ATC and Black Box Acting Studio Closes UNPLUGGED 7/28

American Theater Company, in a partnership with Black Box Acting Studio, presents Unplugged, a summer repertory of three new plays. Sixteen acting students from Black Box's Meisner 4.0 program will perform workshop productions of the following new plays in rotating repertory: Goldstar, Ohio by Michael Tisdale, directed by PJ Paparelli; Hot Georgia Sunday by Catherine Trieschmann, directed by Anne Adams; and We Three by Mary Hamilton, directed by Jason W. Gerace. The Meisner 4.0 Acting Instructors are Black Box Acting Studio Founders Laura Hooper and Audrey Francis. The repertory will run Monday-Wednesday July 26-28, 2010 6pm and 9pm at ATC (full schedule is below).

"Chicago has a reputation for raw, visceral, fearless talent on stage. Black Box works to uphold and forward that reputation," say Meisner 4.0 founders Hooper and Francis. "We can't imagine a better audience than Chicago, or a better home for Unplugged than ATC."

"Unplugged focuses on providing some of the country's most exciting emerging playwrights a unique play development opportunity without the pressure of ticket sales, reviews, and big production budgets," says ATC Artistic Director PJ Paparelli. "Black Box had grounded, truthful actors ready for the challenge of new work. ATC had a group of plays in development ready to be realized. It seemed like the perfect match."

ATC provides local and national playwrights a series of new play development initiatives geared toward exploring the core question of the company's mission: "What does it mean to be an American?" In addition to 8-10 annual workshops and readings, ATC produces two short play festivals: 10 x 10, 10 ten-minute plays from Chicago playwrights focused on events immediately happening in America; and Big Shoulders, 10 short plays about Chicago from un-produced/unpublished Chicago writers.

For its 25th Anniversary, ATC invited national and local playwrights to collaborate on The Silver Project, an ambitious festival featuring 33 new short plays exploring America between 1985-2010.

ATC is committed to producing one or two World or Chicago premieres each season. Recent premieres include Speech & Debate by Stephen Karam, The People's Temple by members of the Tectonic Theatre Project, Celebrity Row by Itamar Moses, Yeast Nation by Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann, Distracted by Lisa Loomer, and Welcome to Arroyo's by Kristoffer Diaz. Next season ATC will premiere a newly restored and revised version of The Original Grease by Jim Jacobs and WarRen Casey; and The Big Meal by Dan LeFranc, recipient of the 2010 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award.

The plays featured in Unplugged are in development and cannot be reviewed by the press. The following workshop performances are open to the general public:

Goldstar, Ohio
Written by Michael Tisdale
Directed by PJ Paparelli
Ohio. 2004. The small town of Dresden is forever transformed when military casualty officers arrive with devastating news. Taken from over 75 hours of interviews with over ten families, this groundbreaking documentary drama explores the domestic perspective on the Iraq War, and forges a heartbreaking tie that binds a group of strangers from a small American town.

Monday, July 26 at 6pm
Tuesday, July 27 at 9pm

Hot Georgia Sunday
Written by Catherine Trieschmann
Directed by Anne Adams
Georgia. 2010. A group of parishioners from the local Baptist church each tell their version of the events of one legendary weekend that rocked a small rural community. Assembling an unforgettable group of "locals", this world premiere play takes city folk on a journey into the lives of the faithful in rural America.

Tuesday, July 27 at 6pm
Wednesday, July 28 at 9pm

We Three
Written by Mary Hamilton
Directed by Jason W. Gerace
A Small Town. Winter. This modern American folktale follows the intertwining of three lives around the mysterious disappearance of a local girl who has fallen through the ice of a local creek. This haunting and powerful tale explores the beliefs we create to fill absences and deep wounds of longing and loss.

Monday, July 26 at 9pm
Wednesday, July 28 at 6pm

About the Ensemble
The Black Box Acting Studio Meisner 4.0 Ensemble includes: Sam Buti, Chelly Brodsky, Marissa Chastain, Carolyn Coppedge, Amrita Dhaliwal, Eddie Diaz, John Luzar, Aida Padilla, Samson Sando, Olivia Scott, James Sladek, Ian Smith, Andrew Strenk, Shannon Sullivan, Jacob A. Ware, and Conor Woods.

About Black Box Acting Studio
Founded in January 2009 by Laura Hooper and Audrey Francis, Black Box Acting Studio began with 12 students. One year later, Black Box is now the proud home to 150 Chicago actors. Black Box Acting Studio is a conservatory program designed to create the fearless actor. According to Amy Morton, Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble Member and Tony Award-Nominee for August: Osage County, "Laura and Audrey are the real deal. Their approach is practical, meaningful and inspiring. An actor couldn't be in better hands." For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Black Box Acting Studio at 312.242.1867.

About American Theater Company
American Theater Company is an ensemble of artists committed to producing new and classic American stories that ask the question, "What does it mean to be an American?" Box Office 773.409.4125 or www.atcweb.org.

American Theater Company is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and CityArts II. Additional valuable support is provided by the Alphawood Foundation, the Boeing Charitable Trust, the Bruce B. Boyd Foundation, the Elizabeth F. Chaney Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, the Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Polk Bros. Foundation, the MacArthur Fund at Prince Charitable Trust, and the Shubert Foundation.

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