League of Chicago Theatres, in partnership with Choose Chicago, announces dates for
Chicago Theatre Week 2019
February 7 – 17, 2019
Annual celebration will kick off the Year of Chicago Theatre
Chicago Theatre Week (#CTW19), an annual celebration of the rich tradition of theatre-going in Chicago during which visitors and residents can access value-priced tickets, will take place February 7-17, 2019. From joy to heartache and every feeling in between, Chicago theatre tells stories that evoke big emotions. Stories that take risks, inspire awe, ask tough questions – and dare audiences to do the same. From musicals to plays to comedy, theatre is for everyone in Chicago. Chicago Theatre Week is a celebration of the stories we share and will kick off 2019 as the Year of Chicago Theatre, a first-of-its-kind initiative designated by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Chicago Theatre Week, spanning a week and two full weekends, is heading into its seventh year. As a program of the League of Chicago Theatres, in partnership with Choose Chicago, over 100 theatre productions are expected to participate in neighborhoods throughout the city and suburbs.
The value-priced CTW tickets will be $30, $15, or less. Tickets will go on sale and a list of participating productions will be available online at 10:00am CST on Tuesday, January 8 at ChicagoTheatreWeek.com.
A small sample of the many productions expected to participate are: Court Theatre – Photograph 51; Drury Lane Theatre – Mamma Mia!; Goodman Theatre – How to Catch Creation, Twilight Bowl; Lookingglass Theatre – Act(s) of God; Northlight Theatre – Nina Simone: Four Women; Paramount Theatre – The Producers; Porchlight Music Theatre – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder; The Second City – 107th Mainstage Revue; Steppenwolf Theatre – A Doll’s House, Part 2; TimeLine Theatre – Cardboard Piano; Victory Gardens Theater – Pipeline; and Writers Theatre – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Last year, in February 2018, 115 participating productions offered value-priced tickets to 619 individual performances during Chicago Theatre Week. More than 12,500 tickets were sold in 2018, marking a rapid increase in sales over the course of the initiative. The program continued to bring in new audiences to area theaters with an average of 66% of attendees visiting their chosen theatre for the first time. Theatre Week proved to be a draw for visitors from outside Chicago with 17% of patrons coming from beyond 50 miles of the city, including 40 states.
“This year we are thrilled that Chicago Theatre Week will kick off the Year of Chicago Theatre celebration. We hope that every Chicagoan will see a show this year. Chicago Theatre Week will be the first opportunity to see incredible shows at great prices,” comments Deb Clapp, Executive Director of the League of Chicago Theatres. “Chicago’s rich tradition of theatre is known world-wide and Chicago Theatre Week is just one chance to celebrate new work, fresh talent, musicals, improv, and more. Theatre is one of the things that sets Chicago apart from other cities.”
“Chicago, which is home to over 250 dynamic theaters, provides visitors more variety and creative platforms than any destination in the United States,” said David Whitaker, President and CEO of Choose Chicago. “With 2019 being the Year of Chicago Theatre, Chicago Theatre Week is for many a chance to raise the curtain on the amazing performances, venues, artists and diverse audiences. While Chicago Theatre Week offers a featured preview it may also be an opportunity for visitors to realize that our theater scene cannot be taken in in just one day or perhaps just one visit and we invite everyone to take advantage of the celebration and programming.”
Chicago Theatre Week is presented by the League of Chicago Theatres in partnership with Choose Chicago. Subscribe to the Theatre Week email newsletter or follow @ChicagoPlays on Twitter for updates and announcements.
The official hashtag for Chicago Theatre Week 2019 is #CTW19.
About Chicago theatre Chicago theater is the leader in the U.S. with more than 250 theaters throughout Chicagoland, comprising a rich and varied community ranging from storefront, non-union theaters to the most renowned resident theaters in the country, including 5 which have been honored with Regional Tony Awards, and the largest touring Broadway organization in the nation. Chicago’s theaters 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. Last year alone Chicago theater companies produced more than 100 world premiere productions and adaptations. Each year Chicago theaters send new work to resident theaters across the country, to Broadway, and around the world.
League of Chicago Theatres’ Mission Statement Theatre is essential to the life of a great city and to its citizens. The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theatres which leverages its collective strength to support, promote, and advocate for Chicago’s theatre industry. Through our work, we ensure that theatre continues to thrive in our city.
For a comprehensive list of Chicago productions, visit the League of Chicago Theatres website, ChicagoPlays.com. Half-price tickets to the current week’s performances as well as future performances are available at HotTix.org and at the two Hot Tix half-price ticket locations: across from the Chicago Cultural Center at Expo72 (72 E. Randolph) and Block Thirty Seven (108 N. State).
AT THE INSTITUTE FOR CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND LAWRENCE HOUSE,
Formidable dreams Rebecca Ciprus
OCTOBER 11- OCTOBER 14,
IN CONJUNCTION WITH OPEN HOUSE CHICAGO
Curated by Julieanne Ehre and Peter Taub and Featuring Works by
Anna Martine Whitehead, Carole McCurdy and Sara Zalek, Elaine Lemieux and Hanna Brock
Pivot Arts presents Charged Spaces/Changing Bodies, a series of site-specific performances in two historic Uptown spaces in conjunction with Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Open House Chicago weekend. Performances are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 11, Friday, Oct. 12 and Saturday, Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. The performance begins at the Institute for Cultural Affairs, 4750 N. Sheridan Rd., with Notes on Territory written, choreographed and performed by Anna Martine Whitehead. Audiences are then led across the street to Lawrence House, 1020 W. Lawrence Ave., for Les Chanteuses du Rien, created and performed by Sara Zalek, Elaine Lemieux and Hanna Brock. This piece will take place within the Lawrence House lobby and culminate in its swimming pool. The multi-disciplinary event concludes with Five Stud Stud by Carole McCurdy in the Lawrence House’s gym space. Audiences will be led by a guide through the spaces to witness the performances happening throughout each building. A suggested donation of $20 will be requested at the door. For reservations or additional information, please visit pivotarts.org/events.
Edgar Miller Legacy Ji-Yang
Details on the individual pieces may be found below: Notes on Territory Written, Choreographed and Performed by Anna Martine Whitehead Sound by Damon Locks and Lighting by Giau Truong Institute for Cultural Affairs, 4750 N. Sheridan Rd. Part performance and part installation, Notes On Territory uses movement, sound, video and text to address "containment architectures" such as prisons, cathedrals, dungeons and homes. The piece considers known architectural shapes and spiritual traditions such as crosses and arches in relation to the hole – a space which is only known by the wall that surrounds it – as a means of exploring the rich tradition of Black liberation practice. Notes on Territory has had work-in-progress showings at ACRE and Ragdale (2017), Elevate Chicago Dance (2017,) Velocity Dance Center (2018), Whitman College Spring Studio Series (2018) and Pivot Arts Festival (2018). Generous support for Notes on Territory has been provided by Chicago Dancemakers Forum; Headlands Center for the Arts; Daring Dances at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and the Pivot Arts Incubator program. Les Chanteuses du Rien Created and performed by Sara Zalek, Elaine Lemieux and Hanna Brock Lawrence House, 1020 W. Lawrence Ave. Les Chanteuses du Rien employs genres of classical scores, experimental opera, improvised sound, expanded cinema and Butoh dance to explore the lobby and swimming pool space at Lawrence House. The performers are a trio of tricksters who desire to communicate intimately with an audience while revealing hidden histories. Five Stud Stud Created by Carole McCurdy and co-performed with Jon Poindexter Lawrence House, 1020 W. Lawrence Ave. Five Stud Stud explores spectrums between violence and tenderness. The performance is both intense and absurd, taking place in an installation of inflatable punching bags. Versions of this piece have been performed at Ragdale Foundation, Dogleach/Hume, Comfort Station, OuterSpace and Defibrillator. ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Anna Martine Whitehead
Anna Martine Whitehead Writer, Choreographer and Performer of Notes of Territory Anna Martine Whitehead is a transdisciplinary artist interested in the body as material, signal, archive. She’s been presented by Velocity Dance Center; Watts Towers Art Center; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Hemispheric Institute for Performance and Politics. Her work Notes On Territory was developed and then presented as a work-in-progress as part of the Pivot Arts Incubator program. She has contributed to projects by Onye Ozuzu, Jefferson Pinder, taisha paggett, Every house has a door, Keith Hennessy, BodyCartography Project, Julien Prévieux and the Prison + Neighborhood Art Project. Whitehouse has been published in Art21, C Magazine, Art Practical, frieze; contributed to Meanings and Makings of Queer Dance; and is the author of TREASURE | My Black Rupture. She is a 2018 Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist.
McCurdy
Photo by Sam Chao
Carole McCurdy Creator of Five Stud Stud Carole McCurdy is a Chicago-based artist whose performance work addresses grief and anxiety, duty and resistance and the absurd mysteries of embodiment. She received a 2016 Lab Artist award from the Chicago Dancemakers Forum and was a fall 2016 Sponsored Artist at High Concept Laboratories. She created and directed an ensemble piece, Waver, with support from CDF, HCL and 3Arts Chicago. Her practices include butoh and Argentine tango and she has performed at spaces including the Chicago Cultural Center, Epiphany Dance, Links Hall, Hamlin Park, High Concept Laboratories, Defibrillator Gallery and Movement Research (NY). Sara Zalek, Elaine Lemieux and Hanna Brock Creators and Performers of Chanteuses du Rien Sara Zalek, Elaine Lemieux and Hanna Brock are a collaborative team who have been creating together for two years in Chicago, including Chicago Cultural Center, Edgar Miller Legacy Studio, Silent Funny, Ragdale Foundation and the Hungry Brain. They have been supported by Chicago Dancemakers Forum, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, the City of Chicago, New England Foundation for the Arts and the Ragdale Foundation. Julieanne Ehre Co-Curator of Charged Spaces/Changing Bodies Julieanne Ehre is the founder and the director of Pivot Arts. She both leads the organization and curates performances including the Pivot Arts Festival, Live Talk series and oversees the “Celebrate Community!” parade. She was the NEA/TCG New Generations “Future Leaders” Fellow at the Goodman Theatre where she served as producer on Latino Festival, New Stages Series and conceived of and produced the Goodman’s Artists Talk series. Ehre served as a delegate to the Santiago a Mil Festival in Chile and the ITI World Theater Congress in Xiamen, China through Theater Communications Group and was the co-chair of the Arts and Culture Committee for Chicago’s 48th Ward. As the artistic director of Greasy Joan & Co. for five years, she directed and produced critically acclaimed and premiere adaptations of classic plays and worked as a freelance theater director. Ehre holds an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University and a BA in Anthropology from Grinnell College. Peter Taub Co-Curator of Charged Spaces/Changing Bodies Peter Taub is a curator and arts manager with over 30 years of experience in developing and producing artist-centered projects. Based in Chicago, his current curatorial projects include curating Elevate Chicago Dance (October 2018 and October 2017), a festival with more than 40 choreographers and site-specific performances with Matty Davis/Ben Gould (June 2018) and Pivot Arts (October 2018). Last year, Taub curated a performance series during the Venice Biennial for V-A-C Foundation inspired by the centenary of the Russian Revolution. Taub was the founding director of the performing arts program at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago from 1996 - 2016 and developed the program into a leading presenter and producer of multidisciplinary dance, theater and music. While there he established the MCA Stage New Works Initiative to support artists with creative residencies and commissions. He co-founded the Chicago Dancemakers Forum (CDF) to support artistic exploration and growth with funding and mentorship, and it is now the largest source of new dance development in the region.
ABOUT Pivot Arts Pivot Arts produces and presents contemporary and multidisciplinary performance on Chicago’s far north side. They develop new work and present performances throughout the year culminating in a large-scale festival. Their vision is that of a vibrant community where collaborations between artists, businesses and organizations lead to the support and creation of unique performance events.
Charged Spaces/Changing Bodies is supported in part by the Alphawood Foundation, FLATSstudio, the Illinois Arts Council, the Institute for Cultural Affairs, and the MacArthur Funds for Art and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
(RE)DISCOVER THEATRE PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
LES INNOCENTS/THE INNOCENTS
AT THE
PRESTON BRADLEY CENTER, MASON HALL,
OCTOBER 7 - NOVEMBER 4
Perfect for the Halloween Season, A Thriller Set in the Paris Catacombs is Created and
Directed by Co-Artistic Director Ann Kreitman
This fall is turning into quite the immersive theatre buffet, with First Folio Theatre, (re)discover theatre, Rough House, and Strawdog Theatre all presenting roaming audience shows. Here at ChiIL Live Shows we're booked for three and are attempting to make it out to all. (re)discover theatre is proud to announce casting for the world premiere of Les Innocents/The Innocents, an immersive queer thriller set in the Paris Catacombs, created and directed by Co-Artistic Director Ann Kreitman. Les Innocents/The Innocents will play October 7 - November 4 at The Preston Bradley Center, Mason Hall, 941 W. Lawrence Ave. Previews are Sunday, Oct. 7 and Tuesday, Oct. 9. Opening night /Press night is Thursday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. An American Sign Language (ASL) interpreted show will be Friday, Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. Regular run performances are Thursdays - Sundays at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for $30 at rediscovertheatre.com/the-innocents. Inspired by a real concert that took place in the Paris Catacombs in 1897, the audience members of Les Innocents/The Innocents will prowl the catacombs like ghosts. Gui, a composer on a quest for love, emerges from the maze to encounter eccentric and musical ghosts who misdirect their pursuit and inspire chaos for the living and dead. Les Innocents/The Innocents presents realistic and grossly human queer characters in mythic circumstances to investigate our relationship to duty, death and defeat. Les Innocents/The Innocents features Emilie Modaff, Vahishta Vafadari, Amanda Forman, Alec Phan, Andrew Lund, Matthew Lunt, Maggie Miller, Deanalís Resto, Erich Peltz and Levi Shrader. The production team includes Molly Donahue, (dramaturg); Mary O’Rourke, (choreographer); Chas Mathieu, (environment design); Kate Hardiman, (lighting design); Erika Clauson, (costume design); Kelly Schmidt (makeup design); Autumn McGarr (stage management); Daniella Wheelock; (assistant director) and Berit Godo, (assistant choreographer). ABOUT ANN KREITMAN, creator/director Ann Kreitman, the proud co-artistic director of (re)discover theatre, is a director and deviser who creates work driven by the necessity for an active audience. Most recently, Kreitman directed a remount of The Neo-Futurists’ The? Unicorn? Hour? For the Pivot Arts Festival. She has created original, audience interactive works including Eugenia as a part of (re)discover theatre’s For One, I left Your Key Under the Mat, Dear (2nd Floor Rear, Chicago Home Theatre Festival), and Home ((re)discover theatre for the Chicago Fringe Festival). Other directing credits include The Veil (Idle Muse Theatre Company), Cry Baby Meets Audrey Hepburn (20% Theatre), Fifty Shades of Shakespeare ((re)discover theatre), El Stories 21: People Watching (Waltzing Mechanics), I Love You...Now Change and The Melodrama (Shawnee Summer Theatre). She was a recipient of a 2016 Individual Artist Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events to devise and produce Les Innocents/The Innocents.
ABOUT MARY O’ROURKE, choreographer Mary O'Rourke began her dance training in Buffalo, New York, and received her B.A. in dance from Loyola University Chicago. She has previously worked with Khecari as an understudy/performer in The Cronus Land and a performer in The Retreat. She was also featured in Haymarket Opera Company's corps de ballet in their 2017 production of Ariane et Bacchus. Currently, she is a performing artist with CDI/Concert Dance, Inc. under the direction of Venetia Stifler. She has presented choreography at the American College Dance Festival, Noumenon New Moves Choreography Competition, Going Dutch Festival, and at the Conservatory of Music in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In addition to traveling to Vietnam, she has traveled to Havana, Cuba to participate in a cultural exchange with La Escuela Nacional de Arte as well as collaborate on a dance for camera. She holds a deep interest in the relationship between dance and devised theatre and was able to explore this partnership in a collaborative process with creator/director Kreitman on Les Innocents/The Innocents back in 2016. Her collaboration with Kreitman continued in (re)discover theatre’s For One.
ABOUT (re)discover theatre (re)discover theatre is redefining theatre for emerging audiences by blending a variety of artistic forms, embracing the visceral energy of live performance, and inviting audiences to be an integral part of the theatrical experience.
September 24 – November 12, 2018 at The Den Theatre
Review:
I did something odd at The Den Theatre this month. I just watched someone make a potentially fatal choice, take direction from an Iranian half a world away, explore vulnerability, enlist the unsuspecting, and perform a script, opened for the first time on the spot. Yes, it's WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT.
Mondays are usually a dark night for theatre arts, but Interrobang Theatre Project is changing that up with a stunning 8 week social experiment. With a script from award-winning Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour, 8 diverse Chicagoans, and willing audience, WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT, is a subtly different show every week.
First, kudos to Interrobang Theatre Project for casting an eclectic range of actors for the run. I had the great pleasure of catching JD Caudill on October 1st, the second actor in the lineup. They provided a unique perspective on the work as a trans individual who prefers the pronouns "they/theirs/them".
About a third of the audience was drafted into joining the production, some designated by the playwright in the script, and many by choice. I found it poetic that JD's partner was one of the first to begin the show, randomly plucked by seat number, and another trans individual (a theatre critic), volunteered by choice, and closed out the show with a powerful reading. The bookending was a beautiful thing that happened organically and will likely never be recreated again.
I'm keeping this review as spoiler free as possible, because WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT is best experienced without preconceptions. Suffice it to say, before I had left the show, I was already thinking of all the people I know that I wanted to bring back to see it. I left the show and promptly friended Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour on social media and heard back from him within a day. I left with a few more tangents in my head, new thoughts on psychology and sociology and how they tie in with the theatre of politics and the political theatre arts, and a new Facebook friend in Iran. Theatre has the power to transcend borders and cultural conditioning, and alter mindsets on the spot more effectively than most other mediums. Check it out! White Rabbit Red Rabbit is recommended.
Ever have that nightmare where you can't get your locker open, or you're suddenly on stage without a clue what your lines are or even what play you're in, and everyone in the audience is looking expectantly at you? I have. This fall in Chicago, professional actors are actually volunteering for the latter scenario at several theatres in several different show configurations! One that's piqued my interest the most is award-winning Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour's acclaimed solo show WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT.
The show features a different actor each week, with a script they’ve never read before. Plan to catch one or many, as we go down the rabbit hole of word spanning two disparate cultures. Forbidden to leave his country, young Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour found a way for his voice to get out when he physically could not. His words have escaped censorship and are awaiting an audience.
What happens when you put one artist on a stage and hand them a script they’ve never read before? Pure theatrical magic! Interrobang Theatre Project is pleased to present award-winning Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour's acclaimed solo show WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT, an experimental tour de force you have to see to believe!
Featuring a different actor each week, this unforgettable artistic experiment will play Mondays at 8 pm from September 24 – November 12, 2018 at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Tickets are on sale at www.interrobangtheatre.org or by calling (312) 219-4140.
The line-up for WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT includes: Stephanie Shum (September 24) JD Caudill (October 1) Echaka Agba (October 8) Michael Turrentine (October 15) Joe Lino (October 22) David Cerda (October 29) Shawna Franks (November 5) Owais Ahmed (November 12)
No rehearsal. No director. No set. No spoiler. A different performer each night is handed a script (in a sealed envelope) for the first time as they step onto stage. Forbidden to leave his country, young Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour found a way for his voice to get out when he physically could not. His words have escaped censorship and are awaiting your audience. This wildly entertaining and thought-provoking theatrical piece – where no audience can see the same show twice – blends drama, comedy and social experiment, providing audiences with a potent reminder of the transformative power of theatre. WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT has been called a play – but it’s a lively, global sensation that no one is allowed to talk about.
Curtain Times: Mondays at 8 pm Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Tickets go on sale shortly at www.interrobangtheatre.org or by calling (312) 219-4140. Performers: Stephanie Shum (September 24) JD Caudill (October 1), Echaka Agba (October 8), Michael Turrentine (October 15), Joe Lino (October 22), David Cerda (October 29), Shawna Franks (November 5) and Owais Ahmed (November 12).
Understudy: Matthew Nerber
About the Playwright Nassim Soleimanpour is an independent multidisciplinary theatre maker from Tehran, Iran. His plays have been translated into more than 20 languages. Best known for his play White Rabbit Red Rabbit, written to travel the world when he couldn’t, his work has been awarded the Dublin Fringe Festival Best New Performance, Summerworks Outstanding New Performance Text Award and The Arches Brick Award (Edinburgh Fringe), as well as picking up nominations for a Total Theatre and Brighton Fringe Pick of Edinburgh Award. By the time Nassim was permitted to travel for the first time in early 2013, his play White Rabbit Red Rabbit had been performed over 200 times in 15 languages. Since then, Nassim has facilitated workshops and panels in different countries including World Theatre Festival (Brisbane), Tolhuistuin (Amsterdam), SESC Vila Mariana (Sao Paulo), Schauspielhaus (Vienna), DPAC (Kuala Lampur), Theatretreffen (Berlin), British Council (London), Asia House (London) and University of Bremen (Germany). Nassim’s second play Blind Hamlet for the London based Actors Touring Company premiered at the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and has since toured extensively around the UK and was received well in Bucharest and Copenhagen. Blank, his third play, recently premiered in Amsterdam and has been performed in Utrecht, Edinburgh and London. Nassim now lives in Berlin with his wife Shirin.
PHOTO CREDIT: Interrobang Theatre Project’s production of WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT will feature (top, l to r) Echaka Agba, Owais Ahmed, JD Caudill and David Cerda (bottom, l to r) Shawna Franks, Joe Lino, Stephanie Shum and Michael Turrentine.
About the Performers Stephanie Shum can't believe Interrobang is letting her do this but is very excited to play with them for the first time. She is Co-Artistic Director of The New Colony, Associate Producer with Red Tape Theatre and has also performed with Steppenwolf, American Theater Company, The Neo-Futurists, 16th Street, Walkabout, Factory, Redtwist, Goodman, Victory Gardens, Silk Road and The Fly Honeys. She is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and is represented by Actors Talent Group. She may next be in seen in Wildclaw’s Second Skin. www.stephanieshum.com
JD Caudill is a Chicago-based director, music director and performer. Since coming to Chicago in 2014, JD has performed onstage with The New Colony, Hell in a Handbag Productions, New American Folk Theatre, Forks and Hope and Hobo Junction, and directed for over 15 companies, including Broken Nose Theatre, The New Colony and Haven Theatre. JD is a company member of Hell in a Handbag and Haven Theatre (where they are also marketing director), and an associate company member of Broken Nose Theatre. Echaka Agba’s Chicago theatre credits include: Women Laughing Alone with Salad (Theater Wit); At the Table (Jeff Award – Best Ensemble, Best Supporting Actress; Black Theatre Alliance Award – The Hattie McDaniel Award) Broken Nose Theatre; The Crucible, Between Riverside and Crazy (u/s) Steppenwolf Theatre; Short Shakes! Romeo and Juliet (u/s) Chicago Shakespeare Theater; A Comedical Tragedy for Mister Punch, United Flight 232 (Jeff Award – Best Ensemble) House Theatre of Chicago; Don't Go Gentle (Haven Theatre); Balm in Gilead (Griffin Theatre). She is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf and is represented by Grossman and Jack.
Michael Turrentine is an actor/educator/playwright originally from Oklahoma, but loves the Windy City too much for words! He has worked at various theaters around Chicago including Firebrand Theatre, Remy Bumppo Theatre, Theater Wit, The Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Gift Theatre and others. He will also be performing in the up coming production of Frankenstein at Remy Bumppo Theatre. Michael is excited to go on this cool and exciting journey with Interrobang! He is represented by Gray Talent Group.
Joe Lino is a Chicago based actor and has worked with Steppenwolf, Goodman, Victory Gardens, Teatro Vista, Drury Lane, The New Colony, The Cuckoos Theater Project, The Agency Theatre Collective and Interrobang Theatre Project. where he is an artistic associate. Regionally he has credits with Actors Theatre of Louisville in shows such as Dracula, A Christmas Carol and That High Lonesome Sound, which premiered at the Humana Festival. He has also performed Off-Broadway at the BAM Harvey Theatre in Charles Mee’s world premiere of The Glory of the World. He is a proud alumni of Ball State University.
David Cerda is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Hell in a Handbag Productions. Plays written include Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer, SCARRIE! The Musical, POSEIDON! An Upside-Down Musical, Christmas Dearest, The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes Vol 1 & 2 and The Birds. As an actor he has worked with A New Colony, Corn Productions, Lookingglass, A Red Orchid Theatre and more. Cerda was inducted into the Chicago 2016 GLBTQ Hall of Fame and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Jeff Committee in 2017 for his body of work and philanthropic efforts.
Shawna Franks is the founding Managing Director of Facility Theatre where she is currently performing in the Chicago premiere of Phoebe In Winter by Jen Silverman. Shawna originated the role of Dottie in Killer Joe by Tracy Letts at The Next Lab in Evanston. She performed this role at The Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, The Bush Theatre in London and The Vaudeville Theatre on London's West End. She also performed in Grand Concourse at Steppenwolf Theatre and The Woman Before at Trap Door Theatre. She has appeared in various productions in Dublin, Los Angeles, Phoenix and New York City, and is the founding Artistic Director of Space 55 Theatre in Phoenix.
Owais Ahmed is a Chicago native and a proud ensemble member of Definition Theatre Co. Theatre credits include: The Invisible Hand (Steep Theatre, Milwaukee Rep), The Hard Problem (Court Theatre), Orange (Mixed Blood Theatre) and The Qualms (Steppenwolf Theatre).
About Interrobang Theatre Project Now in its ninth season, Interrobang Theatre Project, under the artistic leadership of Georgette Verdin and James Yost, has been hailed by the Chicago Tribune as a “company to watch” and by Time Out Chicago as “one of Chicago’s most promising young theatre companies.” Chris Jones called Foxfinder, which kicked off Interrobang’s 2017-18 season, “...a ripping good yarn,” earning it 3.5 stars from the Chicago Tribune. Foxfinder also garnered seven non-Equity Jeff Awards nominations including Best Director and Production of a Play, and took home two awards for Best Original Music and Set Design. The company also earned seven non-Equity Jeff Nominations for their seventh season, including Best Director, Production of a Play, Solo Performance and acting nominations for Lead Actor, Actress (win) and Actor in a Supporting Role (win). Productions have included the world premiere of Calamity West’s Ibsen is Dead (Jeff Recommended), the Jeff Recommended The Pitchfork Disney, Orange Flower Water, Recent Tragic Events, The North Pool, The Amish Project, Falling and Grace. Director James Yost’s critically-acclaimed Really Really was one of six shows chosen for Chicago Tribune’s “Best of 2015 in Chicago Fringe Theater.”
What’s an interrobang? An interrobang is the combination of a question mark and an exclamation point, joining the Latin for “question” (interro) with a proofreading term for “exclamation” (bang). Through the plays we produce, Interrobang Theatre Project aims to pose worthwhile and exciting questions which challenge our understanding and assumptions of who we are and the world in which we live.
For more information, please visit www.interrobangtheatreproject.org.
BEGINS 2018 - 2019 SEASON WITH DANAI GURIRA’S ECLIPSED
THROUGH NOVEMBER 4 AT CHICAGO DRAMATISTS
Pegasus Theatre Chicago’s Producing Artistic Director Ilesa Duncan directs this Tony-Awarded Drama Inspired by Real Stories of Women Rebels During the Second Liberian Civil War
Pegasus Theatre Chicago announces its production of Eclipsed, written by Danai Gurira and directed by Producing Artistic Director Ilesa Duncan, October 4 – November 4 at Pegasus’s resident home Chicago Dramatists, 773 N. Aberdeen. The performance schedule is Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. with added Saturday 3 p.m. or Sunday 7:00 p.m. performances (TBD). Tickets are $18 - $30 and are available at PegasusTheatreChicago.org. Discounts available for groups of ten or more by contacting boxoffice@pegasustheatrechicago.org. Eclipsed, the first play to premiere on Broadway with an all female and black cast and creative team, was inspired by a photo that Gurira saw in The New York Times. “I was raised in Africa and I had never seen anything like it, women with AK-47s, dressed very hip and looking formidable.” she said. “I was keen to one day pursue that story and put it on the stage.” Taking place in a bullet-ridden rebel army camp during the Liberian civil war in 2003, the five "wives" of a commanding officer band together to form a fragile community and care for a 15-year-old girl who has been abducted and raped. The balance of their lives is upset by the return of a former "wife" turned rebel soldier who tries to convince the teen to leave the camp and fight with her. As the war draws to a close, each woman must discover her own personal means of survival in this deeply felt portrait of women finding and testing their own strength. The cast of Eclipsed includes Morayo Orija, Maya V. Prentiss, Aja Singletary, Adhana Reid and Sola Thompson. The production team includes Jacqueline Penrod (scenic design); Megan Turnquist (lighting design); Owé Engobor (costume design); Tony Bruno (sound design); R&D Choreography (violence design); Amanda Caputi (props); Carrie Hardin (dialect coach); Tanuja Jagernauth (dramaturg); Jennifer McClendon (production manager) and Justine Palmisano (stage manager).
ABOUT DANIA GURIRA, playwright Danai Gurira is an American actress and playwright of Zimbabwean origin who is best known for her roles as “Michonne” on the AMC horror drama series “The Walking Dead” and as “Okoye” in the Marvel Universe movies “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” She began her career on stage and has written critically acclaimed and award-winning plays such as In the Continuum, which won her an Obie Award, an Outer Critics Award and a Helen Hayes Award for Best Lead Actress; Eclipsed, was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play and won for Best Costume Design in a play; The Convert and Familiar, the last of which was commissioned by Yale Repertory Theatre. Among her other notable movies is “Mother of George,” in which she played the lead role of a Nigerian woman. She has also made guest appearances on several television shows including “Life on Mars,” “'Law & Order” and “American Experience.” According to her, being “brought up by a scientist and a librarian”, she is “an academic at heart”, which helps her do the exhaustive research she needs to write her plays. Gurira, who feels that stories of African women are told very rarely, considers her three plays In the Continuum The Convert, and Familiar as “parts of a trilogy on Zimbabwe’s coming of age from a feminine perspective.” ABOUT ILESA DUNCAN, director Ilesa Duncan is the executive/artistic director at Pegasus Theatre Chicago. Her recent directing work at Pegasus includes the Jeff-Recommended, sold-out Shakin the Mess Outta Misery, the world premiere of Jeff-Recommended Rutherford’s Travels and For Her as a Piano. Other recent credits include Neverwhere at Lifeline Theatre (Jeff-Recommended), Broken Fences at 16th Street Theater, Jeff Award-nominated The Nativity with Congo Square and the Jeff Award- winning Jar the Floor at ETA Creative Arts. Duncan has also worked with The Goodman, Writers Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Lifeline Theater, Stage Left and Chicago Dramatists, as well as Contemporary American Theatre Company (Ohio). The Alliance Theatre (Atlanta), Arena Stage (Washington DC) and Lincoln Center Theater (New York). Duncan’s creative nonfiction short stories have been published (Columbia College Chicago) and she’s written poems and screenplays. For the stage, she co-adapted Rutherford’s Travels from the National Book Award-winning novel Middle Passage, co-wrote and directed Blakk Love: Stoeez of A Darker Hue and facilitated the devised project Do You See What I’m Saying for Chameleon. Duncan will also assume the role of artistic director at Lifeline Theatre beginning in January 2019, and will remain Pegasus’ executive/producing director. ABOUT PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO Pegasus Theatre Chicago has been a mainstay in the Chicago theater community for nearly 38 years. Its mission is to produce boldly imaginative theatre, champion new and authentic voices and illuminate the human journey. The theatre adheres to the core values of community engagement, social relevance, boldness, adventure and excellence. Pegasus is also committed to initiating important conversations through the arts with strong community engagement and socially relevant programming, including the Young Playwrights Festival for high school-age scribes, which will celebrate its 32nd year this season. Pegasus Theatre Chicago has received seventy-seven Joseph Jefferson Awards since its inception. Pegasus Theatre Chicago is also supported by the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, the Reva and David Logan Foundation, the MacArthur Fund at Richard Driehaus Foundation, the Albert Pick, Jr. Fund, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and a CityArts grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (Rahm Emanuel, Mayor).
I'll be out for the press performance October 8th, so check back soon for my full review. We're eager to see two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner, Lynn Nottage's period piece set in 1950's Brooklyn.
Raven Theatre is pleased to launch its 2018-19 season with CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage, directed by Tyrone Phillips. This sharp and boisterous drama about family, faith and revolution will play October 4 – November 18, 2018 on Raven’s 99-seat East Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.raventheatre.com or by calling (773) 338-2177.
CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY will feature Chanell Bell, Brianna Buckley, Brandi Jiminez Lee, Terence Sims and Emily Tate.
Brooklyn, 1950. Ernestine and Ermina Crump have moved to New York with their father, Godfrey, who is seeking spiritual guidance from a man called Father Divine. In the swirling, glamorous commotion of this new city, with calls for equal rights and communist rebellion hanging in the air, the girls begin a turbulent journey toward independence and a challenging future.
Comments Raven Theatre Artistic Director Cody Estle, “Lynn Nottage is a prolific writer and her work is a gift to all who encounter it. This is the first time Raven Theatre has produced one of her plays. As a theatre known for producing the classics of Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, it seems only fitting to include Lynn’s voice among these greats. Set in 1950, Crumbs from the Table of Joy examines a family experiencing change in a country filled with racial and social turmoil. Audiences will connect with the struggles of this family, while getting a glimpse into a time in our past whose complexity resembles that of today.”
The production team for CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY includes: Arnel Sancianco (scenic design), Christine Pascual (costume design), Kathy A. Perkins (lighting design), Matt Test (sound design), Mealah Heidenreich (props design), Jon Martinez (choreography), Eva Breneman (dialect coach), Megan Pirtle (wig design), Kanomé Jones (casting director), Alexis Taylor (assistant director), Cole von Glahn (production manager), Bobby Huggins (technical director), Wilhelm Peters (stage manager) and Sapier Weinglass (assistant stage manager).
Location: Raven Theatre East Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville), Chicago
Dates: Previews: Thursday, October 4 at 7:30 pm, Friday, October 5 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, October 6 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 7 at 3 pm Regular run: Thursday, October 11 – Sunday, November 18, 2018 Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets: Previews $32 ($29 if purchased online). Regular run $46 ($43 if purchased online). Seniors/teachers $41 ($38 if purchased online). Students/active military and veterans $15. Every Thursday is “Under 30 Thursday,” when patrons under age 30 can purchase tickets for $15. Single tickets and subscriptions for the 2018-19 Season are currently available at www.raventheatre.com or by calling (773) 338-2177.
Touch Tour/Open Captioned performance: Sunday, November 4 at 3 pm. Touch tour begins at 1:45 pm.
Group tickets: Groups of 10 or more are $30 per person for Thursday and Friday performances and $35 per person for Saturday and Sunday performances. Student groups are $15 per person.
Plan Your Visit: Free parking is provided in a lot adjacent to the theatre – additional street parking is available. Nearest El station: Granville Red Line. Buses: #22 (Clark), #36 (Broadway), #151 (Sheridan), #155 (Devon), #84 (Peterson).
About the Artists:
Lynn Nottage (Playwright) received the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and three Tony Award nominations for her play Sweat. For her play Ruined, she received the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for drama, along with an Obie, the Lucille Lortel Award, New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play (Manhattan Theatre Club, Goodman Theatre). Her other plays include Intimate Apparel (New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play; Roundabout Theatre, CENTERSTAGE, South Coast Repertory); Fabulation, Or the Re-Education of Undine (Obie Award; Playwrights Horizons, London’s Tricycle Theatre); Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Las Meninas; Mud, River, Stone; Por’Knockers and Poof! Nottage is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2007 MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant,” the National Black Theatre Festival’s August Wilson Playwriting Award, the 2004 PEN/Laura Pels Award for Drama, and the 2005 Guggenheim Grant for Playwriting, as well as fellowships from the Lucille Lortel Foundation, Manhattan Theatre Club, New Dramatists, and New York Foundation for the Arts. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild, an alumna of New Dramatists and a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama, where she is a visiting lecturer. For additional information, visit www.lynnnottage.net.
Tyrone Phillips (Director) is the founding Artistic Director of Chicago's Definition Theatre Company. Named one of the Chicago Tribune's “Hot New Faces of 2015” and Newcity's “Players 2016: The Fifty People Who Really Perform for Chicago,” he is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he received his BFA with honors. Directing credits include the critically-acclaimed production of Byhalia, Mississippi (Joseph Jefferson Awards nomination), which remounted to open the Steppenwolf 1700 Theatre, Dutchman (Definition Theatre), The MLK Project: The Fight for Civil Rights (Writers Theatre), 33 to Nothing (A Red Orchid Theatre), Dontrell, Who Kissed The Sea (Illinois Theatre), We the People, Our Town, Lord of the Flies, The Tempest (Niles North Theatre). You also may have seen his work as associate director for Red Velvet (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre) and as the assistant director for Trevor the Musical, Parade and The Mystery of Love and Sex (Writers Theatre). Tyrone also studied abroad at Shakespeare’s Globe and was an emerging professional resident at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre where he worked on A Raisin in the Sun, The Mountaintop, and Clybourne Park. Tyrone is represented by Grossman and Jack Talent and was recently selected as one of Newcity's “Players—the 50 leaders of Chicago’s theater, dance, opera and comedy culture of 2018”. Quill Reading Series Raven Theatre will present a staged reading of POOF! by Lynn Nottage, directed by Wardell Julius Clark on Wednesday, November 14 at 7:30 pm (reception at 7 pm). Quill is a series of four staged readings produced in tandem with each of the plays in Raven’s season. The readings provide an opportunity for audiences to engage further with the work of this season’s playwrights and explore their artistic voice on stage. Each Quill reading features a pre-show reception with complimentary wine provided by Income Tax. Admission is a suggested donation of $10.
About Raven Theatre Raven Theatre tells stories of today and the past that connect us to our cultural landscape. Through its plays as well as its educational programming, Raven is committed to serving our communities’ needs through the arts.
Raven Theatre Company is funded in part by the Alphawood Foundation, Bayless Family Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince, Polk Bros. Foundation, S&C Electric Company Fund, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the PAV Fund and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
the World Premiere Immersive Theatrical Experience
MASQUE MACABRE
Inspired by the Stories of Edgar Allan Poe
Written by Aly Greaves Amidei, Cara Beth Heath &
John Henry Roberts
Directed by Anderson Lawfer, Janet Howe & Eli Newell
October 4 – October 31, 2018
I'll be ChiILin' with Chi, IL's Strawdog Theatre Company for the press opening October 12th. I can't wait to catch this unique world premiere production where the audience travels from room to room, experiencing scenes. Check back soon for my full review. Just in time for Halloween, Strawdog Theatre Company launches its 31st season with the world premiere of MASQUE MACABRE, a dark and bloody thrill ride inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe – think Carrie meets Eyes Wide Shut. The handlers of a "bad boy" entrepreneur go to extremes to give him one last big bash before his past catches up to him. An explorative immersive theatre experience a la Sleep No More, guests travel from room to room throughout the space and follow stories of revenge and murder as they play out in real time.
Written by ensemble members Aly Greaves Amidei* and John Henry Roberts* and company member Cara Beth Heath^ and directed by Co-Artistic Director Anderson Lawfer*, Janet Howe and Eli Newell, MASQUE MACABRE will play October 4 – 31, 2018 at Strawdog’s new home at 1802 W. Berenice Ave. in Chicago’s Northcenter neighborhood. Single tickets and season subscriptions are currently available at www.strawdog.org.
MASQUE MACABRE will feature Strawdog ensemble member Michael Reyes* with guest artists Andrew Bailes, Dan Cobbler, Katie Gonzalez, Henry Greenberg, Adam Hinkle, Brian Hinkle, Patrick TJ Kelly, Lisa McConnell, Laura Nelson, Ella Raymont, Collin Quinn Rice, Shaina Schrooten and Julian Stroop.
Comments Co-Artistic Director Michael Dailey, “MASQUE MACABRE is the most ambitious project in our 31 year history. We’re thrilled to share the immersive and horrifying world of MASQUE with Chicago audiences. With fourteen storylines playing out in real time throughout our entire space, you could see this show multiple times and come out with a totally different experience each time. At a haunting time of year, MASQUE delivers a modern nightmare that explores the line between revenge and justice and how what we do (or don’t do) makes us complicit in the evil and darkness of others. It may just keep you up at night.” The production team for MASQUE MACABRE includes: Strawdog ensemble members Claire Chrzan* (co-lighting designer), Heath Hays* (sound designer) and Kyle Hamman* (video/media designer) with guest artists: Tom Burch (scenic designer), Virginia Varland (costume designer), Shelbi Arndt and Daniel Friedman (co-lighting designers), Lacie Hexom (props designer), Bobby Wilhelmson (violence designer), Kate Lass (intimacy designer), Mike Sanow (technical director) and Megan Gray (stage manager).
* Denotes Strawdog ensemble member ^ Denotes Strawdog company member
Location: Strawdog Theatre Company, 1802 W. Berenice Ave., Chicago Dates: Previews: Thursday, October 4 at 7 pm, Friday, October 5 at 7 pm, Sunday, October 7 at 2 pm & 5 pm and Thursday, October 11 at 7 pm & 9:30 pm Board Night Performance: Special performance with hosted drinks and appetizers, Saturday October 6 at 7 pm. Press performance: Friday, October 12 at 7 pm or 9:30 pm Regular run: Saturday, October 13 – Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7 pm & 9:30 pm, Sundays at 2 pm & 5 pm. Please note: Halloween week performances added on Monday, October 29 at 7 pm & 9:30 pm, Tuesday, October 30 at 7 pm & 9:30 pm and Wednesday, October 31 at 7 pm & 9:30 pm. Tickets: Previews $30. Regular run $50. Seniors: $40. Board Night: $75. Single tickets and season subscriptions are currently available at www.strawdog.org. Half price Rush and Student tickets available at every performance and other discounts available. Call (773) 644-1380 for details. About the Artists Aly Greaves Amidei (Co-Writer) has worked as a designer, playwright and maker based in Chicago for the last 18 years. She is an Assistant Professor of Costume Design at UNC-Charlotte. She is proud ensemble member of Strawdog Theatre Company and Lifeline Theatre. Her plays and audio dramas have been produced at Lifeline Theatre, WildClaw Theatre, Strawdog Hit Factory, College of DuPage and Cartage Theatre of Charlotte.
Cara Beth Heath (Co-Writer) has an MFA in Playwriting from Western Michigan University and a BA in Creative Writing from the College of Charleston. She is the Literary Manager at Strawdog Theatre Company. She's also been invited to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for dramaturgy, directing and playwriting. Her work has been read and produced in several festivals and workshops across the Midwest, including her award-winning play Good Enough about the women of the Gibson guitar factory during WWII. She's been in Chicago for a couple of years now, developing her plays and advocating for local playwrights.
John Henry Roberts (Co-Writer) joined the Strawdog ensemble in 2004. Previous writing credits include Strawdog’s production of The Sweeter Option and the Neo-Futurists’ production of True Dreams of Annie Arbor. Recent acting credits include Pillars of the Community, Barbecue and The Night Season (Strawdog), Neverwhere and Miss Holmes (Lifeline Theatre), The Little Flower of East Orange (Eclipse Theatre, Jeff Nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role), Diamond Dogs and The Hammer Trinity (The House Theatre). He’ll next appear in Twelfth Night at Writers Theatre. He is represented by Paonessa Talent.
Janet Howe (Co-Director) is a director, immersive theatre consultant and Co-Artistic Director of (re)discover theatre. Over the past four years, Janet’s work has focused exclusively on immersive and site-specific works. Janet directed and spearheaded projects such as FOR ONE: a series of plays built for an audience of one and Farewell My Friend, an immersive melding of Romeo & Juliet and Tristan & Iseult. Other directing credits include Lysistaratra, Fifty Shades of Shakespeare and Jason & (Medea). Starting October 2018, Janet will be studying immersive theatre at Middlesex University: London, focusing on accessibility in immersive forms. www.janetkhowe.com
Anderson Lawfer (Co-Director) is a Co-Artistic Director of Strawdog. He was the previous Artistic Director of Strawdog's Hugen Hall and focused on new works, adapting and directing Pontypool, Fail/Safe and Kill Shakespeare. He is the creator and host of many Strawdog late night shows including Theatre Wars!, The Direct Off! and The Game Show Show and Stuff! He will also be directing a new musical in the spring written by Mark Guarino and Jon Langford called Take Me.
Eli Newell (Co-Director) Eli Newell is thrilled to return to Strawdog after having previously assistant directed Damascus. He is a Chicago-based director from the Twin Cities, Minnesota. In Chicago, Eli has assisted at Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Raven Theatre, Strawdog Theatre Company, Haven Theatre and Windy City Playhouse. In the Twin Cities, he has worked with Guthrie Theater, Children’s Theatre Company, Ordway Center and the Playwrights’ Center. Eli is a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Communication.
Crystal Head Vodka is the official vodka of MASQUE MACABRE.
About Strawdog Theatre Company Since its founding in 1988, Strawdog Theatre Company has offered Chicagoland the premiere storefront theatre experience and garnered numerous Non-Equity Jeff Awards with its commitment to ensemble acting and an immersive design approach. The celebrated Company develops new work, re-imagines the classics, melds music with theatre, asks provocative questions and delivers their audience the unexpected.
Strawdog Theatre Company is supported in part by The Macarthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Alphawood Foundation, The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
