A Red Orchid Theatre Announces Cast & Crew of IN QUIETNESS

A Red Orchid Theatre  has announced the cast and creative team behind the Chicago Premiere of IN QUIETNESS by Anna Ouyang Moench, directed by Ensemble Member dado. IN QUIETNESS holds previews January 11 - 20 and runs January 21 – March 3, 2024 at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N Wells in Chicago. Tickets ($20-$45) are available by calling the theatre box office at (312) 943-8722 or visiting www.aredorchidtheatre.org. 

A former consultant follows her born-again husband to a Southern Baptist seminary. There, she enrolls as a student at the Homemaking House, the nation’s premier training ground for future homemakers and a place where marital bliss means never having to say thank you for cleaning the toilet. IN QUIETNESS asks us all to consider how fidelity to self, family, community, and faith coexist as we work to manifest our futures.    

The production features Ensemble Member Kirsten Fitzgerald (Terri) with Brittany Burch (Max), Alexandra Chopson (Beth), Joe Edward Metcalfe (Paul), and Adam Shalzi (Dusty). Understudies are Will Burden (U/S Paul), Jasper Johnson (U/S Dusty), Jin Park (U/S Beth), and Halie Robinson (U/S Max). 

The creative team includes Ensemble Member Grant Sabin (scenic design), Kotryna Hilko (costume design), Heather Gilbert (lighting design), Amina Gilbert (assistant lighting design), Jeffrey Levin (sound design), Rowan Doe (properties design), Christina Gorman (intimacy director), Tom Daniel (technical director), Hannah Bolstad (Master Electrician), Lauren Lassus (stage manager), Josh Fitch (assistant stage manager), Patrick Starner (production manager), and Brady Johnson (dramaturg). 

About the Artists 

ANNA OUYANG MOENCH (Playwright) [she/her] is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. Her plays include Man of God (Williamstown Theatre Festival, Geffen Playhouse, East West Players, Theater Mu, InterAct, others), Birds of North America (Mosaic Theater Company, BETC, others), Mothers (Playwrights Realm), and Sin Eaters. Anna has been supported by fellowships and residencies from The Playwrights Realm, New York Foundation of the Arts, the Jerome Foundation, the Van Lier Foundation, Yaddo, the Tofte Lake Center, the Sewanee Writers Conference, and the Last Frontier Theatre Conference, among others. Her awards include the Paul Stephen Lim Playwriting Award from the Kennedy Center, Boulder Ensemble Theater Company’s Generations Award, and East West Players’ 2042: See Change Award. She is an alum of UCSD’s Playwriting M.F.A. program, the Emerging Writers Group at The Public Theater, Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Jam at New Georges, and writers' groups at East West Players and the Echo Theater Company. In television and film, Anna has worked with Apple TV+, HBO, A24, 3000 Pictures, Netflix, Fifth Season, UCP, eOne, PictureStart, and Universal. Anna is a writer/producer for Severance (Apple TV+), Beef (Netflix), and The White Darkness (Apple TV+). Anna was a member of the pilot cohort of the WarnerMedia Access Showrunner Training Program. She is repped by WME and Heroes and Villains Entertainment. Anna lives in Los Angeles with her family. 

DADO (Director) [she/her] has been an A Red Orchid Ensemble Member since 2007. She was most recently seen onstage at AROT as the Moor-Hen in The Moors, the Ancient in Grey House, and Karla Stock in Traitor. At AROT, Dado has directed Act Five, The Malignant Ampersands, Killing Game, The Room, The Mutilated, Celebration, Red Handed Otter, Simpatico (which moved to McCarter Theatre), Megacosm, The Unseen, The Hothouse, The Sea Horse, The Fastest Clock in the Universe, and The Grey Zone. She most recently directed Catherine Anne Toupin’s Right Now at Facility Theatre. Dado is the recipient of the Edes Prize from the University of Chicago and produced David Lang's chamber opera little matchgirl passion (Facility Theatre) with this award. She is also the director of Erik Satie's surrealist Ruse of Medusa (Facility Theatre) and the original vacuum cleaner opera, which was produced at the MCA and Prop Thtr. Dado is currently a professor at Purdue University Northwest and holds an MFA in visual art from the University of Chicago. 

Kirsten Fitzgerald (Terri) [she/her] is a proud member of the Ensemble at A Red Orchid Theatre and has served as the Artistic Director since 2008. She was most recently onstage at NYC’s Minetta Lane Theatre in The Goodman Theatre’s production of Swing State. Select AROT credits include Grey House, Traitor, Evening at the Talk House, The Room, Pilgrim’s Progress, Mud Blue Sky, Butcher of Baraboo, The New Electric Ballroom, Abigail’s Party, Pumpgirl, Weapon of Mass Impact, and The Sea Horse (for which she was honored to receive a Jeff Award). She also directed The Moors at AROT, which earned her a Jeff Award for Best Director of a Play (Midsize). Other onstage credits include Motherhouse (Rivendell); Swing State, I Hate It Here, ROE, Sweat (Goodman); Mary Page Marlow, The Qualms, Clybourne Park (Steppenwolf); Appropriate, Lettie (Victory Gardens), and work with Chicago Shakes, Utah Shakes, Shattered Globe, Remy Bumppo, Plasticene, Prop, Defiant, and more. TV: Shining Girls, Somebody Somewhere, The Exorcist, Sirens, Chicago Med/Fire/Justice, Underemployed, ER. Film: Widows, Working Man. Representation: Grossman & Jack Talent. 

Brittany Burch (Max) [she/her] is very excited to be making her AROT debut. Brittany is a co-artistic director and ensemble member with the Gift Theatre where she was last seen in The Locusts. Other credits with the Gift include: The Lonesome West, Northwest Highway, Absolute Hell, Oh The Humanity, Thinner Than Water, Othello, Royal Society of Antarctica, Good For Otto, Unseen, and Pilgrims. Additional Chicago credits include Steppenwolf, Wildclaw, Lakeside Shakespeare, The Goodman, and Redtwist. Regionally, Brittany has worked with Artists Repertory Theatre and Profile Theatre in Portland, OR; Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, AK; Chautauqua Theatre Company in NY; and The New Theatre in Kansas City. She has a BA from Willamette University and studied with the British American Drama Academy, Chautauqua Theatre Company, Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, as well as the School at Steppenwolf. 

ALEXANDRA CHOPSON (Beth) [she/her] is thrilled to be making her AROT debut with a play that hits close to home. In Chicago, she has collaborated on new works readings at Chicago Dramatists and The Den Theater. Originally from Nashville, TN, she has worked with the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Verge Theater Co., and Actors Bridge Ensemble. Alexandra earned her BFA in Acting from Ball State University where she developed a love for devised theatre and plays with music. Many thanks to Dado and the IQ team for this incredible opportunity! alexandrachopson.com. 

JOE Edward Metcalfe (Paul) [he/him] is thrilled to be working with everyone at A Red Orchid for the first time. Chicago credits include: The Writer U/S (Steep); Southern Gothic, Recipe for Disaster! (Windy City Playhouse); Romeo & Juliet (Kane Rep); Keely & Du (Redtwist Theatre); and Bent (Muse Theatre Co.). Regional credits include: These Shining Lives, Other Desert Cities (Studio Theatre Tierra, FL); Re-Entry (Montana Rep); Two Conversations… by Sarah Ruhl, Dreamerwake by Anne Washburn (WP - Humana); and Dracula (Actors Theatre of Louisville). TV/Film credits include: Soundtrack (Netflix), Next (FOX). Training: Actors Theatre of Louisville PT Company, MFA - Northern Illinois University. He is represented by Big Mouth Talent. 

Adam Shalzi (Dusty) [he/him] is thrilled to be making his debut at AROT! Shalzi’s theatre credits include Right to Be Forgotten (Raven), Trouble in Mind (TimeLine), Lord of the Flies (Steppenwolf), The Original Grease (American Theater Company), Balm in Gilead and The Stinky Cheese Man (Griffin), The Diviners and Macbeth (Organic), 10 Out of 12 (Theater Wit), Dr. Egg and the Man with No Ear (Redmoon, Australia production tour), and shows with Strawdog, Sideshow, Redtwist, Next, Emerald City, WildClaw, and the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Notable TV and film credits include Paper Girls, Chicago Fire, The Chi, Utopia, Betrayal, Janie Jones, NightLights, The Windigo, and The Crusades. Shalzi holds a B.F.A. in acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a graduate of the improv program at iO. He is represented by LEWK Management and Paonessa Talent. Instagram and YouTube @shalzinator 

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