Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The Lucky 13!

On December 1, we opened up our application period for performers. This year, we tried something new - we would accept the first 25% of our performance groups as First/Come - First/Serve. That worked out to 13 of our 50 slots. We actually got the idea from our buddies over at the Boulder Fringe Festival while we were at the United States Association of Fringe Festival Conference. The reasoning behind it is to allow an opportunity for artists who are ready and prepared to get in right away. Keeping the rest of the slots as lottery allows us to make sure that are festival is diverse and has that wonderful spirit of democracy, randomness and chaos that we so adore at both our festival, and sister festivals like the Minnesota Fringe.

We had an inkling it would be popular - but WOW. The 13 slots filled up in 4 MINUTES! Very exciting!

There's still plenty of time to apply for the regular lottery - we still have 37 spots up for grabs after all! Apply here.

The lucky 13 who are slated to perform in the 2011 Chicago Fringe Festival are:

t & t Productions
Chicago, IL
The Ironmistress

Blue Suitcase Productions
Brooklyn, NY
look out for the bees

The League of Miscreants
River Forest, IL
The Miscreants Kill An Hour And Go To Cuernavaca

Gillian Hemme
Newark, NJ
Clean Start

Sideshow Theatre Company NFP
Chicago, IL
Strangerland

Elizabeth Blue
Brooklyn NY
Am I Blue

Rebecca Kling
Chicago, IL
Across and Beyond: Traversing Gender

Kate Healy
Chicago, IL
Purgatorio

Giants of Theatre
Indianapolis, Indiana
Jesus, Shakespeare, and Lincoln Walk into a Bar

Journey Theater Group
Chicago, IL
Where the Heart Lies

The Harlotry & Necromancy Appreciation Society
Chicago, IL
Ed Rex

Barely Balanced
Lakewood, OH
Sharp Knives and Stupid Humans

Pones Inc.
Cincinnati, OH
The Four Food Groups

As you can see, we already have a nice mix of local, regional and national acts, along with some favorites from 2010 making a triumphant return!

We look forward to sharing more about these artists and our lottery winning artists in the coming months.

Friday, November 19, 2010

FRINGE BINGE!

The season of street festivals may be over, but the summer time lovin' is still in full swing for the Chicago Fringe's, FRINGE BINGE!


When?

THIS Sunday, November 21st, 2010

7:30pm - 10:00pm

Where?

The Viaduct Theatre, 3111 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60618

How Much?

Only $10

Tickets are available at the door, or order online now! https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/8525115

Ages 17+

What?

An indoor carnival event like no other! Play free games at carnival booths run by local theater artists and companies, including:


Pie Throwing by Suitcase Shakespeare

World's Tiniest Show with Matt Griffo

Alien Bottle Toss with Hobo Junction

Plus booths from the New Colony, Terra Mysterium, Hubris Productions and many many more!

Play for free and win raffle tickets for fabulous prizes, such as Steppenwolf Tickets, and All Access Fringe Pass, and original art!

Hosted by the Crash Pad Puppets, and featuring short performances from some of the Smash Hits of the 2010 Fringe
Plus so much more!

Join Us!

Play a game, have a drink, shake a tailfeather, win a prize, eat a cupcake!

Fringe Binge! Fringe Binge! Go Go Fringe Binge!
 
The Crash Pad Puppets Gear Up for Fringe Binge!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Thanks to all for a Fabulous Freshman Fringe!

Hello Everyone,

I would like to personally thank every artist, patron and volunteer for a truly fabulous freshman Fringe! Some quick stats for you:

Over $28,000 in artist payments
Over 4,000 seats filled
Around 2,500 Unique Patrons

By and large, we exceeded our expectations! We just completed our organizational post-mortem - we have our sights set on how we can grow and improve in 2011.

If you have thoughts or comments about Fringe 2010, we'd love to hear them! Please feel free to utilize our anonymous feedback tool: http://talkbackr.com/usq7h

After closing of the Festival, we donated our cinder blocks to the wonderful people of Roots and Rays, a Pilsen community garden! Check them out here: http://www.raizesyrayos.wordpress.com/.



Though live performance is temporal, the Fringe has left an impression, like an artifact from a bygone age. Bittersweet!

Cheers to all of the new friends we've made! Stay tuned for 2011, the plans for which are well underway.

Much Love,

Sarah Mikayla Brown

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Backstage at Chicago Fringe

Weber and Einstein celebrate the completion of their show Please Love Me, High School Boyfriend.

Tonight at the Fringe After Party

Check out local band The Kickback at 9:30 pm at Honky Tonk BBQ.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Warming Up

Dancers from Megan Rhyme's Inner Cartography warm up at the Fringe Main Box office before performing.  Get tickets to the remaining performances of Inner Cartography here.

Tonight at the Fringe After Party

Local atmospheric rock band Biographer takes the stage at Honky Tonk BBQ.  Stop by after your last show of the night; the band goes on at 10:30.



About Biographer: You probably will not dance to the music of Biographer.  Atmospheric as it is heavy, as rock as it is folk; inside any of the mid-to-slow-tempo epics Biographer has been sculpting you may encounter a wall of whelming guitar surrounded by cymbal crashes one minute, only to later find yourself reflecting to a banjo and flute duet situated inside a song that rises and falls like the waves of the sea that are the band's primary inspiration.  

And the Reviews Start Pouring In....

Don't miss the first round of Time Out Chicago's complete coverage of the Chicago Fringe Festival!
Silken Veils

What To Do This Weekend...

Time Out Chicago. Chicago Magazine. Metromix. Everyone agrees that the Chicago Fringe Festival is the place to be this weekend!  Don't take our word for it- just check out some of these links!

Metromix Chicago: Fringe Benefits 

The Loyola Phoenix: Coloring Outside the Lines

Time Out Chicago: 5 Things To Do Today

Chicago Magazine: Your Three-Day Weekend Itinerary

Crains Chicago Business: 10 Things To Do This Weekend

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Tonight at the Chicago Fringe Festival

Honky Tonk BBQ. Looks good, doesn't it?

Join us after the first day of the Chicago Fringe Festival for our nightly afterparty at Honky Tonk BBq, located at 1213 W 18th Street. Tonight's live act will be local band ElvisBride. Don't miss this awesome free party!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Chicago Student Rush Offer



Students, take advantage of this offer through the League of Chicago Theatre's SmarTix program.  Sign up to receive other SmarTix offers here.

Free Student Rush Tickets



Wednesday, September 1 - Shows starting from 4pm to 5:30pm
Thursday, September 2 - Shows starting from 4pm to 5:30pm
Friday, September 3 - Shows starting from 4pm to 5:30pm
Reserve your FREE tickets by heading to the venues 1 hour prior to the start of a show and mentioning  SmarTix. Must bring a student ID.
There are a limited number of SmarTix available for each show. A valid student I.D. must be presented at the box office when picking up your ticket. 
Check out showtimes here, and don't forget to stop by Fringe Central before and after the shows!

Fringe Dance Productions featured on WBEZ

 Chicago Fringe Festival Includes Dance in Eclectic Roster

Despite its second-city status, Chicago has been a great incubator for all kinds of art, from theatre to dance. In keeping with that spirit of experimentation, the inaugural Chicago Fringe Festival kicks off tomorrow in Pilsen. Over the next five days you’ll have the chance to see more than 200 local and international avant-garde performers. In addition to all the theater, music and visual arts, there’ll be a substantial dance presence. Eight Forty-Eight’s Dance Critic Lucia Mauro brings us this preview.

Three emerging Chicago dance companies take an adventurous approach to the physical and emotional aspects of dance. Rooted in a no-holds-barred post-modernism, these groups meticulously deconstruct matters of the head and the heart.

Read the full article here

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Patchwork Woman

Check out the video preview for Bridges by Patchwork Woman Performance. Tickets on sale here.

Read Performink's Feature on Chicago Fringe

Chicago Fringe Steps Into High Gear
by Carrie L. Kaufmann

The trickles of talk about the first annual Chicago Fringe Festival exploded this week, and Sarah Mikayla Brown is a little blown away by it.

Brown, the executive producer who conceived of the Chicago version of a fringe fest last year after performing at the Minnesota Fringe Fest, thinks that the combination of 45 performance groups sending out press releases and e-mails to their constituents has coalesced into a “fervor and energy” that has created a groundswell of curiousity.

But she thinks her fest will live up to the hype. And, she adds, while it’s modeled on other U.S. and Canadian festivals, there is something about this one that is uniquely Chicago.
“It really reminds me of a neighborhood festival, translated through the lens of a performance festival,” says Brown.

The Chicago Fringe Festival will run September 1-5 at eight different venues in Pilsen. Brown says they’re all walkable, though it might take up to 20 minutes to go between the two most distant spots. And it’s not just about theatre. It’s about the atmosphere. It’s about community. She stressed that theatre people are welcome to party at “Fringe Central” at 1714 S. Racine anytime after 10 p.m., whether or not they’ve seen a show.

Read the rest of the article here

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Chicago Industry Offer

For the September 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 4:00 pm and 5:30 pm showings of the Chicago Fringe Festival, we are happy to offer an industry rush! Industry need only bring a headshot and resume to the door, and, given room, will be allowed in for free! Line up early for your favorite show, as seating may be limited. A full schedule is available at http://www.chicagofringe.org/showtimes.html.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Read Kris Vire's Time Out Preview of the Chicago Fringe Festival

"When I spoke to Sarah Mikayla Brown a year ago, she laid out a vision for an annual event that would join the burgeoning network of fringe fests across the U.S. and Canada. The Chicago Fringe Festival would bring in performers from around the country to interact with our homegrown artists and audiences; an uncurated selection process would bolster the sense of discovery she’d found at fringe fests in other cities. I liked the idea but was a bit skeptical that it could be pulled together in a year’s time.

I shouldn’t have doubted Brown. Assembling a staff of 16 (all working pro bono), she fielded 156 applicants and secured eight Pilsen venues. Beginning Wednesday 1, theater, dance, sketch comedy and other performance pieces will take over EP Theater and Dream Theatre, art galleries Chicago Art Department and Temple Gallery, salvage-chic bar and grill Simone’s, the Casa Aztlán community center and a pair of empty storefronts dubbed the Edinburgh Stage and Adelaide Stage (after the world’s two largest fringe fests). An open-air lot at 1714 South Racine Avenue will serve as Fringe Central, where festgoers can mingle over drinks and live music; after 10pm each night, the party moves inside to Honky Tonk Barbecue (1213 W 18th St).

The inaugural Chicago Fringe features 46 lottery-selected entries: 25 by Chicago-area performers and 21 from across the U.S. and Canada. With each coming in under an hour and at ten bucks a pop (five for $45, ten for $80 or an unlimited pass for $175), the idea is to take in as many as possible. Here are a few that caught our eye."

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

GLBT Fringe

Time Out Chicago takes a look at the GLBT performances of the Chicago Fringe Festival: http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/gay/88424/the-chicago-fringe-festival.

Which queer performances are you most excited to see?

Monday, August 23, 2010

To Pay or Not To Pay

David Mamet says you only get to judge a performance when you've paid for your ticket.  What do you think about comp tickets- do they devalue a performance?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/theatreblog/2010/aug/10/edinburgh-festival-better-to-pay

Friday, August 20, 2010

The Steve Show




Venue: Casa Atzlan
1831 S Racine Ave, Chicago IL 60608

Showtimes (click to purchase):

Wednesday September 01, 2010 10:00 PM

Thursday September 02, 2010 5:30 PM

Friday September 03, 2010 7:00 PM

Saturday September 04, 2010 8:30 PM

Sunday September 05, 2010 5:30 PM

Description:
You think Conan O'Brien had it bad gettin kicked off the Tonight Show, check out Steve Shubert and his big break into the world of late night entertainment and his immediate downfall. Think a vaudevillian carwreck painted by Jackson Pollack!

Company:
Jason Economus (Chicago, Illinois)

Jason Economus is an actor, writer, teacher, stand up comic and director. During his time in Chicago he has appeared in the hilarious long running hit, Shear Madness, and has performed brand new works with The Building Stage, Buckeye Tree Productions and New Beast Works and was in Not About Heroes at the Library Theatre and J.B. with Chicago Fusion Theatre. He has also directed Chekhov Shorts (Library Theatre) and Worst Mime in the World (Bailiwick Repertory Theatre’s Director’s Festival), Danny and the deep blue sea at the Town Hall Pub.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Skinny Dipping


Venue: Temple Gallery
1749 S Halsted Ave, Chicago IL 60608

Showtimes (click to purchase):

Wednesday September 01, 2010 7:00 PM

Thursday September 02, 2010 8:30 PM

Friday September 03, 2010 10:00 PM

Saturday September 04, 2010 4:00 PM

Sunday September 05, 2010 5:30 PM

Description:
Twinkies, wigs and a Liza Minnelli tribute? Oh my! It’s all in funny lady Shanna Shrum’s nationally touring, Skinny Dipping - Not Your Mama's One Woman Show! Prepare to strip down, dive in, and find out what might happen! Because when you’re Skinny Dipping, what MIGHT happen is the best part!

Company:
Shanna Shrum (Chicago, Illinois)

In 2009, Shanna independently produced Skinny Dipping’s first national tour, which made stops in St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago and New York City. Shanna will continue Skinny Dipping with audiences in 2010 at the Kansas City, Minnesota, Indianapolis and Chicago Fringe Festivals.

Video Preview:

Silken Veils


Venue: EP Theater
1820 S Halsted Ave, Chicago IL 60608

Showtimes (click to purchase):

Wednesday September 01, 2010 4:00 PM

Thursday September 02, 2010 5:30 PM

Friday September 03, 2010 7:00 PM

Saturday September 04, 2010 8:30 PM

Sunday September 05, 2010 10:00 PM

Description:
Silken Veils weaves the verse of Persian poet Rumi with the visual harmony of marionettes, table-top puppets, live performance and animation. This turbulent, sometimes humorous tale follows Darya, an Iranian born American citizen as she struggles with love in the US while reliving her childhood in Iran during the Revolution of 1979 and the Iran/Iraq war. Nominated as a best new work at Ediburgh Fringe Festival.

Company:
Pantea Production (Stevenson Ranch, California)

Video Preview:

The Roast of Piglet


Venue: Casa Aztlan
1831 S Racine Ave, Chicago IL 60608

Showtimes (click to purchase):

Wednesday September 01, 2010 8:30 PM

Thursday September 02, 2010 10:00 PM

Friday September 03, 2010 5:30 PM

Saturday September 04, 2010 1:00 PM

Sunday September 05, 2010 4:00 PM

Description:
Are your childhood memories are too pristine? Need them soiled beyond recovery? Or do you just want to feel like a disgusting immoral person? If you've ever wanted to see something that'll make you want to fill every opening of your head with bleach, we're here for you.

Company:
Alan Brouilette (Chicago, Illinois)

Rambo: The Missing Years



Venue: Chicago Art Department
1837 S Halsted Ave, Chicago IL 60608

Showtimes (click to purchase):

Wednesday September 01, 2010 10:00 PM

Thursday September 02, 2010 4:00 PM

Friday September 03, 2010 5:30 PM

Saturday September 04, 2010 7:00 PM

Sunday September 05, 2010 8:30 PM


Description:
Threats of treason charges! Phone calls from the Pentagon! In this hilarious autobiographical solo performance, Petrick brings over a dozen characters to life as he recounts his misadventures as a young antiwar GI who asserts his right to organize his fellow soldiers against the Vietnam war.

Company:
Howard Petrick (San Francisco, California)

Howard Petrick has been doing solo performance since 2007. He has studied with David Ford and Ann Randolph. His show Harold, about a boy who wants to be a violinist was performed at The Marsh, Tell It On Tuesday in Berkeley, CA. and FronteraFest 2009 in Austin, Texas. Work-in-progress presentations have been performed at FronteraFest 2010, The Marsh, Words First, City Solo and the San Francisco Theater Festival.


Video Preview:

Please Love Me, High School Boyfriend



Venue: Chicago Art Department
1837 S Halsted Ave, Chicago IL 60608

Showtimes (click to purchase):

Wednesday September 01, 2010 5:30 PM

Thursday September 02, 2010 7:00 PM

Friday September 03, 2010 8:30 PM

Saturday September 04, 2010 10:00 PM

Sunday September 05, 2010 4:00 PM

Description:
Like lightning in the wilderness, Chicago's Weber and Einstein present their first written show Please Love Me, High School Boyfriend. Through a series of inter-woven two-person scenes, bits, and songs the duo explore deep down inside everyone just wants somebody to love them. Sweet and twisted, this hour-long show feels like what would happen if Shirley Temple was thrown into the ghetto and forced to hustle in an attempt to earn America's respect.

Company:
Weber and Einstein (Chicago, IL)

Stephanie Weber and Brad Einstein, having originally met online while settling a renting dispute, worked together in Second City's Comedy Studies program and have been performing together ever since that fateful September one year ago. The two started off improvising and now work with improv to create eye-popping two-person sketch. They have had runs at Studio BE and have performed at various theatres around Chicago as well as the rest of the country that isn't Chicago but rather mostly Pennsylvania. All rental disputes being settled, they now reside in Roscoe Village, Chicago.

Video Preview:


The Playdaters




Venue: Chicago Art District Gallery: Edinburgh Stage
2003 S Halsted Ave, Chicago IL 60608

Showtimes (click to purchase):

Wednesday September 01, 2010 5:30 PM

Thursday September 02, 2010 10:00 PM

Friday September 03, 2010 8:30 PM

Saturday September 04, 2010 5:30 PM

Sunday September 05, 2010 1:00 PM

Description:
Two guys, hundreds of girls, one complicated scoring system. Spencer and Erwin exploit a dating website to play a game of dares and pranks on unsuspecting singles. Spencer eventually falls in love with a one-dimensional character, and Erwin, thwarting Spencer, finds that he can manipulate the world of a romantic comedy in astounding ways.

Company:
The Diversion Theatre formally And Giggles Production (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
The Playdaters was first developed at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The Milwaukee Fringe and Chicago Fringe mark its professional debut. This piece was inspired by various blind dates and email exchanges from hopeful singles through a popular online dating website. Online dating can be wonderful fun; it is also a fascinating social experiment that reveals magnitudes about how people approach dating and marriage, particularly in the largely unspoken discrepencies between professional romantic ideals and less-than-sensational reality of circumscribed requirements and eventual concessions in the search for a mate.

Chicago Fringe Festival featured in Steadstyle Chicago

Check it out at http://www.steadstylechicago.com/news081810.htm.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Chicago Fringe Artist Nominated for a Fringe First Award

Silken Veils has been nominated for a Fringe First Award for best new work from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Read more about Silken Veils on behindthefringe.com.

Purchase tickets to Silken Veils at the Chicago Fringe Festival here.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Check out our new poster!

Empanada for a Dream


Venue: EP Theatre

Showtimes (click to purchase):
Wednesday September 01, 2010
Friday September 03, 2010
Saturday September 04, 2010

Description:
1990's.The Lower East Side of NYC. The Yankees go from chumps to champs. Koch, Dinkins and Giuliani all wizz by and Hip hop will be born out of poverty. Welcome to the Loaisaida. Consider yourself an outsider, a tourist, a blanquito or just plain 'ol lucky. Either way, it's a trip down empanada memory lane.

Company:
Juan Villa (New York City, New York)

The Parenticide Club

Venue: Chicago Art Department

Showtimes (click to purchase tickets):
Wednesday September 01, 2010
Thursday September 02, 2010
Friday September 03, 2010
Saturday September 04, 2010
Sunday September 05, 2010

Description:
A dark comedy about a club you definitely don’t want your children to join. Inspired by the stories of Ambrose Bierce. Featuring Elana Elyse, Dan Hickey, Vince Mahler and David Skvarla.

Company:
Lincoln Square Theatre (Chicago, Illinois)

*Show contains depictions of violence

Moliere Than Thou


Venue: Edinburgh Stage

Showtimes (click to purchase tickets):
Wednesday September 01, 2010
Thursday September 02, 2010
Friday September 03, 2010
Saturday September 04, 2010
Sunday September 05, 2010

Description:
Moliere lives! Abandoned by his cast, Moliere must keep his audience satisfied while working through some of the funniest monologues of all time. He employs audience to play out the Tartuffe seduction scene, or the Doctor examination scene, clambers across their laps, all the while spouting dizzying rhymes.

Company:
Timothy Mooney Repertory Theatre (Prospect Heights, Illinois)

Kraigslist


Venue: Dream Theatre

Showtimes (click to purchase tickets):
Wednesday September 01, 2010
Thursday September 02, 2010
Friday September 03, 2010
Saturday September 04, 2010
Sunday September 05, 2010

Description:
In this dark adventurous comedy that divided Milwaukee both audiences and critics alike, a lonely middle aged couple kidnap a homeless woman’s child in an attempt to save their marriage.

Company:
BITE Theatre (Cedarburg, Wisconsin)

*Show contains Language; Depictions of Drinking/Drugs/Violence

Knee Jerk


Venue: Dream Theatre

Showtimes (click to purchase):
Wednesday September 01, 2010
Thursday September 02, 2010
Friday September 03, 2010
Saturday September 04, 2010
Sunday September 05, 2010

Description:
YOU COULD DIE RIGHT NOW! In a society that tip-toes around dangerous behavior to avoid its mortality, come visit the underbelly of that world that everyone ignores: The reality that, at any moment, the most trivial actions and most immediate, instinctive reactions can lead to our end.

Company:
The Consortium Project (Chicago, Illinois) began as a group of distinct individuals with different theatre skills/goals/backgrounds that wanted to collaborate with the intention of creating a truly balanced mental collective, so that we may explore all types of theatre and all types of audience demographics. The CPT's goal is to donate 100% of our ticket proceeds to charities and other non-profit organizations. From our first show, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, we started operating under this altruistically risky business model; our proceeds went to mental health organizations. We will continue this with CFF, and fight to make "altruistically risky" the norm.

*Show contains Language, Nudity, Violence, Drugs, Drinking

Grind: The Musical


Venue: Dream Theatre

Showtimes (click to purchase tickets):
Wednesday September 01, 2010
Thursday September 02, 2010
Friday September 03, 2010
Saturday September 04, 2010
Sunday September 05, 2010

Description:
A neighborhood coffee shop serves as a haven for all types of people, from hardworking baristas, to homeless evangelists to aspiring musicians. "Grind" uses slam poetry, shadow puppetry and lots of music to explore what happens when a shop like this is due for demolition.

Company:
Theater Undeclared (Burnsville, Minnesota)

Monday, August 16, 2010

Get Rich Cheating


Venue: Casa Aztlan

Showtimes (click to purchase tickets):
Wednesday September 01, 2010
Thursday September 02, 2010
Friday September 03, 2010
Saturday September 04, 2010
Sunday September 05, 2010

Description:
Wanna get rich? Colbert meets Tony Robbins in this wealth-building seminar exposing the proven path to obscene wealth - ethics be damned. Based on the bestselling book. Everyone's cheating: Why not you?

"You'll be laughing all the way to the bank" - Rachel Maddow
"Very funny" - Terry Jones (Monty Python)

Company:
Jeff Kreisler & Up Top Productions (Long Island City, New York)
Winner of the Bill Hicks Spirit Award for Thought Provoking Comedy, author of HarperCollins' bestselling satire "Get Rich Cheating," writer for Comedy Central, Huffington Post, TheStreet.com, and The Independent Film Channel, cast member of Shoot The Messenger (from the co-creator of "The Daily Show"), executive editor of "My Wall Street Journal," and star of several hit international festival shows (incl. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Calgary, New York, San Francisco Fests), Jeff Kreisler's performed on international TV, radio, and stage, with passion, absurdity, and hope. A graduate of Princeton, Exeter, and Virginia Law - biting the hands that fed him - Jeff now lives in New York City.

http://GetRichCheating.com
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=63458436527&ref=ts

The Fugitives

Venue: Dream Theatre

Showtimes (click to purchase tickets):
Wednesday September 01, 2010
Thursday September 02, 2010
Friday September 03, 2010
Saturday September 04, 2010
Sunday September 05, 2010

Description:
A mute Orestes and disturbed Elektra grapple with ghost and memory in a wasteland of dreams. 6000 years on the run. One terrible choice. La Rinascita’s The Fugitives “will make your heart pump harder and the sweat bead on your forehead.”

Company:
La Rinascita (Valparaiso, Indiana)

*Show contains violence

Finding Eleusis


Venue: Chicago Art Department

Showtimes (click to purchase tickets):
Wednesday September 01, 2010
Thursday September 02, 2010
Friday September 03, 2010
Saturday September 04, 2010
Sunday September 05, 2010

Description:
In the dark heart of the earth, a single pomegranate seed burns like a star, and a Goddess is born. Terra Mysterium presents this apotheosis in Finding Eleusis, a contemporary drama illuminating the ancient story of Golden-Haired Demeter and her beloved daughter Persephone, Queen of the Underworld.

The Company:
Terra Mysterium (Chicago, IL)

Warnings: Partial Nudity, Depictions of Violence, Drinking

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Exhausted Paint: The Death of Van Gogh

Venue: Simone's Bar

Showtimes (Click to purchase tickets):

Wednesday September 01, 2010
Thursday September 02, 2010
Friday September 03, 2010
Saturday September 04, 2010
Sunday September 05, 2010

Show Description:

Van Gogh, alienation, wine! What more do you need? A tender play about harshness, “Exhausted Paint” explores Vincent van Gogh’s desperate struggle to mean something in a world that devalues art and its artists, forever asking the question: Why does humanity devalue what humanizes us?


About the Company:

Opium, Fireworks, and Lead Theater formed last year to bring a show to Minneapolis and NYC. As it begins to grow, it will help move innovative work between different theater communities. OFL’s work risks chaos, failure, and destruction by teasing, twisting, and ignoring traditional theatrical structures starting from a belief that catharsis is not fundamentally tied to plot and character. We take on the effective role of the jester, while staying unrepentantly and unremittingly smart.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Exhausted-Paint-The-Death-of-van-Gogh/120367724669431?ref=ts&v=wall

Friday, August 13, 2010

Cabinanalysis...or, Build Your Own Damn Cabin!

 
Venue: Simone's Bar

Showtimes: click to buy tickets
Wednesday September 1, 2010 8:30 p.m.
Thursday September 2, 2010 6:00 p.m.
Friday September 3, 2010 5:30 p.m.
Saturday September 4, 2010 4:00 p.m.
Sunday September 5, 2010 10:00 p.m.

A middle-aged psychiatrist wants to develop closer relationships with his four teenage kids to create something meaningful with them before they grow up and leave home. Following a visit to Walden Pond, he decides to build a replica of Thoreau's cabin together...in their suburban backyard. His search for answers takes him to Frank Lloyd Wright's school of architecture, the Log Doctor's clinic, and finally to a psychiatrist who treats psychiatrists. When the half-built cabin floods and begins to sink into the mud, he learns his real lessons about creativity and the cost of living your unlived life.


Lawrence Kerns, M.D. - real-life psychiatrist, 2nd Story contributor and Moth StorySLAM winnerhas read and performed at 2nd Story Monthly Series and Annual Festivals, WORDSTOCK - The Portland Literary Festival, Victory Gardens, Live Bait, This Much Is True, and SpeakEasy, SpeakHard. 2nd STORY is a performance organization dedicated to bringing people together through story.

Learn more at www.CABINALYSIS.com.

Citadel Theatre presents 5 Times 10 - A Collection of 10 Minute Plays

Venue: Chicago Arts District Gallery: Edinburgh Stage

Showtimes: click to buy tickets

Wednesday September 1, 2010 4:00 p.m.
Saturday September 4, 2010 7:00 p.m.
Sunday September 5, 2010 10:00 p.m.

A smorgasbord of 10 minute plays featuring actors in multiple roles to make you laugh, to make you cry, to make you cheer.

Citadel Theatre is a professional non-equity company based in Lake Forest, IL. Halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee, their goal is to attract the finest performers, designers, and directors from both cities to perform for Lake County audiences. Since 2002 they have presenting original plays, cutting-edge dramas, and top-notch comedies and are currently creating a new 150-seat arena theatre for their ever-growing subscription base.