Bonnie Metzgar to Direct Red Tape Theatre's THE WALK ACROSS AMERICA FOR MOTHER EARTH; Cast Announced

Casting has been completed for Red Tape Theatre's (RTT) upcoming Chicago Premiere of The Walk Across America for Mother Earth. (Full cast list below) Tickets are on sale now at www.steppenwolf.org and 312.335.1650. All performances will be held at the Steppenwolf Garage Theatre located at 1624 N Halsted St, as part of the sixth annual Garage Rep. General Admission tickets are $20, with a limited number of discounted student tickets for each performance and "Pay What You Can" tickets for Wednesday performances only. A complete performance schedule of the 2015 Garage Rep can be found at www.steppenwolf.org.

Political activism meets bedazzled drag show in this story about two young friends who flee their suburban upbringing in "Real America" to join a ragtag group of activists on a protest march from D.C. to Nevada. On the road, the group attempts to establish a nomadic utopia, but the marchers continually find themselves divided by unrequited affections, indecision, and a secret hunger for power. Whimsically blending commedia dell'arte influences with song and dance, The Walk Across America for Mother Earth explores how the idea of community sometimes fails to unite us, and sometimes brings us together in the most unexpected ways.

Taylor Mac is a theater artist (whose gender is, performer and who goes by the gender pronoun, judy), which means judy's a playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, cabaret performer, performance artist, and sometime director and producer. "A critical darling of the New York scene" (New York Magazine) TimeOut New York has called judy, "One of the most exciting theater artists of our time" (naming judy the best cabaret performer in New York, in 2012, and a future theater legend). American Theater Magazine says, "Mac is one of this country's most heroic and disarmingly funny playwrights. The New Yorker says, of Mac's acting in Brecht's "Good Person of Szechwan", "One of contemporary theater's more unforgettable performances." The Village Voice has named Taylor the Best Theater Actor in New York (2013) and The New York Times says of Mac in general, "Fabulousness can come in many forms, and Taylor Mac seems intent on assuming every one of them."

Taylor's other plays include "The Fre", "Hir", "The Lily's Revenge", "The Young Ladies Of", "The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac", "Red Tide Blooming", "Okay", "Maurizio Pollini", "A Crevice", "An Oblation", and judy's first play "The Hot Month". For further information, visit taylormac.net.

Bonnie Metzgar is a playwright, director, dramaturg and producer, and is currently a member of the Goodman's Playwrights unit. From 2008-2013, Metzgar served as Artistic Director of Chicago's About Face Theatre, dedicated to advancing the national dialogue on sexuality and gender. At About Face, Metzgar directed plays by Philip Dawkins, Sylvan Oswald, Alexi Kaye Campbell, John C. Russell and was the first to present Taylor Mac to Chicago audiences.

Her play You Lost Me was a 2014 Finalist for the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Festival, and was selected for the 2014 Great Plains Theater Conference. In fall 2014, Metzgar directed Let Me Down Easy by Anna Deavere Smith (American Theater Company) starring Usman Ally. Currently, Ms. Metzgar has an NEA commission to write a new piece on transgender Civil War soldier Albert Cashier with composer Tamara Roberts for About Face Theatre. She is honored to serve on the National Advisory Committee for Howlround at Arts Emerson.

In 2006-07, Metzgar produced the 365 Festival based on Suzan Lori-Parks's epic 365 Days/365 Plays, an international event with over 600 participating theaters sharing in a yearlong world premiere. From 2004-2007, Metzgar was the Associate Artistic Director of Curious Theatre Company in Denver where she was named "2006 Colorado Theater person of the year". Metzgar also spent nine years as Associate Producer at the Public Theater in NYC where she founded Joe's Pub. Metzgar was previously the 2013-14 Djerassi Fellow in Playwriting at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and currently teaches at DePaul. Metzgar is proud to be on the rotating faculty of Hollins University's MFA Playwriting program and has taught at Brown, University of Chicago, Wisconsin, Yale, and the University of Colorado. She received her MFA in Playwriting from the University of Iowa and her BA from Brown.

Red Tape Theatre, now in our 11th season, is committed to the creation of new and experimental work through collaborations with our ensemble, playwrights, musicians, dancers, and visual artists. Red Tape's plays invite our audiences to re-imagine their world and serve a vital purpose in our community: to arrest attention and create empathy. This work is additionally supported by our Fresh Eyes Playwrighting Workshops which are produced annually.

The cast, crew and Artistic Staff of The Walk Across America for Mother Earth
are as follows:

CAST
ENSEMBLE: Breon Arzell
BEEKA: Nikos Brisco
NICK: Nick Combs*
MARSHA: Sean Ewert
KELLY: Alex Grelle
ENSEMBLE: Luke Michael Grimes JIMACA: Witch Hazel FLOWER: Ruth Margraff
ANGIE: Morgan McNaught GREETER: Johnard Washington* KING ARTHUR: Sadie Rodgers
RAINBOW CARL: Angelica Roque STAFF/CREW
PLAYWRIGHT: Taylor Mac
MUSIC BY: Ellen Maddow
DIRECTOR: Bonnie Metzgar
ARTISTIC CONSULTANT: Eric Hoff
PRODUCING DIRECTOR: JD Cannady*
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Julian Gonzalez
MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Nikos Brisco
CASTING DIRECTOR: Laura Durham*
SCENIC DESIGNER: Yu Shibagaki
LIGHTING DESIGNER: Rebecca Barrett
COSTUME/MAKE-UP DESIGNER: Izumi Inaba*
SOUND DESIGNER: Aaron Stephenson ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Katrina Dion
ASSISTANT COSTUME/MAKE-UP DESIGNER: Liesl Krieger

*Denotes RTT Ensemble Member

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