4-28-06
The Grim Reaper Keeps on Swinging
In a theatre year already marked by the deaths of Jim Zulevic, Ralph Lane, Fred Solari and others, we now have several new names to add to our roster of losses.
Actor and mystery novelist Sarajane Avidon died March 29 after a multi-year struggle against cancer that included a bone marrow transplant. She was 64. The buoyant, sociable and puckish Avidon studied theatre at Northwestern University, graduating the same year that young Barbara Gaines was in NU’s summertime “Cherub” program. Gaines later founded Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, with Avidon a member of the first acting ensemble. Avidon also acted in films (most notably Opportunity Knocks in 1990) and at Wisdom Bridge, Orphans and other Off-Loop venues. In the late 1990s, Avidon used her background in theatre to co-author, with lifelong friend Susan Sussman, two fun-read mysteries Audition for Murder and Cruising for Murder. Avidon is survived by a son and daughter, two granddaughters and her second husband, University of Illinois at Chicago professor (and former alderman) Dick Simpson. Appropriately, a memorial was held April 10 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
Barely a year old, Time Out Chicago has suffered a loss within its editorial staff with the Good Friday death of comedy editor Mark Sinclair, 34, who covered the improv, stand-up and sketch comedy beat for TOC, and sports as well. Observed theater editor Christopher Piatt, “Mark did a tremendous lot in that time for the improv and comedy community; there’s already been quite an outpouring from the many people he helped to support. And he was a helluva good guy to boot.” In recent columns, Sinclair wrote bricks-and-mortar stories about ComedySportz and the Annoyance Theatre. Sinclair, only 34, died of a brain aneurysm.
Friends and family of actor/singer Jeffrey Woolley are mourning his passing March 24 after living with HIV/AIDS for 15 years. He celebrated his 44th birthday March 1. A Minnesota native, Woolley adopted Chicago as his kinda’ town in 1990. He appeared here with Light Opera Works, L’Opera Piccola, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Circle Theatre and The Clock Tower Dinner Theatre (Rockford) and also had numerous credits in the Detroit area, among them appearances with Michigan Opera Theatre. A celebration of life will be held at 7p.m., May 7 at Theatre Building Chicago. Friends are invited to share memories. Those wishing to share a song or a story are asked to phone Aaron at 773/878-0437. Piano accompaniment will be provided. Donations: Season of Concern.
Finally, we wish to extend condolences to one of the nice guys and great enthusiasts of Chicago theatre, Richard Eisenhardt, on the March death of his mother. She was 97, and we have no doubt she was as full of wisdom as years.
On another note, folks who operate theatre venues for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival are up in arms over monumental hikes in licensing fees recently approved by the Edinburgh City Council. In some cases, license fees will increase more than 600 percent over a three-year, phase-in period. The organizers of the festival, which starts in 10 weeks, said they were “deeply concerned” by the hikes.
For venues of less than 200 seats, the temporary performance license jumps from 127 pounds sterling in 2005 to 440 this year. Next year it will increase to 620 pounds sterling and then jump to 800 pounds in 2008. Larger venues of more than 1,000 seats will pay 1,320 pounds for 2006 compared to 295 pounds last year. That doesn’t sound like phasing in; it sounds like being clobbered in the head with a petrified haggis.
A recent Edinburgh City Council study cited by the BBC concluded that the Fringe brought more than 75 million pounds to the local economy each year. Sounds rather like the Council is trying to kill the goose that lays the golden egg, since venue operators have no alternative than to pass along the whopping increases to those booking the venues, among them generally several Chicago-based companies each year. The increases can, of course, be amortized across the several performing troupes renting each venue; they will not fall solely on Theatre A, B or C. Still, no one can call the increases anything but brutal.
On a happier note, DePaul University has been named one of the nation’s top 200 colleges for creativity, as selected by editor Elaina Loveland for the SuperCollege guidebook. The book researched outstanding programs in art, drama, dance, music and creative writing to make its choices, naming nine Illinois universities in the guide designed for high school students or parents of high school students with an interest in an arts-related college discipline. The Theatre School at DePaul was cited by the publication for its wide range of programs, the availability of scholarships and the school’s broad array of extracurricular opportunities—including numerous productions, playwriting festivals, and its guest-lecture series.
Of course, DePaul also has an outstanding School of Music, with a faculty that includes several members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Those classical roots notwithstanding, the School of Music was named as one of the “Schools That Rock” in the 2005 Rolling Stone guidebook that evaluated collegiate music schools nationally. The book praised opportunities for DePaul music students to gain practical experience performing with Chicago professional music ensembles and noted the school’s performing arts management and sound recording technology programs.
FYI: DePaul has 23,148 students on two city and four suburban campuses, and is the largest Catholic university in the nation and the country’s 10th-largest private university. Bet you didn’t know that.
A few theatrically astute summer vacationers may know that Tom Mullen, producer and director of the hit version of Urinetown now at the Mercury Theatre, was co-founder with Kurt Stamm of the Mason Street Warehouse, the three-year old summer season non-profit in downtown Saugatuck, MI. Indeed, Mullen mounted Urinetown in Michigan last summer, with several of the same leading players. Since Mullen now has established himself in Chicago, we wondered what that meant for the Mason Street Warehouse. A call to Saugatuck confirmed that the summer venue will continue this year under artistic director Stamm, and that Mullen no longer is affiliated with the company.
Speaking of summer stock, if you go to www.peninsulaplayers.com you can see lots of photos detailing construction of the new steel and poured concrete stage house, which will have an orchestra pit, a trap room, wings, a loft…and a burning time greater than three minutes! As it has been for many years now, the 71st season of the Peninsula Players will be supervised by executive director Todd Schmidt and artistic director Greg Vinkler.