for the recipient.

Sideshow Theatre Company Artistic Director Jonathan L. Green comments, “We are so grateful to be recognized by the League of Chicago Theatres and Broadway In Chicago. For nearly a decade, Sideshow has been dedicated to boldly deconstructing and reconstructing our shared stories. This award embodies what makes our city so unique as a theatre town: a collaborative community where 250 diverse companies, big and small, thrive and support each other's work. As we approach our 10th anniversary season, we hope to serve as an inspiration for the next generation of Chicago theatres.”

 “It is a great honor for Broadway In Chicago to sponsor this award every year," said Eileen LaCario, Vice President of Broadway In Chicago. "We are proud to be a part of the Chicago Theatre Community which is unique and unlike any other in the country where theatres of all sizes mentor and support each other.  This year we celebrate Sideshow as the 2016 Emerging Theatre, recognized by their peers for their work and contributions to Chicago Theatre."

 The other nominees for the 2016 Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award were: Chicago Fringe Festival, Definition Theatre Company, Filament Theatre and Route 66 Theatre. Jackalope Theatre Company, Oracle Productions, The House Theatre of Chicago, Silk Road Theatre Project (now Silk Road Rising), the side project, Steep Theatre, The New Colony, Theatre Seven of Chicago and 16th Street Theater are previous recipients of the award.
 

About the League of Chicago Theatres Gala
On May 23 at the Chicago History Museum, the Chicago theatre community will honor Sideshow Theatre Company with the Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award, philanthropist Merle Reskin with the Tribute Award, Chanel Coney with the Emerging Philanthropist Award, and Founders of the Candlelight Theatre Bill Pullinsi and Tony D’Angelo with the Lifetime Achievement Award.  Cocktails will begin at 5:30pm with an elegant dinner and entertainment at 7:00pm. 

The Gala Co-Chairs are John Collins (General Manager, Goodman Theatre), Neel McNeill (Managing Director, Definition Theatre Company), David Schmitz (Managing Director, Steppenwolf Theatre Company) and Ivan Vega (Executive Director, UrbanTheatre Company).

 About Chicago theatre

Chicago theatre is the 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 2015-16 alone, 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 more information, www.chicagoplays.com.

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.

Dreamgirls at Porchlight Extended Through May 22

DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND - PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE ANNOUNCES EXTENSION AND 

ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES FOR ITS SPRING ENGAGEMENT OF DREAMGIRLS

The Tony and Academy Award Winning Musical Extends Through May 22 and Adds More Thursday and Sunday Performances at Stage 773

Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber are proud to announce the extension and additional performances of Dreamgirls, book and lyrics by Tom Eyen, music by Henry Krieger. This production is directed and choreographed by Porchlight Artistic Associate Brenda Didier and music directed by Porchlight Artistic Associate Doug Peck, now through May 22. 

Regular performance times are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Added performances Thursday, May 5, 12 and 19 at 1:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 8 at 7 p.m. Single tickets may be purchased at porchlightmusictheatre.org or 773.327.5252. Groups of ten or more may receive discounts on tickets purchased via Group Theater Tix at 312.423.6612 or grouptheatertix.com.

“We are excited to see that the audiences’ anticipation of this iconic production is as great as ours,” said Weber. “Several performances have already sold out and we are adding these performances to meet the demand. The cast, crew and everyone at Porchlight are looking forward to sharing this very special performance with Chicago. Come April all of Chicago will be wanting to experience the drama, the music and the magic of Dreamgirls.”

Full of on-stage joy and backstage drama, Dreamgirls is the story of an up-and-coming 1960s all-female singing group from Chicago and the triumphs and tribulations that come on the road to fame and fortune, and features unforgettable hits including, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," "One Night Only" and "Listen." With a story that lives through the journey of popular music in America, and presented in Porchlight's signature intimate and up-close style, this Tony Award and Academy Award-winning musical will receive an intense and illuminating interpretation by Chicago’s leading talents.  

Making her Porchlight Music Theatre debut, Donica Lynn stars as “Effie Melody White” with Candace C. Edwards, recently seen in Porchlight’s critically acclaimed Far From Heaven, as “Deena Jones,” Katherine Thomas, making her Porchlight debut as “Lorrell Robinson” and Evan Tyrone Martin, recently in Porchlight’s Chicago premieres of Far From Heaven and Side Show, as “Curtis Taylor Jr.”

The full cast of Dreamgirls includes Caleb Baze (Cadillac Boy/Stage Manager), Michelle Bester (Ensemble), Dawn Bless (Ensemble), Kyrie Courter (Ensemble), Gilbert Domally (C.C. White), Jared Grant (Ensemble), Matthew Hunter (Ensemble), Reneisha Jenkins (Ensemble), J. Michael Jones (Marty), Eric Lewis (Jimmy Early), Andrew Malone (Ensemble), Brian Nelson Jr. (Ensemble), Trequon Tate (Ensemble) and Cherise Thomas (Ensemble).

The Dreamgirls production team includes: Porchlight Artistic Associate Christopher Pazdernik (assistant director); Chris Carter (associate choreographer); Porchlight Artistic Associate Bill Morey (costume designer); Porchlight Artistic Associate Jeff Kmiec (co-scenic designer); Greg Pinsoneault (co-scenic designer); Denise Karczewski (lighting designer); Kevin Barthel (wig designer); Mealah Heidenreich (properties designer); Robert Hornbostel (sound designer), Sara Gammage (stage manager) and Porchlight Artistic Associate Aaron Shapiro (production manager).

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE BRENDA DIDER, director/choreographer Brenda Didier, recently named one of the “major musical theater forces” working in the Chicago area, is a multi-award-winning director/choreographer having received Joseph Jefferson Awards for both direction and choreography, After Dark Awards for choreography, the National Youth Theatre Award for choreography and the 2010 Broadway World Chicago Fan Favorite Award for choreography. Didier has collaborated with Porchlight Music Theatre on ten productions, most recently the return of the smash-hit Ain't Misbehavin' (Jeff Award Best Production and Direction) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as well as How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Pal Joey, Putting It Together, Ragtime and Once on this Island, all for which she received Jeff nominations. She has served as a guest instructor and choreographer for Northwestern University, Columbia College, the University of Illinois-Champaign/Urbana, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Carthage College. Didier has choreographed musicals, industrials, special events as well as productions for Second City's mainstage and five installments of Cirque Shanghai at Navy Pier's Skyline Stage the summers of 2007-2012. Didier is owner and director of the Lincolnshire Academy of Dance, now in its 16th successful season in its 5000 square foot facility. 

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE DOUG PECK, music director

Doug Peck is one of Chicago’s leading music directors, having won six Joseph Jefferson Awards (The Jungle Book, Porgy and Bess, Caroline, or Change, Carousel, Fiorello! and Man of La Mancha) and two After Dark Awards (Guys and Dolls, Hello, Again), as well as the Sarah Siddons Award and the Guy Adkins Award, for his music direction and orchestrations in Chicago and across the country. In addition to Porchlight, Peck’s work has been heard in Chicago at Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Writers Theatre, TimeLine Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, TimeLine, Writers Theatre and the Ravinia Festival. Regional credits include work at Glimmerglass, the Huntington Theatre Company, the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Peninsula Players Theatre, among others. Peck can be heard on the recordings Bright Young People: The Songs of Noël Coward, Foiled Again Live and Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein. For the Chicago Humanities Festival and Porchlight’s annual Chicago Sings concerts, he and Rob Lindley have presented unique one night only events focusing on various aspects of the music world and performance.  Peck is a graduate of Northwestern University and also trained at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. He is a creative partner with the Goodman and a faculty member of the National High School Institute of the Arts.

ABOUT DONICA LYNN, “Effie Melody White”

Donica Lynn has appeared at many of the top-tier theatres in the Chicago area including, most recently, opposite Andre de Shields in Confessions of a P.I.M.P. at Victory Gardens as well as at The Goodman (Crowns and Ain’t Misbehavin’,) Court Theatre (Caroline or Change,) Drury Lane (Hairspray and Aida,) Marriott Theatre (Once on this Island and Suessical,) TimeLine (Fiorello,) The Mercury Theatre (The Color Purple and Barnum,) Chicago Opera Theatre (Queenie Pie,) Congo Square (Black Nativity and Santified,) and The Paramount (Hair). Dreamgirls marks Lynn’s Porchlight Music Theatre debut.

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE

Porchlight Music Theatre, now in its 21^st season, is nationally recognized for developing innovative new works, reimagining classic productions and showcasing musical theatre’s noted veterans and rising stars. Porchlight elevates the genre in Chicago by providing intimate and powerful theatrical experiences for its growing and diverse audiences. With the vision of Artistic Director Michael Weber, Porchlight builds on its role as Chicago’s only Equity not-for-profit company exclusively specializing in works of theatre in which music is an essential element. Porchlight’s rich history includes the staging of more than 60 productions with 13 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. Through Porchlight’s “Off the Porch” new works program, the musicals of the next generation are developed and given a first audience. The School at Porchlight is Chicago’s center for music theatre training in the areas of performance, writing and appreciation. The company’s many accolades include 11 Black Theatre Alliance nominations and two awards, as well as a total of 115 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations resulting in 31 Jeff Awards, recently garnering three consecutive Best Production awards for Sondheim on Sondheim (2015), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (2014) and A Class Act (2013).

Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from the Actors’ Equity Foundation, the Arts Work Fund at the Chicago Community Trust, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Prince Foundation, the National Association of Realtors, Bloomberg Philanthropies, James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation and The Saints. The season program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events

NEW RELEASE: Grindmother's Debut Album Age of Destruction Out April 28th

Here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows we love to see mothers pushing the boundaries of what's socially acceptable and expected and making a huge success of it. There's an unlikely viral star on the decidedly young, male, grindcore scene, a 67 year old Canadian mom. Check out her vocals. She's not just a gimmick, she's good!

Never has a mother screaming at her son been so sweet.

-Refinery

All hail the Grindmother!

-Nerdist

She’s no mere novelty. Her vocals are paint-peeling face-rippers! 

-Dangerous Minds

Band: Grindmother

Location: Ontario, Canada

Title: Age of Destruction

Genre(s): grindcore, punk, metal

For fans of: Napalm Death, Slayer, Sepultura, System of a Down

Label: Independent

Format(s): CD, digital

Tracks: 10

Release Date: April 28, 2016

An unlikely grindcore star, thanks to her impressively ferocious vocals! 

-Daily Mail

We're literally watching a star being born in real time.

-OC Weekly

One of the coolest 67-year-olds you’ll ever come across!

-Alt Press

GRINDMOTHER is a 67 year-old grindcore vocalist!  She got her start in early 2015, when an adorable, yet hilariously bad-ass video where she records guest vocals for her son's band, Corrupt Leaders, went viral. Later that year, Grindmother released a video for her very own solo track "Any Cost", which features music by her son Rain Forest.  The video again went viral, and celebrities Ozzy Osbourne and Eric Andre posted the video on social media.  Most recently, a video about her posted by New York Post reached 2.5 million views in less than one week.

In Feb 2016 Grindmother announced her debut album, "Age of Destruction", which is due April 28, and a brand new video for the album's title track has been released.