Casting Announced For Broken Nose Theatre's THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION

Broken Nose Theatre, recipient of the 2018 Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award, is pleased to announce casting for Sam Chanse's contemplative new drama THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION, directed by company member Jen Poulin*

THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION will feature company member Echaka Agba* and artistic associate Aria Szalai-Raymond+ with Richard Costes.

THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION will play June 2 - 30, 2018 at The Den Theatre (2A), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Tickets are currently available at brokennosetheatre.com. Tickets for all Broken Nose Theatre productions are available on a "pay-what-you-can" basis, allowing patrons to set their own price and ensuring theatre remains economically accessible for all audiences. The press opening is Monday, June 4 at 7:30 pm.

A couple flees to the Mojave Desert in the wake of a social media firestorm. A young woman obsessively studies the oncoming impact of climate change. As the world heats up, tensions rise and the political becomes indistinguishable from the environmental, these three find one another in the shadow of the endangered Joshua tree, wondering how long they have before everything falls apart.

"We are living in turbulent and uncertain times, not only as a country but on a global scale, and even as individuals," comments Artistic Director Benjamin Brownson. "When the whole world seems ready to burn, how do you connect with strangers, lovers and your fellow human beings? In a time when we have a President tweeting nuclear threats and teenagers building mass movements via Facebook, will social media destroy the planet or save us all? How do we stay focused on love, family and the ties that bind us to one another when our success, our security, our very survival as a species is under threat by a whole host of forces seemingly out of our control? Opportunities of Extinction explores these and other questions without offering any easy answers, and we couldn't be more pleased with the stellar cast and team who will be bringing this world premiere production to life."

The production team for THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION includes: Devon Green+ (scenic and props design), Martin Hanna* (costume design), Cat Davis (lighting design), Therese Ritchie (asst. scenic and props design), David Weiss (dramaturg), Rose Hamill (production manager) and Jackie Marschke (stage manager).

* Denotes BNT company member

+ Denotes BNT artistic associate

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION

Playwright: Sam Chanse

Director: company member Jen Poulin*

Cast: (in alphabetical order): Echaka Agba* (Mel), Richard Costes (Arjun) and Aria Szalai-Raymond (Georgia).

Location: The Den Theatre (2A), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago

Dates: Previews: Saturday, June 2 at 7:30 pm

Opening: Sunday, June 3 at 3 pm

Press Opening: Monday, June 4 at 7:30 pm

Regular Run: Thursday, June 30 - Saturday, June 30, 2018

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm

Industry Night: Monday, June 11 at 7:30 pm

Understudy Night: Wednesday, June 20 at 7:30 pm

Tickets: Pay-what-you-can. Tickets are currently available at brokennosetheatre.com.

About the Artists

Sam Chanse's (Playwright) plays include The Opportunities of Extinction, The Other Instinct, Fruiting Bodies and Lydia's Funeral Video. A former Sundance/Ucross Playwright Fellow, MacDowell Fellow, Playwrights Realm Writing Fellow and Rita Goldberg Playwrights' Workshop Fellow at The Lark, she has also received residencies from Djerassi, Tofte Lake Center and SPACE at Ryder Farm. Her work has been recognized by The Kilroys, and commissions include Ensemble Studio Theatre/Sloan, Ma-Yi/the Flea, Second Generation, Leviathan Lab and the San Francisco Arts Commission. Her first solo play, Lydia's Funeral Video, is published by Kaya Press. She is a resident playwright at New Dramatists, and a member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab and Ars Nova's Play Group. www.samchanse.com.

Jen Poulin (Director) is a director and dramaturg based in Chicago. She serves as Development Director for Broken Nose Theatre, and artistic associate at No Stakes Theater Project. Recent directing credits include Gidion's Knot (Habakkuk Theatre), Faith in a Fallen World, Above the Ceiling, (readings, Chicago Dramatists), What of the Night? (AD, Stage Left Theatre), The You You Hear, Yet To Be (Bechdel Fest, Broken Nose Theatre) and Fragile Filigree Love (The Future is Female festival). Jen has worn many hats since receiving her Theatre Studies BFA from University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign: educator, box-office assistant, blood mopper, script mistress, producer and performer.

About Broken Nose Theatre

Broken Nose Theatre is Chicago's premier Pay-What-You-Can theatre company. Founded in 2012, BNT has produced and developed 11 full-length plays (including 8 Chicago or World Premieres) and over 40 new womencentric short plays through our annual Bechdel Fest. We strive to spark conversation, cultivate empathy, and amplify underrepresented voices, and are committed to making new, exciting and relevant theatre that is economically accessible to all audiences. For more information, please visit brokennosetheatre.com.

PHOTO CREDIT: The cast of Broken Nose Theatre's new play THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION includes (left to right) Echaka Agba, Richard Costes and Aria Szalai-Raymond.

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