Charna Halpern has been busy lately. The doyenne of ImprovOlympic is throwing a party on Oct. 29 celebrating the 1,000th performance of the house group Baby Wants Candy. She also recently returned from Denmark, where she helped teach some of the Scandinavian country’s most famous actors and comedians how to do improv for a TV show.

“It’s a ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ type thing,” said Halpern. “They had me come in because they don’t know much about improv. It was to teach them improvisation and help direct their scenarios.”

The new series, called “Caspar and Me” will star Iben Hjeje, who co-starred with John Cusack in High Fidelity, and stand-up comics Caspar Christensen and Frank Hvam.

Halpern is also working on two shows for the new Stand-Up Comedy channel. That is the channel that first called itself SCTV until Second City executive produder Andrew Alexander sued them.

“They were kind of insulting about it,” said Alexander. “They said SCTV wasn’t really known in the industry.” The first box set of SCTV archives grossed $50 million. The second box set came out Oct. 19. Antigone and Haemon are moving to California and the clowns had to move into the performance space.

So, what’s a popular rendition of Antigone to do? That’s what greasy joan’s artistic director Julieanne Ehre is trying to determine. The company’s five week run of the classic play was a sellout after its second weekend at the Loop Theatre. “It was really painful to close the show,” Ehre said.

But the company had no option of extending one of its most successful shows in recent history as 500 Clown was due to take a fresh approach to Frankenstein in the space starting in mid-October.

The critics liked it and the crowds kept coming, but Antigone closed Oct. 10. Ehre is currently investigating options for re-opening the show in another venue. Ehre, who directed the show, can’t say precisely why it did so well. She says it may have something to do with the play’s political message in the midst of the war in Iraq and with an election pending. “Just depending on what the headlines were each day, the play took on an entirely different meaning.”

If the show does reopen, it will do so without Nicole Burgund and Derek Gaspar who are moving out to San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively, this month. Ehre plans to talk to her company and consider the finances before making a final decision in the next few weeks about remounting Antigone elsewhere in town.

For the first time in over a century, Ravinia had Equity actors on its stage. Actors Equity Association negotiated the agreement for the music festival’s recent 3-day run of Sunday in the Park with George.

 “It is the first time we’ve had a relationship with them and we hope it will continue,” said Equity Central Regional Director Kathryn V. Lamkey. The agreement, which included minimum salaries of $750 for actors, $800 for assistant stage managers, $900 for production stage managers, and health and pension contributions for the actors, was similar to the agreement reached with the Auditorium when they staged Ovations. “The membership definitely wanted to work and wants to work at Ravinia,” Lamkey said. “Even though it’s not a long employment, every week or two counts.”

The Neo-Futurists are marking the election on Nov. 2 both at home and in Georgia. Company members will remount the recently published 43 Plays for 43 Presidents at a benefit for Dad’s Garage Theatre in Atlanta on the eve of the 2004 election. At home in Andersonville, the company will give live election results (with state-by-state commentary provided by ensemble members) amidst performances of Too Much Light, Theater Oobleck’s The Passion of the Bush and Hell in a Handbag’s Verbatim Verboten. Doors open for the Tuesday night event at 7p.m. and will stay open until a winner is decided. Tickets are $10 or PWYC.

Andra Velis Simon wasn’t elected to her post, but The Neo-Futurists have announced she’s the company’s new managing director. She’s worked most recently as an independent arts administration consultant and previously was Court’s director of marketing.

In people news outside of the Neo-Futurarium, Cathy Taylor has left Steppenwolf Theatre Company after five years as publicist. As a vice-president at The Silverman Group, she’s now going to work with Writer’s and Northlight theatres.

Ann Filmer is the new Michael Maggio directing fellow at the Goodman Theatre. She recently left Chicago Dramatists, after four years as producing director, staging world premieres such as Keith Huff’s The Age of Cynicism-OR-Karaoke Night at The Hog, and John Green’s The Liquid Moon. The fellowship identifies an emerging professional director to assist on a Goodman show.

Victory Gardens Theater has promoted Robert Alpaugh, director of institutional advancement, to senior management. He’s now aligned with artistic director Dennis Zacek and managing director Marcelle McVay in a three-person executive management team reporting directly to the board of directors.

Julie Gann has joined Carol Fox & Associates as a new marketing and public relations manager. She joins the company from the Paramount Theatre in Aurora where she was marketing director for the past five years. Tiago Velho is the new house manager for Chicago Playworks at the Theatre School at DePaul University. He speaks fluent Portuguese and Spanish, so he might say felicitações in response to this column’s remaining news.

Chicago Shakespeare Theatre loyalists get a chance to see Greg Vinkler out of costume (although his face may have a Falstaffian flush after all the praise coming his way) in a celebration of his 25th production with the company. The Nov. 15, 5:30pm event recalls Vinkler’s 18 years on stage in roles ranging from Clown (1988’s Antony and Cleopatra) to King (John twice and Lear, too). No. 25 was Sir John Falstaff in the season opener Merry Wives of Windsor which closes Nov. 21. Vinkler will be back on the Navy Pier boards again in January as Duke Vincentio in Measure for Measure.

Nan Cibula-Jenkins’ designs for The Tempest at the Chicago Shakespeare Festival several years ago, will be included in the World Stage Design Exhibit in Toronto next March. That’s good news, eh?

Are you eager to see your name in bold print? Looking to share your latest industry news? E-mail Jenn at [JQGODDU@SBCGLOBAL.NET] if you have announcements for Behind the Curtain.

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