REVIEW: Next Door and Helga Through Sunday at Physical Theater Festival Chicago at Stage 773 Through June 9, 2019

Full Body Physical Theatre Takes Audience on a Journey that Spans Decades and Continents

Out of Balanz From Copenhagen, Denmark

REVIEW:

by bonnie kenaz-mara

Next Door and Helga are a great pairing at Physical Theater Festival Chicago at Stage 773. Actors in both shows embody characters from youth, young adulthood, middle age, and the final, elderly years, in a stunning transformation. These actors are masters of comedic timing, amazing physical feats, and facial expressions that are beyond funny.

Henni Kervinen in Helga – the life of a diva extraordinare (Finland)

Next Door by Out of Balanz From Copenhagen, Denmark

Next Door celebrates interconnectedness and the friendships of neighbors from 10 year old boys to adults. Expect exciting sword fights, a harrowing adventure at sea, skateboarding, biking, memorabilia, and an epic death scene. With a dynamic duo from Finland and Denmark, Next Door is a hilarious exploration of the universal nature of human connections and missed connections, as well as a fun glimpse into Nordic life. This is physical, comedic storytelling at its best. 

Delightful diva in decline, Helga is performed to perfection by Finnish circus artist Henni Kervinen. I want to hang out with this booze swilling, espresso lovin' curmudgeon, and hear no nonsense wisdom and tales of her glory days. This act includes a full on flashback trapeze act and burlesque tease from a Helga at the height of her youth as well as the same act, repeated in present day. Expect aerial arts, early parenthood, the cat lady who raised a beast, prepping for company and an interesting array of costume choices.

We adored these celebrations of life experience, characters, and everyday moments from the mundane to the monumental. Highly recommended. 

Here at ChiIL Mama, we're huge, lifelong fans of circus arts and physical comedy in the art of storytelling on stage. We're thrilled to be catching 10 days of world class physical theatre right here in Chicago at Physical Fest at Stage 773 and Chopin Theatre. Check out the full schedule and show details here: http://www.chiilmama.com/2019/05/fest-alert-physical-theater-festival.html

Bonnie Kenaz-Mara is a Chicago based writer-theater critic-photographer-videographer-actress-artist-general creatrix and Mama to two terrific teens. She owns two websites where she has published frequently since 2008: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly). 

Next Door by Multi-award winning 

Danish company Out of Balanz

By Out of Balanz

From Copenhagen, Denmark

Friday, May 31 at 7 p.m., Saturday, June 1 at 9 p.m., Sunday,

June 2 at 2 p.m.

60 minutes

For ages 12 and up

*Parents: Sunday, June 2, 2 p.m. is Sitter Sunday. Come for the show, teaching staff from Willow Tree Child Care will watch your kids, ages potty trained and up. See website for details.

Next Door Trailer from Out of Balanz on Vimeo.

Multi-award winning Danish company Out of Balanz returns to Chicago with their critically acclaimed Next Door. The stand-out smash hit of Chicago’s first Physical Theater Festival in 2014 is back by popular demand to re-celebrate physical comedy, active imaginations and the importance of relationships.

When Ivan Hansen’s neighbor passes away suddenly, Ivan realizes he doesn’t know anything about him. In Next Door, intimate storytelling and high-octane physical theater explore what it is that really connects us.

Next Door captured First Prize and Audience Prize at the Birmingham European Theatre Festival 2013 and Best Male Performers at Kosovo’s Skena Up International Festival. The Copenhagen Post called it “imaginative and groundbreaking…an unforgettable journey into the human psyche.” The Scotsman found it “irresistible.”

Founded in 2006, Out of Balanz is an award-winning international theater ensemble based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Recognized for their highly collaborative creative process and for producing original work rich in spectacle and adventurous in form, Out of Balanz has created over a dozen original works and toured to 16 different countries in Europe, North America and Asia (including such venues as The John Houseman Theatre off-Broadway, The Barbican in London and at the first-ever Physical Theater Festival Chicago.) The company was named one of the 13 most innovative physical theater companies in the world, alongside such prestigious companies as The SITI Company and DV8, by backstage.com. For more, visit outofbalanz.org.

Henni Kervinen in 

Helga – the life of a diva extraordinare (Finland)

Helga – life of a diva extraordinaire

By Henni Kervinen, directed by Jenni Kallo

From Finland

Friday, May 31 at 9 p.m.; Saturday, June 1 at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, June 2 at 5 p.m.

60 minutes

For ages 10 and up

Helga Trailer from Kallo Collective on Vimeo.

A new cabaret diva extraordinaire is here! Poignant, melancholy mime, clowning circus skills and physical comedy make up the wordless story of Helga. Tragedy and comedy meet as Helga invites us into her world, from the mundane details of her day to the fabulous memories of her life.

Helga is skillfully performed by Finnish circus artist Henni Kervinen and directed by Jenni Kallo, Artistic Director of the renowned Kallo Collective (Only Bones, Edinburgh Fringe 2016). LapinKansa.fi called Helga 'absurd comedy and sparkling wit…', with an Edinburgh Fringe Fest fan hitting the nail on the head with "only the Finns can make humor out of melancholy as fabulously as this.” For more, visit kallocollective.com.

Note: Helga is silent, no interpreter needed, making it appropriate for audiences that are deaf or hard of hearing.

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

PHYSICAL THEATER FESTIVAL CHICAGO GROWS TO A 10-DAY EVENT WITH NEW FORMS OF THEATER FROM AROUND THE WORLD, 

MAY 31-JUNE 9 AT STAGE 773 

Check out the full Physical Festival schedule and show details here: http://www.chiilmama.com/2019/05/fest-alert-physical-theater-festival.html

FEST ALERT: Physical Theater Festival Chicago returns May 31-June 9, 2019 at Stage 773

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

PHYSICAL THEATER FESTIVAL CHICAGO GROWS TO A 10-DAY EVENT WITH NEW FORMS OF THEATER FROM AROUND THE WORLD, MAY 31-JUNE 9 AT STAGE 773 

Physical Theater Festival Chicago returns May 31-June 9, 2019 at Stage 773, opening with (from left) Next Door by Out of Balanz (Denmark), closing with Freeman by Strictly Arts (U.K.), the festival’s largest presentation ever, and with new additions announced including the family-friendly Tic Tac Tock by Mrs. Flower (Belgium/U.K.).

I'll be out for opening night, catching Next Door & Helga for ChiILMama.com (family friendly) & ChiILLiveShows.com (adult). Then we'll be back to check out every act in this year's Physical Theater Festival Chicago. Check back soon for my full reviews. 

Physical Theater Festival Chicago, back for its sixth season, will present physical theater acts and artists from Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Puerto Rico, India, the U.K. and Chicago that promise to wow audiences for 10 consecutive days of “theater that moves you.”

Physical Theater Festival Chicago runs May 31-June 9, 2019. All events (except Eventide) take place at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Festival passes ($50 and $65) and single tickets ($15-$20) are on sale at physicalfestival.com.

For updates, follow the festival on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The 2019 Physical Theater Festival Chicago – the full line-up:

Following, in chronological order, is the full 2019 Physical Theater Festival Chicago schedule – launching with the opening weekend return of the Danish company Out of Balance, the smash hit success of the inaugural fest in 2014, closing with Physical Festival Chicago’s largest presentation in its history, Freeman from Strictly Arts U.K., an Edinburgh Fringe Fest sensation with incredibly powerful stories of mental illness and systemic racism.



Next Door
By Out of Balanz
From Copenhagen, Denmark
Friday, May 31 at 7 p.m., Saturday, June 1 at 9 p.m., Sunday,
June 2 at 2 p.m.
60 minutes
For ages 12 and up

*Parents: Sunday, June 2, 2 p.m. is Sitter Sunday. Come for the show, teaching staff from Willow Tree Child Care will watch your kids, ages potty trained and up! See website for more information. 

Multi-award winning Danish company Out of Balanz returns to Chicago with their critically acclaimed Next Door. The stand-out smash hit of Chicago’s first Physical Theater Festival in 2014 is back by popular demand to re-celebrate physical comedy, active imaginations and the importance of relationships.

When Ivan Hansen’s neighbor passes away suddenly, Ivan realizes he doesn’t know anything about him. In Next Door, intimate storytelling and high-octane physical theater explore what it is that really connects us.

Next Door captured First Prize and Audience Prize at the Birmingham European Theatre Festival 2013 and Best Male Performers at Kosovo’s Skena Up International Festival. The Copenhagen Post called it “imaginative and groundbreaking…an unforgettable journey into the human psyche.” The Scotsman found it “irresistible.”

Founded in 2006, Out of Balanz is an award-winning international theater ensemble based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Recognized for their highly collaborative creative process and for producing original work rich in spectacle and adventurous in form, Out of Balanz has created over a dozen original works and toured to 16 different countries in Europe, North America and Asia (including such venues as The John Houseman Theatre off-Broadway, The Barbican in London and at the first-ever Physical Theater Festival Chicago.) The company was named one of the 13 most innovative physical theater companies in the world, alongside such prestigious companies as The SITI Company and DV8, by backstage.com. For more, visit outofbalanz.org.




Helga – life of a diva extraordinaire
By Henni Kervinen, directed by Jenni Kallo
From Finland
Friday, May 31 at 9 p.m.; Saturday, June 1 at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, June 2 at 5 p.m.
60 minutes
For ages 10 and up

Henni Kervinen in Helga – the life of a diva extraordinare (Finland)

A new cabaret diva extraordinaire is here! Poignant, melancholy mime, clowning circus skills and physical comedy make up the wordless story of Helga. Tragedy and comedy meet as Helga invites us into her world, from the mundane details of her day to the fabulous memories of her life.

Helga is skillfully performed by Finnish circus artist Henni Kervinen and directed by Jenni Kallo, Artistic Director of the renowned Kallo Collective (Only Bones, Edinburgh Fringe 2016). LapinKansa.fi called Helga 'absurd comedy and sparkling wit…', with an Edinburgh Fringe Fest fan hitting the nail on the head with "only the Finns can make humor out of melancholy as fabulously as this.” For more, visit kallocollective.com.

Note: Helga is silent, no interpreter needed, making it appropriate for audiences that are deaf or hard of hearing.

The festival’s new Fresh Series featuring two mid-length works in progress, includes:

The Raveling
by Walkabout Theatre
From Chicago
Sunday, June 2 at 8:30 p.m. and Monday, June 3 at 9 p.m.
60 minutes
For ages 14 and up

As the borders of home are redefined across generations, The Raveling teases apart the threads of heritage, history and hearsay in its cast of co-creators hailing from Chicago, Toronto, and New Delhi. The Raveling is part family fever dream, part fairy tale, and part detective story as the knot of belonging is stretched and pulled across countries and decades of legends, heroes, and misadventures.

Walkabout Theater is a multidisciplinary ensemble committed to a unique practice of theater-making in Chicago. Walkabout produces three streams of programming: free outdoor phenomena focused on community engagement and unique artistic collaborations; world-premiere, touring performances created by the ensemble; and training workshops investigating techniques of co-creation. Radically process-oriented, Walkabout is distinguished by a deep investment in the creation of each ensemble project, in the personal and artistic development of each ensemble artist, and in the cultural and artistic advancement of ensemble practice. For more, visit walkabouttheater.org.




A Life with No Limits
By Aura CuriAtlas Physical Theatre
From Chicago
Monday and Tuesday, June 3 and 4 at 7 p.m.
60 minutes
For all ages

A Life With No Limits is inspired by the life and work of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking. It is created in the company’s signature blend of dance, theater, and acrobatics with original music composed by Sophia Serghi. The story is told wordlessly and reflects on the determination, passion, and sense of humor of someone who has severe physical limitations, yet has an imagination that is able to roam free. The narrative follows the protagonist from younger days with full mobility and a lust for life, through diagnosis and onset of physical disease, to moments of hopelessness when the choice must be made to succumb to the black hole that life has presented or find a way to escape its unbeatable gravitational pull. Throughout, Hawking escapes into his mind where he can move more freely and where the other bodies on stage become objects in the universe or elements in an equation that he can manipulate with ease.

Chicago’s ChiIL Mama called A Life with No Limits “a moving must see…mind-boggling…I was left in awe of the superhuman physical strength and willpower required to live with a severe disability.”

Aura CuriAtlas was founded in 2013 by Dan Plehal, a Chicago-based theater director, actor, acrobat and teacher, and Joan Gavaler, who choreographs, performs, and teaches dance and physical theater at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. The company also includes founding member Mickey Lonsdale, an actor and teacher of dance and acrobatics outside of NYC. 

Blending dance, theater, and acrobatics to tell stories, Aura CuriAtlas keeps the qualities of lightness (Aura), strength (Atlas), and play (Curiosity) at the center. The company has created three shows, Dream Logic, A Life With No Limits, and The Fool and The World and have been touring them around the country. The company’s lightheartedness, athleticism and reliance on physical storytelling make its stories accessible to audiences of many different ages and backgrounds. For more, visit acphysicaltheatre.com.

Scratch Night
Tuesday, June 4 at 9 p.m.
80 minutes
Heels Over Head (Chicago)

The wildly entertaining revue of new and more experimental short works by emerging and veteran Chicago physical theater artists, presented in association with Heels over Head, will feature (at press time) La Vuelta Ensemble led by Raquel Torre and Jean Claudio; Claire Saxe from Rough House Theater; and Brittany Price Anderson from Heels Over Head. Look for more artists TBA.


International Touring Talk
Wednesday, June 5 at 7 p.m.

Learn the ins and outs of touring Chicago-made work internationally and nationally at this free industry panel with artists from Walkabout Theater and India's Guild of the Goat and presenters from Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Chicago Park District. The hour-long panel will be followed by breakout sessions focused on how to pitch presenters, create touring budgets and develop technical riders.

Eventide
By 3AM Theatre
From New York/Puerto Rico 
Wednesday and Thursday, June 5 and 6 at 9 p.m.
60 minutes
Ages 7 and up
at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. in Wicker Park

Physical Festival Chicago’s first-ever off-site production is a beautiful, wordless circus theater show featuring a former Cirque du Soleil performer and a former Martha Graham company soloist. The production employs expressive movement, object manipulation, and contemporary, surreal scene-setting to expose the challenges we face in romantic relationships and relationships with ourselves.

Eventide begins in the ether and slowly narrows in on an apartment where a troubled couple lies awake despite the late hour. Soon we witness their disconnection unfold with the interplay between present interactions, interior monologues and past memories. With the future of their relationship at stake, they choose to explore a hovering, seductive void, one that’s accessible via inexplicable phenomena of the twilight hours. There in the void they move freely, without the weight of mental clutter, giving them a clarity that ultimately leads them toward redefining their individuality and partnership. Eventide is told wordlessly, making it ideal for audience members that are deaf or are hard of hearing.
​
3AM Theatre is the latest creative endeavor of two career performers, Kyle Driggs and Andrea Murillo. They bring their respective experiences at storied institutions like Martha Graham Dance Company and Cirque du Soleil to 3AM where they are developing performances that explore both the intersection and the boundaries of their art forms. 3amtheatre.com



The Gift
By Angela de Castro
From Brazil/UK
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 6, 7 and 8 at 7 p.m.
60 minutes
All ages

A clown waits for his new date to arrive. Smart, proud and optimistic he waits longingly, impatiently...waits...and waits. In what seems an eternity he walks a tightrope between passion and despair. Will it all end in tears or laughter? The Gift is about love and loss, giving and loneliness. A heart-warming tale in the great tradition of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin in which music and silence merge as passion and imagination take over. The Gift will touch and delight audiences of all ages. In an era of so-called sophistication and cool, we need more than ever the simple, universal message of love, hope and truth captured in The Gift.

The Gift began as a 30-minute show in 1990, subsequently receiving a special grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain to develop into a full length show and premiering at the London International Mime Festival. The Gift has been seen all over the UK and is now touring worldwide. Reworked with new material, this updated production is performed and directed by Angela de Castro, accompanied by a special guest classical musician, with choreography by clown and commedia dell'arte expert Barry Grantham.

Brazilian born Angela de Castro has been a professional clown/actor for forty years, working with some of the UK’s most innovative physical theatre companies including The Right Size and Clod Ensemble. She travels the world with her workshop masterclass ‘How To Be a Stupid’ and is perhaps best known for creating the Green Clown in Slava’s Snowshow. One of the most internationally admired women clowns, she has been awarded fellowships by NESTA Dreamtime, The Arts Foundation and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. For more, visit contemporaryclowningprojects.com.



Freeman
By Strictly Arts
From the UK
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 6, 7 and 8 at 9 p.m.
60 minutes
For ages 14 and up

Following its critically acclaimed sold out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Freeman makes its Midwest debut as the largest international production ever presented by Physical Theater Festival Chicago.

Winner of a Spirit of the Fringe Award and shortlisted for Amnesty International’s Freedom of Expression Award, Freeman is inspired by the first man in America to plead insanity as his defense and sees writer Camilla Whitehill (Where Do Little Birds Go?) and Strictly Arts examine the unspoken link between mental health and systemic racism.

Throughout time and across waters, from William Freeman, to Sarah Reed, to Sandra Bland, six true stories are threaded together and told through physical theater, spoken word, gospel singing, shadow puppetry and more. History is bound to repeat itself when the thumb is permanently bearing down on the loop button, so has anything really changed?

The Guardian called Freeman “a revelation, a piece of stunning physical theatre,” Broadway Baby hailed its “outstanding artistic courage” and Edinburgh Guide raved "both exciting and devastating...everybody should see it."

Strictly Arts is a new physical theater company led by Artistic Director and founder, Corey Campbell and Executive Producer, Henry Bays. The company formed after achieving breakout success with Green Leaves Fall in 2015, instantly igniting a partnership between Strictly Arts and Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre. More recently, Strictly Arts received the Charlie Hartill Special Reserve Fund from the Pleasance Theatre enabling the company to take its first show, Freeman, to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, selling out its performances and receiving many 5 star reviews. Freeman started as a work in progress piece that quickly developed into national tours in 2017 and 2018. It sold out across all venues with standing ovations and amazing feedback, and was shortlisted for two Off West End Awards.

As a company, Strictly Arts devises work that is engaging, thought provoking and unique. It strives to make the work created accessible to audiences around the world, while telling stories that forgotten communities can connect with. For more, visit strictlyarts.co.uk.

The Nora Project Presents: Tic Tac Tock by Mrs. Flower
With and by Rachel Ponsonby, Directed by Louis Spagna
From Belgium/U.K.
Sunday, June 9 at 2 p.m.
50 minutes
All ages
Free with suggested donation to The Nora Project


Tic Tac Tock by Mrs. Flower

Experience sensory friendly, inclusive live theater for children of all abilities and their families.

Tic Tac Tock is a prize-winning story told by Mrs. Flower about when she was a little girl. She explains what a day is like "over there" in France in her unique and humorous style. Tic Tac Tock is a celebration of music, song, and language in both French and English. Mrs. Flower tells her tale while playing over 10 instruments as well as the sumptuous use of audience participation, circus, magic and clowning.

A musical clown show for all ages, Tic Tac Tock is with and by Rachel Ponsonby, and directed by Louis Spagna. zirktheatre.be

The Nora Project is a Chicago-based nonprofit with a mission is to teach empathy by sparking friendships between students and their peers with disabilities. The Nora Project is currently in more than 30 schools and 85 classrooms across Chicagoland and growing. thenoraproject.ngo


Workshops
One of the great thrills about Physical Theater Festival is the opportunity to connect with artists from around the world, and play. Learn how to have fun on stage, connect with your body, and create work with other artist at one or more workshops:

Make ‘Em Laugh- Comedy and The Human Body by Out of Balanz
Sunday, June 2, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Expressive Body: The Essence of Physical Theater by Kallo Collective
Monday, June 3, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Action, Group, Body and Song By Walkabout Theater
Tuesday, June 4, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Art of Human Playgrounds by Aura CuriAtlas 
Wednesday, June 5, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Physical Theater Foundations by Strictly Arts
Thursday, June 6, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Mindful Manipulations by 3AM Theatre
Thursday, June 6, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The Pleasure of Playing by Angela De Castro
Friday, June 7, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Outside Eyes by Angela de Castro (Individual one hour sessions for performers or theater companies) 
Saturday, June 9, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Visit physicalfestival.com/workshops-2019 for more class descriptions, fees and information on a discounted workshop pass.


About the 2019 Physical Theater Festival Chicago

Physical Theater Festival Chicago is the city’s annual contemporary, visual and physical theater festival presenting new forms of theater from around the world. Back for its sixth year, Chicago’s Physical Theater Festival presents a diverse, international slate of radically different works of physical theater, loosely defined as storytelling through highly physical, highly visual means to create live, original and contemporary works.

Since 2014, Physical Theater Festival Chicago has presented artists and companies from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, India, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain and the U.K. Each year, Physical Theater Festival introduces Chicago to work that is:

Contemporary - using cutting-edge, on-the-pulse theatrical forms that are responding to the contemporary moment using contemporary notions of theater.

Visual - elevating the visual aspects of its stories, theater which is occupied with the creation of visual atmospheres and images as much as verbal text.

Physical - pursuing storytelling through primarily physical means, whose aim is to create original stories which start and end with the body as the foundational textual source.

Physical Theater Festival Chicago co-founders Alice da Cunha and Marc Frost

Chicago theater artists Alice da Cunha and Marc Frost launched Chicago’s inaugural Physical Theater Festival in 2014 through the Artistic Associate program at Links Hall. The inspiration for the Festival drew upon their combined experience as physical theater students at the London International School for the Performing Arts (LISPA). Moving from London to Chicago, they were inspired to start a new festival to promote a more progressive, fresh and physical approach to theater making in Chicago. Six years later, Physical Theater Festival Chicago is following in the tradition of such great European theater festivals as the London International Mime Festival (LIMF) and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to name a few.

“Physical theater embraces such a wide variety of styles, approaches and aesthetics including clown, puppetry, mime, mask, dance, theater, vaudeville and circus, stop motion film and poetry to name just a few,” explains Alice da Cunha. “Chicago is fortunate to be home to one of the best, most eclectic and adventurous audiences in the world. So ‘let’s get physical,’ Chicago. The 6th Physical Theater Festival Chicago is your chance to see an eye-opening variety of contemporary physical theater styles, artists and companies from around the globe.”

Alice da Cunha was Marketing Director for CASA (London's Latin American Theatre Festival) and she produced, curated and presented SHORTCUTZ (a weekly short film festival). She was also the Production Assistant for TODOS Festival, an interdisciplinary festival in Lisbon, Portugal. In Chicago, da Cunha is an actress who has performed in many plays and films, including United Flight 232 at The House Theatre of Chicago, winner of a 2016 Jeff Award for Best Ensemble, and more recently, La Ruta at Steppenwolf Theatre. She has also worked in hospitality for the Chicago Latino Film Festival.

Co-Artistic Director Marc Frost is an actor, deviser, educator and Chicago native who has performed and produced work in Brazil, Ireland, Spain, the USA and the U.K. He created Theater Unspeakable as a platform for original works of devised, physical theater. Based in Chicago, the award-winning company has toured nationally to thousands of young audiences at venues including Lincoln Center Education (NY) and Kennedy Center (DC). He currently teaches physical theater at DePaul University. He is also a recent graduate of the Commercial Theatre Institute's 14-Week Training Program for Commercial Producers in New York City.

Physical Theater Festival Chicago is supported by The MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and is also supported by Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Events (DCASE), Fractured Atlas, Stage 773 and Theater Unspeakable LLC.

For more information, visit physicalfestival.com.

Registration Open For COMEDY PREP SCHOOL One Day Workshop at STAGE 773 for Ages 12-17

STAGE 773 

INVITES YOUNG ASPIRING COMEDIANS TO LEARN, PLAY, AND PERFORM AT 

COMEDY PREP SCHOOL

Registration is now open for students ages 12-17 to participate in the one-day comedy extravaganza that unites Chicago’s young, up-and-coming comedians May 12

Stage 773 producers of The Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival and Chicago Women’s Funny Festival are excited to announce the return of Comedy Prep School (CPS), a one-day festival for young comedians on Saturday, May 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Comedy Prep School features workshops taught by professional performers and teachers from Chicago’s world class comedy institutions, as well as opportunities to learn, play, and perform with 100+ fellow young comedians. In addition to this, attendees will be treated to an exclusive performance by hilarious, high caliber comedy group, Ms. Mistoffelees. Individual students and groups ages 12-17 are invited to register.

“As Chicago’s premiere off-loop comedy hub, we are so excited to bring together the youth in our industry through the return of Comedy Prep School, “ says Jill Valentine, Executive Director of Stage 773. “This festival provides us not only with the opportunity to teach young, aspiring comedians about comedy and its styles, but also serves as a way for us to embrace comedy with this next generation of artists.”



Comedy Prep School features four, age-appropriate workshops that are taught by highly skilled professionals in the comedy industry. These workshops include Comedic Song Writing, Advanced Improv: Go For It!, Physical Comedy, and Writing for Diverse Voices. Comedic Songwriting, taught by Mollie Rehner, allows students to learn how to find “the funny” when writing a song through song structure, point-of-view and rhyme. In Advanced Improv: Go For It!, Micah Philbrook gets students out of their head and into the scene by teaching confident choices, reckless agreement, and unapologetic support. From miming to slapstick, Sarah Barnhardt provides young comedians with the tools to release their inner comedian in Physical Comedy. Nicole Hastings teaches how to find your voice and respect other’s experiences in comedy with Writing for Diverse Voices.

After a day of workshops, students are invited to see the skills in action with a performance from professional group, Ms. Mistoffelees. From there, they will be able to take the stage themselves and play and perform for each other. Lunch and snacks will be provided throughout the day.

Registration for Comedy Prep School is $100 for students ages 12-17. Chaperones are requested for large groups. The cost includes all workshops and performances, lunch, and snacks. Additional information is available online at www.Stage773.com, by phone 773.327.5252, and in person at the Stage 773 box office, located at 1225 W. Belmont. To sign up, please contact Tim Soszko at cps@stage773.com.

Teachers:
Mollie Rehner an actor, comedic song writer, rapper, and producer in Chicago. She is a member of the infamous Chicago musical comedy group, The Cupid Players, and co-stars in Rehner & Nixon and Trifecta. She was featured in The New York Television Festival with her online comedy duo Hard Candy and performed in Gilda’s LaughFest. A producer for The Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival and Chicago Women’s Funny Festival, Rehner is a former Late Night intern for Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon and performs all over Chicago and the United States.

Micah Philbrook an improvisor, actor, writer, director, and teacher based in Chicago. He is half of the tim&micah project, an avant garde sketch comedy troupe; a founding member of pH Productions, an award winning theater ensemble known for original comedic works; the executive producer of That Sunday Show, a modern comedic variety show; and he’s a regular performer with Those Who Can’t, an improv showcase featuring teachers of improvisational theater. Micah has toured the Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean on cruise ships, performing with The Second City, and toured North America and Europe, performing and teaching improv and sketch comedy, with the tim&micah project and pH productions. Since 2008, Micah has been a faculty member of the Second City Training Center in Chicago where he has taught well over 160 classes in the comedic arts.

Nicole Hastings is a teacher and performer with the Second City, teaching a range of classes in the Beginning Improv, Music and Conservatory programs. She has performed Off-Broadway in Blank! The Musical and at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in Thrones! The Musical. She can be seen in The Deltones at iO, as well as in Baby Wants Candy and The Improvised Sondheim Project. At Second City, she has been an ensemble member in The Second City Touring Company, Fast, Loud & Funny, Life Hacks and American Mixtape. Nicole is a native of Northern California and a graduate of Columbia University in New York.

Sarah Barnhardt is a producer and performer in Chicago.  Physical comedy is her jam!  Therefore, she helped create The Comedy Dance Collective, a sketch comedy group that uses physical comedy and dance to delight their audiences.  Recent credits include The Comedy Dance Collective (performer and producer) and THIS IS THE WORST (solo show), both of which have been seen at various venues and festivals around Chicago and beyond.  She is also the creator and producer of Deep Dish Pizzazz: Chicago-Style Comedy, a show that features different Chicago comedic acts and serves up laughs to audiences in her hometown of Winston-Salem, NC.  Sarah is a graduate of the Second City Training Center’s Writing Program, Conservatory, and Music Program and has studied at The Annoyance and The Playground. 



About Stage 773
Stage 773 is a vibrant anchor of the Belmont Theatre District and home to Chicago’s finest off-Loop talent. As a performance and tenant venue, our four stages provide entertainment for everyone: comedy, theatre, dance, musicals and more. We are a not-for-profit, connecting and catalyzing the theater community, while showcasing established artists and incubating up-and-coming talent.

This Weekend and Next: 1st Annual Story Arc Sketch Comedy Festival at Stage 773 June 1 – 10, 2017

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Vienna Juvenile to Produce

1st Annual Story Arc Sketch 

Comedy Festival

at Stage 773

June 1 – 10, 2017

After three and a half years of producing sketch comedy in Chicago and across the country,Vienna Juvenile is proud to announce the launch of their innovative, groundbreaking new comedy event, the Story Arc Sketch Comedy Festival—a two-week long sketch comedy festival combining the worlds of sketch and theater to form a new wave of storytelling. The festival will take place from June 1 - 10 in the Box Theater at Stage 773 (1225 W Belmont Ave, Chicago), and will feature performances by Chicago comedy ensembles Vienna Juvenile, OPIE, Spooky Dookie,Handsome, and Marc Ranucci’s innovative new show, Hot Reads. Tickets are available at Stage773.com/BoxOffice or by calling (773) 327-5252. Chicago-based real estate firm, Spaces Real Estate, will serve as the festival’s presenting sponsor.

In addition to performing, Vienna Juvenile co-founders and ensemble members Layne Dixon, Hank Greene, and Anthony Smith will serve as Co-Artistic Directors and producers for the festival, which will highlight new forms of Chicago sketch comedy—blending high level theatricality, polish, and storytelling with humor and commentary from some of the comedy scene’s most exciting up and coming talent.

“We’re thrilled to be announcing the Story Arc Sketch Comedy Festival’s debut run,” says Greene. “To have such a talented lineup of artists pushing the boundaries of sketch comedy is truly a dream for us as producers, and audiences will be floored at what they’re going to see. It’s a group of sketch comedians that I think are truly going to start taking this city by storm.”

The concept for the festival arose when Dixon, Greene, and Smith began seeing a new wave of independent comedians committing themselves to a more theatrically-inspired sketch comedy style. The trio felt, however, that there was no place presenting it under one roof.

“One of the things that makes Chicago such an amazing place to perform comedy is that there are so many stages filled with people doing incredible work—it allows for innovation to happen simultaneously across different groups and professional circles,” says Dixon. “We wanted to take what we were already seeing and put it in one place to encourage more artistic growth.” 

“There’s plenty of that already happening in the improv world,” adds Smith. “But it’s much harder to find it among independent sketch performers regularly.”

Though there are many festivals across the country showcasing upstart sketch comedy groups, Vienna Juvenile is the first to challenge each group to create written material surrounding a single, open-ended prompt: use sketch comedy to tell a story.This will allow audiences to see how five different comedy groups, each with their own style and humor, interpret a single idea.

Dixon, Greene, and Smith strive to ultimately create a community of independent sketch performers that can be difficult to find outside of major all-city events like Chicago Sketchfest. In this way, the festival’s producers hope to create a more focused artistic vision for the festival, as well as to inspire knowledge sharing amongst its performers.

For more information on Story Arc Sketch Comedy Festival and the groups involved, visit www.viennajuvenilecomedy.com, or check out the festival’s Facebook or Twitter accounts.



FULL FESTIVAL SCHEDULE


First Weekend:

Thursday, June 1 – 8:00pm: Handsome

Friday, June 2 – 8:00pm: Spooky Dookie

Friday, June 2 – 10:00pm: OPIE

Saturday, June 3 – 8:00pm: Vienna Juvenile

Saturday, June 3 – 10:00pm: Hot Reads



Second Weekend:

Thursday, June 8 – 8:00pm: Handsome

Friday, June 9 – 8:00pm: Spooky Dookie

Friday, June 9 – 10:00pm: OPIE

Saturday, June 10 – 8:00pm: Vienna Juvenile

Saturday, June 10 – 10:00pm: Hot Reads


ABOUT THE STORY ARC SKETCH COMEDY FESTIVAL
The Story Arc Sketch Comedy Festival is a two-week long sketch comedy festival combining the worlds of sketch and theater to form a new wave of storytelling. Artists will push the boundaries of sketch comedy past what was previously thought theatrically possible to create fully-formed, emotionally resonant pieces of theater unlike anything seen before in Chicago's independent comedy community. The festival will explore the wide range of sketch comedy to establish sketch not just as a comedic medium, but as a contemporary theatrical art form, and through effective artistic collaboration it will create a home and a community for this new art form amongst the festival's participants and audience members.

ABOUT VIENNA JUVENILE
Vienna Juvenile has been performing their unique and wholly original brand of sketch comedy on stages across the country for the past three and a half years. Their revues as an ensemble include Who Do I Give This Money To, Journey Into Hindsight, Orbit, The Adventures of Reginald Sampson (and the consequence of bliss) and All the Hits You've Never Heard Of. Heralded as “a little wacky, a little absurdist, a little sincere” (The Sketch Review) and “excellent and heartfelt” (Chicago Reader), they have performed at Chicago Sketchfest, the legendary iO Theater, have been featured on The Paper Machete and Second Wind Collective podcasts, and as headliners at the Indiana University Campus Comedy Festival.

PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE’S SEASON OPENER IN THE HEIGHTS BY HAMILTON’S LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA Sept 9th

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

CASTING AND ARTISTIC STAFF ANNOUNCED FOR 

IN THE HEIGHTS 

PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE’S SEASON OPENER 

BY HAMILTON’S LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, 

SEPTEMBER 9 – OCTOBER 16 AT STAGE 773

Once Again, Porchlight Introduces Chicago’s New Music Theatre Talent Discoveries Alongside Established Artists in this Latest Creation by 

Multi Award-Winning Director/Choreographer Brenda Didier

Amid all the Hamilton mania, Porchlight Music Theatre is launching a stellar choice for a season opener, the multi-Tony Award-winning In The Heights, with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda! You won't even have to break out a sleeping bag and wait all night in line for tickets. We do suggest you book in advance though. Porchlight is a perennial favorite and shows do sell out.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber are proud to announce the cast and artistic staff of Porchlight’s 22^nd season opener, the multi-Tony Award-winning In The Heights, September 9 – October 16, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. Directed and co-choreographed by Brenda Didier, co-choreographed by Chris Carter, music directed by Diana Lawrence and assistant directed by Adrian Abel Azevedo, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. Friday, Sept. 9 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 10 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Sept 11 at 2 p.m., Monday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. with opening night Tuesday, September 13 at 7:30 p.m. 

The regular performance times are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. with an added Thursday matinee, October 6 at 1:30 p.m. There are no 7:30 p.m. performances Thursday, Sept. 15 and Oct. 6 and no 4 p.m. performance Saturday, Sept. 17. Tickets for previews are $38 and for the regular run $43 - $51. Single tickets may be purchased at 773.327.5252 or at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org. 

Subscriptions to the entire Mainstage season or Porchlight’s series, Porchlight Revisits, are currently on sale as well as single tickets for the entire season. Subscriptions are available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling 773.777.9884. Groups of ten or more may receive discounts on tickets purchased via Group Theater Tix at 312.423.6612 or grouptheatertix.com. 

From the creator of the current Broadway juggernaut Hamilton, and winner of Tony Awards for “Best Musical” and “Best Original Score,” In the Heights tells the universal story of a tight-knit community in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood—a place where the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes and dreams, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.

“After an exhaustive audition process seeing hundreds of the Chicago-area’s diverse established and new music theatre talent, and even reaching out to our city’s vast hip-hop dance community, we are excited to introduce the cast of Chicago’s newest production of Lin Manuel Miranda’s revelatory musical,” said Artistic Director Michael Weber. “We have made every effort to present a company that reflects the true spirit of this story of community and family as we build an immersive, one-of-a-kind experience that will place our audiences right in the middle of all the excitement and music found in the barrio of Washington Heights. Featuring a cast of nineteen actors, the largest company in many years here at Porchlight, all but one of our actors is making their Porchlight Mainstage debut with this production.”

The Porchlight Music Theatre In the Heights acting company includes: 

Missy Aguilar as “Daniela;” Stephen Allen as “Benny;” Frankie Leo Bennett as “Sonny,” Leah Davis as “Carla;” Jordan DeBose as “Kevin Rosario;” Jack DeCesare as “Usnavi De La Vega;” Stan DeCwikel, Jr. as “El Piraguero;” Lucia Godinez as “Nina;” Kristopher Knighton as “Graffiti Pete;” Michelle Lauto as “Vanessa;” Isabel Quintero as “Abuela Claudia” and Keely Vasquez as “Camila Rosario” with Anthony Apodaca, Nicole Lambert, Cisco Lopez, Yando Lopez, Elena Romanowski, Travis Austin Wright and Demi Zaino in the ensemble.

The artistic and production staff of In the Heights includes: 

Brenda Didier, direction and co-choreography; Chris Carter, co-choreography; Diana Lawrence, music direction; Gregory Pinsoneault, scenic design; Kate Setzer Kamphausen, costume design; Denise Karczewski, lighting design, Robert Hornbostel, sound design; Mealah Heidenreich, properties design; Adrian Abel Azevedo, assistant direction; William Carlos Angulo, casting consultation; Jessica Forella, stage management and Aaron Shapiro, production management. 

ABOUT LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, music and lyrics

Lin-Manuel Miranda is an American actor, composer, rapper and writer, best known for creating and starring in the Broadway musicals Hamilton and In the Heights. A MacArthur “Genius” award recipient, Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for the musical In the Heights, which earned him numerous accolades, including the 2008 Tony Award for “Best Original Score” and the 2009 Grammy for “Best Musical Theater Album.”  Miranda's performance in the show's lead role of “Usnavi” also earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for “Best Actor in a Musical” and the show won “Best Musical.” Miranda created the lead role of “Alexander Hamilton” in Hamilton, a musical for which he wrote the book, music and lyrics—and which earned the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2016 Grammy for “Best Musical Theater Album.” Miranda received the 2016 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award for his work in the role. Hamilton was nominated for a record-setting 16 Tony Awards of which it won 11, including “Best Musical.” Miranda also won the Tony Award for “Best Original Score” and “Best Book of a Musical” for Hamilton and earned a nomination for the Tony Award for “Best Actor in a Musical.” Miranda will next star in the Mary Poppins sequel Mary Poppins Returns, directed by Rob Marshall.

ABOUT BRENDA DIDER, director and co- choreographer

Brenda Didier, recently named one of the “major musical theater forces” working in the Chicago area, is a multi-award-winning director/choreographer having received Joseph Jefferson Awards for both direction and choreography, After Dark Awards for choreography, the National Youth Theatre Award for choreography and the 2010 Broadway World Chicago Fan Favorite Award for choreography. Didier has collaborated with Porchlight Music Theatre on eleven productions, including Dreamgirls, Ain't Misbehavin' (Jeff Award Best Production and Direction) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as well as How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Pal Joey, Putting It Together, Ragtime and Once on this Island, all of which earned her Jeff nominations. Her additional credits include work with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Second City mainstage and etc., Mercury Theater Chicago, Cirque Shanghai, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, Bailiwick Chicago, BoHo Theatre, City Lit, Silk Road Rising, House of Blues, Leo Burnett Worldwide and many industrials and special events. Didier is the owner and director of the Lincolnshire Academy of Dance where her students have completed programs with American Ballet Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Boston Ballet, Ballet Austin, The Rock School, River North, Giordano and Hubbard Street summer intensives. She is most proud of her scholarship program, including the Matt Gunnels scholarship, to help struggling families keep their children in dance classes.

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE

Porchlight Music Theatre, now in its 22^nd season, is nationally recognized for reimagining classic musical works, introducing never before seen productions to Chicago, showcasing music theatre’s noted veterans and rising stars and developing innovating programming to celebrate and educate audiences about the music theatre genre. With the vision of Artistic Director Michael Weber, Porchlight builds on its role as Chicago’s only Equity not-for-profit company exclusively specializing in music theatre. Porchlight’s rich history includes the staging of more than 60 productions with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. In addition to acclaimed productions, Porchlight’s special events include Porchlight Revisits, its staged concert series celebrating “lost” musicals, New Faces Sings, hosted by a popular Chicago music theatre personality and featuring a company of Porchlight up-and-coming talent performing music from the Great White Way as well as from the hottest up-and-coming composers and lyricists and the “Off the Porch” new works program where the next generation of musicals are developed and given a first audience. Launched in 2014, The School at Porchlight is Chicago’s new center for music theatre training in the areas of performance, writing and appreciation for both adults and children. Porchlight Music theatre’s many accolades include 11 Black Theatre Alliance nominations and two awards, as well as 114 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations resulting in 35 Jeff Awards including three consecutive Best Production awards for Sondheim on Sondheim (2015), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (2014) and A Class Act (2013) as well as Sondheim on Sondheim being named to the Chicago Tribune’s list of the “Best Theatre of 2015.”

Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber are proud to announce the launch of Porchlight’s 22^nd season with the Tony Award-winning In The Heights, September 9 – October 16, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. Directed and choreographed by Brenda Didier, music directed by Diana Lawrence, assistant directed by Adrian Abel Azevedo and assistant choreographed by Chris Carter, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. Friday, Sept. 9 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 10 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Sept 11 at 2 p.m., Monday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. with opening night Tuesday, September 13 at 7:30 p.m. The regular performance times are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. with an added Thursday matinee, October 6 at 1:30 p.m. There are no 7:30 p.m. performances Thursday, Sept. 15 and Oct. 6. and no 4 p.m. performance Saturday, Sept. 17.  Tickets for previews are $38 and for the regular run $43 - $51. Single tickets may be purchased at 773.327.5252 or at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org. Subscriptions to the entire Mainstage season or Porchlight’s series, Porchlight Revisits, are currently on sale as well as single tickets for the entire season.  Subscriptions are available at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling 773.777.9884. Groups of ten or more may receive discounts on tickets purchased via Group Theater Tix at 312.423.6612 or grouptheatertix.com.

Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from the Actors’ Equity Foundation, the Arts Work Fund at the Chicago Community Trust, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Prince Foundation, the National Association of Realtors, the Bloomberg Philanthropies, James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation, Cooper’s: A Neighborhood Eatery and The Saints. The season program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency.