Babes With Blades Opens 11th Anniversary Season

WHAT: Babes With Blades inaugurates its 2008-2009, 11th anniversary season with Chicago Dramatists network playwright Mark Burns' Land of the Free, directed by Babes With Blades ensemble member Beth Cummings. It's Election Day, 2004, and a simple ride to the polls turns into a hostage situation in this high-energy, high stakes political comedy, featuring Anne Coulter, Oscar Wilde,Antigone, King Lear, the ringtone version of I Won't Back Down, and plenty of found-weapon stage combat. Will "calm" tea conquer partisan hysteria? Do cell phones survive submersion in toilets? Can Republicans and Democrats find any common ground? The show runs about 90 minutes with one intermission.
 
WHERE: Viaduct Theater, 3111 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60618, studio.
Street parking under the viaduct; CTA accessible by #49 Belmont and #77 Western CTA buses.
 

WHEN: Opening on Monday, September 22, 2008, 8 p.m. (reception following)
Closes on October 26, 2008
Runs Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m.
Previews on September 20 at 8 p.m., and September 21 at 3 p.m.
Industry shows on Thursdays and Sundays (not including Theater Thursday, September 25)

VOTE! discount from September 26 – October 26:  $5 off general/student and senior  admission with voter registration card Theater Thursday show on September 25 at 8 p.m., pre-show reception at 6:30 p.m.
Collection for Season of Concern from October 16-19
 
TICKETS:  773-296-6024, Viaduct Box Office; HotTix
$20 for general admission
$12 for students and seniors with ID         
$10 for previews
$25 for Theatre Thursday on September 25
$10 tickets for industry members on Thursdays and Sundays (except Theater Thursday) with resume/headshot/card
Please note: the Viaduct Box Office adds a $1 service charge to the listed prices.
 

 
STAFF: Babes With Blades ensemble members Leigh Barrett (Lighting Design, Producer), Libby Beyreis (Fight Choreography), Beth Cummings (Director), Gillian N. Humiston (Fight Captain), and Kjers McHugh (Stage Manager). Guest artists include Arielle Augustyn (Costume Design), Alexander Braatz (Sound Design), Mark Burns (Playwright), Jeff Lisse (Scenic Design), Kit Libenschek (Properties Design), and grumpy monkey graphics and design (Graphic Design).
 
CAST: Babes With Blades ensemble members Dawn Alden (Elizabeth), Gillian N. Humiston (Taylor), Morgan Manasa (Melanie), and Meghan M. Martinez (Susan).  Guest artists include Elisè Lammers (Jamie) and Ryan Christopher Zarecki (Deer/Tommy).
 
BIO: Mark Burns is a playwright/musician/performer who was born and raised in Chicago. He is a network playwright at Chicago Dramatists and a member of the Dramatists Guild. His productions include the ten-minute plays Kind of Blue and The Adventures of Mellow D (solo piece) at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, where he was an acting apprentice. His first full-length play Quarters received a staged reading at the Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest, IL. He frequently gigs around town in clubs and coffeehouses playing guitar with his acoustic pop duo, The Real Jane Martin, and lives in Berwyn with his wife Linda and their old, old cat, Ms. Celie. Land of the Free is Mark's first commission.
 
NEXT: William Shakespeare's Macbeth, directed by Kevin Heckman (currently Managing Director of Next Theatre, formerly Producing Artistic Director of Stage Left Theatre). Runs April 27 – May 31, 2009, at the Dream Theatre (556 W. 18th St, Chicago, IL, 60616).
 
FUNDERS: The Donnelley Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and The Saints.