Meet Your Fringe Staff: Samay Gheewala

Hey Fellow Fringe Fans! I'm Samay Gheewala, the Merchandise Coordinator for the Festival. It's still a long way from the festival, but it's never too early to start thinking about what kind of things people want to take home from the festival. There's always the usual - shirts, hats, glasses and posters, but this is a fringe festival, after all, and we should be thinking out of the box. So I'll put it to you - What do you want to see us selling? The wackier the better! Of course, there are limits - I already looked into tattooing elephants with our logo, but the price would be ridiculous (not to mention the whole transport-of-endangered-species thing...)

Feel free to post your suggestions in the comments, or email them to samay [at] chicagofringe.org

Chicago Fringe Celebrates World Theatre Day!

Today is World Theatre Day and the Chicago Fringe Festival can't let that pass without showing our support for artists and performances around the globe. Two of our staff members, Adrienne Guldin and Amanda Dodge, set out on an adventure around downtown Chicago interviewing one of our 2010 CFF international performers, Aine Carlin. In a two-part video, our staffers asked Aine serious questions about theatre and not-so-serious questions about her life. View the videos now on WTD's Tumblr blog!

Chicago Fringe Celebrates World Theatre Day - Part I

Chicago Fringe Celebrates World Theatre Day - Part II

Also, we look forward to seeing you at the World Theatre Day - Chicago After Party starting at 9:30PM at the Chopin Theatre!

Photos! Glimpse the Lottery Party Fun

On February 28th, 2010, we gathered for the Lottery Selection party at beautiful Temple Gallery in the Pilsen neighborhood. We played with live tweeting and with doing a live stream via Ustream. By all accounts, a rousing success! We've got photos available now on on our Facebook page. Thanks to our hosts, Valerry Dollz and Tony Blanco, and to our band, Ben Keeler Trio. Special thanks also to Nadine and Bob from Temple Gallery, for being the ultimate gracious hosts.


Chicago Fringe Lottery Party - Part I

Chicago Fringe Lottery Party - Part II

Classy - The League of Chicago Theatres Emerging Theatre Award

Each year, Broadway in Chicago and The League of Chicago Theaters team up to award a scrappy emerging theatre company with the "Emerging Theatre Award", a prize worth a chunk of change, a press package, and honor galore. This years finalists teamed up and wrote a note that can only be defined as classy to the max. Pay special attention to the show info! This fills us at the Fringe with a feeling akin to patriotism.

_______________________________________
Hi Chicago!

Our five companies - Caffeine, Dog & Pony, New Leaf, Steep, and Theatre Seven of Chicago - are so collectively thrilled to be considered for this year's Emerging Theatre Award. It truly is an honor to be nominated, and we're sending out this message because we are just so pleased - all of us - to be in the company of so many committed, visionary, talented artists within our broad community and within these five companies specifically. We know each other, respect one another's work, see each other's shows - and it's really a thrill to be in this together.

One of the proudest hallmarks of Chicago's dynamic theatre community is that it's just that - a community. We're a huge family of artists who strive towards the same goals of thought-provoking, inventive, exciting theatre that asks our audiences some of life's most mystifying and important questions. Each company in this town takes a different path to and around and through, and yet we still get to these questions' (and our audiences') core in effective, engaging, and innovative ways. This is what makes Chicago the best town in which to make and see theatre.

So, we wanted to take a moment to thank you for this community we've made together, and we wanted to come to you as a group and let you know more about all five of us. To us, this is an opportunity to celebrate our collective accomplishments thus far, and look forward to an exciting future.

If you haven't already joined each of us for a show, we hope you will soon. Here's what's we've got going on:

Caffeine - Wild Nights with Emily (through April 11)
Dog & Pony - The Twins Would Like to Say (through April 25)
New Leaf - Curse of the Starving Class (April 15 - May 22)
Steep - Harper Reagan (through April 25)
Theatre Seven of Chicago - Mimesophobia (through April 4)

If you're a representative of a League member theatre company, you can also learn more about our companies and perform your democratic duty here: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22ABGLWTCRF

If you're with a theatre company that's not a member of the League, you can cruise over here to learn more about joining the party: http://www.chicagoplays.com/join/join.aspx

And if you just want to learn more about what's up in Chicago theatre, you should head here: www.chicagoplays.com.

Sincerely,
Caffeine - Dog & Pony - New Leaf - Steep - Theatre Seven of Chicago

Meet Your Fringe Staff: Anne Cauley

Hi. I’m Anne Cauley, the Advisory Board Chair and Volunteer Coordinator for CFF. The Advisory Board is a group of people who know a lot about fringes and/or Chicago. They want to lend a helping hand, but don’t have time to be staff members. I’ve been communicating with a lot of awesome people with ideas, questions, concerns and connections that will all help to make the Inaugural Chicago Fringe Festival amazing. If you are such a person or know one, contact me at anne@chicagofringe.com.
I will also be helping to coordinate volunteers for the festival. We need a lot of help leading up to and during the festival. A LOT. The festival will not be possible without an awesome team of enthusiastic volunteers helping in a slew of capacities. If you are interested, please shoot an email to volunteers@chicagofringe.org.
I think that CFF is different from other fringes because of the phenomenally active arts community already in Chicago. CFF will hopefully highlight that activity. In addition, national and international fringe performers will be joining us in the madness. That is exciting for the audiences - to see groups otherwise not seen in Chicago - and for the performers - to connect, gain inspiration, etc.
I graduated from Butler University in Indianapolis with a B.S. in Arts Administration. It was there, at the IndyFringe, that I converted to Fringe-ism. Since then I have worked at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and attended the Toronto and Cincinnati. I think it’s high time that Chicago put its own spin on Fringe. I am thrilled to be helping make that a reality.

The Waiting List!

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The Results Are In!

Hi! Last night we hosted our Lottery Party at the lovely and gracious Temple Gallery in Pilsen. We enjoyed the talents of our hosts, Tony Blanco and Vallery Dollz, alongside the music of the Ben Keeler Trio. For those of you who weren't able to join us, watch us streaming, or catch it on Twitter, I am happy to announce our results below. I will post the full waiting list soon!

Artists who won a production slot in the 2010 Chicago Fringe:

Local:

1. Skinny Dipping presents: Skinny Dipping – Not Your Mama’s One Woman Show
2. Timothy Mooney Repertory Theatre presents: TBD
3. Kristina Schramm presents: The Parenticide Club
4. Shakura World Theatre presents: Columbine & Roses
5. Piel Morena Contemporary Dance presents: Machito Pichon
6. Rebecca Kling presents: Transform
7. 2nd Story presents: Cabinalysis, or Build Your Own Damn Cabin!
8. Citadel Theatre Company presents: TBD (shorts)
9. Les Enfants Terribles present: Believe in Nothing, Mock Everything
10. The Consortium Project presents: Knee-Jerk
11. Megan Rhyme presents: Inner Cartography: the science of new things
12. The Ripettes Burlesque presents: The Ripettes Burlesque in Undetermined
13. Hubris Productions presents: Annee Pocalypse
14. The Anatomy Collective presents: Mutations Part III
15. New Millenium Theatre Company presents: The Texas Chainsaw Musical
16. Steve O’Connell presents: Part-Time
17. Weber and Einstein presents: Please Love Me, High School Boyfriend
18. Jason Econoums presents: The Steve Show
19. Genesis Ensemble presents: sweet, half-darkness
20. Terra Mysterium presents: Finding Eleusis
21. Patchwork Woman Performance presents: Bridges
22. BOLD presents: Birth
23. The Talking Cure presents: The Talking Cure

Non-Local:

1. Undeclared presents: Grind: The Musical
2. Swanderwoman Productions presents: Driving the Body Back
3. No Snowcones Productions presents: That Greek Thing
4. Kahlil Ashanti presents: Basic Training
5. Meddlin' Productions presents: Tweedledum and Tweedledee
6. Adam Theater presents: Hansel and Gretel – The End of the Fairy Tale
7. The Birdmann presents: The Birdmann
8. Terri Cyrmes presents: Straight Girl in a Gay Man’s World (Working Title)
9. Leila Ghaznavi presents: Silken Veils
10. Nicole Kearney presents: And Ya Don’t Stop, a hip hop parable
11. The Adventures of Les Kurkendaal presents: Christmas in Bakersfield
12. RE Dance presents: Portraits Triptych
13. Paul Diem presents: Mulatto Child – Voices from the Margins
14. Evan O’Television presents: Double Negatives
15. BITE Theatre presents: KRAIGSLIST
16. La Rinascita presents: The Fugitives
17. Howard Petrick Solo Performer presents: Rambo: The Missing Years (Excerpt)
18. Gemma Wilcox presents: The Honeymoon Period is Officially Over
19. Gutsy Theater presents: Van Gogh: Starry Night, Stormy Life
20. Pat Devine presents: Breaking Down in America
21. Uncommon Time Theatre Company: Liberal Arts: The Musical!
22. Maire Clerkin presents: The Bad Arm – Confessions of a Dodgy Irish Dancer
23. And Giggles Productions presents: The Playdaters