Brief Chronicle

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Brief Chronicle THE OFFICIAL NEWSMAGAZINE OF WRITERS THEATRE ISSUE FIFTY-FOUR DEATH OF A STREETCAR NAMED VIRGINIA WOOLF: A PARODY APRIL 2016 PICTURED: MICHAEL PEREZ, KAREN JANES WODITSCH, JENNIFER ENGSTROM, JENNIFER ENGSTROM, KAREN JANES WODITSCH, PICTURED: MICHAEL PEREZ, TRUGLIA. PHOTO BY SAVERIO JOHN HOOGENAKKER AND MARC GRAPEY. Michael Halberstam ISSUE FIFTY-FOUR: APRIL 2016 Artistic Director Michael Halberstam Kathryn M. Lipuma Artistic Director Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma EDITOR Executive Director Chad Peterson Director of Marketing & Communications LEAD WRITER Bobby Kennedy LUX. BRAVE PHOTO BY JOE MAZZA, Literary Manager Dear friends, CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jaron Bernstein Debra Pucé We seem to have been saying “Welcome” a lot lately. “Welcome to the Inaugural Season in our Director of Institutional Giving Director of Major Gifts & Planned Giving new building.” “Welcome to our new home.” Now it’s “Welcome to the first production in our Kayla Boye Daniel Reinglass intimate Gillian Theatre,” and soon it will be “Welcome to our 25th Anniversary Season!” It serves Marketing & Communications Assistant Advancement Manager as a constant reminder of the immense step that we’ve just taken, and how thrilling the journey Kelsey Chigas Collin Quinn Rice has been and continues to be. We’re delighted to have you with us throughout this experience, and Education Outreach Coordinator Design & Content Coordinator hope that you’re enjoying our new home as much as we are! Krista Damico Nicole Ripley Marketing Manager Director of Education In this edition of The Brief Chronicle, you’ll hear from the author of Death of a Streetcar Named Michael Halberstam Ryan Stanfield Virginia Woolf: A Parody and learn about his inspiration in creating this delicious piece of satire. Artistic Director Special Events Assistant You’ll learn how the fully staged version of the piece came to fruition, and we’ll fill in a bit of Carly Magill Kim Swinton history about each of the four masterworks of American drama that lent characters and ideas to Associate Director of Institutional Director of Institutional Advancement the parody. Advancement You’ll meet the cast of Death of a Streetcar… and hear about their first experiences with their DESIGN characters and with the original plays that introduced them. They’ll also reveal what they find most LOWERCASE, INC. enjoyable about bringing those characters to life in this new iteration. THE WRITERS THEATRE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Finally, we’ll fill you in on the latest goings-on in our Education Department, and provide information about exciting engagement events—including this season’s edition of From Page to Stage, our OFFICERS partnership with North Shore libraries that offers a series of exciting events connected to Death President Christopher S. Pfaff of a Streetcar Named Virginia Woolf: A Parody. We hope that many of you will be able to take Vice Presidents Gillian Goodman, Beth L. Kronfeld, Michael Petersen, Mary Pat Studdert Treasurer Thomas Hodges advantage of these opportunities to go deeper into the world of the play. Secretary Richard M. Lipton Immediate Past President Elaine Tinberg Above all, as we prepare for our 25th Anniversary Season, we want to recognize the importance of Penultimate Past President Christopher N. Knight you—our supporters and audience—who both make the work possible and make it rewarding. It Member at Large David N. Knapp has truly been a joy to share this new building with you and to watch you discover its features and facilities as you help us bring it to life. It makes it clear that while this journey has been 25 years in TRUSTEES the making, it has only just begun. Arthur Anderson, Jr. Kathryn M. Lipuma Janice Beck Jennifer Litowitz Susan Belgrad William F. Mahoney So truly, from the bottom of our hearts: you are most welcome here! Julie Bernstein Thomas Mann Sara Cohan David McGranahan Yours Sincerely, Howard Conant, Jr. Lorel McMillan Joseph G. Dillon Roberta Olshansky Jeremy Farmer Christine Pompizzi Terry Franke Lizzy Scheinfeld Christopher D. Gould Stephanie Sick Michael Halberstam Seth Traxler Avril Klaff Linda Umans Michael Kate Nelson L. Levy, Ph.D., M.D. Pam Phillips Weston ABOUT THE DEATH OF A STREETCAR NAMED VIRGINIA WOOLF: DEATH OF A STREETCAR NAMED VIRGINIA WOOLF: ABOUT THE THEATRE A PARODY A PARODY THEATRE most significant literary icons. I was As the leading voice in the creative team immediately interested in taking the which put this delicious parody together, STATE OF THE ART piece to production but the big question Tim Sniffen has focused on our iconic was: could The Second City wait until memories of the plays he satirizes. He By Michael Halberstam, Artistic Director we were in our new building for us to has most directly borrowed from the proceed? Fortunately the answer was movie versions, as they are almost ‘yes’ and we decided that it would certainly the most firmly burned into the In the immortal words had the highest regard for The Second be the perfect confection with which collective consciousness of the average of Monty Python, “... City and had been particularly impressed to inaugurate the smaller of our two American theatre-going audience. What with their recent forays into opera and venues. is perhaps most remarkable about his and now for something dance in collaboration with Lyric Opera work is that although his evocations are completely different!” and Hubbard Street Dance, and so we both Stuart and I were both attracted to the clearly and obviously parodies, they are After the wonderfully gut-wrenching decided it was well worth the engagement. idea of co-directing. We felt as though lovingly crafted and created with nothing experience of Jordan Harrison’s intelligent there were strengths that we each could but respect for the original source and stirring Marjorie Prime and the Stuart and I collaborated on casting a bring to the table and that together we material. So whereas this entertainment brilliant and intellectually challenging reading, which we put together down at would create a really dynamic staging. is unquestionably parody, it will hopefully Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, we thought you The Second City to see how the piece Our collaboration for the design process send you out to look at the originals might enjoy some lighter fare to carry you might work in the hands of first-rate has been a testament to the regard again and perhaps spend an evening into the summer. artists. To our delight it held together and respect we have for each other. lovingly revisiting them either through the remarkably well. We met with The Second Furthermore, as we both had our hands films or by looking for theatrical revivals When Stuart Carden was the Associate City creatives afterword and offered a full with other productions (Stuart has of the same. Artistic Director for Writers Theatre, he few thoughts, and Stuart met with lead just directed Butler at Northlight Theatre came to discuss a new script with me. He writer Tim Sniffen, offering some very and I have been working on Arcadia I am usually asked at some point what I had been contacted by The Second City specific structural thoughts to create a here at Writers), we were able to tag want the audience’s take away to be from with regard to participating in a reading of more cohesive throughline. Within a few team appropriately and make sure that the productions we stage. In this case, a piece called Death of a Streetcar Named months Tim had a new draft for us, so we questions were being answered in a it is both the laughter and joy that good Virginia Woolf. I laughed out loud at the scheduled a second reading and invited timely fashion. Most importantly, I think parody can inspire but also a desire to title and asked him about it. He had looked a few friends. For the next hour and ten we’ve been learning from each other as reacquaint yourself with these marvelous at the script and thought it amusing but minutes we were treated to a delightful we each observe the other’s directing classics whenever and wherever in need of development. I have always laughter-filled engagement sending process. This continues to be a most possible. ■ up some of the American Theatre’s gratifying collaboration. PHOTO BY SAVERIO TRUGLIA. MEET THE DEATH OF A STREETCAR NAMED VIRGINIA WOOLF: DEATH OF A STREETCAR NAMED VIRGINIA WOOLF: MEET THE ARTISTS A PARODY A PARODY ARTISTS “Hey, you might not DEATH OF A want to leave that candle so close to the edge of your desk… STREETCAR NAMED you never know.” VIRGINIA WOOLF: He ignored me. What amazes me is how these shows A PARODY have insinuated themselves into our lives. Someone might not remember when they last saw A Streetcar Named Desire, if ever, but they can tell you all about Blanche A NOTE FROM DuBois. They’re a part of us now, a part of our common history and nostalgia, and that’s where this show dwells: with these Pictured: Tim Sniffen TIM SNIFFEN lovely, complicated, timeless characters Hearing the show But to have Writers Theatre take an American theater… met?” performed by the It was the end of interest brought to the project a new There is a meticulous, time honored Writers’ cast at our first level of excitement and authenticity. It another long day at process by which projects are assigned to table read, I made two also forced me to write a better ending writers at The Second City. If we can ever The Second City and important realizations: than “…and eagles swooped down and track it down, I’ll be fascinated to see what we had just finished carried them back to their homes or it says.
Recommended publications
  • The Films of Raoul Walsh, Part 1
    Contents Screen Valentines: Great Movie Romances Screen Valentines: Great Movie Romances .......... 2 February 7–March 20 Vivien Leigh 100th ......................................... 4 30th Anniversary! 60th Anniversary! Burt Lancaster, Part 1 ...................................... 5 In time for Valentine's Day, and continuing into March, 70mm Print! JOURNEY TO ITALY [Viaggio In Italia] Play Ball! Hollywood and the AFI Silver offers a selection of great movie romances from STARMAN Fri, Feb 21, 7:15; Sat, Feb 22, 1:00; Wed, Feb 26, 9:15 across the decades, from 1930s screwball comedy to Fri, Mar 7, 9:45; Wed, Mar 12, 9:15 British couple Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders see their American Pastime ........................................... 8 the quirky rom-coms of today. This year’s lineup is bigger Jeff Bridges earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of an Courtesy of RKO Pictures strained marriage come undone on a trip to Naples to dispose Action! The Films of Raoul Walsh, Part 1 .......... 10 than ever, including a trio of screwball comedies from alien from outer space who adopts the human form of Karen Allen’s recently of Sanders’ deceased uncle’s estate. But after threatening each Courtesy of Hollywood Pictures the magical movie year of 1939, celebrating their 75th Raoul Peck Retrospective ............................... 12 deceased husband in this beguiling, romantic sci-fi from genre innovator John other with divorce and separating for most of the trip, the two anniversaries this year. Carpenter. His starship shot down by U.S. air defenses over Wisconsin, are surprised to find their union rekindled and their spirits moved Festival of New Spanish Cinema ....................
    [Show full text]
  • The First Critical Assessments of a Streetcar Named Desire: the Streetcar Tryouts and the Reviewers
    FALL 1991 45 The First Critical Assessments of A Streetcar Named Desire: The Streetcar Tryouts and the Reviewers Philip C. Kolin The first review of A Streetcar Named Desire in a New York City paper was not of the Broadway premiere of Williams's play on December 3, 1947, but of the world premiere in New Haven on October 30, 1947. Writing in Variety for November 5, 1947, Bone found Streetcar "a mixture of seduction, sordid revelations and incidental perversion which will be revolting to certain playgoers but devoured with avidity by others. Latter category will predomin­ ate." Continuing his predictions, he asserted that Streetcar was "important theatre" and that it would be one "trolley that should ring up plenty of fares on Broadway" ("Plays Out of Town"). Like Bone, almost everyone else interested in the history of Streetcar has looked forward to the play's reception on Broadway. Yet one of the most important chapters in Streetcar's stage history has been neglected, that is, the play's tryouts before that momentous Broadway debut. Oddly enough, bibliographies of Williams fail to include many of the Streetcar tryout reviews and surveys of the critical reception of the play commence with the pronouncements found in the New York Theatre Critics' Reviews for the week of December 3, 1947. Such neglect is unfortunate. Streetcar was performed more than a full month and in three different cities before it ever arrived on Broadway. Not only was the play new, so was its producer. Making her debut as a producer with Streetcar, Irene Selznick was one of the powerhouses behind the play.
    [Show full text]
  • The Brief Chronicle ANOTHER PART of the FOREST
    WRITERS’ THEATRE THE BRIEF CHRONICLE ISSUE FOurTEEN SEPTEMBER 2006 1 SHOW TITLE ANOTHER PART OF THE FOREST Michael Halberstam Artistic Director Jennifer Bielstein Executive Director 05 ON STAGE: ANOTHER PART OF THE FOREST 06 THE ART OF SELF-PRESERVATION 08 ARTISTIC CONVERSATION 11 “Change is the law of life. And those who DOWN SOUTH 17 STARS, BARS AND THE STORY OF SALT look only to the past or present are certain BACKSTAGE: 20 EVENTS 24 DONOR SPOTLIGHT 31 CELEBRATING 15 YEARS 35 IN BRIEF to miss the future.” JOHN F. KENNEDY 2 SHOW TITLE 847-242-6000 | writerstheatre.org 1 Dear Friends: Dear Friends, By now, many of you will have heard that Jennifer Bielstein, our esteemed Executive Director, As you are now aware, I am leaving Writers’ Theatre to become the Managing Director at is leaving us to fulfill the same role at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Jennifer has been a Actors Theatre of Louisville, a regional theatre known internationally for their ambitious remarkable presence at Writers’ Theatre and her excellent management skills and nurturing commitment to the development of new work for the theatre. They have an annual festival personal instincts have transformed our infrastructure during her tenure. Where she has called the Humana Festival of New American Plays which is attended by people from not served as initiator or catalyst for innovation, she has been present to provide stability, around the world who love theatre. encouragement and communication tools in order to assure success. Personally, I have been freed from the shackles of administrative tasking which frequently exhausted me prior I have to extend my most sincere thanks to Michael Halberstam, the Board of Trustees, to rehearsal.
    [Show full text]
  • Producing Tennessee Williams' a Streetcar Named Desire, a Process
    THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE SCHOOL OF THEATRE PRODUCING TENNESSEE WILLIAMS’ A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, A PROCESS FOR DIRECTING A PLAY WITH NO REFUND THEATRE J. SAMUEL HORVATH Spring, 2010 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a baccalaureate degree in Finance with honors in Theatre Reviewed and approved* by the following: Matthew Toronto Assistant Professor of Theatre Thesis Supervisor Annette McGregor Professor of Theatre Honors Adviser * Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College. ABSTRACT This document chronicles the No Refund Theatre production of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. A non-profit, student organization, No Refund Theatre produces a show nearly every weekend of the academic year. Streetcar was performed February 25th, 26th, and 27th, 2010 and met with positive feedback. This thesis is both a study of Streetcar as a play, and a guide for directing a play with No Refund. It is divided into three sections. First, there is an analysis Tennessee Williams’ play, including a performance history, textual analysis, and character analyses. Second, there is a detailed description of the process by which I created the show. And finally, the appendices include documentation and notes from all stages of the production, and are essentially my directorial promptbook for Streetcar. Most importantly, embedded in this document is a video recording of our production of Streetcar, divided into three “acts.” I hope that this document will serve as a road-map for
    [Show full text]
  • (Mitch) Mitchell's Role in the Demise of Blanche Dubois in a Streetcar
    Article Leviathan: Interdisciplinary Journal in English No. 2, 46-53 Harold (Mitch) © The Journal Editors 2018 Reprints and permissions: Mitchell’s role in the http://ojs.statsbiblioteket.dk/index.php/lev DOI: 10.7146/lev.v0i2.104695 demise of Blanche Recommendation: Arman Teymouri Niknam ([email protected]) Dubois in A Streetcar Literature in English 1: Form and Genre Named Desire Marie Lund ABSTRACT In Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire, Stanley Kowalski has often been seen as the main reason why Blanche DuBois mentally falls apart at the end of the play. This is emphasized by the fact that he rapes her and that she subsequently is committed to a mental institution. However, I find that the role of Harold (Mitch) Mitchell thereby is downplayed and underestimated. This article argues that he in fact is the real cause of Blanche’s psychological downfall. Critics such as Judith J. Thompson refer to Mitch as elevated to the romanticized ideal of Allan Grey, Blanche’s late husband. Blanche sees a potential new husband in Mitch, and when she realizes that he knows about her troubled past, she mentally collapses. While Stanley’s final act certainly is cruel and devastating, Mitch’s rejection of Blanche is what essentially sets off her final madness. Keywords: Tennessee Williams; gender roles; mental decline; madness; homosexuality; marriage; Literature in English 1: Form and Genre Corresponding author: Marie Lund ([email protected]) Department of English, Aarhus University 47 Introduction Marlon Brando was a so-called method actor and played the role of Stanley Kowalski both on Broadway in 1947 and in the screen adaption of A Streetcar Named Desire in 1951 (Palmieri).
    [Show full text]
  • Matt Hawkins Assistant Professor of the Practice Head of Musical Theatre
    Matt Hawkins Assistant Professor of the Practice Head of Musical Theatre Phone: (574) 631-9821 Email: [email protected] Areas of Specialization: History of the American Broadway Musical, Modern performance styles and techniques (musical and non-musical), Period movement and dance styles, Psycho- physical acting in performance, Physical and emotional risk and how it relates to Clowning, Direction and conceptualization of heightened theatrical stage productions (musical and non-musical), Dramaturgical analysis of theatrical texts/plays, Violence and stage combat in performance with a focus on tai-chi and the use of theatrical weaponry, Designing innovative interdisciplinary work for the stage and the classroom, utilizing Shakespeare as a tool for community outreach and education. Classes: Musical Theatre History, Musical Theatre Performance Techniques, Musical Theatre Movement/Dance Styles Matt Hawkins is a Chicago based director, actor, fight choreographer and movement director. Directing credits include: Macbeth (Chicago Public Schools at Chicago Shakespeare); The Fantasticks (remount at South Coast Rep), Hair, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To the Forum, Pirates of Penzance (Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts at Northwestern University); Cabaret, The Tennessee Williams Project, 365 Days/365 Plays (The Hypocrites); CYRANO, Hatfield & McCoy (The House Theatre of Chicago); Humbaba, Lysistrata, 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, All That Shines, Lady M (The University of Iowa); 12 Angry Men (DePaul University); The Suicide (Roosevelt University);
    [Show full text]
  • 2014 Jeff Awards Set for Tonight in Chicago; Goodman & Drury Lane
    broadwayworld.com http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/2014-Jeff-Awards-Set-for-Tonight-in-Chicago-Goodman-Drury-Lane-Lead-Nominations-20141013 2014 Jeff Awards Set for Tonight in Chicago; Goodman & Drury Lane Lead Nominations by BWW News October 13 7:34 AM Desk 2014 The 46th Annual Jeff Awards ceremony honoring excellence in professional theatre produced within the immediate Chicago area is tonight, October 13 at Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. Four world premiere plays and two new adaptations seen first by Chicago audiences were among those receiving Jeff nominations by the Jeff Awards Committee. There are 179 nominations in 35 categories for Chicago Equity theatrical productions that opened between August 1, 2013 and July 31, 2014. In the Large Theatre category, Goodman Theatre's "Brigadoon" and Drury Lane Production's "LES MISERABLES" each garnered nine nominations. Goodman's "Brigadoon" was nominated for Production Musical-Large, Director and Choreographer Rachel Rockwell as well as acting and design awards. "LES MISERABLES" from Drury Lane Productions also received nine nominations, including Production Musical-Large and Director Rachel Rockwell. In the coveted Ensemble category, the Jeff Awards Committee nominated six productions: Porchlight Music Theatre's "Ain't Misbehavin' ", a musical revue celebrating the music of Fats Waller and other greats of the Harlem Renaissance; Mercury Theatre Chicago's "Avenue Q" , a musical with puppets about 20-somethings in NY seeking the purpose of life; Writers Theatre's "The Old Man and the Old Moon" with guest artists Pigpen Theatre Co., a fable of an old man who must abandon his job of filling up the moon each month; Remy Bumppo Theatre Company's "Our Class", a powerful story of a Jewish massacre in Poland during WWII; Seanachaí Theatre Company's "The Seafarer", Irish playwright Conor McPherson's boozy mystical yarn of confrontations on a dark Christmas Eve; and Court Theatre's "Seven Guitars", August Wilson's 1940's tale of fate, justice, and the death of a blues guitarist.
    [Show full text]
  • May 25 – July 8, 2018 PRODUCTION STAFF & ARTISTS
    presents Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by Hugh Wheeler Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick Suggested by a Film by Ingmar Bergman Originally produced and directed on Broadway by Harold Prince Directed by Linda Fortunato** Music Direction by Tom Vendafreddo Re-orchestrations by Malcolm Ruhl PERFORMERS Desiree Armfeldt .............................................................................................................. Kelli Harrington Fredrik Egerman ....................................................................................................................Peter Robel* Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm ........................................................................................Christopher Davis Countess Charlotte Malcolm .......................................................................................Stephanie Stockstill Anne Egerman ........................................................................................................................Rachel Guth Henrik Egerman ............................................................................................................ Jordan Dell Harris Mme. Armfeldt ...........................................................................................................Marguerite Mariama Fredrika Armfeldt ..............................................................................................................Isabelle Roberts Petra ...............................................................................................................................Teressa
    [Show full text]
  • POETRY in the PLUMBING Stylistic Clash and Reconciliation in Recent American Stagings of a Streetcar Named Desire
    Cercles 10 (2004) POETRY IN THE PLUMBING Stylistic Clash and Reconciliation in Recent American Stagings of A Streetcar Named Desire FELICIA HARDISON LONDRÉ University of Missouri-Kansas City Perhaps nothing suggests gritty naturalism quite so graphically as plumbing problems. Broken pipes and overflowing toilets are unpleasant realities that never had a place on stage before Emile Zola and André Antoine began reconfiguring audiences’ perceptions and expanding the bounds of what could be tolerated in art—that is, exposing bourgeois playgoers to the lower- class or seamy side of life. While today’s Broadway has embraced a musical titled Urinetown, we must remember that early twentieth-century American theatre audiences were slow to accept naturalism. Rarely was a sordid milieu depicted on the Broadway stage, nor was profane language heard there before the 1920s when Eugene O’Neill gave his sailors realistically salty dialogue and when What Price Glory portrayed soldiers swearing like soldiers. It was not until 1947, when Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire opened, that Broadway saw a play in which the bathroom figured so prominently in the setting, in the plot, and in the dialogue (including vocabulary like Stanley’s crude reference to his “kidneys”). While the plumbing that undergirds A Streetcar Named Desire may well be viewed as naturalistic, the play at the same time epitomizes Jacques Copeau’s concept of a poésie de théâtre; that is, it deploys a visual poetry of scenic metaphor, alongside the verbal poésie au théâtre. For example, the clouds of steam that emanate from the bathroom whenever Blanche takes a refreshing bath are realistic, but the haze on stage also creates an atmospheric softening effect.
    [Show full text]
  • FIGHTING DUELS Stanley Vs. Blanche in the Trunk and Rape Sequences
    Cercles 10 (2004) FIGHTING DUELS Stanley vs. Blanche in the Trunk and Rape Sequences ANNE-MARIE PAQUET-DEYRIS Université de Rouen It’s almost cliché to say that Blanche is a living figure of division. The basic dichotomy between her lofty aspirations and debasing bodily drives finds its expression in heavily polarized spaces and bodily movements, as well as verbal sparring scenes and actual physical duels in both film and play. In Elia Kazan’s adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s 1947 play however, shots and camera angles seem to particularly frame Blanche’s character as a highly vulnerable creature. She’s often shown in high angle shots and close-ups revealing the wear and tear of the various masks she puts on. Blanche is also often filmed in two-shots, with someone else looking down on her, and these two-shots very much resemble disturbing pas de deux between an eager female and an unreliable male. As Tennessee Williams writes in his Cat on a Hot Tin Roof “Notes for the Designer,” The designer should take as many pains to give the actors room to move about freely (to show their restlessness, their passion for breaking out) as if it were a set for a ballet. [14] The most striking representation of such a ballet is probably the forceful duo played by Blanche and Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire. And one should even say forced duo here, as this “ballet” is more akin to a forced march and even a dance of death than to any type of seductive tango or ritual rumba.
    [Show full text]
  • Chicago Theatres Announce FRANKENSTEIN: Unearthed
    Contact: Cathy Taylor / Kelsey Moorhouse FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cathy Taylor Public Relations, Inc. 773-564-9564 [email protected] [email protected] Chicago Theatres Announce FRANKENSTEIN: Unearthed Special Joint Event Between Court Theatre and Manual Cinema, Lifeline Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company and Remy Bumppo Theatre Company Explores Four Unique Productions of Frankenstein Coming to Chicago Stages This Season Chicago, IL–Lookingglass Theatre Company, Court Theatre and Manual Cinema, Lifeline Theatre, and Remy Bumppo Theatre Company announce FRANKENSTEIN: Unearthed, a one-time-only event exploring the four productions of this classic tale coming to Chicago stages during the 2018-2019 season. FRANKENSTEIN: Unearthed takes place September 30, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. at Lookingglass Theatre Company. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=85009b. Lookingglass is located at 821 N Michigan Avenue at Pearson. In celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the first publishing of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley's monster comes to life in Chicago this season with four distinctive theatrical productions at Court Theatre, Lifeline Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, and Remy Bumppo Theatre Company. What is Chicago’s fascination with this undying tale? How will this story be told? Four Frankensteins, seriously? Artists David Catlin and Cordelia Dewdney (Lookingglass Theatre Company), Sarah Fornace (Manual Cinema), Ian Frank and Eliza Stoughton (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company), and Robert Kauzlaric
    [Show full text]
  • Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol
    LIVE-STREAM PERFORMANCES Thursday, December 17, 2020, 5pm Friday, December 18, 2020, 7pm Saturday, December 19, 2020, 1pm Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol A Cal Performances Co-commission Production Credits A Manual Cinema Production Adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens Written by the Manual Cinema Artistic Directors: Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, and Kyle Vegter Storyboards: Drew Dir Original Music and Sound Design: Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter Puppet Design: Drew Dir with Lizi Breit Puppet Build Assistants: Sarah Fornace and Julia Miller Outside Eye: Sarah Fornace with Julia Miller Additional Video Puppetry: Drew Dir Costume Design: Maddy Low Set Design: Julia Miller and Kyle Vegter Aunt Trudy Lighting Design: Andrew Morgan Violin Performance: Amanda Bailey Technical Director and Sound Engineer: Mike Usrey Stage Manager, Video Mixing, and Live Sound Effects: Shelby Sparkle Streaming and UX: Ben Kauffman Production Manager: Julia Miller Creative Producer: Laura Colby, Elsie Management CAST Lizi Breit (Puppeteer) Sarah Fornace (Puppeteer) Ben Kauffman (Keys, Piano, Lead Vocals) N. LaQuis Harkins (Aunt Trudy/Puppeteer) Julia Miller (Puppeteer, Live DP, News Anchor) Kyle Vegter (Cello, Keys, Bass, Vocals) 1 ABOUT THE ARTISTS anual Cinema is an Emmy Award- Lizi Breit (puppeteer, puppet design) is a winning performance collective, Chicago-based artist working pri marily in Mdesign studio, and film/video pro- illustration, animation, sculpture, and per - duction company founded in 2010 by Drew formance. She has been working with Manual Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, Cinema since 2011 and is currently serving as and Kyle Vegter. The company combines hand- associate designer.
    [Show full text]