SAVE THE DATES: SECOND CITY HOLIDAY REVUE, NOVEMBER 26-DECEMBER 23 AT PARAMOUNT'S NEWLY RENOVATED COPLEY THEATRE

 ChiIL Mama’s Chi, IL Picks List: Adult Night Out

PARAMOUNT READY TO UNWRAP ITS NEWLY RENOVATED COPLEY THEATRE WITH THE SECOND CITY HOLIDAY REVUE

NOVEMBER 26-DECEMBER 23

 

The Second City Holiday Revue. Photo courtesy The Second City.

This production is for audiences 18 years and older due to strong adult language and content. No one under 12 allowed.

Paramount Theatre is ready to unwrap its annual end-of-year tradition - bringing The Second City’s famous brand of seasonal hilarity to downtown Aurora for the holidays.

And this year, The Second City’s Holiday Revue: It’s a Wild, Wacky, Wonderful Life, will give audiences the holly jollies as the first live production to be presented in the beautiful, newly-remodeled Copley Theatre.

Following a $2 million, top-to-bottom renovation, capped by the addition of comfortable new seats and a sleek new lobby bar, the 165-seat Copley Theatre is an incredibly intimate space for Second City’s seasonal songs and gut-busting holiday skits. With no seat more than 70 feet from the stage, audiences will enjoy Second City’s side-splitting, song filled holiday spectacular up close and personal. Whether you are on the nice or naughty list, Chicago’s notorious improv troupe will have you laughing so hard you’ll shoot eggnog out your nose.

Skip the long lines and shipping delays, and give the gift of laughter to everyone you meet this holiday season. Performances are November 26-December 23: Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets to The Second City Holiday Revue are $37 and are on sale now. Buy early, as these shows will sell out.

The Copley Theatre is located at 8 E. Galena Blvd. in the North Island Center, right across the street from Paramount Theatre. For tickets and information, visit ParamountAurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. This production is for audiences 18 years and older due to strong adult language and content. No one under 12 allowed.

Following The Second City Holiday Revue, the Copley Theatre will become home in 2022 to Paramount’s much anticipated, all-new Bold Series, a four-show subscription series that promises to bring a new type of theater to downtown Aurora - fearless, unexpected and thought provoking.

Paramount will announce its inaugural four show Bold series line-up in the coming weeks. Subscribers to Paramount’s 2021-22 Broadway Series will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets and secure their seats as part of an exclusive subscriber pre-sale.

COVID POLICY

Paramount and Copley Theatre are about gathering together and sharing in the experience of live theater. Copley Theatre is committed to the health and safety of patrons, theater employees, production staff and cast. To ensure the safety of everyone in the theater, the following policies will be in place for all performances of The Second City Holiday Revue:

Masks required for performances through December 23, 2021: Everyone in the theater must wear acceptable face coverings at all times, including during the show, except while consuming beverages in designated locations. All face coverings must cover the nose and mouth, and comply with the CDC guidelines for acceptable face coverings.

Vaccinations required for performances through December 23, 2021: Guests will need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA emergency use-authorized vaccine in order to attend a show and must show proof of vaccination at their time of entry into the building with their valid ticket and government issued ID. “Fully vaccinated” means the performance date you are attending must be: at least 14 days after your second dose of an FDA authorized two dose COVID-19 vaccine, orat least 14 days after your single dose of an FDA authorized single dose COVID-19 vaccine.

The only exception will be for guests who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests under the age of 12 will not be permitted to attend Second City and guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of at least one of the following, in addition to properly wearing a mask inside the building:

negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the start of the performance, ornegative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the start of the performance.

Rapid antigen tests must be administered by a medical professional, pharmacy or healthcare worker and must be administered within six hours of the start of the desired performance. Proof of this, along with proof of negative results, are required for entrance. Any version of a home rapid antigen test will not be accepted.

Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. Guests under 18 may also use a school photo ID.

Guests who do not comply with these policies will be denied entry or asked to leave the theater. If you feel you cannot follow these guidelines, please contact the Box Office at (630) 896-6666 to discuss your options.

About Paramount Theater

Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., is the center for performing arts and education in downtown Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois. Since 1931, the beautiful, 1,843-seat theater, graced with a strong 1930s Art Deco influence and original Venetian décor, has been downtown Aurora’s anchor attraction. Since launching its own Broadway Series in 2011, Paramount Theatre steadily amassed more than 41,000 subscribers, prior to COVID, making it the second largest subscription house in the U.S.

Paramount Theatre is one of four live performance venues programmed and managed by the Aurora Civic Center Authority. ACCA also oversees downtown Aurora’s 165-seat Copley Theatre, RiverEdge Park, the city’s 6,000-seat outdoor summer concert venue, the Stolp Island Theatre, an immersive space opening in summer 2023, and the new Paramount School of the Arts.

For the latest news from Paramount Theatre, please visit ParamountAurora.com or follow Paramount on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, all @ParamountAurora.

NEA GRANT AND OPEN CALL FOR NEW TYA PLAY COMMISSION FOR BIPOC WRITERS ANYWHERE IN THE U.S. VIA PARAMOUNT SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

EARN $3,000 WRITER’S FEE AND THE OPPORTUNITY

TO DEVELOP A NEW PLAY AT PARAMOUNT

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT IS JANUARY 5, 2021

Paramount School of the Arts in Aurora, Illinois is commissioning a new play for young audiences that it intends to tour to schools throughout the greater Fox Valley area. The new work initiative, supported by the NEA Arts Work Grant Program, is the first such grant for Paramount from the prestigious National Endowment of the Arts.To get the project rolling, Paramount School of the Arts is inviting playwrights of color anywhere in the U.S. to submit a proposal for an original new play with music for young audiences.Proposals will be reviewed by jurors from Paramount Theatre’s artistic and new works departments, staff and teaching artists at Paramount School of the Arts, and a committee of diverse local educators and community members.

One proposal will be selected and the writer will receive a $3,000 commission to collaborate with Paramount to develop the work.

The deadline to submit a proposal is by 11:59 p.m. CST on January 5, 2021.

To apply, writers must complete an online submission form, posted at paramountaurora.com/tya-touring-production-commission-submission, and digitally submit the following via email to school@paramountarts.com:

A one-page play proposal for a new or in progress, 45-60 minute, unwritten play with music for young audiences (generally targeting grades 3 to 5)

A one-page resume

A three-to-five page sample scene

An already finished play, for reference only

Proposals for new plays must:

Center the story around global majority people (non-white), with particular interest in stories that center around Mexican-American culture (44% of Aurora’s population)

Utilize four performers or fewerExplain the use of singular, flexible or representational scenic elements as this play will be toured to schools with a variety of performance spaces

Demonstrate how the use of music will play a role in the script

Demonstrate how audience members will be engaged in the storytelling (this could be audience participation of some kind, such as children assisting in creating an environment, or contributing to the music making)

Paramount will select one proposal and offer a commission contract in February of 2021, which will be announced upon signing.

Then, Paramount will spend the winter and spring of 2021 developing the piece with the writer, a director, actors and a dramaturg, culminating with a workshop reading. The intention is to tour the play to Fox Valley schools during the 2021-2022 school year. 

Shannon Cameron, Director of Education and Community Engagement, Paramount Theatre

“We understand that many schools don’t have the resources to bring their students to Paramount’s student matinees,” said Shannon Cameron, Director of Education and Community Engagement, Paramount Theatre. “So we decided creating a new work of live theater, particularly one that celebrates equity, diversity and inclusion, and take it directly to the schools aligns perfectly with our mission to break down barriers to enjoying and learning from live theater.”

Paramount School of the Arts is the state-of-the-art anchor tenant in the new $35 million John C. Dunham Aurora Arts Center at 20 S. Stolp Avenue, right next to downtown Aurora’s beautiful Paramount Theatre. Currently more than 250 area youth ages 0 to 100 are participating in live theater, music and dance classes, private lessons and online workshops now on offer virtually as part of the school’s fall session.

Visit ParamountSchool.com to enroll your child in virtual performing arts classes. To be the first to learn about the return of in-persona classes, follow the school on Facebook and Instagram at @paramountschoolofthearts, or Twitter at @PSAAurora.

Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora, is the center for performing arts, entertainment and arts education in the second largest city in Illinois. Since launching its Broadway Series in 2011, Paramount Theatre has also grown to be the second largest subscription house in the nation. Last season, more than 41,000 subscribers enjoyed Broadway-quality productions at highly affordable prices at Paramount.

Paramount has also grown a reputation for bringing new works to the stage thanks to last season’s smash hit world premiere musical The Secret of My Success, and its collaboration the season before, August Rush.

For the latest news from Paramount Theatre, please visit ParamountAurora.com or follow Paramount on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, all @ParamountAurora.

Labor Day on Easter Weekend #LaborDayMovie #ParamountMovies #Ad #Recipe

Disclosure:  I hosted a Labor Day viewing party and Paramount gave me a copy of the movie on Digital HD for testing purposes. Thanks to Influenster for the chance to partner up on this promotion and giving us the opportunity to enter the Brand Challenge for a chance to win a prize. A full disclosure is included here. 

It's amazing how much a short, chance encounter with some people can change your life!  

It may sound a bit funny to be talking Labor Day on Easter weekend, but we're talking about the Paramount Pictures movie here. As a member of Influenster, we were hand picked to host a viewing party and give you the scoop on the digital release.

We were just off for a 9 day spring break and it was the perfect time to relax and chiIL out with family and friends for a movie night. It wasn't overtly sappy, with enough suspense and plot twists to keep everyone intrigued. Labor Day was a great pick. I could relate, since I also have a 13 year old son (though we haven't harbored any bleeding escaped convicts recently).  With a PG-13 rating, this was a movie I was fine sharing with my tween & teen. They dug it too.

Labor Day centers on 13-year-old Henry Wheeler, who struggles to be the man of his house and care for his reclusive mother Adele while confronting all the pangs of adolescence. On a back-to-school shopping trip, Henry and his mother encounter Frank Chambers, a man both intimidating and clearly in need of help, who convinces them to take him into their home and later is revealed to be an escaped convict. The events of this long Labor Day weekend will shape them for the rest of their lives.

• 2014
• 111 minutes 
• Rated PG-13
• for thematic material, brief violence and sexuality

We all enjoyed this quirky love story. The characters were lovable and charmingly flawed.  We were entertained by this feel good film and it's plot twists. Labor Day left us grinning & hungry for peach pie!!

Munching on popcorn but pining for pie!!

Learn to make the pie that Josh Brolin made every day on the set of Labor Day for Kate Winslet and the cast, using author Joyce Maynard's family recipe!

Ingredients:

 *   3 pounds peaches
 *   3/4 cup sugar
 *   2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
 *   3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 *   3 cups all-purpose flour
 *   3/4 teaspoon salt
 *   1/2 cup Crisco vegetable shortening
 *   1 stick plus 1 tablespoon chilled butter, cut into pieces
 *   1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water
 *   2 tablespoons Minute tapioca (plus 2 additional tbsp to stir into peaches)
 *   1 beaten egg
 *   1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the peaches, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Stir in 2 tbsp Minute Tapioca to help absorb juices.  Let stand, stirring occasionally.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, work in the shortening and 1 stick of butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the ice water over the flour mixture, stirring gently with a fork. Continue adding the water just until the dough holds together. Shape the dough into a ball and divide it into two discs, one slightly larger than the other.

3. Place the smaller disc on a sheet of waxed paper, and use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough into a 12-inch circle. If the dough sticks to the rolling pin, dust it lightly with more flour. Lay a 9- to 10-inch pie pan face down on top of the circle; flip the pan over and remove the paper. For the crust, on a sheet of waxed paper, roll out the other disc to form a 14-inch circle.  Do not roll the dough more than necessary.

4. Sprinkle the tapioca on the bottom crust. Add the filling, mounding it in the center, and dot with 1 tablespoon butter. Lift the waxed paper with the remaining crust and flip it over the filling. Peel back waxed paper. Trim the edges of the crusts and pinch together the top and bottom crusts. Optional: Roll out the trimmings and cut into decorative shapes. Brush the pie with the egg, and arrange the shapes on the crust. Sprinkle with sugar. Poke fork holes or cut vents in the top crust. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Put pie plate on cookie sheet to catch drips.  Bake in 350 degree oven for about one hour.  Cool before serving.

To watch Joyce make an Apple Pie: http://curious.com/joycemaynard/joyce-maynards-homemade-apple-pie

Disclosure:  I hosted a Labor Day viewing party and Paramount gave me a copy of the movie on Digital HD for testing purposes. Thanks to Influenster for the chance to partner up on this promotion and giving us the opportunity to enter the Brand Challenge for a chance to win a prize. A full disclosure is included here.