11-12-04
BY JENN Q. GODDU
Mary-Arrchie’s got its mojo back as it plans to reopen the Angel Island Theatre at 731 W. Sheridan later this month. Having redone its plumbing and electricity, added fire doors and put in hand rails and a water fountain, Mary-Arrchie expects to convince the city it’s up to code in time to preview its latest show, MOJO, by Jez Butterworth, beginning Nov. 15.
The theatre will look the same to anyone who’s visited since the remodeling for Hot L Baltimore two years ago, said producing director Hans Fleischmann. He wouldn’t comment on the cost of the renovations but did say, “We’re so in the hole right now, it’s ridiculous.”
The company’s production of Butterworth’s Olivier Award-winning black comedy, featuring a bunch of London low-lifes vying to cash in on the rock n’ roll scene just beginning to pop in 1958 Britain, is set to run through Jan. 9.
Mary-Arrchie might want to apply for one of the city’s Community Arts Assistance Program Grants. The CAAP grants support professional, artistic and organizational development projects and offer artists and arts organizations up to $1,000. New, emerging and mid-career artists who have resided in Chicago at least six months and non-profit arts organizations with annual operating budgets up to $100,000 are eligible.
Applications are available now and due Dec. 10. For more information call 312/744-1742 or visit www.cityofchicago.org/CulturalAffairs/. Two-hour application assistance workshops are being offered Nov. 15, 16 and 18.
Michelle Bibbs is the city’s new Director of Cultural Grants. She’ll be overseeing the CAAP program and the overall distribution of more than $1 million each year.
Another fast approaching deadline is the Dec. 1 one for the 2004-05 Cunningham Commission for Youth Theatre. The Theatre School at DePaul University’s annual project aims to find and develop plays for production in its Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences series. Douglas Post was last year’s winner.
John Culbert, dean of the Theatre School, chairs the committee awarding the commission. According to the application guidelines, they’re looking for scripts that “affirm the centrality of religion, broadly defined, and the human quest for meaning, truth and community.” The commission fee is $5,000. Send your entry to: Cunningham Commission Selection Committee, The Theatre School, DePaul University, 2135 N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60614-4111.
A Child’s Christmas in Wales is Remy Bumppo’s December show for young audiences. This year the company is taking its title a little more literally. No, the company won’t be taking any children to Wales for the holidays, but they will be adding a kid’s perspective to their production. The hour of storytelling and live music featuring Dylan Thomas’ humorous memoir, is now also to include personal narratives or fictional pieces developed as part of the Young Chicago Authors Project. The show’s co-adapter Shawn Douglass has been going into the classroom to work with students and he plans to meet further with a select group of the young authors to help them shape pieces that might fit in with the company’s Dec 4, 11 and 18 shows.
One more company adding a youth focus is The Neo-Futurists. They’re launching Too Much Light Kids! Nov. 13. This family-friendly version of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind targets audiences ages 8 and up. It’s scheduled to run Saturday afternoons through Dec. 18.
If you’re not keen on whippersnappers, you might instead want to check out the 12th Annual Actors’ Scene Showcase hosted Tuesday Nov. 16 by the Women’s Theatre Alliance of Chicago. One of the first programs launched by WTA, this evening event features 20 local actors performing for an invited audience of agents, casting directors and other theatre professionals. Actors are paired in 5-8 minute scenes. These actors were selected from 70 people who already auditioned for a panel of local directors. Many participants are recent transplants to Chicago and the showcase is especially good at giving new arrivals exposure, said program director Scott Dray. “It’s a good way to first be seen.” This 12th annual showcase is being held at Theatre Building Chicago. For info call 773/572-2390.
Another way for actors, designers, musical directors, choreographers and directors to get noticed is to send their resume to Bill Pullinsi, the new artistic director of Theatre at the Center in Munster, Ind. He officially starts work Jan. 1, but is already out there off and on trying to get the 2005 season up and running. The first show is The Thing About Men with books and lyric by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Over the River and Through the Woods; All Shook Up). This Chicago-area premiere opens Jan. 20, 2005. Once that production is on its feet, Pullinsi says he encourages anyone to send in a resume. “I’m open to auditioning a lot,” he said. “I like to audition.”
If you’re simply a fan of the theatre or looking to stay connected in the community, take a gander at StageSpace.com. Launched in September the theatre-based site aims to be a community building web site. It offers news, reviews and opinions as well as member blogs and profile pages. Right now the content seems pretty New York City-centric but it’s still in its “testing” phase and feedback is invited. The site’s founders, Ryan Davis and Joe Drymala, met while working on Howard Dean’s presidential campaign and decided on a trip back home to New York City together that they wanted to build a similar online grassroots community for theatre folk.
And finally, as you may have noticed, I do like to end this column on a happy note. Congratulations to Chicago Dramatists’ playwright Robert Koon whose play Odin’s Horse won the first ever Ecodrama Playwrights Festival in Arcata, California.
Are you eager to see your name in bold print? Looking to share your latest industry news? E-mail Jenn at jgoddu@sbcglobal.net if you have announcements for Behind the Curtain.