6-11-04
BY CHRISTINA BIGGS
Just a day before her scheduled flight to Cannes for the screening of her newest film The Ladykillers, Chicago actress Irma P. Hall was rushed to the hospital with severe stomach pains. She was diagnosed with pancreatitis, most likely caused by the slew of medications she has been taking while recovering from a near fatal car accident back in January. While Hall was still in the hospital dealing with this newest round of health woes, her manager Harrise Davidson received a call from the Chicago Sun-Times to notify her that Hall had won the coveted Jury Prize at Cannes. "Her trip to Cannes was halted by this latest setback. Now comes news that she has won this prestigious award," says Davidson. "She is quite overwhelmed and so appreciative. To the Jury, she says 'Merci.'" Several members of the Quentin Tarantino-led jury termed Hall a "force of nature" when explaining their reasons for choosing the actress. She shares the Jury Prize with Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Tropical Malady, the first ever Thai film entered at Cannes.
CenterStage Entertainment presented their third annual Artist Recognition Award June 5 (formerly won by the aforementioned Irma P. Hall) to husband and wife team Pemon Rami and Maséqua Myers-Rami. The award honors artists who have demonstrated leadership and commitment to helping youth. The Ramis' specific contributions include developing films, TV productions, concerts and plays for theatres and medical institutions in Chicago, Phoenix and LA. One of their most recent (and coolest) projects is Teen Talk Radio Theatre in Chicago, an After School Matters program in which students learn to write plays for radio and produce them, complete with music and sound effects. More info on CenterStage's dedication to youth and the arts can be found at www.centerstage.info.
Due to the closing of DePaul University's Barat campus, some of the Theatre School staff will soon be playing musical chairs. Theatre School dean John Culbert recently announced that Steve Carmichael, currently chair of the Theatre Arts Department at Barat, will move to head of the Lighting Design Program in Lincoln Park starting next school year. Carmichael has been teaching design and serving as chair at Barat since 1984, long before DePaul became involved up north. He and three other professors became DePaul faculty in 2001 when DePaul's Barat alliance was formalized. The additional three Theatre School faculty based at Barat will also make the transition to Lincoln Park as a result of the campus closure. The specific Lincoln Park Theatre School roles of each of these faculty members are still in varying stages of development, but so far it's also been decided that JoAnne Zielinski will be working with the CTI Digital Cinema Program as a portion of her responsibilities and Holly Windingstad will be teaching drawing in The Theatre School's Design/Tech program. Carmichael will pull double duty until the Barat Campus officially closes in June 2005.
Speaking of Theatre School faculty, kudos to artistic director Dexter Bullard who took home best directing honors at the 19th Annual Lucille Lortel Award May 3. Bullard garnered the prize for directing fellow Chicagoan (and Steppenwolf ensemble member) Tracy Letts' Bug at the Barrow Street Theatre in NYC. And kudos also to Letts for winning the outstanding play Lortel. The show also won for outstanding light design (Tyler Micoleau) and outstanding sound design (Brian Ronan). And did I mention that Bug also won Obie Awards for ensemble and design at the 49th Annual Village Voice Obie Awards ceremony and has now extended through September? Put away your fly swatter – this one's a hit!
In the land of theatre companies springing up left and right, the newest is the Majestic Midway Theater on the city's southwest side. Opening June 25 at 5722 W. 63rd St., the Majestic is actually a 100 year-old movie theatre converted to live entertainment. Run by In the Works... theatre company, the new Majestic will offer an outlet for assorted theatre, cabaret, improv and film groups. Already scheduled to appear are TAXI (Theatre Arts & Extreme Improv), Spoken Word Theatre, My Cup Runneth Over Productions and the Monologue Ponies. Best of all, the space is dedicated to making the arts accessible to working-class people, so ticket prices are being held under $20. The space also offers artists the opportunity to work with no deposit and split ticket sale revenue half and half.
Stockyards Theatre Project's founder and artistic director of five years, Jill Elaine Hughes, recently announced that she is leaving the company to pursue other projects. Taking her place as AD is the capable Katie Carey Govier. Also coming on board the administrative team is managing director Francesca Peppiatt. Under Govier's leadership, the company plans to re-focus their commitment to new plays by women playwrights and continue the annual Women's Performance Art Festival. "Part of the Stockyards mission is to provide a platform where Chicago-based, female performance artists can submit and perform their work for a larger audience," says Govier. "It is also Stockyards' goal to provide a place for talented women to work and focus on women's issues, and the realization of this goal will be the focus of the new management team. Our upcoming production of Bald Grace, Pirate Queen is a perfect example of our commitment to identifying the strengths of women throughout history." Bald Grace, Pirate Queen, directed by In the Works...theatre company AD Jennifer J. Thusing, will open at the Majestic Midway Theater (see above) September 20.
And finally, look to the summer of 2005 for the result of a most interesting collaboration. The puppet people at Redmoon Theater and former Smashing Pumpkins music front man Billy Corgan are already hard at work on a production of the ancient epic Gilgamesh. Redmoon AD Jim Lasko and Corgan will collaborate on the adaptation of the piece, and Corgan will compose and perform original live music during the run. "Gilgamesh is a sweeping epic, chock full of action on the surface with a plunging depth of psychological insight," says Lasko. "It's a perfect fit for Redmoon's visual vocabulary and vigorous physical performance style." The June 2–July 10, 2005 gig is part of the Steppenwolf Visiting Company Initiative, an invitation-only program to provide space and exposure to emerging Chicago companies.