Akvavit Theatre Kicks Off 2014 Nordic Spirit Festival Today

Akvavit Theatre, now in its fourth year producing theatrical works that explore the Nordic experience, will be bringing its Nordic Spirit festival of staged readings to The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee, for 2014. Featuring contemporary work from all five Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland), the festival will begin today, December 12 and continue through Sunday, December 14.

Post-show discussions will follow each reading, and there will be a special St Lucia's Day celebration the evening of Saturday, December 13. While the full roster of participants is still pending, three Akvavit company members, Breahan Eve Pautsch, Kirstin Franklin, and Mark Litwicki, will be among the directors.

The plays featured in the Nordic Spirit Festival are often chosen as full productions in future Akvavit Seasons; the upcoming (March 2015) production of Blue Planet at Chicago's DCASE Storefront Theater was originally presented as a reading in the 2012 Festival. Past Nordic Spirit Directors include Jessica Hutchinson, Kevin Heckman, Robin Witt, Jonathan Berry, Paul S. Holmquist, James D. Palmer, and Lavina Jadhwani, as well as Akvavit company members Chad Eric Bergman, Wm. Bullion, Mark Litwicki, and Matthew Isler.

Akvavit Theatre especially welcomes directors, producers and other members of the Chicago theater community to attend and consider these engaging scripts which have not yet been seen or produced in the US.

Tentative Schedule:

Friday, December 12

7:30PM: Neverland by Maria Tryti Vennerød (Norway)

Saturday, December 13

3PM: The Orchestra by Okko Leo (Finland)

7:30PM: People Under the Sun by Jonas Gardell (Sweden)

Sunday, December 14

3PM: I Am the Maestro by Hrafnhildur Hagalín Guömundsdóttir (Iceland)

7:30PM: The Sauna by Tomas Lagermand Lundme (Denmark)

Admission to all readings is a suggested donation of $5.

As it becomes available, more information can be found at www.akvavittheatre.org.

Akvavit Theatre is a new voice in the Chicago theatre scene. Taking as our inspiration the striking landscapes of the five Nordic countries -- harnessing the force of the glacier, in its powerful seeming stillness, the volcano, in its sudden white-hot eruption, and the arctic silence in between -- we strive to find the universal through the voices of the Nordic world. This is our contribution to the American mosaic. And like our namesake drink, Akvavit brings a "strong spirit" to the plays, workshops and events that we produce. Skål, Skál, Kippis! For more information, visit www.akvavittheatre.org.

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