Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Sage Advice from Old Fringe Hands, Rebecca Kling Edition

Sage Advice from Old Fringe Hands: a series in which Chi Fringe veterans share their hard-won wisdom about drawing audiences, breaking legs and making the most of the best Festival this side of the Chicago River!

After performing last year's Fringe hit Uncovering the Mirrors, REBECCA KLING returns to Chi Fringe this year with her multimedia one-woman show No Gender Left Behind. Check out her show, and if it relates to your own, take her advice and ask to cross promote!

Sage advice from Rebecca:

Get out there and flyer! I can't stress enough how important it is to have adequate flyers or postcards, and to go out and distribute them. If you have time, stop by coffee shops, restaurants, stores, etc and leave things there. (Just be sure to ask for permission!) If not, make sure to - at the very least - walk around the Fringe Fest and hand out postcards. "Hey! I have this show going on in the Festival, hope you can check it out." Figure out which shows are selling well, and go flyer their audience before or after they see the show.

Meet other artists and see their shows. You have an awesome (and free) opportunity to see a ton of really amazing performances with your artist pass. Use it! This can also help build your own audience: Find a show with similar content to your own, and ask to cross-promote. Take time after your curtain call to say "If you liked our performance, go see this other show."

Along those lines, Fringe is not a zero-sum game. It's possible for everyone to win, because audience members will come back to see multiple shows. So don't view audience building as a competition so much as a collaboration.

Have fun! Post-Fringe activities inevitably include bars, hanging out, and (new this year) FOURSQUARE! Use Fringe as an opportunity to network, meet people, and make friends.

Wild Women XXX


Venue: Doppler Stage
1915 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Saturday, September 03, 2011 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 8:30 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 10:00 PM

Description:

“Never trust anyone over 30” so said the great rockers of yore.

In Wild Women XXX, four diverse women sharing one common number explore the terrors of turning the big 3-0. Questions of identity, belonging, and partnership are explored through story, humor, and red-hot dance breaks.

Company:

The Vox Theatre (Chicago, IL)

T and T productions was created in a collaboration between Tosha Fowler and Toy DeIorio for Tosha’s one-woman show "Mami, Where’d My O Go?" Running for 6 weeks at Lifeline Theatre, this fantastically feminine, seductively southern solo autobiography was hailed by The Chicago Theatre Blog as, “charmingly funny, fantastically trippy… Fowler’s emotional depth in performance simply goes balls to the wall… Her invocation is nothing less than inspiring.”

T and T Productions’ is dedicated to creating original, ensemble devised work that explores the human herstory.

The Man in the Arena

Venue: Temple Theater
1749 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Friday, September 02, 2011 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 10:00 PM

Thursday, September 08, 2011 8:30 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 5:30 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 4:00 PM

Description:

I think there can hardly be a greater inspiration in American history than Theodore Roosevelt. At his best, he showed us what we can be at our best, and taught us what it means to be Americans.

Company:

The TR! Show (Wilmette, IL)

Derek Evans is a veteran in the field of educational entertainment, with 30 years of credits including more than 7,000 performances in schools for more than 2 million students, 2 Jefferson Citations, more than 20 roles in Chicago area theatres and performances for colleges, libraries, museum and legit theatre venues nationwide.


Monday, August 29, 2011

Backstage with . . .


The League of Chicago Theatres snatched back the curtain to reveal the Wizard of Fringe, our indomitable Vincent Lacey, who they plied with questions.

What are the values our company holds dear?

Why did we choose our neighborhood?

What's the quirkiest thing about our space?




The League of Miscreants Presents "The Roast of Santa Claus" or "The Miscreants Kill An Hour And Go To Cuernavaca"

Venue: Temple Theater
1749 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Thursday, September 01, 2011 7:00 PM

Saturday, September 03, 2011 5:30 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 4:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 10:00 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 8:30 PM

Description:

You paid $10, plus that stupid button, to see *US*? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. See you at Cuernavaca.

Company:

In 2010, the Miscreants were an unnamed group of acquaintances slapped together to fill a slot in the Fringe Festival after a bunch of foreigners backed out of the slot. We made up "The Roast of Piglet" in five weeks. And we had such a great time that we're doing the doing the same start-to-finish Iron Chef Theater again.

Hub and Spoke

Venue: Meridian Stage
1932 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Sunday, September 04, 2011 8:30 PM

Thursday, September 08, 2011 10:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 2:30 PM

Description:

With sinuous and careful dancing, the Dance Team fords the unrelenting stream of cause-and-effect that rules both the prairie and city. With gritty costuming and music by raag-influenced bluegrass guitarist Jack Rose, 'Hub and Spoke' describes a harsh frontier life subject to the machinations of a vast and desolate landscape.

Company:

The Dance Team (Chicago, IL)

The Dance Team is a Chicago-based collective of friends composed mostly of dancers trained at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Dance Team has seen various incarnations in the last three years in Chicago.


Nightmare in Bakersfield

Venue: Temple Theater
1749 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Thursday, September 01, 2011 8:30 PM

Saturday, September 03, 2011 4:00 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 2:30 PM

Friday, September 09, 2011 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 5:30 PM

Description:

Get ready for a crazy class reunion. Mike takes his boyfriend Les home to Bakersfield to his 20 year highschool reunion. The only problem is that none of Mike's former classmates know he's gay. The class of 1988 is in for a shock!

Company:

The Adventures of Les Kurkendaal (West Hollywood, CA)

Les Kurkendaal is an openly gay actor, storyteller and stand up comic who is based in Los Angeles, California. Les has been touring Fringe Festivals around the world since 2000.


Bedbugs

Venue: Doppler Stage
1915 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Thursday, September 01, 2011 10:00 PM

Saturday, September 03, 2011 4:00 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 8:30 PM

Friday, September 09, 2011 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 5:30 PM

Description:

Bedbugs is a bedtime story about: Heroes! Villains! Cake! Pirates! The CTA! An Old Sensei! The Best Song! Seamonsters! A Pretty Girl! A Sherpa! The Internet! A Trusty Steed! ...And much more, brought to you by the Mechanics of The Harlotry & Necromancy Appreciation Society. Get tucked in, and buckle up.

Company:

The Harlotry and Necromancy Appreciation Society (Chicago, IL)

The Harlotry & Necromancy Appreciation Society is an all-female performance troupe that creates new work through clown, physical theater, puppetry, and whatever else we can get our hands on. We are dedicated to transforming realities, innovative storytelling, and exploring the relationship between audience and performer. We want to see what the world looks like upside down and inside out.


Alone Apart

Venue: Doppler Stage
1915 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Friday, September 02, 2011 10:00 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 5:30 PM

Thursday, September 08, 2011 8:30 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 7:00 PM

Description:

Miranda has made a promise to herself: Tonight will be different. Tonight she will finish painting the portrait of the woman she hates, but does not understand--her mother. The portrait may have other ideas, but it doesn’t matter; Miranda will finish it tonight. Even if it kills her.

Company:

Ted Brengle (Chicago, IL)

Ted Brengle was a semi-finalist for the National Playwrights Conference in 2008. His play "Alone Together" has been produced in Cincinnati, Columbus, Ohio, and New York City. In 2010, his play "Absent Friends" was produced in Columbia, Missouri, and his plays "Alone Apart" and "Alone At Last" were workshopped at the Element New Plays Festival in Chicago. His play "Of Apocalypse and Cappuccino" was adapted into an independent short film in 2006, so he also (bafflingly) somehow has an IMDB entry. He lives in Chicago.

CHIRP!


Have you heard?

The bird is the WORD!

As in, the bird that CHIRPs awesome tunes by all your old-favorite and new-favorite artists.

Fruit Bats? Check.

Tom Waits? Check.

Darkstar? Yup.

The New Pornographers? Them too.

That's all in the last hour.

Still wondering why CHIRP is Radio Free Fringe 2011?
Check it out:

The Chicago Independent Radio Project (CHIRP) is dedicated to providing Chicago residents with a community radio station focused on the representation of local people, events, and issues alongside a wide array of local and independent music. We seek to promote localism, diversity, and independence in public broadcasting via programming and web content curated, created, and produced by Chicagoans. It is committed to playing music the big stations won’t touch, and to focusing on the vibrant culture of a community that often flies under the radar.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Othello's Furies


Venue: Meridian Stage
1932 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase)

Sunday, September 04, 2011 10:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 8:30 PM

Description:

Company member Leslie Ann Sheppard adapted Othello because of the beauty of the poetry and the injustice of the circumstance. She blended the innate elements of jealousy and revenge with the incorporation of those persistent Greek furies found in the Orestia. We are using distorted furies juxtaposed with the characters, they are used as tool to illuminate a character's perception of a situation. In the spirit of non-traditional casting, we are exploring an all black cast to show how a non-traditional universal race changes the conflict within the story.

Company:

Suitcase Shakespeare Company (Chicago, IL)

Suitcase Shakespeare Company is a non-profit ensemble founded in 2008. We started by rehearsing at night on borrowed stages at the Bristol Renaissance Faire lit by flashlights and halogen lamps getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Based in Chicago, Suitcase now tours their uniquely condensed adaptations to schools, libraries, festivals and events throughout the midwest hoping to reach out to audiences that would normally cringe at the thought of seeing classical theatre.


Anonymously Yours



Venue:
Temple Theatre
1749 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Saturday, September 03, 2011 10:00 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 2:30 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 10:00 PM

Thursday, September 08, 2011 7:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 8:30 PM

Description:

Anonymously Yours is a barrage of unrestrained, hilarious raw emotion gathered from the depths of the anonymous boards of the web. From Rants and Raves to Random come see the desire and rage of the internet unapologetic and uncensored. We didn't write it. Did you?

Company:

Studio BE (Chicago, IL)

Jennifer Olson and Wyatt Kent have worked together on many projects since originally meeting at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film in Lincoln, Nebraska. “Anonymously Yours” was originally conceived by Olson as “You Name It,” her first of several adaptations for the stage. It has evolved through several performances to its current form. Successful young company, Studio BE has collaborated with the team to bring the Chicago premier of “Anonymously Yours” to the Fringe. To hear more about Studio BE go to studio-be.org.

Strangerland


Venue: Doppler Stage
1915 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Thursday, September 01, 2011 7:00 PM

Saturday, September 03, 2011 2:30 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 5:30 PM

Friday, September 09, 2011 10:00 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 8:30 PM

Description:

STRANGERLAND is a social parable, it is the story of the discovery of what it means to be human, to discover emotions, to interact, to feel something for the first time, to live and die, and how we must carry on. The Strangers occupy The Machine where they live and work in coexistence, totally disconnected from the other people around them and unaware of themselves. When a mysterious body washes up on the shore they discover themselves and are forced to confront one another for the first time.

Strangerland has been in the works for over two years as Sideshow's first ensemble devised piece. With over 30 satellite artists contributing material from across the globe, Strangerland is a unique piece of storytelling, both in its process and production.

Company:

Sideshow Theatre (Chicago, IL)

“Familiar Stories. Unorthodox Methods. Perpetually Curious”

Sideshow Theatre Company, an Illinois non-profit, was founded in 2007 in Chicago, Illinois. Our first production, Dante Dies!! (and then things get weird) was originally mentioned jokingly as the strangest imaginable subject matter for a one-person show. But when the laughter died down, an intense curiosity remained, as well as one defining question: “What if?” From that question a show, a company, and a mission were born.

It is the mission of Sideshow Theatre Company to mine the collective unconscious of the world we live in with limitless curiosity, drawing inspiration from the familiar stories, memories and images we all share to spark new conversation and bring our audience together as adventurers in a communal experience of exploration.


Evolution


Venue: HumanThread
645 W. 18th Street

Performances (click to purchase):

Saturday, September 03, 2011 5:30 PM

Thursday, September 08, 2011 8:30 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 7:00 PM

Description:

Evolution: a heartfelt, funny and powerful one-person show performed by NYC-based transgender storyteller Roman Rimer.

Company:

Roman Rimer (New York, NY)

Roman is a storyteller, improviser and comedian. Roman grew up in the Bay Area and suburbs of Chicago, and loves art, improv, performing, and awesome vegan food - and giving love to people. Roman sees the good in everyone, and thinks we’re all the same regardless of our beliefs and the bodies we were born into.

Roman has performed original work at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, Magnet Theater, Upright Citizens Brigade, Gotham Comedy Club and many other venues across the country.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

My Salvation Has a First Name: A Wienermobile Journey

Venue: Dream Theatre
556 W. 18th Street

Performances (click to purchase):

Saturday, September 03, 2011 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 10:00 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 8:30 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 4:00 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 5:30 PM

Description:

A touching, wild ride based on the true story of an insecure goody-goody who finds redemption behind the windshield of the Wienermobile. Can she handle a horndog co-pilot, media circus and her college bully? “4 stars” (Time Out New York) “The highlight of next month’s Fringe Festival” (New York Magazine)

Company:

Robin Gelfenbien is a writer, storyteller and comedian. Her solo show “My Salvation Has a First Name: A Wienermobile Journey” premiered at the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival. She wrote jokes for emcee Rosie O’Donnell at the Matrix Awards where featured presenters included Martha Stewart, Rupert Murdoch and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Robin’s original comedy songs have played on Sirius Satellite Radio, she has been featured in "Marie Claire" magazine and mentioned recently in the "New York Times." She has also performed at the Toronto and Chicago Sketch Comedy Festivals, on VH1 and in a commercial directed by Spike Lee.

No Gender Left Behind

Venue: HumanThread
645 W. 18th Street

Performances (click to purchase):

Thursday, September 01, 2011 7:00 PM

Saturday, September 03, 2011 4:00 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 10:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 2:30 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 5:30 PM

Special Performance (click to purchase):

Thursday, September 08, 2011 7:00 PM

This will be a special, unplugged version of the show performed as part of the League of Chicago Theatre's Theatre Thursday event at Fringe Central, 2003 S. Halsted.

Description:

In the Fall of 2010, Rebecca Kling was fired from a teaching position for being a transgender woman. The experience left her wondering what America is teaching its children – and its adults – about gender, conformity, and being just a little bit different.

Company:

Rebecca Kling is a Chicago-based transgender artist interested in exploring the performance of identity. Her multi-media productions – composed of storytelling, video, movement, playful skips and jumps, enlightening self-discovery, accusatory glances, awkward pauses, and more – question gender, self-expression, and what it means to be at home in one’s own body.

Rebecca has performed her material at The Athenaeum Theatre with New Suit Theatre Company, Temple Gallery in the 2010 Chicago Fringe Festival, at Links Hall, Roosevelt and Northwestern Universities, About Face Theatre, Center on Halsted, with Caffeine Theatre at the DCS Storefront Theatre, and elsewhere across the Midwest. She has been praised by TimeOut Chicago, Newcity Stage, and Centerstage Chicago, and more. (Click here for more press information.) Rebecca has been a recipient of the Chances Dances Critical Fierceness grant, and regularly speaks at high schools and universities across Chicago.

A graduate from Northwestern University’s Department of Performance Studies with an Adjunct Major in Animate Arts, Rebecca Kling is also an instructor at the Piven Theatre Workshop, on the Pride Films and Plays board of director, and a syndicated blogger with BlogHer.

Neither Transparent Nor Opaque

Venue: Meridian Stage
1932 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Saturday, September 03, 2011 10:00 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 8:30 PM

Thursday September 08, 2011 7:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 5:30 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 2:30 PM

Description:

RTDG delivers a diverse showcase of contemporary concert dance works choreographed by dance maker, Ray Terrill. This event marks the premiere of, ‘Litany’ a concept-rich, sensual and emotionally charged work which converges dynamic movement with an edgy and classic soundscape, wrapped around inspired, media-rich visual imagery. Crafted to invoke an experience that is neither transparent nor opaque, but instead expansive and quickening.

Company:

Ray Terrill Dance Group has been performing in and around the Twin Cities since Ray relocated in 1994. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Ray has extensive experience as performer, choreographer, teacher, presenter and arts program administrator. He started his professional modern dance career as a member of Repertory Dancers Northwest until relocating to Portland Oregon. There he eventually became co-artistic director of Oregon Dance Consort where he choreographed over 40 original works including guest artist commissions. In addition, he served as Executive Director of the Dance Coalition of Oregon for a three-year term. Since moving to the Twin Cities Ray spent five seasons as a member of the Christopher Watson Dance Company while establishing the Ray Terrill Dance Group. Proficient in classical modern dance technique he has evolved a style of his own described by critics as uniquely spiritual and lyrical on one hand while irreverent and quirky on the other.

Inspired by wide-ranging music styles he frequently explores provocative subject matter and complex emotion. Even so, he keenly mines his material to expose the universal human experience. Ray enjoys a parallel career as an executive producer developing rich-media interactive communications and distance learning solutions. Consequently his more recent work has incorporated video, animation, and text as a backdrop to extend his choreographic themes. Numerous government, foundation, and corporate arts funding agencies have generously supported his choreography and his dances have been presented in several venues including On the Boards, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, International Firehouse Cultural Center, Echo Theater, Festival of Physical Comedy, Walker Art Center, Weisman Art Museum, Lakeville Performing Arts, Art on the Edge, Dances at the Lakes and several Minnesota Fringe Festivals.

CHICAGO FRINGE FESTIVAL iPHONE APP!!!


Venue: Your iPhone or iPad!

Performances (click to download):


Description:

A radical app. Performance schedules! Show descriptions! Venue maps! Stay connected with all the Festival events and news!

Company:


Friday, August 26, 2011

The Four Food Groups

Venue: Doppler Stage
1915 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Saturday, September 03, 2011 10:00 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 7:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 8:30 PM

Description:

The Four Food Groups is based on true stories and told through movement, music and spoken word. The piece investigates interactions between a group of four people over a sexually-charged dinner and is told in four scenes: The Intro, The Prospect, The Climax and The Morning After.

Company:

Pones Inc. (Cincinnati, OH)

Pones Inc. Laboratory of Movement is a non-profit performance art group dedicated to creating original work that blends various disciplines and focuses on community, site-specific performance and educational outreach. The company explores theatre for social change through its combination of dance and theatre in its signature style of pedestrian-influenced movement. Founded in 2008 by Kim Popa and Lindsey Jones, Pones Inc. continually collaborates with a diverse range of artists and groups and performs in multiple locations. For more details visit www.ponesinc.com.



Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Soul Mates Don't Die

Venue: Doppler Stage
1915 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Saturday, September 03, 2011 8:30 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 10:00 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 2:30 PM

Thursday, September 08, 2011 7:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 5:30 PM

Description:

“Soul Mates Don't Die” illustrates how soul mates connect regardless of sex or mortal form. Two star crossed newlyweds are ripped apart when their sexually oppressed guardian angels meet and fall in love. Love can be a funny distraction.

Company:

Never Assume Productions (Astoria, NY)

"Comedy that lures you in, drama that compels you to stay"

Never Assume was born May 2009 with its first play "Photosynthesis" enjoying a successful run at in the 2009 New York International Fringe Festival. The play ran five nights at the cherry pit of The Cherry Lane Theatre. Tim J. MacMillan serves as Never Assume’s Founding Artistic Director. Tim is also one of very few playwrights to have two plays accepted into the NYC Fringe in the same year as his other play "Breathe..." was performed in 2009 as well.

Tim BIKED from New York City to Chicago for the Festival.

I was brutally sore, tired and felt as if I had been in the ring of 12 day no holds barred battle royale of a fight but I could not stop. I pedaled harder than I did through industrial towns in New Jersey, up and down and up again the mountains of PA, along the plateaued roads of Ohio, the dicey gravel roads of Indiana as the dog that was chasing me was my mental goal. This was it. In NYC every twenty blocks is a mile. I’m not sure of the blocks here in Chicago but it felt just the same. 3 ½ miles took me 15 minutes as I sped through stop signs, red lights and used very ache in my overworked body as fuel to propel me to my goal. I am a safety first cyclist and I actually do stop for red lights and stops signs but I couldn’t. I did not care! The funny part about this is just when I got to 23 Street & Halsted the stop lights were out and I raced through and came dangerously close to getting hit by a woman in a van turning onto Halsted Street. She yelled out to me “I’m sorry honey!” my immediate response was screaming “What are you sorry for?” as I am embarrassed to say I flipped her the bird. But again, I don’t care. I was soooooo close! Then…. YOUZA!!!!! I arrived and immediately jettisoned off my two wheels for wings and fell onto the entrance of theatre!

IT HAPPENED. I BIKE 949 MILES IN 12 DAYS FROM NYC, NY TO CHICAGO, IL.

I didn’t know what to feel. I didn’t know what to do. But what I did do is collapse and fight the tears as I wish my parents were alive to hear me say the words “I MADE IT”.

Now for the next adventure, produce my play “Soul mates don’t die” and bring it from the page to stage. LETS MAKE IT HAPPEN!


Monday, August 22, 2011

Wallstories by Nejla Y. Yatkin

Venue: Meridian Stage
1932 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Thursday, September 01, 2011 10:00 PM

Friday, September 02, 2011 7:00 PM

Saturday, September 03, 2011 5:30 PM

Description:

Selected as one of Top 10 Dances of 2009 by the Washington Post Wallstories is inspired by stories of people who lived with the Berlin Wall from both the East and the West perspective.

Company:

NY2Dance (New York, NY)


NY2Dance was formed in 2000 by dancer and choreographer Nejla Y. Yatkin. NY2Dance is the vehicle for Nejla’s vision to use dance in exploration of the human experience through movement. The company’s mission is to: 1) create works that reflect the complexity of human existence, that tap the essence of what is common within all humanity and to embrace spirituality as a guiding force, a point of communication as well as reflection; 2) to collaborate with other artists from various disciplines from around the world; and 3) to preserve the works of master choreographers. Toward these ends, Nejla is in the process of synthesizing the diverse techniques that she has been exposed to throughout her life into her own style of dance, entitled MOZAIK.



Nejla Y. Yatkin is a 2008 Princess Grace Choreography Fellow (awarded by the Princess Grace Foundation in New York City) and an Artist in Residence at the University of Notre Dame. In her choreography, she explores the beauty as well as complexity of memory, migration, transformation, identity and multiculturalism through movement.



Nearly Naked

Venue: Dream Theatre
556 W. 18th Street

Performances (click to purchase):

Thursday, September 01, 2011 10:00 PM

Saturday, September 03, 2011 4:00 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 2:30 PM

Friday, September 09, 2011 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 8:30 PM

Description:

"Clue" meets "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in this lingerie party murder mystery. For the past two years, Victor and his four friends have been throwing a Bacchanal style party. During the party, Victor drops dead, setting into motion the search for who among his group of friends killed him.

Company:

Melncolly Theatre Company (Chicago, IL)

Mel, Nicolette, and Colleen all met while attending Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin despite all being Chicagoland natives. They have formed the theatre company in hopes of mostly producing original works, offbeat, and/or not often seen shows. Nearly Naked will be Melncolly's premiere performance.

Camelot is Crumbling: An Arthurian Nightmare

Venue: Doppler Stage
1915 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Thursday, September 01, 2011 8:30 PM

Saturday, September 03, 2011 5:30 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 7:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 2:30 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 4:00 PM

Description:

The murderous son of King Arthur recounts his history with the court to his dying father, while Arthur's greatest knight traverses a post-war landscape to find his queen. Both reflect on how their actions brought about the death of the dream in this brooding one-man tale of light and darkness.

Company:

Maximum Verbosity (St. Louis Park, MN)

Maximum Verbosity was founded in the 2003-2004 season, and has mounted a season of 1-5 shows every year since. The company's done everything from musical comedy to verse tragedy to political satire, and has toured the Fringe Festival circuit as far as Melbourne, Australia. In home-state Minnesota, the group's won a coveted Encore slot and twice been nominated for "Best Spoken Word Performance" by local theatre website FringeFamous. Founder phillip low (and writer/performer of "Camelot is Crumbling") is also an award-winning solo artist and co-founder of the Rockstar Storytellers, a supergroup consisting of some of the bestselling spoken-word artists in the Twin Cities.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Other Day


Venue: Temple
1749 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Sunday, September 04, 2011 5:30 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 8:30 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 7:00 PM

Description:

After a chance meeting, sparks fly between Mark and Santo. Follow their loving, yet tumultuous relationship as they confront insecurities, addiction, betrayal and grief in this
authentic, funny and compelling drama that asks the question, “When is it time to stop grieving for what's lost and start living for what's found?”

Company:

Loretta Michaels Productions

Mark Jason Williams is an award-winning playwright. New York theatre credits include: The Other Day (Robert Moss Theatre), Smiles to Saturn (Manhattan Repertory Theatre), Recovery (Gene Frankel Theatre) and Love, Me (78th Street Theatre). His is a survivor of childhood leukemia, and has a BFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Miss Fortune

Venue: Temple
1749 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Thursday, September 01, 2011 10:00 PM

Saturday, September 03, 2011 2:30 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 5:30 PM

Friday, September 09, 2011 8:30 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 7:00 PM

Description:

When two old-world gal pals use a crystal ball to find a missing child, they make some surprising discoveries about life on the “other side.”

Company:

Lincoln Square Theatre (Chicago, IL)

Lincoln Square Theatre has been producing plays of social, historical and philosophical interest for the past ten years. The company is dedicated to producing work that engages both mind and heart through the unique shared experience of live theater.

Let Me Count


Venue: Doppler Stage
1915 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Friday, September 02, 2011 8:30 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 4:00 PM

Thursday, September 08, 2011 10:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 4:00 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 2:30 PM

Description:

Add up the broken bones, reset passwords, friends lost and pills taken, and you’ll see what your life amounted to. If everything is recorded, when do we get to see our list and check our inventory? The numbers of what we did in life are the real facts.

Company:

Kate Healy (Chicago, IL)

Kate Healy is tall, determined, and she might put something you say in her next play. You, after all, is why she's writing and sharing in the first place. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis in 2010, she came to Chicago to start making theatre, and could not be happier to have found an artistic home and incredible friends in this drama-town.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Phil the Void: Motherbanking Bankholes

Venue: HumanThread
645 W. 18th Street

Performances (click to purchase):

Friday, September 02, 2011 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 2:30 PM

Thursday, September 08, 2011 10:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 5:30 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 8:30 PM

Description:

Hello Chicago!

There. Now I won't have to say that to everyone at the shows. Whew. Thank you, that's a huge relief. This isn't widely known, but coming out onstage and addressing a group of strangers by saying "Hello ___yourtownhere__!" is absolutely THE most stressful and technically complicated thing any performer can do. Thank you, I'm Phil.

Company:

Phil the Void (Indianapolis, IN)

It's me, Phil. I've been writing these philosophically comedic monologues for 5 years -- this year will represent my 6th such effort. I got my start at Fringe festivals after seeing some terrible yet popular comedy. It was there the realization struck me that people want to think more, but nobody's really encouraging them. Good thing I'm so good at everything! Even though this writing relationship with myself has become more professional than intimate, we're making a commitment to become larger than ourselves and continue to bring intellectually stimulating and educational comedy to America. Where my nerds at???

Where the Heart Lies

Venue: Temple
1749 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Saturday, September 03, 2011 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 8:30 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 2:30 PM

Description:

Two college guys are brought together by the death of a mutual friend. After their initial meeting tension is high. Ultimately, they begin conquer their grief together through the life of a friend left behind.

Company:

Journey Theatre Group (Chicago, IL)

Journey Theatre Group is a new company committed to producing original works. The company seeks to identify and reflect on those moments in life that we like to refer to as being "life changing." We invite our audience to journey with us and together we will find our way.

Let the Lady Sing


Venue: HumanThread
645 W. 18th Street

Performances (click to purchase):

Saturday, September 03, 2011 7:00 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 8:30 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 4:00 PM

Description:

Howard struggles to reconnect his demented and crippled mother with her former life-loving self. Prompting her with songs releases happy, funny, sad, and tragic stories, and unleashes shocking questions about his paternity and heritage.

Company:

Howard Timms (Gloucester, UK)

Born in Cheltenham, England, Howard has varied acting and writing experience. His acting and singing includes classical and modern plays, musicals, operettas, and opera. Published writing includes performing arts criticism, reference book articles, and non-fiction books. While living and acting in Chicago, he started writing drama for theatre. His musical book for Good as Gold, was produced at the University of Chicago in 2008. Other works have been performed script-in-hand by American Blues Theater, Breadline Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Lincoln Square Theatre, Victory Gardens, and Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham. His solo shows include "Let The Lady Sing" and "Accidental Olympian".


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

GLOSS OVER

Venue: Dream Theatre
556 W. 18th Street

Performances (click to purchase):

Sunday, September 04 5:30 PM

Thursday, September 08 7:00 PM

Saturday, September 10 8:30 PM

Description:

A beauty makeover for women who sleep on concrete sidewalks.

Listen to the reveal of the heartfelt stories of these amazing Chicago homeless women.

In its ugly reality, the true beauty of courage and resilience surfaces.

An original production by Her Story Theater....funny, tragic, brutal, truthful, enlightening...

GLOSS OVER.

Company:

Her Story Theater (Chicago, IL)

Her Story Theater...shines bright lights in dark places where women and children are in need of social justice and community support. A theater for social change...

The Trilogy Productions:GLOSS OVER an original production on the lives of Chicago homeless women; SHADOW TOWN An original production on trafficking women and children into the sex slave trade in Chicago; based on interviews. A call to end slavery.

CIDE SHOW An original multi-media production...see the world of violence toward women from all angles. Help our Chicago women live safer lives.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Clean Start



Venue:
Temple
1749 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Saturday, September 03, 2011 8:30 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 4:00 PM

Monday, September 11, 2011 7:00 PM

Description:

This community-inspired solo performance draws upon Gillian Hemme’s interviews with residents of Grinnell, Iowa. Follow the stories of three women who grapple with shifting identities as both their career lives and their town transform. Through their resilience and humor, these women prove that there’s more than just corn in Iowa.

Company:

Gillian Hemme (Newark, NJ)

Gillian Hemme is a Chicago native who currently lives in Newark, NJ. There, she directs drama productions and teaches Public Speaking and Justice Studies at Link Community School. Gillian was recently an artist-in-residence at the Grinnell Artist Residency, where she created video/text collages addressing youth blogging culture. She also recently traveled to Taiwan to act in an image-based performance of Les Fleurs du Mal at the International Theatre Festival under the direction of Craig Quintero. She studied Theatre at Grinnell College and at the National Theater Institute.

Jesus, Shakespeare, and Lincoln Walk Into a Bar


Venue: Dream Theatre
556 W. 18th Street

Performances (click to purchase):

Saturday, September 03, 2011 10:00 PM

Thursday, September 08, 2011 8:30 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 7:00 PM

Description:

Stop me if you've heard this one...Jesus, Shakespeare, and Lincoln walk into a bar. Jesus says he is thinking of retiring, but his friends Abe and Bill wonder what the world will do without him. I won't give too much away, but let's just say hilarity ensues. And some karaoke.

Company:

Giants of Theatre (Indianapolis, IN)

Giants of Theatre have been around since 2009 when they performed the original work, Gorrest Fump, at the Indy Fringe. They followed up that with 2010's Jesus, Shakespeare, and Lincoln Walk into a Bar at the Indy Fringe, and will perform that show at Kansas City Fringe and Chicago Fringe in 2011. They just recently performed The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) in March 2011.


Monday, August 15, 2011

EnSolo


Venue: HumanThread
645 W. 18th Street

Performances (click to purchase):

Thursday, September 01, 2011 8:30 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 4:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 7:00 PM

Description:

Brutal honesty at our own expense.

Company:

En Solo (Joliet, IL)

We are a new company less than a year old. Our performers are mainly Chicago area residents. We know each other very well and some of us are working pros and some of us just started acting again after a long break.





Am I Blue



Venue: HumanThread
645 W. 18th Street

Performances (click to purchase):

September 01, 2011 10:00 PM

September 03, 2011 2:30 PM

September 05, 2011 7:00 PM

Description:

Am I Blue takes you on the hilarious journey of what “finding oneself” actually looks like. “Go see this show." The Rover, Montreal “Blue is a criminally funny performer who is almost certainly the lovechild of Kristen Schaal and Tina Fey.” Charlebois Post, Montreal. www.elizabethblue.net

Company:
Elizabeth Blue (Brooklyn, NY)

Elizabeth Blue is a part of the New York City comedy scene, performing improv to music to storytelling to solo shows. She has been a part of improv house teams at the Peoples Improv Theater, one-half of the musical parody duo "Pembroke and Lu," and co-created "Elvis & Me: An Improvised Romance," playing Priscilla Presley. Blue can also be seen playing flute in the improvised storytelling band, the BTK band, or storytelling at venues throughout the city. She has performed "Am I Blue" at the Peoples Improv Theater, NYC, and the Montreal & Ottawa Fringe Festivals 2011.



Mother Tongues



Venue: Meridian Stage
1932 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Sunday September 04, 2011 2:30 PM

Monday September 05, 2011 5:30 PM

Friday September 09, 2011 7:00 PM

Saturday September 10, 2011 10:00 PM

Sunday September 11, 2011 4:00 PM

Description:

Mother Tongues is a live performance modern dance set to a soundscape of directed, interpreted and manipulated mother-offspring dialogues. Peppered with dynamic dance performances, original audio and video presentation and popular music interpretation, the artists of Core Project Chicago bring to light the kinetic experience of what it means to be part of a family and how we all survive and grow within that role.

Company:
Core Project Chicago (Chicago, IL)

C O R E P R O J E C T is a movement based inter-disciplinary arts collective pushing the boundaries of storytelling in Chicago. Our mission is to empower communities through arts performance and education. We are committed to the exploration of the human journey through movement, music, video and text in live performance.



Frames


Venue: Meridian Stage
1932 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

September 01, 2011 8:30 PM

September 02, 2011 10:00 PM

September 03, 2011 4:00 PM

Description:

After a successful first season in NYC, and upon their relocation to Richmond, Virginia, bnw:dance has been able to present and be presented throughout the Richmond area, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and at the start of their 3rd season, have the honor to be invited to London to create and present work. Four company members strong, each has had a hand in the choreography of FRAMES, which ranges from emotional and empathetic to explosive and athletic.

Company:
bnw:dance (Richmond, VA)

bnw:dance is run by Choreographer and Artistic Director, Brittany Whitmoyer. After forming bnw:dance in December 2008 in NYC, she has choreographed and performed at the Uptown Performance Series at Bridge for Dance, 60×60 Dance at Galapagos Art Space, Seaport the Arts Fundraiser at South Street Seaport, and held their first NYC season At BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange.

After their relocation to Richmond, Virginia in 2009, bnw:dance had a full second season of dance, performing in Philadelphia, DC, Richmond, hosting the culmination of their year at the Firehouse Theatre Project, presenting new work with original composition from the Gentle Giants (Chicago).Kicking off their third season, it was with great honor that bnw:dance was selected for a summer residency in London, England at Clarence Mews. In August, 2010, they traveled overseas, created and presented “Interrogation”, the newest addition to their “EnLight” series, set to music by London lyricist, James Reindeer. Since London, bnw:dance has been performing throughout Virginia, and up and down the coast. bnw:dance held their 3rd season of dance at Richmond CenterStage in April 2011. bnw:dance continues to teach and perform nationally and internationally.



Friday, August 12, 2011

Through Rain and Shine . . .

Tim MacMillan's bike journey to Chicago Fringe continues!

Fringe in Chicago Art Magazine!

Great white whales, peg-legged feminists, puppeteers, acrobats, necromancers and other ragamuffin creatures that inhabit the “fringe” of urban theater will congregate in Pilsen on Sept. 1 to 11. Acts listed on the program include avant- garde dancing, haphazard tumbling and some bizarre drama best experienced under the influence of a light buzz.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Barely Balanced - Acrobatic Daredevils

Venue: Meridian Stage
1932 S. Halsted

Performances (click to purchase):

Thursday September 08, 2011 8:30 PM

Friday September 09, 2011 10:00 PM

Saturday September 10, 2011 4:00 PM

Sunday September 11, 2011 5:30 PM

Sunday September 11, 2011 7:00 PM

Description:

This exciting trio brings hilarious high-energy acrobatics to the stage performing wild stunts and non-stop comedy. Whether hurling razor-sharp knives or performing mind-boggling balancing stunts, these three are sure to leave you screaming for more!

Company:
Barely Balanced (Lakewood, OH)

Barely Balanced was created post Big Bang. Well, post post post post post Big Bang in a far away land called, “Ohio.” Three friends at Hocking College decided to combine their daredevil antics and reckless stupidity to create an acrobatic show that would strike fear into the hearts of insurance adjustors everywhere. They drew from varied inspirations such as Jackie Chan, Cirque Du Soleil, and the Marx Brothers. By combining these influences with years of detentions due to class clowning they were able to create an award winning show that has toured the country for nearly a decade.

Aberrant Reflections on the Barbarism of You & I

Venue: Temple Gallery
1749 S. Halsted

Showtimes (click to purchase):

Friday September 02, 2011 8:30 PM

Sunday September 04, 2011 4:00 PM

Thursday September 08, 2011 10:00 PM

Description:

ABERRANT REFLECTIONS ON THE BARBARISM OF YOU & I features: George Michael, The Antichrist, Adam & Eve, Filet-O-Fish™, Prince William of Wales, Johann Fuhlrott, Baphomet, 4 (...make that 3) actors & their neurotic captor all rolled into one show. Oh, and there's also a love triangle. And King Kalakaua.

Company:
Artemis Exchange (Highland Heights, KY)

Artemis Exchange was founded in 2008 by Christopher Karr and Chris Wesselman through a shared interest to pursue independent theatrical endeavors which demand a fully realized production through aesthetic invention that rejects the notion that dollars and cents will produce effective theatre. Since its inception, Artemis has created three original plays for the Cincinnati Fringe Festival: A Perfectly Wonderful Evening, which received two Cincinnati Entertainment Award (CEA) nominations and garnered a win for Best Alternative Production; Aberrant Reflections on the Barbarism of You & I, which was nominated for a CEA the following year, recently received a remounting as a co-production with New Edgecliff Theatre, and now is here for the 2011 Chicago Fringe Festival; and most recently they created Peyote Business Lunch, a play born in the mind of collaborator Paul Lieber. Artemis delights in working with new and fresh talents in the creation of their pieces and never ceases to let the world be its creative muse.