Chicago DCA Theater Announces Their Fall 2010 Season

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs announces its 2010 fall season of events at the Chicago DCA Theaters-the Storefront Theater, located at 66 E. Randolph Street and the Studio Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street.

Chicago DCA Theater offers downtown audiences an off-Loop theater experience with an exciting look at the vibrant emerging theater companies that call Chicago home. As an anchor of the downtown theater district, the DCA Storefront Theater schedule will feature productions by LiveWire Chicago Theatre, Factory Theater, monsterclowngirl, inc, and a collaboration between Caffeine Theatre and Chicago Opera Vanguard.

Chicago DCA Theater will also host four theater companies in its Studio Theater Incubator Program. The selected companies are Bricklayers Theatre Company, Thirteen Pocket, Strange Tree Group, and Sideshow Theatre Company. Additionally, DCA Theater will present several partner events with The Vet Art Project and the AFTRA/SAG Senior Radio Players.

All tickets are available by calling (312) 742-TIXS (8497), visiting www.dcatheater.org, or stopping by the Storefront Theater box office, open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 4 p.m.; and one hour prior to each performance. Discounts are available for Chicago Cultural Center Mosaic Members, theater industry affiliates, military personnel, ADA companions, and large groups.

Discounted parking is once again available at Wabash Randolph Self Park at 20 E. Randolph. Patrons can receive the $10 rate by validating their ticket at the Storefront Theater box office.

CHICAGO DCA THEATER FALL 2010 SEASON

Hideous Progeny
Presented by LiveWire Chicago Theatre
Media Opening: Thursday, August 26, at 7:30 pm
August 26 - September 26, 2010
Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm
Post-show Discussion following the Thursday, September 2, performance
Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph Street
Tickets: $20 general admission; $15 for seniors and students
www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

It was a dark and stormy night in a house by the lake, when Mary Shelley famously took up her host Lord Byron's challenge to write a terrifying story and created Frankenstein, one of the most famous novels in the Western canon. Witty, salacious, and often melodramatic, Emily Dendinger's world premiere play directed by Jess Hutchinson depicts the larger than life Romantic figures as the normal teenagers they were - overeducated, egotistical, and ready to change the world.

1985
Presented by Factory Theater
Media Opening: Thursday, October 7, at 7:30 pm
October 5 - November 7, 2010
Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm
Post-show Discussion following the Thursday October 14, performance
Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph Street
Tickets $25 general admission; $10 for previews (10/5 & 10/6)
www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

PAPA BEAR IS WATCHING YOU. Winston Smith is sick of losing. His Chicago sports teams let him down time and again, and he's through. Or is he? Is it even possible to disavow himself of his team loyalty? Bear down, Chicago, and discover what happened to the Cubs in '84; what treachery existed behind the ‘79 Disco Demolition; how the Eastland Disaster saved the NFL; and why the '85 Bears lost that game in Miami. On this 25th anniversary of the celebrated Super Bowl Shuffle season, Factory Theater imagines an Orwellian Chicago where winning isn't everything, it just might be the only thing.

Madam Barker's Halloween Variety Show
Presented by monsterclowngirl, inc
Media Opening: Wednesday, October 13, at 7:30 pm
October 13 - November 3, 2010
Wednesdays at 7:30 pm
Post-show Discussion following the Wednesday, October 20, performance
Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph Street
Tickets: $20 general admission; $15 for seniors and students
www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

Madam Barker has died...again. But not to fear, the aging singer, who has never been a star and loves a live paying audience, is back to host her own funeral, celebrating her numerous reincarnations throughout American history and featuring Chicago's finest magicians, clowns, sideshow freaks, and burlesque dancers. With her Piano Player John Fournier and her Gorgeous and Terrifying Barker Dames, Molly Brennan reprises the title role with guest appearances by Top Chef Masters' Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill and Peter Sagal of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" in this risqué Halloween celebration of life and death and the great beyond.

Boojum! Nonsense, Truth, and Lewis Carroll
Presented by Caffeine Theatre and Chicago Opera Vanguard
Media Opening: Thursday, November 18, at 7:30 pm
November 16 - December 19, 2010
Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm
No performance on Thursday November 25, due to the Thanksgiving holiday
Additional matinee performance on Saturday, November 27, at 2 pm
Post-show Discussion following the Thursday, December 2, performance
Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph Street
Tickets: $25 general admission; $15 for seniors and students; $15 for previews (11/16 & 11/17)
www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

"For the Snark was a Boojum, you see," sets the stage for this fun-filled romp through the mind of writer Lewis Carroll. Part existential musical theatre and part fantasy adventure story, this riff on Carroll's epic poem "The Hunting of the Snark" examines the psychological life of Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, the man behind the Lewis Carroll pen name. As his poem warns, "catching Snarks is all well and good, but if your Snark is a Boojum, you will softly and suddenly vanish away." But while the hunting party moves towards its fateful catch, they discover with Carroll and his Alice that Nothing is quite what it seems. Caffeine Theatre and Chicago Opera Vanguard collaborate on the US stage premiere of this hit Australian musical.

CHICAGO DCA'S STUDIO THEATER INCUBATOR FALL 2010 SEASON

The Studio Theater Incubator Series supports the creation of new work by emerging Chicago theater companies. Utilizing Chicago DCA Theater resources and rehearsal space in the Chicago Cultural Center, participants explore new projects, develop and refine styles, and share their process with the public during a special showcase event.

The evening showcase events offer a glimpse into the companies' projects through readings, performances, or works-in-process. The events are pay-what-you-can, but reservations are encouraged by calling 312.742.TIXS (8497) or by visiting www.dcatheater.org.

Bricklayers Theatre Company
Incubator Showcase for Mother Courage and Her Children
Monday, July 26, at 7:30 pm
Studio Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, entrance at 77 E. Randolph Street
Pay-what-you-can: $5 suggested donation at the door
Reservations encouraged at www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

The Bricklayers Theatre Company produces original adaptations of classic texts in mask, using a French mask pedagogy. Barbra Berlovitz, a founding artistic director of Theatre de la Jeune Lune in Minneapolis, joins The Bricklayers and an international creative team to develop the Chicago premiere of Tony Kushner's masterful translation of Brecht's most powerful play.

XIII Pocket
Incubator Showcase for Lack Thereof: A Development Series
Monday, August 30, at 7:30 pm
Studio Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, entrance at 77 E. Randolph Street
Pay-what-you-can: $5 suggested donation at the door
Reservations encouraged at www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

XIII Pocket develops and produces theatrical works with a focus on artistic communication with members of the community. In Lack Thereof, they plan to develop three original scripts by three different members of the ensemble. The one night only showcase event will present selected readings from all three scripts and invite discussion on the bare workings of their creation.

Strange Tree Group
Incubator Showcase for The Spirit Play
Monday, September 27, at 7:30 pm
Studio Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, entrance at 77 E. Randolph Street
Pay-what-you-can: $5 suggested donation at the door
Reservations encouraged at www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

The Strange Tree Group is a collective of multifaceted individuals dedicated to creating intricate, intimate theatrical experiences that extend beyond the traditional stage and celebrate the strange, the magical, and the surprisingly usual nature of unusual behavior. They are developing a work centered on the turn-of-the-20th century American fascination with mediums, spirit photography, and séances for an exploration of belief vs. truth.

Sideshow Theatre Company
Incubator Showcase for Strangerland
Monday, October 25, at 7:30 pm
Studio Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, entrance at 77 E. Randolph Street
Pay-what-you-can: $5 suggested donation at the door
Reservations encouraged at www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

Sideshow Theatre Company mines the collective unconscious, drawing inspiration from shared stories, memories, and images to spark new conversations and works. Strangerland is their first ensemble devised work, a project that began in 2009 as a weekly thematic writing assignment and dialogue among the cross-county network of Sideshow Artistic Associates.

CHICAGO DCA THEATER SPECIAL EVENTS FALL 2010 SEASON

AFTRA/SAG Senior Radio Players
Audiences are invited to witness the performance of classic radio scripts by voice actors, sound effects artists and, often, live musicians. The AFTRA/SAG Players stay faithful to the original model by having to get it right the first time - no retakes permitted. Admission is Free

The Man Who Came to Dinner
Tuesday, July 20, at 7 pm
Claudia Cassidy Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street

The Enormous Radio and The Shop Around the Corner
Wednesday, October 6, at 7 pm
Claudia Cassidy Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street

The Gift of Laughter
Wednesday, December 8, at 7 pm
Claudia Cassidy Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street

The Vet Art Project Performance Series
The Vet Art Project creates opportunities for veterans and their families to work in collaboration with artists from multiple disciplines to create new art about war. This unique performance series features several short works-in-progress with a brief discussion on the impact of art on the veteran community. Admission is free and the public is welcome.

Wednesday, August 18, 6:30-10 pm
1st floor Garland Room in the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street

Wednesday, November 17, 6:30-10 pm
4th floor Conference Room in the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street

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