WORLD PREMIERE: MANUAL CINEMA’S CHRISTMAS CAROL STREAMED LIVE DIRECTLY TO HOMES, DECEMBER 3-20

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar:

Here at ChiIL Mama, we can't wait to catch Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol. We'll be gathering the family and reviewing this Sunday night. It's a brand new world premiere production streaming LIVE each night of the run with a q & a following. We've seen almost all of their productions since their inception in 2010 and they are mind blowing! In covid times it's been tough on the theatre industry, as everyone scrambles to pivot to streaming until it's not deadly to meet in person again. Manual Cinema is one of the best suited to this new hybrid medium since they're already working in projection and their art form and style translates well to the screen. Don't miss this. They're a long time favorite of ours and we're so excited that audiences beyond their home town of Chicago now have equal access to their stellar storytelling. 

Manual Cinema, the Chicago-based interdisciplinary performance collective, premieres its all-new adaptation of the most famous holiday tale of all time December 3-20, 2020

Each show will be performed live in Manual Cinema’s Chicago studio in a socially distanced manner, and live streamed directly to audiences at home by Marquee TV (marquee.tv) – the foremost digital deliverer for performing arts content. In signature Manual Cinema style, hundreds of paper puppets, miniatures, silhouettes and a live original score come together for an imaginative reincarnation of Dickens’s holiday classic.

MANUAL CINEMA’S CHRISTMAS CAROL, A WORLD PREMIERE, VISUALLY INVENTIVE ADAPTATION OF DICKENS’S HOLIDAY CLASSIC, WILL BE PERFORMED AND STREAMED LIVE DIRECTLY TO HOMES, DECEMBER 3-20

Christmas Past

Scrooge and Christmas Present

Scrooge and Marley

Tickets are now on sale for the world premiere of Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol, a live streaming adaption of Charles Dickens’s holiday classic created specifically for the 2020 holiday season.

Feast

Manual Cinema, the Chicago-based interdisciplinary performance collective, will present the most famous holiday tale of all time December 3-20, 2020. Each show will be performed live in Manual Cinema’s Chicago studio in a socially distanced manner, and live streamed directly to audiences at home by Marquee TV (marquee.tv) – the foremost digital deliverer for performing arts content.

In signature Manual Cinema style, hundreds of paper puppets, miniatures, silhouettes and a live original score come together for an imaginative reincarnation of Dickens’s holiday classic.

Scrooge

Aunt Trudy, an avowed holiday skeptic, has been recruited to channel her late husband Joe’s famous Christmas cheer. From the isolation of her studio apartment, Trudy reconstructs Joe’s annual Christmas Carol puppet show over Zoom while the family celebrates Christmas Eve under lockdown. But as Trudy becomes more absorbed in her own version of the story, the puppets take on a life of their own, and the family’s call transforms into a stunning cinematic retelling of Dickens’s classic ghost story.

 

Scrooge and Ghost of Christmas Past

Tickets to live streamed performances of Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol are on sale now at manualcinema.com. Regular ticket prices are $15-$50: $15 (individual), $30 (duo or trio, 2-3 viewers) and $50 (family and friends, 4+ viewers). $100 tickets are also on sale for patrons who wish to support Manual Cinema. Closed-caption (for patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing) and audio-described (for patrons who are blind or have low vision) tickets will be available December 9-20 for $10.

Ghost of Christmas Future and Scrooge

Since each show is performed live, patrons pick a show date and time and purchase a ticket, same as always.

Show times are Thursday and Friday, December 3 and 4 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, December 5 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sunday, December 6 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Wednesday, December 9 at 10 a.m.; Thursday, December 10 at 7 p.m., Friday, December 11 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.; Saturday, December 12 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sunday, December 13 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Wednesday, December 16, matinee at 10 a.m.; Thursday, December 17 at 7 p.m.; Friday, December 18 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.; Saturday, September 19 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sunday, December 20 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. (all times CT).

Before each show, all audience members will receive an email with a private URL to access and stream their chosen performance. After each performance, audiences will have the opportunity to ask Manual Cinema’s artists questions live and in real time via a post-show “Puppet Time” live chat.

Manual Cinema’s A Christmas Carol is adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens and written by the Manual Cinema Artistic Directors: Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller and Kyle Vegter.

Cast members are Lizi Breit, puppeteer; Sarah Fornace, puppeteer; Ben Kauffman, guitar, piano, lead vocals; N. LaQuis Harkin, Aunt Trudy/puppeteer; Julia Miller, puppeteer; and Kyle Vegter, cello, keys and vocals.

The production team is Drew Dir, storyboards; Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter, original music and sound design; Drew Dir, puppet design; Lizi Breit and Sarah Fornace, puppet build assistants; Drew Dir, additional puppetry; Maddy Low, costume design; Julia Miller and Kyle Vegter, set design; Andrew Morgan, Trudy lighting design; Mike Usrey, technical director and sound engineer; Shelby Sparkles, stage manager; Ben Kauffman, streaming and UX; and Julia Miller, production manager.

To create their adaptation of A Christmas Carol, Manual Cinema has been actively seeking commissioning and presenting venues around the country. The idea is to help replenish Manual Cinema’s primary source of income – touring – while also offering a prescient work created for the times to its presenting partners and their audiences during this unprecedented time.

Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol was made possible by the contributions of co-commissioners: Cal Performances at the University of California, Berkeley; COCA – Center of Creative Arts; College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University; Krannert Center for the Performing Arts/University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Millersville University – The Ware and Winter Centers; Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech; Stanford Live; Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Arts & Issues; Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (“The Soraya”); Williams Center for the Arts, Lafayette College; and Writers Theatre, with substantial in-kind commissioning support from Marquee tv; additional commissioning support from South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, and support from the Newman Center for the Performing Arts at University of Denver.

Manual Cinema’s event hosting and ticketing platform is Mixily (mixily.com).

More about Manual Cinema

“Chicagoans of the Year: Directors of Manual Cinema have created a whole new art form”

- Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

“This Chicago troupe is conjuring phantasms to die for…”

-Ben Brantley, New York Times

 

The five founders and co-artistic directors of Manual Cinema are (standing, from left) Kyle Vegter, Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, (front, from left) Julia Miller and Ben Kauffman.

Since its founding in 2010, Manual Cinema has been turning heads in Chicago and around the globe for a decade, combining handmade shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music to create immersive visual stories for stage and screen.

The Emmy Award winning performance collective, design studio, and film/video production company was founded in Chicago by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, and Kyle Vegter. Using vintage overhead projectors, multiple screens, puppets, actors, live feed cameras, multi-channel sound design, and a live music ensemble, Manual Cinema transforms the experience of attending the cinema and imbues it with liveness, ingenuity, and theatricality.

In addition to A Christmas Carol, upcoming projects include the debut of their shadow animations in the film remake of Candyman, directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Academy Award-winner Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, slated to open in theaters in 2021.

Manual Cinema is also creating an adaptation of two Mo Willems’ children’s books, Leonardo, the Terrible Monster and Sam, the Most Scaredy-cat Kid in the Whole World, premiering at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. followed by a Chicago premiere with Chicago Children’s Theatre in spring 2021.

In August, the company threw a month-long virtual birthday party, Manual Cinema’s 10th Anniversary Retrospectacular!, streaming four of the company’s most seminal shows from the past 10 years. Lula Del Ray, The End of TV, No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks and Frankenstein were all presented for free, on demand viewing on multi-camera, high-definition video in their entirety. The 10th anniversary celebration culminated with the live, online world premiere of Dream Delivery Service, Manual Cinema’s first socially distanced performance made exclusively for live streaming.

In sum, Manual Cinema has created nine feature length live multimedia theater shows (Lula del Ray, ADA/AVA, Fjords, Mementos Mori, My Soul’s Shadow, The Magic City, The End of TV, No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, and Frankenstein); a live cinematic contemporary dance show created for family audiences in collaboration with Hubbard Street Dance and the choreographer Robyn Mineko Williams (Mariko’s Magical Mix: A Dance Adventure); an original site-specific installation for the MET Museum (La Celestina); an original adaptation of Hansel & Gretel created for the Belgian Royal Opera; music videos for Sony Masterworks, Gabriel Kahane, three time GRAMMY Award-winning eighth blackbird, NYTimes Best Selling author Reif Larson and Grammy Award winning Esperanza Spalding; a live non-fiction piece for Pop-Up Magazine; a self-produced short film (Chicagoland); a museum exhibit created in collaboration with the Chicago History Museum (The Secret Lives of Objects) a collection of cinematic shorts in collaboration with poet Zachary Schomburg and string quartet Chicago Q Ensemble (Fjords); live cinematic puppet adaptations of StoryCorps stories (Show & Tell) and NPR’s Invisibilia and four animated videos for the Poetry Foundation (We Real Cool, Poem, Three WWI Poems and Multitudes). Manual Cinema’s Emmy Award-winning collaboration with The New York Times (The Forger), was nominated for a documentary short Peabody Award and won 2nd prize in the World Press Photo 2017 Digital Storytelling Contest, Long Form.

Manual Cinema has been presented by, worked in collaboration with, or brought its work to: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), The Tehran International Puppet Festival (Iran), La Monnaie-De Munt (Brussels), Brooklyn Academy of Music (NYC), Underbelly (UK), Adelaide Festival (AU), The Avignon Off Festival (France), The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Saudi Arabia), Theatre World Festival Brno (Czechia), A Tarumba – Teatro de Marionetas (Portugal), The Chan Center for the Performing Arts (British Columbia), The Kennedy Center (DC), The Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Noorderzon Festival (Netherlands), The O, Miami Poetry Festival, Handmade Worlds Puppet Festival (Minneapolis), The Screenwriters’ Colony in Nantucket, The Detroit Institute of Art, The Future of Storytelling Conference (NYC), the NYC Fringe Festival, Arts Emerson (Boston), Yale Repertory Theatre (New Haven), The Poetry Foundation (Chicago), The Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival, Pop-Up Magazine, The Chicago International Music and Movies Festival, The Puppeteers of America: Puppet Festival (R)evolution, The Public Theatre’s Under the Radar Festival (NYC), and elsewhere around the world.

Manual Cinema was ensemble-in-residence at the University of Chicago in the Theater and Performance Studies program in the fall of 2012, where they taught as adjunct faculty. They were an ensemble in residence at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs in partnership with the Public Theatre in winter 2019. They lead the Catapult: Professional Training Workshop with the Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival and the Poetry Foundation during spring 2018.

Manual Cinema has taught workshops at the School of the Art Institute Chicago, The Future of Storytelling Conference (NYC), Stanford University, Yale University, Puppeteers of America: Puppet Festival (R)evolution, the Chicago Parks District, and many other theaters and universities around the country. The company offers extensive workshops and education opportunities as part of its touring engagements.

In Fall 2016, Manual Cinema contributed visuals, music, and sound design for an immersive adaptation of Peter Pan with producer Randy Weiner (Sleep No More, The Donkey Show, Queen of the Night) which premiered in Beijing in December 2016. The company was awarded an Emmy Award in 2017 for “The Forger,” a video created for The New York Times. In summer 2018 Manual Cinema premiered and self-produced a sold-out run of The End of TV at Chopin Theatre, which was quickly followed by its world premiere adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein at Chicago’s Court Theatre. By year’s end, the Chicago Tribune named Manual Cinema Chicago Artists of the Year in 2018. Frankenstein subsequently had its New York City premiere in January 2019 at The Public Theatre’s Under the Radar Festival.

For more information, visit manualcinema.com, follow the company on Facebook at facebook.com/manualcinema, on Instagram at instagram.com/manual_cinema and on Twitter @ManualCinema.

Virtually Mystify The Whole Family With DENNIS WATKINS': “THE MAGIC PARLOUR AT HOME”

KIDS GETTING SQUIRRELLY FROM SPRING AND SUMMER IN QUARANTINE?
DENNIS WATKINS INTRODUCES NEW VIRTUAL SHOW:

“THE MAGIC PARLOUR AT HOME”

Tickets on Sale Now for Virtual Performances 
Every Friday and Saturday in July

"The Magic Parlour at Home” is recommended for adult audiences. Guests ages 12 and up are welcome to join, while guests under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. 

For a fully immersive experience, guests are recommended to sport cocktail attire 

and bring their own deck of cards. 

REVIEW: 
By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

Friday night, my son and I ditched our quarantine casual wardrobes, donned cocktail party attire, and settled in to enjoy opening night of an interactive magic show in real time. The audience included folks from multiple states and even Mexico. It was at once familiar and completely new. In the era of Covid-19, when all live shows have gone dark, Dennis Watkins has worked nothing short of real magic, creating an astonishing social distancing show that still feels remarkably intimate and engaging. 

Like his acclaimed Palmer House iteration of Magic Parlour that's been wowing people for 9 years now, audience members are called on to assist with every trick. As individuals were called on via Zoom, our screens would appear, inset in the larger image of Dennis' show. We got to introduce ourselves and where we were watching from, then join in the fun as magician's assistant. 

With all mics unmuted, the interconnection of show goers was palpable, with audible applause, laughter, and reactions, missing from so much theatre online. It was also fun to catch a sneak peak "behind the curtain" as Dennis gave us a quick tour of his home studio space, designed specifically to morph remote magic into table magic, in your own home! Theatre people are nothing if not creative, and Dennis has discovered a way to reinvent post-covid parlour magic and storytelling in a way that works wonderfully.

The $75 ticket price may seem a bit spendy for an online show, but you can bring the whole family or a party of friends, all included in the base price, as long as you're watching in the same location on one screen. And this is no prerecorded piece. This is personal and worth every penny. 

As a third generation magician, Dennis' shows are a bit family history, a whole lot of mystery, and pure joy. We're no strangers to the Magic Parlour shows. I did a video interview with Dennis back in 2012, and I'd seen his act years before that even, in the pre Palmer House days, when The Magic Parlour was in the basement of Chicago's beloved House Theatre. 

So much has changed in the intervening decade, even pre-coronavirus. Dennis Watkins is a father to an adorable toddler now, and has been featured on Penn and Teller: Fool Us. Since opening at The Palmer House on New Year’s Eve of 2011, The Magic Parlour has enjoyed phenomenal success and unimagined growth. With fewer than 50 seats available per show, The Magic Parlour has entertained over 45,000 guests in its nine-year run. Additionally, it has hosted more than 1,300 ticketed audiences and dozens of private groups, facilitated three truly magical wedding proposals, and has been featured in two books (Chicago Magic: A History of Stagecraft and Spectacle and 100 Things to do in Chicago Before You Die).

I've taken my whole family and several lucky friends to Magic Parlour at Palmer House over the years, catching the show a handful of times, and it's always just as baffling and brilliant as the first time. Even with a jump to Zoom now, Dennis' world class prestidigitation, storytelling, and showmanship hasn't changed. The pandemic may be winning in the world at large this July, but it can't keep a great magician down. 

One of our favorite new bits is a group card trick where everyone brings their own deck. Despite copious amounts of shuffling, ripping of cards, putting a bit aside, and discarding of varied numbers of half cards (different for everyone), we all ended up reuniting two of our half cards in the end! In a time when disconnection from family and friends is taking a toll on everyone, this group magic is particularly gratifying. The whole show is a welcome and invaluable break from reality.

My son was called on for a mind reading bit, traditionally done in person with books, cleverly converted to cellphone. Dugan secretly picked Narwhals (his favorite animal) on Wikipedia from millions of possible entries, then randomly 

highlighted a word from the article that happened to be recommended. Even remotely, Dennis successfully divined both and wrote them in sharpie, amazing and amusing us all! I've got to agree with that choice and add another word... highly. “THE MAGIC PARLOUR AT HOME” is highly recommended. Don't miss this!

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 publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly). 

Tickets on Sale Now for Virtual Performances Every Friday and Saturday in July

(Great for ages 12+ through adults of all ages)

Famed third-generation magician, Dennis Watkins, is taking his one-of-a-kind magical experience The Magic Parlour online for a completely new virtual offering dubbed “The Magic Parlour at Home.” The new virtual magic show, designed for group and family viewings, will offer multiple performances every Friday and Saturday evening in July. After the roaring success of several livestreams hosted on The Magic Parlour’s Facebook page, Watkins developed “The Magic Parlour at Home” to dazzle audiences with new and interactive magic and mindreading available directly on their screens.



Tickets are now on sale for $75 and can be purchased online at themagicparlourchicago.com. A maximum of 30 tickets will be sold for each performance and each ticket will admit one “household” or up to 10 guests on one screen. All performances will take place via Zoom and require a computer with a functioning camera and microphone to participate as well as a high-speed internet connection. After tickets are purchased, patrons will receive an email containing instructions and a link to access the performance. “During this time, I’ve learned to adapt my craft to be able to virtually perform the same caliber of magic my guests have come to expect from my performances at the Palmer House,” said Watkins. “The new acts I’ve created for The Magic Parlour at Home will provide a truly engaging and participatory magical experience for my virtual audience.”

"The Magic Parlour at Home” is recommended for adult audiences. Guests ages 12 and up are welcome to join, while guests under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. For a fully immersive experience, guests are recommended to sport cocktail attire and bring their own deck of cards. 

 A complete list of performance dates and times is below. Additional 9:30 p.m. performances may be added subject to demand:

Friday, July 3: performances at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, July 4: no performances due to Independence Day Friday, July 10: performances at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, July 11: performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 17: performance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 18: performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 24: performance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 25: performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 31: performance at 7:30 p.m. For complete details and information on “The Magic Parlour at Home” and Watkins’ other virtual experiences including corporate and private events, teambuilding workshops and magic lessons, please visit: themagicparlourchicago.com.

Check out our 2012 interview with Dennis Watkins here for a blast from the past:



About The Magic Parlour
The Magic Parlour is an intimate evening of classic magic and mind-reading featuring the work of third-generation magician Dennis Watkins. Guests to this intimate, magic-packed evening gather at Potter's in the Palmer House lobby before Watkins personally escorts them to the performance space. Once inside, the audience participates in much of the performance as Watkins wows the room with classic sleight of hand, unbelievable mind-reading and magical wisdom passed down from his grandfather.

OPENING: Chicago Premiere of Teenage Dick at Theater WIT For Purchase On Line

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

A NEW WAY TO SEE THEATER: CHICAGO’S

THEATER WIT TO VIDEO STREAM 

TEENAGE DICK

EXPERIENCE MIKE LEW’S BRUTALLY FUNNY NEW COMEDY INSPIRED BY THEATER’S MOST FAMOUS DISABLED CHARACTER ONLINE THROUGH APRIL 19

**Teenage Dick runs 100 minutes, no intermission**

Tonight, while most Chicago theatre venues have gone dark during the pandemic, I'll be virtual ChiILin' with Chi, IL's Theater Wit for the press opening of Teenage Dick! You can have your theatre and practice social distancing too. The up side is, drinks are cheap and you can stay in your pajamas. Even better... there are no geographic constraints, so join us in Chicago, wherever you call home or got stranded. Check back with ChiILMama.com soon for my full review.

*The show must go on(line): Remote viewing launches Wednesday, live performances canceled
In response to Illinois State Governor JB Pritzker’s newest mandate to close bars and restaurants due to concern about COVID-19, Theater Wit is suspending live performances of its upcoming run of Teenage Dick .

“All the world’s a stage” takes on new meaning with Chicago’s Theater Wit’s announcement that it is selling remote viewing tickets to online, streamed video performances of its Chicago premiere of Teenage Dick.

Here’s how this new way of ‘attending’ theater works: 
Patrons buy a ticket for their desired date and time, same as always. Ten minutes before the show begins, all remote view ticket buyers will receive an email with a private URL and password to watch the performance on Vimeo. The performance will be shot on two cameras, using mixed video to provide close-ups and full coverage of the staging. At the end of every performance, the video stream will conclude and no longer be accessible.

Starting Friday, March 20, performance/streaming video show times will adhere to the original schedule through April 19: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
                                                                  
Remote view tickets are $28. For remote view tickets and information, visit TheaterWit.org or call (773) 975-8150. Theater Wit is located at 1229 N. Belmont Ave., in the Belmont Theatre District in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.

In a statement posted on Theater Wit's website, Artistic Director Jeremy Wechsler wrote:

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary ingenuity. Theater audiences and artists are collateral damage in this global catastrophe. The unfolding disaster robs us of the simple joy of coming together for a shared story. So we asked ourselves—how can we safely bring everyone together?”

“Even before large gatherings were restricted in Chicago, we were thinking through issues of accessibility. Teenage Dick gives the disabled community its first true anti-hero. We wanted everyone, regardless of their health status or physical limitations, to see MacGregor Arney’s fantastic portrayal of the title role.”

“Mounting concern about coronavirus spurred our decision to make this option available to every audience member. The playwright, publisher, cast, and crew all got on board right away. We worked through the details with Actors’ Equity and now, here we go. We strongly encourage anyone who loves live theater, no matter where they are located, to join us and 97 other members of our community online or in person to experience Mike Lew’s devastatingly funny, sharply written new play.” 

Playwright Mike Lew added, “Amidst a health catastrophe that's brought Broadway itself to a standstill, I'm thrilled Theater Wit has found a safe way to keep our show running and keep honoring the hard work and immense talent of our artists. I urge Chicagoans to witness Teenage Dick as much for the experience of the play as for joining this experiment in social connecting despite social distancing.” 

“Now is the winter of discontent made glorious summer at Roseland High.”

In Teenage Dick , Lew revives theater's most famous disabled character, Shakespeare’s Richard III, like you've never seen him before: scheming his way through the brutal, no-holds barred world of high school. Picked on because of his cerebral palsy (and his semi-creepy tendency to monologue), Richard is determined to become class president. But the road to power is never smooth and Richard must decide: is it better to be loved? Or feared?

Director Brian Balcom and the cast in rehearsal for Teenage Dick

Brain Balcom, a Chicago and Minneapolis-based director and head of the Access Project at Victory Gardens, directs the Chicago debut of Teenage Dick at Theater Wit, Chicago’s “smart art” theater.

“We are thrilled to have Brian at the helm of Teenage Dick , his first full professional production in Chicago,” said Wechsler. “Brian is a young, disabled, Asian-American director who has brought a highly nuanced take to this new work by one of today’s most important young Asian-American playwrights. Brian, his design team a terrific cast of disabled and non-disabled theater artists have created a raw, hilarious, vitally important live theater experience that portrays disability issues in a radically new way.”
The cast features MacGregor Arney as Richard, Liz Cloud as Elizabeth, Ty Fanning as Eddie, Courtney Rikki Green as Anne, Kate Niemann as Clarissa and Tamara Rozofsky as Buck.

Wit’s production team is Jake Ganzer (choreographer), Sotirios Livaditis (scenic designer), Izumi Inaba (costume designer), Michelle Benda (lighting designer), Eric Backus (sound designer), Almanya Narula (intimacy/fight choreographer), Jonathan Berg-Einhorn (props designer), Clare Cooney (casting director) and Sean McStravick (stage manager).

Biographies


Mike Lew's (playwright) works include Tiger Style!, Collin, Bike America (Alliance, Atlanta; Ma-Yi, NYC; Juilliard and Lark workshops, NYC; Kennedy Center/NNPN workshop, DC; Playwrights Foundation workshop, SF); microcrisis (Ma-Yi, NYC; InterAct, Philly; Next Act, Milwaukee); Stockton (AracaWorks and EST workshops, NYC); and People’s Park (Victory Gardens Ignition Festival). Shorts include Tenure (24 Hour Plays on Broadway), In Paris You will Find Many Baguettes but Only One True Love (Humana Fest, KY; InspiraTO Festival winner, Toronto), Roanoke (Humana) and Moustache Guys (Second Generation, NYC). He is a former resident writer for Blue Man Group and Bon Appetit . Several of his short plays are published by Playscripts. His awards include the Lanford Wilson Award (via the Dramatists Guild), Helen Merrill Award, NYFA Fellowship, Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Award, AracaWorks Graduate Playwriting Award, Heideman Award, Sam French Festival and Battle of the Bards. He is co-director of Ma-Yi Writers’ Lab, the largest Asian-American playwrights’ collective in the country. Other residencies are Ensemble Studio Theatre, Youngblood, Old Vic New Voices and TCG Young Leaders of Color.He is married to playwright Rehana Lew Mirza. Training: Juilliard (2013), Yale (2003). mikelew.com


Brian Balcom (director), a disabled, Asian-American director, moved to Chicago to earn his MFA in directing at The Theatre School at DePaul University. Since graduating, he was a Multi-Cultural Fellow at Steppenwolf Theater, directed readings and short plays at Route 66, Broken Nose, The Gift, Silk Road, A-Squared, and La Jolla Rep, and currently works as the access coordinator at Victory Gardens Theater. He earned a BFA in directing from Carnegie-Mellon University, where he started a small theater company dedicated to commissioning work from Jerome and McKnight fellows from the Playwrights Center. He produced and directed seven new plays and his company was invited to present at the Southern and Guthrie Theatres. In Minneapolis, he also worked with Gremlin Theater, The Playwrights Center, Walking Shadow Company, Artistry, and Mu Performing Arts. He has upcoming productions with Mu Performing Arts and American Stage in Florida.    

MacGregor Arney (Richard) received his BA in theater performance from Western Michigan University and his MFA in acting from the University of California, San Diego. Since then he has acted all around the country, most recently at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where he played Silvius in As You Like It and Lennox in Macbeth . He has also played Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Fielder in Hooded, Or Being Black for Dummies at Mixed Blood in Minneapolis. In Denver, Arney played the Baker in Into the Woods with Phamaly Theatre Company at the Denver Center of Performing Arts, and in Washington DC, he played Jonas in Going to a Place Where You Already Are with Theater Alliance at the Anacostia Playhouse. Arney lives with his wife in Chattanooga, Tennessee where he develops independent films with his production company, Rag n' Tag Productions.

Liz Cloud (Elizabeth) received an After Dark Award and a Joseph Jefferson citation nomination for her performance of Charlotte Bronte in Bronte . She regularly can be see performing in full habit as Sister in the long running one-woman (or more correctly one-nun) comedy Late Nite Catechism (Royal George Theatre). Credits include the Fool in King Lear (Redtwist Theatre), The Laramie Project (AstonRep), Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest (CenterStage), Letters Home (Griffin Theatre), Kathleen in Flanagan’s Wake (The Noble Fool Theater), Mrs. McBride in Bible Bingo (Nuns4Fun Productions), the Shepherd in The Winter’s Tale (Odds Bodkins) as well as the terse librarian in the independent film American Fable . She is a founding member of the improv comedy ensemble, The Free Associates. 

Ty Fanning (Eddie) has crediting including Lindiwe (Steppenwolf), Short Shakespeare! Macbeth , Romeo & Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Chicago Shakespeare), She Stoops to Conquer , Three Sisters , Book of Will , Macbeth , A Midsummer Night’s Dream , Cyrano (American Players Theater), Utah Shakespeare Festival, Door Shakespeare Company, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival and Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. Film credits include Secrets of a Psychopath , Home Run , Hollis , Dancing in the Chamber (Best Actor, Trail Dance Film Festival), Nora  and Bob Dylan’s web video Like a Rolling Stone . 
 
Courtney Rikki Green (Anne) trained as a youth at the Chicago Multicultural Dance Center, where she learned multiple styles of dance. In high school, her interests shifted to theater, though she still loves to dance. She recently graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in Acting and is an original member of Chicago's Drunk Shakespeare Society . Her most recent role was Queen Anne in The Three Musketeers at Syracuse Stage (Syracuse Area Live Theatre Nomination - Best Supporting Actress in a Play). 

Kathleen Niemann (Clarissa) was recently seen touring the U.S. with Griffin Theatre’s Innovation Nation Live! and performed a solo show she wrote and choreographed herself called The Ones to Remember . She is a graduate of Ball State University and is proudly represented by Gray Talent Group.

Tamara Rozofsky (Buck) is a writer, teacher, performer and storyteller from Tallahassee, FL. She contributed to the "A Ramp is Not Enough: Religion and Disability Conference" at Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and has given workshops, corporate trainings and presentations for BMO Harris Bank, Hyatt Hotels, Southern Shakespeare Company, Camp Horizon for adults with physical disabilities, Columbia College, Notre Dame De Namur University, University of the Pacific and California State University. She is a graduate of the Second City's Sketch Writing and Conservatory programs and iO Theater’s improv program. She was featured in The Bentwood Comedy Festival, Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival and Chicago Women’s Funny Fest. She has written and appeared in the original sketch comedy revues Wigs & Bad Accents, or Identity Politics , 16 and Pagan and A Box Full of Kittens . She improvises at iO Theater with the team “Bad Bear.” Since 2015 she has been involved with Tellin’ Tales Theater and has contributed to several productions, including Six Stories Up in a Snowstorm and Divercity , Lifeline Theatre’s Filet of Solo and Lyric Opera’s Chicago Voices, Community Created Performances . 

Teenage Dick understudies are Jodi Gage (Elizabeth), Mikey Gray (Anne/Clarissa), Terri Lynne Hudson (Buck) and Matthew Schnitker (Richard).

GIVEAWAY: WIN A Family 4 Pack to Lifeline Theatre's KidSeries, Neither.

**Canceled due to Coronavirus Closures**

ChiIL Mama’s Chi, IL Picks List:

Family Friendly Theatre Fun

ChiIL Mama's giving away a family four-pack ticket giveaway for Lifeline's newest production in their KidsSeries, Neither. This is a family-friendly show recommended for children ages 5 years and older. 

Enter below through midnight March 17th, for your chance to win  A Family 4 Pack of Tickets to Lifeline KidSeries' Neither! 

Winner's choice of any March show date/time pending availability. 

My fabulous freelancer, Kim, and her kids will be out to review at the press opening this Sunday, so check back soon for her full review. 

Lifeline Theatre’s KidSeries presents Neither, a world premiere based on the children’s book by Airlie Anderson, co-adapted by Lifeline Theatre ensemble member Bilal Dardai, with guest artists Oly Oxinfry, Emilie Modaff, and Jeff Trainor, music and lyrics by Emilie Modaff, and directed by Oly Oxinfry. 

In the land of “this and that” there are only two kinds of animals, “these and those.” Until one day something different hatches! But it isn’t this or that. Is it both, or is it neither? What do you do when you feel you don’t belong? Based on the book by Airlie Anderson, explore the things that make us unique in this world premiere musical that teaches that it’s our differences that make us special. This production runs approximately one hour with no intermission. 

Neither runs Saturday, Mar. 14 – Sunday, Apr. 19 at Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. Press Opening is Sunday, Mar. 15 at 1 p.m. Regular performance times are Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., with an added autism/sensory-friendly performance on Sunday, Apr. 19 at 3 p.m. (Previews are Saturday, Mar. 14 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; and Sunday, Mar. 15 at 11 a.m.) 

Don't miss the final show in Lifeline's 19-20 KidSeries season with Airlie Anderson's Neither!

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children (up to 18 years of age)
To order your tickets today call the box office at 773-761-4477 or book online.

Accessible Performances
Open Captioning:
Saturday, March 28 @ 11am & 1pm

Audio Description & Touch Tour
Sunday, March 29 (10am Tour & 11am Show)

Sensory-Friendly Performance
Sunday, April 19 @ 3pm

LOOKING FOR MORE FUN?
Join us any Saturday or Sunday (following the 11am show or before the 1pm show) for our Stories Come Alive Hour!

Stories Come Alive
Kids get up close and personal with the book behind the play with on-your-feet theatre GAMES exploring the characters, plot, and themes of the book. This experience will make positive connections with your child and books for years to come, and it's super FUN!

Only $5 per child! Reservations are recommended (though not required). Contact the Box Office at 773-761-4477 for more info!

Enter HERE through midnight March 17th, for your chance to win  A Family 4 Pack of Tickets to Lifeline KidSeries' Neither! 

Winner's choice of any March show date/time pending availability. 

ENTER HERE

DISCOUNT CODE: ChiIL Mama's Readers Get $4 off on Tickets to The Chicago Flower & Garden Show

**Canceled Due to Coronavirus Closures**

Tired of winter? 

The Chicago Flower & Garden Show 

presented by 811 Chicago and Peoples Gas, 

brings a welcome hint of spring. 

ChiIL Mama's Readers get $4 off on all adult tickets with Code: ChiILMama20 (not case sensitive)

There's fun for all ages with a full lineup hands-on fun and learning for future gardeners in the Kids Activity Garden sponsored by JULIE.



Kids activities include:

Bugs & Worms – The U of IL Extension Insect Petting Zoo showcases Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, Bess Beetles, American Millipedes, Ant Farms, Tarantulas, and more. Kids will learn the basics of worm composting and can even dare to eat bugs (dried mealworms, crickets and other crawly treats)!



Craftapalooza in the Children’s Butterfly Garden -Offering a myriad of educational activities throughout the weekend!

Tea Time Socials – Kids will marvel at the unique fairy and gnome tablescapes as they enjoy a tea party!

Paint ‘n Take Birdhouse Station

Nature Play
     *From Forest Preserve District of Cook County and Conservation@Home – Kids can help built forts, dress up as woodland animals, and more. They’ll also learn how animals help pollinate plants through hands on activity.
     *From the Chicago Park District – Kids will enjoy a variety of ecological sites where they can learn and explore new ways to connect with nature.

Click link to book your tickets. ChiIL Mama's Readers get $4 off on all adult tickets with Code: ChiILMama20 (not case sensitive)

This is the ONLY Flower & Garden Show in America that offers a Kids Garden. Click here for the full activity lineup!

The Show is open Wed., March 18 – Sun., March 22, held at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave., Festival Hall.
Hours: Kids activities available at the show between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily
Tickets: Adults $20; Kids $5 (ages 5 – 12) *Click link to book your tickets. ChiIL Mama's Readers get $4 off on all adult tickets with Code: ChiILMama20 (not case sensitive)

The City of Chicago’s longest running event, The Chicago Flower & Garden Show (presented by The Get Growing Foundation) inspires, educates, and motivates the next generation of gardeners and shows people to make gardening a part of their lives in so many different and approachable ways. This year’s impressive lineup includes FREE hands-on fun and learning for future gardeners presented by the Chicago Park District, University of Illinois Master Gardeners, Forest Preserve District of Cook County and more. 

THE GET GROWING FOUNDATION PRESENTS:

“20/20 FOCUS ON FLOWERS” 

CHICAGO FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW

Blooming with New Garden Exhibits, Activities, Exclusive Plant Varieties, Nightly Spring Fling Events, and More

The Get Growing Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring interest in horticulture and the environment – especially in under-served communities – presents the “20/20 Focus on Flowers” Chicago Flower & Garden Show featuring a fresh experience for gardening enthusiasts of all ages and expertise.  Dating back to 1847, the annual Show will kick-off the region’s gardening season by inspiring, educating, motivating and entertaining patrons with stunning gardens, “how to” seminars, a marketplace of the latest gardening trends and products, a culinary stage, new nightly themed events, and much more.

  New to the 2020 Chicago Flower & Garden Show:

·        Bask in the must-see display of floral quilts and quilt-pattern garden of flowers by The American Quilter’s Society.

·        Experience a rare look at a locktender wife’s garden with the interactive Illinois & Michigan Canal Corridor 1848 Garden.

·        Enjoy the magnificent selection of more than 700 plant varieties, including a new exclusive Wave Petunia, unveiled at and only available for purchase at the Show.

·        Be among the first to see new technology for outdoor spaces in unique rooftop exhibits.

·        View stunning floral fashions by local designers with the Hort Couture exhibit and vote for your favorite design.

·        Tour the one-of-a-kind Plant Truck Chicago, a mobile garden boutique operated by The Get Growing Foundation, to bring much needed plant material to urban and under-served local communities.

·        Get ideas for small spaces and parkway gardens with an original exhibit.

·        Stay for the new, nightly Spring Fling events featuring live music, craft beer, local wineries, distilleries and more.

The 2020 Show also brings back:

·        the popular Potting Parties, container garden make and take workshops;

·        Garden Gourmet stage featuring culinary demonstration by top Chefs;

·        free Kids Activity Garden with fun, experience-based learning activities presented by the Chicago Park District, University of Illinois Master Gardeners and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County

·        Horticulture Photography Competition; and

·        Tablescapes Exhibit, featuring creative ideas for the dining table presented by leading interior and floral designers. 

Where: Navy Pier

600 Grand Ave., Festival Hall A & B

Chicago

When: *Wednesday, March 18 – Saturday, March 21; 10 am – 7 pm

*Sunday, March 22; 10 am – 6 pm

*Nightly Spring Fling Events; 

visit www.ChicagoFlower.com for details

Tickets: *$20 per adult one-day ticket Jan. 1, 2020 – March 22, 2020

ChiIL Mama's Readers get $4 off on all adult tickets with Code: ChiILMama20 (not case sensitive)

*$5 per child one-day ticket, ages 5 – 12 years old

*$10 -$25 per person Spring Fling event (after 4 p.m. admittance)

*Discounted rates are available for groups of 15 or more.

Contact groups@chicagoflower.com for more information.

Parking: 

*Navy Pier offers a pre-paid reduced daily parking rate of $34; a five-day pre-paid pass is $133.

*Three additional lots serviced by the Navy Pier Trolley offer a discounted daily rate of $15 with a validation by Navy Pier.

Hotel Deals:       

Visit www.ChicagoFlower.com for discount codes and reservations to the following hotels:

*The St. Clair Hotel

                                162 E. Ontario Street

                                $94/night, plus taxes

*Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott – Downtown Magnificent Mile

                                216 E. Ontario Street

                                $129/night, plus taxes

                                *Hyatt Centric Chicago Magnificent Mile

633 N. St. Clair Street

$139/night, plus taxes

About The Get Growing Foundation

The Get Growing Foundation (TGGF) is a Chicago-based 501c3 nonprofit organization providing year-round educational programming and community outreach, including garden installations, to inspire interest in horticulture and the environment, especially among youth in underserved communities.  GGF produces the annual Chicago Flower & Garden Show, kicking off the region’s gardening season, and operates the new Plant Truck Chicago, a seasonal mobile gardening boutique providing access to much needed plant material in urban and under-served communities.  

ChiIL Mama's Readers get $4 off on all adult tickets with Code: ChiILMama20 (not case sensitive)