Chicago DCA Theater Announces Winter/Spring 2011 Season

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs announces its 2011 winter/spring 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 theater companies that call Chicago home. As an anchor of the downtown theater district, the DCA Storefront Theater schedule will feature four world premier productions by WildClaw Theatre, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Theater Oobleck, and New Leaf Theatre. ShawChicago will also present a staged reading in the DCA Studio Theater.

Continuing the Studio Theater Incubator Program, Chicago DCA Theater will host two theater companies - Tympanic Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of Chicago. Additionally, DCA Theater will present several special theater events including the AFTRA/SAG Senior Radio Players, the Teen Comedy Festival, and the SKALD 12 Storytelling Festival.

All tickets are available by calling 312.742.TIXS (8497), visiting www.dcatheater.org, or stopping by the DCA Box Office in the Chicago Cultural Center at 78 E. Washington Street, open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 pm and Sundays, noon to 4 pm. When available, tickets go on sale one hour before each performance at the Storefront Theater. 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 WINTER/SPRING 2011 SEASON

Carmilla adapted by Aly Renee Greaves
World Premiere Production Presented by WildClaw Theatre
Directed by Scott Cummins
Media Opening: Friday, January 14, at 7:30 pm
January 13 - February 20, 2011
Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm
No performance on Friday, February 11, due to the holiday
Additional performance on Monday, February 14, at 7:30 pm
Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph Street
Tickets: $20 for general admission; $10 for seniors and students; $10 for preview (1/13)
www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

Female vampires unleash upon the stage in this premiere of a new adaptation of J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Victorian horror story. A young English woman living in a remote castle in Eastern Europe becomes intrigued by a mysterious house guest, the enigmatic Carmilla. As the neighboring countryside and villages fall victim to a series of unexplained grisly murders, young Laura finds herself swept up in a whirlwind of forbidden desire quite extraordinary for a 19th- century woman.

Related Programs
Wednesday, January 19, at 6:30 pm: Film Screening of Let's Scare Jessica to Death with introduction and Q & A with film director John D. Hancock
Thursday, February 3: Post-show discussion following the performance
Monday, February 7, at 7 pm: Women in Horror Panel Discussion

Precious Little by Madeline George
World Premiere Production Presented by Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Directed by Julieanne Ehre
Media Opening: Thursday, March 3, at 7:30 pm
March 1- April 2, 2011
Thursdays - Fridays at 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 3 pm and 7:30 pm
Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph Street
Tickets: $25 for general admission; $15 for seniors and students; $15 for previews (3/1& 3/2)
www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

When Brodie, a professor of linguistics, learns her unborn child may have a genetic abnormality that would prevent the child from ever learning language, she finds comfort and the power of communication with an extraordinary companion. This is a play that looks at the limits of language-and what lies beneath its surface.

Related Programs
Tuesday, March 8, at 12:15 pm: Two Mommies, One Mommy, Two Daddies, One Daddy...the Rapidly Changing Face(s) of the American Family Panel Discussion
Thursday, March 10: Post-show discussion following the performance

There Is a Happiness That Morning Is by Mickle Maher
World Premiere Production Presented by Theater Oobleck
Media Opening: Thursday, April 14, at 7:30 pm
April 14 - May 22, 2011
Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm
The Thursday, May 19, performance will start at 8 pm; No performance on Sunday, April 24, due to Easter holiday
Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph Street
Tickets: Pay-what-you-can, $15 suggested donation
www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

Playwright Mickle Maher debuts this comedy in rhymed verse told via two lectures on the poetry of William Blake: one given in the morning by Bernard, a middle-aged, barely published poet of scant scholarship, on the Songs of Innocence, and the other in the afternoon by his lover, Ellen, a reputable Ph.D., on the Songs of Experience. Having engaged the evening before in a highly inappropriate display of public affection on the main lawn of their rural New England campus, the two undergraduate lecturers must now, in class, either apologize for their behavior or effectively justify it if they want to keep their jobs.

Related Programs
Thursday, April 21: Post-show discussion following the performance
Thursday, May 18: Post-show discussion following the performance

Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
Presented by ShawChicago
Directed by Robert Scogin
Media Opening: Sunday, April 17, at 2 pm
April 16 - May 15, 2011
Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm; Mondays at 7 pm
Studio Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street
Tickets: $22 general admission; $20 for seniors; $10 for students
www.shawchicago.org or (312) 587-7390

ShawChicago returns to the Studio Theater with a staged reading of Bernard Shaw's play about the ridiculous shams mythologized in romance and battle. Bluntschli, the pragmatic outsider, educates the accidental hero, Sergius, and the operatically inclined heroine, Raina, in the ways of the real world, and changes their Bulgarian social landscape at the same time. Life is not as it's portrayed in romantic novels. It's more serious, and also a lot funnier.

Related Programs
Saturday, April 23: Post-show discussion following the performance
Saturday, April 30: Post-show discussion following the performance

Lighthousekeeping adapted by Georgette Kelly
World Premiere Production Presented by New Leaf Theatre
Directed by Jessica Hutchinson
Media Opening: Thursday, June 9, at 7:30 pm
June 8 - July 17, 2011
Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm
Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph Street
Tickets: $25 for general admission; $18 for seniors and students; $15 for preview (6/8)
www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

Silver, a young woman twice flung from her home, learns to tell herself like a story, piecing together the disparate people and events that make up her life. This epic journey of love, longing, and light explores the gambles and gifts of choosing to change from one life to the next. This adaptation of Jeanette Winterson's beloved novel was featured last season in New Leaf's Treehouse Readings series.

Related Programs
Thursday, June 15: Post-show discussion following the performance
Friday, June 17, at 12:15 pm: Lighthouses of Chicago Harbor Lecture by Donald J. Terras

 

CHICAGO DCA'S STUDIO THEATER INCUBATOR WINTER 2011 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.

Tympanic Theatre Company
Incubator Showcase
Monday, January 31, 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 Tympanic Theatre Company produces new work with fantastical, frightening, or absurd subject matter that provokes, inspires, and entertains. The company is developing Verse Chorus Verse by Randy Colburn, a metaphysical thriller about drugs, reincarnation, and Kurt Cobain.

The State Theatre of Chicago
Incubator Showcase for The Blood Sun
Monday, February 28, 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 State Theatre explores the state of theater, cultivates a state of defiance against the norm, and celebrates the state of the human condition. The company is developing The Blood Sun, the true story of Nongqawuse, an orphan girl, whose prophecies bring hope and destruction to the South African Xhosa nation.

 

CHICAGO DCA THEATER SPECIAL EVENTS WINTER/SPRING 2011 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 War of the Worlds
Wednesday, February 23, at 7 pm
Claudia Cassidy Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street

Fibber Writes a Movie and Let Me Tell You About My Operation
Wednesday, April 27, at 7 pm
Claudia Cassidy Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street

Around the World in Eighty Days
Tuesday, August 2, at 7 pm
Claudia Cassidy Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street

Teen Comedy Festival 2011
Presented with the Chicago Improv Festival
May 7, 2011
Chicago Cultural Center, entrance at 77 E. Randolph Street

Chicago Improv Festival Productions presents the 5th Annual Teen Comedy Fest, featuring over 150 teen improvisors, sketch comedians, and stand-up comics from across the country. The day of activities includes performances as well as educational workshops.

SKALD 12 Storytelling Festival
Presented by WNEP Theater
May 16 - May 21, 2011
Studio Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center, entrance at 77 E. Randolph Street

This week-long event celebrating the art of storytelling includes workshops and competitions for children (KIDSKALD), adults (MAELSTROM), and professionals (SKALD 12).

Kid Workshop
Monday, May 16, time to be determined
Admission is free, but reservations required by calling 312.742.TIXS (8497)

Adult Workshop
Tuesday, May 17, 6-10 pm
Admission is free, but reservations required by calling 312.742.TIXS (8497)

MAELSTROM
Friday, May 20, at 7:30 pm
Tickets are $15 at www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

KIDSKALD
Saturday, May 21, at 3 pm
Free, but reservations are encouraged at www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

SKALD 12
Saturday, May 21, at 7:30 pm
Tickets are $20 at www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

 

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