april #2: dawn, quixote

sunday afternoon i had the pleasure of seeing the building stage's DAWN, QUIXOTE.

what: dawn, quixote adapted from the novel don quixote by miguel de cervantes

where: the building stage's space located in the west loop

accompaniment: my favorite date: dustin.

drinkability: cheap wine, beer, or soda for sale before show!

show length: 95 minutes, no intermission

out of four: three/four

unfortunately my first chance to see a production at the building stage will ultimately be my last. the building stage announced earlier this year that dawn, quixote would be their final show ever. this coupled with the production shots of six humans in beards and wigs with ukuleles and i knew i had to make it out or else.

the house opens about 10 minutes before the play begins. the lobby as well as the set house props and costume items that are all for sale as the building stage is closing down. the quixote's (all characters are known as this) wander around the stage, setting their props for the show, playing games, talking to audience members, etc. until showtime. this is the sort of preshow that makes me sigh and wish that they would hurry up and get to it already. if it doesn't add to the show: why do it??

once the show got underway my attitude perked up quite a bit. three females and three males play the role of don quixote and his adventures as well as his partner in crime sancho, various other characters, run the lights, run the sound, cue from scene to scene, and oh yeah, play ukuleles.

i think what i enjoyed most about this production is the ability to see that the cast was really having fun. none of them seemed to be calling it in at all. while the transitions, movement, scene shifts, etc. weren't always flawless, this ensemble required quite a bit of work and understanding of the script in order to pull it off. the dialogue clips along as they finish sentence by sentence together, at once establishing a group collective while all finding ways to display their own voice and talent in the production.

this was above and beyond the best lighting i have seen in quite a while. jared moore designed the lights for dawn, quixote and i applaud him. from hazy reds and yellows to the effective use of spotlights, it made a prop and set-light show so enhanced. and for a girl who rarely takes note of a lot of technical aspects: it says a lot.

i also thoroughly enjoyed the music bits in the show. they added an air of humor when needed and also a drone of sadness at times. all six actors with their ukuleles was a great visual as well as a unique way to tell this tale.

all in all, i'm sad to see the building stage go. their space is large and beautiful and as they showed in dawn, quixote, they have the capacity to create fabulous work. if you have the chance, catch this show, especially if you haven't seen work at the building stage previously. and then, take home a pair of shoes with you.

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upcoming april shows:

saturday april 27, 8pm: oracle theatre's the mother

tuesday april 30, 7pm: unrehearsed shakespeare company's much ado about nothing

join me, will you?

april #1: the brig

last night i had the pleasure of seeing mary arrchie theatre company's THE BRIG.

what: the brig by kenneth h. brown

where: mary arrchie's space (known as angel island) on sheridan & broadway

accompaniment: the coolest dude around: dustin.

drinkability: byob! or do what we did & get margs down the street at el mariachi beforehand.

show length: 1 hour, no intermission.

out of four: two and a half/four

i was very excited to finally catch a show at mary arrchie. the show i'm currently in was directed by carlo lorenzo-garcia, the producing director for this production & mary arrchie in general, and a few of my castmates are also m.a. associated, so when the preview tickets showed up on goldstar super cheap i snatched 'em up.

doors open just under 10 minutes before the show starts and you immediately enter into "the brig" aka the military prison these nine men are in. the nine prisoners are sleeping in their bunks while the guards mill around as the audience sits making small talk until its time for them to waken the prisoners. the seating in the space is strange and most definitely uncommon. we got seats in an isolated cage area that was boxed in floor to ceiling by a chain link fence. shortly after the show began they closed and "locked" the gate, locking the 10 or so of us in with it. other audience members sit along the walls as well as in the center of the barracks.

the show is a display of the day in the life of these prisoners in the brig. it's a glimpse into actions that we have all seen in military tv and movies (lots of yelling, lots of "yes sir, no sir", lots of tasks like scrubbing the floors, redressing their bunks, etc.) with a hint of an extra threat as these prisoners are in the brig for a set amount of days for something they have done. but, what was it that they did? unfortunately: this question is simply never answered.

i have no doubts this is an accurate display of a marine brig, as playwright kenneth h. brown wrote this on account of his own 30 days spent in one in 1957. we watch the 9 prisoners march, run, undress, redress, undress, redress, undress, redress, get frisked, do pushups, get humiliated, be physically abused, sweat, yell, yell some more, and many other physically demanding loss-of-breath-inducing actions. simply put: the audience spends 60 minutes watching men do what their told and ask permission to correctly complete the tasks.

we only hear from one prisoner throughout the show who steps out of line and demands to be set free. he is shortly after thrown into the cage in which i was sitting. this sparked a bit of hope in me, hoping we'd see more insight into the prisoners and why exactly they ended up in the brig or any sort of real emotion from them apart from simply following the demands of their officers.

the physical aspect of this show and the total commitment by the actors is nothing short of impressive. i felt exhausted FOR them by the time the show was over. my only wish was that we got to see more into these men's lives, or even have any sort of insight as to what sort of mishap sends you to the brig. obviously that wasn't kenneth h. brown's intention but instead to simply immerse the audience in a day-in-the-life of something that most people will never get to experience.

go see this show for the physical triumphs these actors achieve, just don't expect your typical storyline. and there's nothin' wrong with that.

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upcoming april shows:

sunday april 21, 4pm: the building stage's dawn quixote

saturday april 27, 8pm: oracle theatre's the mother

tuesday april 30, 7pm: the unrehearsed shakespeare company's much ado about nothing

join me, will you?

april update//shameless plug!

let's get the shameless plug out of the way, why don't we?

i am playing lady anne in wayward production's RICHARD III! we added 4 shows to our original run. next weekend is our last "full weekend" with shows thursday-saturday, followed by a monday industry night and two more friday night performances. tickets are $25 through ticketweb, or grab one of our limited discount tickets on goldstar HERE. thanks.

i've finally got my picks for april down and scheduled. here's what i'm seeing:

wednesday april 17, 8pm: mary arrchie's THE BRIG (discounted tickets here)

sunday april 21, 4pm: the building stage's DAWN QUIXOTE (discounted tickets here)

tuesday april 23, 7pm: the unrehearsed shakespeare company's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

saturday april 27, 8pm: oracle theatre's THE MOTHER (free tickets here)

i'm going to new york in may and i hope i can see a show or two there to include in four in four for may. in the meantime, grab some tickets to theatre (i paid less than $20 for each show this month!!) and join me, will you?

march #4: the bacchae

saturday night i had the pleasure of seeing the right brain project's THE BACCHAE REVISTED.

what: the bacchae revisited originally by euripides, interpreted by rbp
where: the right brain project's rorschach space: 4001 n ravenswood
accompaniment: trusty theatre goer dustin as well as friend & castmate ally!
drinkability: tops. the actors serve you wine and about halfway through the show they refill it for you.
show length: 90 minutes, no intermission
out of four: three and a half/four

i've been attending the right brain project's work for a couple of seasons now, and wanted to audition for the bacchae when it was announced, but alas, i knew i would be in a production during the same run time. luckily, my show was dark on saturday night so it was the perfect chance to catch the bacchae and a few of my friends perform in the small space in irving park.

you enter into a dimly lit room and are immediately offered wine. kind of the best deal ever, right? all of the cast is already out on "stage", which is essentially the entire room you're in, save from the few chairs that the audience are seated on. the actors were obviously encouraged to talk with the audience as they came in and i had a pleasant conversation with an actress in front of me, as well as some greetings by fellow actors i've worked with before. the confusing part of this was the actors weren't interacting with you as characters (many introduced themselves by their real names as well as my friends casually talking to me about things outside of the show), and we aren't 'shown' that the play has started until after the actors assemble, wish each other 'good show', and then begin. i liked the soft-spoken, dim, wine-filled introduction into the show, yet why not completely immerse the audience by already being in character from the first introduction?

i wasn't familiar with the bacchae before coming into the show (which is always the best in my opinion...to go in with no expectations) and when i left i kicked myself for never being exposed to it before. its a story about women who ban together who are powerful and feared and courageous and downright badass. there's strong nudity in this show but there's also an incredibly strong sense of ensemble and kinship among the women. they have subtle smiles, constantly grazing each other's arms in support, and altogether work wonderfully as a unit. either this group of women really connected through their process or they're simply incredible actors. or both.

the men are not to be snubbed either. the smaller male ensemble spent the majority of the show in masks but with physical and combat direction from orion couling, they moved, danced, fought, and tumbled around the small space with great force. joe ramski played the one male character on the women's side and played it well. its easily the best role i've seen joe in in the last couple of years i've worked with him.

all in all, i applaud right brain for their efforts and for this all-encompassing performance. it's not perfect by any means, but they successfully created a world that you were engrossed in from the moment you stepped through the curtain.

and the wine ALWAYS helps.

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upcoming april shows:
tuesday april 23rd 7pm: the unrehearsed shakespeare company's much ado about nothing
TBD: sideshow theatre project's maria/stuart
TBD: mary arrchie's the brig
TBD

join me, will you?

march #3: skin!

tuesday evening i had the pleasure of seeing lights out theatre company's SKIN!

what: skin! by...uhhh..?
where: the lincoln lofts in lakeview
accompaniment: babely friends tracie & brittany!
drinkability: top notch. beers, boxed wine, and cocktails for super cheap!
show length: hour and a half? i don't know, i was too busy laughing.
out of four: three/four

this was my first lights out theatre company show as well as my first visit to the lincoln loft space and both were quite a success. the lincoln loft space, if you've never been there, is this rad (see: giant!) space i heard up to nine people live, work, and perform there. you can see hints of cornered off bedrooms here and there, but once you step into the sectioned off performance space, any semblance of this being someone's apartment melts away as you make yourself comfy on the cushy vintage theatre seats.

SKIN! is the hilarious tale of a group of women working and entertaining under the watch of 'meatball', who also serves as an emcee of sorts. dressed in long johns, a huge winter fur coat and black ga-ga-esque glasses, meatball sets the scene with the attitude of this show. skin is essentially a combination of clumsy (in the best sense of the word) burlesque and sketch comedy. each of the girls has their own unique characters and there's even a bit of love drama between a couple of the girls and meatball.

what i loved about this performance was the fact that its a bunch of girls who aren't afraid to be sexy, but also aren't afraid to make fun of girls acting like they're sexy. don't go to this show expecting to see tops taken off and tossed into the crowd, instead expect a lot of lady thrusting, yells and whoops from the audience, and the special addition of chris. oh my, chris.

chris serves as their bartender and chats up the crowd as everyone comes in from the street. during the show he stands on the sidelines and sells beer from a cart and also picks up props, etc. that are used by the ladies during the show. he encourages the yelling and conversation with the performers and even makes an appearance himself. i won't spoil that for you...but...its certainly a highlight.

while i love deep, serious, moving, thoughtful theatre...sometimes you just need some boxed wine and a whole bunch of laughter to light up your tuesday night. get to this show...only a few performances left!

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upcoming march shows:
saturday the 30th 8pm: right brain project's the bacchae

a look into april....shows i'm hoping to catch:
-sideshow theatre company's maria/stuart
-mary arrchie theatre company's the brig
-TBA x2!

join me, will you?

march #2: julius caesar

sunday afternoon i had the pleasure of seeing babes with blades' all-female production of JULIUS CAESAR.

what: julius caesar by william shakespeare
where: the raven theatre center, edgewater
accompaniment: my trusty theatre partner dustin.
drinkability: i saw a sunday matinee so no booze for me. but i did see a snack and refreshment bar!
show length: 2 hrs, 15 minutes + 10 minute intermission
out of four: two and a half/four

after opening my own shakespeare show this past weekend what else was there to do on a sunday afternoon but go see a kick-ass group of ladies come together to present the ever-popular election year pick: julius caesar??

this was my first babes with blades production i've been able to attend, though i've taken part in a couple of workshops with them which rendered me quite sore the following days. (you know, in that good way where you get to say "MAN my hips hurt from swinging around a sword for three hours!") it was also my first trip up to the raven theatre in edgewater which has the cutest little parking lot outside, albeit filled by the time we got there due to a soldier's play opening its run at 3pm.

the set for this babes' production was rather plain, boasting only a few steps, columns, and curtains to set the stage for this historic tragedy. i anxiously awaited the text to begin to see what lengths they had taken to address or ignore the all-female cast. turns out: they ignored it. all of the players were "he" and "him" and "sir" (minus the actual female characters, of course). while i was hoping for a complete transformation of the text to females, i simply forgot about it as the play went on and accepted it as it was.

the other aspect i was most looking forward to was obviously, the sword and fight work. caesar's death scene has an exciting explosion of bodies around him, but you see no actual sword play as the women step back to show a dead caesar, displayed only by a bloody cloth draped over the body. we don't get to see more violence until shortly before the end of the play when the armies of brutus and antony finally clash. the choreographed machete fights were fun to watch, especially with multiple combatants, but i was left wishing that they were a bit tighter and with an element of danger that didn't really feel like it was there. nonetheless, it was exciting to watch and i simply left wishing i could see more!

the actresses in this production were really impressive. i was blown away by antony, played by diana coates, performing with such vocal power and poise. according to the program she's a new transplant to the city and i am sure we'll see her more. brutus, portrayed by kimberly logan (a bwb ensemble member) was also impressive in her lead role. also: the costumes...whew! kimberly g. morris kills it, specifically with the uniforms at the end. when i as an actor sit in the audience wishing i could have a chance to wear those costumes, you know something has been done right.

all in all, i'm glad i finally got to catch a babes performance and look forward to more in the future. i gave it 2 1/2 out of four because i find my mind wandering a bit...as this is a very talk-heavy, action-light production. not necessarily the babes fault, but i certainly look forward to more action heavy shows by them in the future.

**added bonus/shameless plug: if you go see their show you can get a $5 discount on RICHARD III tickets (in which i am playing lady anne) by bringing in your program to any of our productions. i love collaborations!

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upcoming march shows:
tuesday the 26th 8pm: lights out theatre company's skin!
saturday the 30th 8pm: right brain project's the bacchae

join me, will you?

march #1: rich & famous

friday night i saw my first show of my four in four series: jackalope theatre's RICH AND FAMOUS.

what: rich and famous by john guare

where: the den theatre, wicker park

accompaniment: my multi-talented fiance, dustin

drinkability: awesome. there's a bar in the den with affordable drinks. for him: pbr. for me: red wine.

show length: no intermission, 90 minutes (give/take)

out of four: three/four

now, simply put: i'm a big fan of the people over at jackalope. i met a good handful of them shortly after i moved to chicago in the summer of 2009 and we were in a production of baal together at the ep theatre (rip). i've been following their work from afar for the last couple of years and have recently made the decision to not miss a thing these incredibly nice and talented people do because...well, anything they put on always leaves me with just a good feeling. plus, these folks are damn good at giving hugs.

rich and famous is no exception to my enjoyment of jackalope's work. i didn't really know what i was coming in to, and i don't know quite what to qualify this production as (musical? musical comedy? comedy with music?) but either way, it was fun.

we walk in to a preshow that extends rather seamlessly into the opening of the play. pre-show performances are hard to do, and if you have one that relies on the audience its even worse! (try doing a pre show when there's only 5 people in the audience that you're supposed to interact with...for minutes and minutes on end....say it ain't so!). lucky for the r&f cast, no direct audience communication was needed...but it still didn't relieve them of the awkward tension you could feel between the actors not-really-acting while the audience isn't-really-watching. while it was a clever set up with the actors setting up all set pieces in preparation for the show, i found myself cringing for the actors needing to fill the time and look totally natural.

once the show opened all of that flew out the window. the cast of four (andrew burden swanson, baize buzan [sorry, coolest name ever? i think so.], bernard balbot [again, with the cool names, come on guys] and torian miller) had a nice chemistry and interaction with each other throughout the entirety of the show. all but swanson boasted of their 'jackalope debuts' in the programs, and will be, i expect, on the jackalope stage again in the future.

swanson stars as bing ringaling, a playwright on his verge of success (or is he?). he's charming and funny and experiences all of the emotions we humans experience in this gem. it was so fun getting to watch this challenge come alive in him.

my favorite scene in the show (also the longest. like, so long. but luckily it was my favorite, so. i got to enjoy it) was the interaction between swanson and balbot in this scene:

seriously. i don't laugh very hard at much and balbot had me in some uncontrollable giggles. dustin later described it as me "kind of losing it". yeah, i'll admit it. see this show for this scene alone.

overall, jackalope made me laugh and smile with this one. while the script itself is a little wiley and can get out of hand (see: funniest scene also feeling uncomfortably long after a while), the actors were charming and changed seamlessly between the different character challenges that they faced. go see this show for a nice night out. biggest post-show drawback? having to tip toe around between the den's other shows simultaneously happening. so remember to be quiet and hug those jackalope's goodbye.

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upcoming march shows:

sunday the 17th 3pm: babes with blade's (all female) julius caesar

tuesday the 26th 8pm: lights out theatre company's skin!

saturday the 30th 8pm: right brain project's the bacchae

join me, will you?