GREENHOUSE THEATER CENTER ADDS TWO SPECIAL EVENTS TO “SOLO CELEBRATION!” LINEUP
“Greenhouse: LIVE” and “The Voice Bank” to be Presented This Summer
The Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln Ave) announced two special events that have been added to the “Solo Celebration!” series. “Greenhouse: LIVE,” featuring the ensemble of The LIVINGroom in an evening of storytelling, will be presented for one-night-only on July 22 at 8 p.m. “The Voice Bank,” a new play written by and starring Andrea Caban, tells the story of a theatrical dialect coach who finds new meaning in her work when she is tasked with working with a woman who has been diagnosed with ALS to battle the loss of her voice to the disease. “The Voice Bank” runs August 9 and 10 at 9 p.m.
“A key component of the Greenhouse’s mission is to support the development of new work and provide a platform that allows emerging artists to showcase their talents,” said Artistic Director Jacob Harvey. “With this in mind, it was only fitting that we open our doors to allow the storytellers from The LIVINGroom and Andrea Caban of ‘The Voice Bank’ to utilize our theater to tell their compelling stories.”
“Greenhouse: LIVE,” produced by Greenhouse Theater Center's Artistic Apprentice, Nick Thornton and curated and directed by The LIVINGroom artistic director Laura Reitsma, is a night of highly theatrical Chicago stories, inspired by true events, and performed by Eileen Tull, Ian Randall, Anna Rose Wolfe, Ryan Howell, Carly Jo Geer, Reeny Hofrichter, Joel Reitsma and Rachel Copel. The event will be recorded live on the “Your Chicago” podcast. “Greenhouse: LIVE” will be presented for one night only on Friday, July 22 at 8 p.m.
“The Voice Bank” tells the story of a woman who defies her ALS diagnosis to fight to keep speaking by working with a theatrical dialect coach. Based on Caban’s experiences, the actress plays both herself and Terry, a woman with an indomitable spirit and a passion, as they work together to manage Terry’s progressing symptoms through voice and accent training. Written and starring Caban, and directed by Amanda McRaven, the play is based on more than 40 hours of actual transcriptions from voice and accent sessions between Caban and Terry, and real conversations between Terry and her doctors. “The Voice Bank” will be presented for two nights only, Tuesday, August 9 and Wednesday, August 10 at 9 p.m. The Voice Bank is presented in partnership with terraNova Collective. In an effort to make this story as accessible as possible, two for one tickets are being made available to people and families affected by ALS.
Tickets for “Greenhouse: LIVE” are priced at $10. Tickets for “The Voice Bank” are priced at $25. For tickets or Solo Celebration series flex passes, contact the box office at 773-404-7336 or visit greenhousetheater.org.
About The LIVINGroom
Some of the most intimate, truthful and exciting moments happen in living rooms. The LIVINGroom is an assembly of individual performances that blend true life with elements of theater to connect the performer’s experiences to the audience. The LIVINGroom shares living, breathing, highly theatrical stories about events that really happened.
About Your Chicago
Your Chicago is the podcast that gets to know the people who make Chicago go. Each month, Stefania (Sox fan) and Arden (Cubs fan) get to know the Chicagoans who bring the city legendary food, one-of-a-kind shows, unforgettable festivals, unique music and so much more.
About Andrea Caban
Caban is the Associate Director and designated Master Teacher of Knight-Thompson Speechwork™. She is Head of Voice & Speech at Cal State University, Long Beach, training mid-career actors in a unique Performance Pedagogy MFA program and serving an exciting and diverse undergraduate BA program. Prior to that, Caban was on the faculty at UC Irvine and CSU Fullerton, and has been an artist-in-residence at University of Cape Town, Penn State University, the MotherTongue Project-South Africa and SWEAT- South Africa (Sex-Workers Education and Task Force), among others. In 2016 she culminated a three-year documentary theatre collaboration with the Carpenter Center for Performing Arts in Long Beach, where she worked with CSULB Theatre Arts students and Long Beach high school students in created theatre pieces where they engaged their family, their communities and the world.
About “Solo Celebration!”
The Greenhouse Theater Center presents “Solo Celebration!,” which includes 12 full productions and other special events running through February 2017. Most productions will be produced in their entirety by Greenhouse, while other plays will be staged with co-producers including Sideshow Theatre Company and The Other Theatre Company. Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” is co-produced by Forum Productions and underwritten by the Wendy and William Spatz Charitable Foundation. More information and the full lineup, click here.
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!
