Interrobang Theatre Project Presents FALLING

Interrobang Theatre Project concludes its 2016-17 Season, exploring "Flesh and Blood," with the Chicago premiere of Deanna Jent's drama FALLING, one family's battle against stigma from society and each other. Directed by Co-Artistic Director James Yost*, FALLING will play March 17 - April 16, 2017 at The Athenaeum Theatre (Studio 2), 2936 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.interrobangtheatre.org, by calling (773) 935-6875 or in person at The Athenaeum Theatre Box Office. The press opening is Sunday, March 19 at 2 pm.

FALLING features Nick Freed, Tristan Hall, Amy Johnson, Heidi Katz and Justin Tsatsa.

It takes a village, and then some. For Tami Martin, raising her 17-year-old severely autistic son Josh, is not only a full time job, it's a labor of love. But Josh's increasingly violent outbursts and pressure from her family threaten to drive Tami's efforts and her sanity to the brink.

Comments director James Yost, "Falling is a play abouT Loving someone who is hard to love. It's a play about learning to give in and let go, even when you are terrified. And most importantly, it's a play about what it means to be a mother. When I first read Falling, I was incredibly moved by Tami's determination and courage to merely make it through each day, as well as Deanna Jent's truthful portrayal of a family living with autism. This is an important play for today, with our current administration and the potential of programs being cut or underfunded, Falling looks at the limited resources available to families and children with needs. Autism affects the entire family structure and Falling explores these effects with painfully truthful detail."

Autism Awareness Month:

April marks National Autism Awareness Month. To help raise autism awareness, Interrovang will be hosting a series of post-show discussions with playwright Deanna Jent and local autism experts. The schedule is as follow:

Talkbacks with Playwright Deanna Jent: Friday, March 31 (7:30 pm), Saturday, April 1 (2 pm & 7:30 pm) and Sunday, April 2* (2 pm). *Autism Awareness Day.

Talkbacks with Local Autism Experts: Saturday, March 18 (7:30 pm), Sunday, March 26 (2 pm), Monday, April 10 (7:30 pm) and Sunday, April 16 (2 pm).

The production team for FALLING includes: Greg Pinsoneault (scenic design), Steph Taylor (costume design), Rob Stepek (lighting design), Morgan Lake (sound design), Pauline Oleksy (properties design) Joseph Wiens (asst. director), Margaret Knapp (dramaturg), Alan Weusthoff (technical director) and Christina Casano (stage manager). *Denotes Interrobang Theatre Project Company Member.

Title: FALLING

Playwright: Deanna Jent

Director: Co-Artistic Director James Yost*

Cast: Nick Freed (Bill), Tristan Hall (Lisa), Amy Johnson (Tami), Heidi Katz (Grammy Sue) and Justin Tsatsa (Josh).

Location: The Athenaeum Theatre (Studio 2), 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago

Dates: Thursday, March 23 - Sunday, April 16, 2017

Curtain Times: Thursdays and Fridays & 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 2 pm & 7:30 pm; Sundays at 2 pm. Please note: there will not be a performance on Sunday, April 9 at 2 pm. There will be an added performance on Monday, April 10 at 7:30 pm.

Hearing Impaired Accessible Performance: Saturday, April 1 at 2 pm

ASL Accessible Peformances: Saturday, April 1 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, April 2 at 2 pm

Tickets: Previews: $12. Regular run: $24; Students $17 (with ID), Seniors $17. (Ticket prices include $2 Athenaeum Theatre restoration fee).

Tickets are currenlty available at www.interrobangtheatre.org, by calling (773) 935-6875 or in person at The Athenaeum Theatre Box Office.

Deanna Jent (Playwright) is the Artistic Director of Mustard Seed Theatre and a Professor of Theatre at Fontbonne University in St. Louis, where she's been teaching since 1995. She has written stage adaptations of the novels Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis and Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos. Her play Falling won the Kevin Kline award for Best New Play of 2011 and was nominated for a Drama Desk Best Play Award following its off-Broadway run in 2012. Falling was produced in Singapore in 2016 and has been translated into Portuguese for an upcoming production in Brazil. She has directed at professional theaters throughout St. Louis and was named "Best Director of a Musical" by the St. Louis Theatre Circle for Mustard Seed Theatre's production of All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. Deanna grew up southwest of Chicago in Plano and earned her Ph.D. at Northwestern University in 1989.

James Yost (Director/Co-Artistic Director) With BareBones Theatre Group (Charlotte, NC), for which he served as Artistic Director for 12 years, Yost has staged over 50 plays and has won several awards, including "Theatre Person of the Year" in 2001. Selected credits include: Mr. Marmalade, Psycho Beach Party, Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical, The Graduate, The Play About the Baby, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Drift, Ugly Art, bash; the latter-day plays, Squirrels, The Wizard of Oz, Lend Me A Tenor, True West, The Pitchfork Disney and Noises Off. He has produced several new play festivals and was the co-producer of Charlotte's City Stage Summer Play Festival. For ITP, Yost has directed Orange Flower Water (Jeff nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Joseph Wiens), Ibsen is Dead and the critically acclaimed Really Really. Most recently, he directed True West by Sam Shepard for Shattered Globe Theatre. Yost has also taught acting, directing, production design and film at the high school and collegiate level. He is published in Teaching Theatre Journal, a publication of Dramatics Magazine.

Now in its seventh season, Interrobang Theatre Project, under the artistic leadership of Georgette Verdin and James Yost, has been hailed by the Chicago Tribune as a "company to watch" and by Time Out Chicago as "one of Chicago's most promising young theatre companies." Productions have included the world premiere of Ibsen Is Dead (Jeff Recommended) and the Jeff Award Recommended The Pitchfork Disney, Terminus, Orange Flower Water, Really Really, Recent Tragic Events and The North Pool. The critically-acclaimed Hot 'N' Throbbing earned a 5-star review from Time Out Chicago which called the production a "scintillating revival" and Newcity Stage exclaimed, "Interrobang Theatre Project, guns ablaze, dives headfirst into the play's challenging themes, and offers a rare production in which every element onstage is as robust and capable as every other."

What's an interrobang?

An interrobang is the combination of a question mark and an exclamation point, joining the Latin for "question" (interro) with a proofreading term for "exclamation" (bang). Through the plays we produce, Interrobang Theatre Project aims to pose worthwhile and exciting questions which challenge our understanding and assumptions of who we are and the world in which we live.

For more information, please visit www.interrobangtheatreproject.org.

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