LiveWire Chicago Stages Chicago Premiere of A PERMANENT IMAGE, Now thru 5/5

LiveWire Chicago Theatre, in association with Chicago Cultural Center Presents, continues its 2012-13 season with the Chicago premiere of the dysfunctional family drama A PERMANENT IMAGE, by Samuel D. Hunter, directed by LiveWire Executive Director Joshua Aaron Weinstein, playing tonight, April 4 - May 5, 2013 at The Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St. in Chicago. The production features Janice O'Neill, Ed Dzialo, Mary Williamson and Jack McCabe.

Tickets for A PERMANENT IMAGE go on sale Monday, February 25 at www.livewirechicago.com or by calling (312) 533-4666. The press performance is Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 pm.

A PERMANENT IMAGE introduces us to the members of an estranged family from small-town Idaho as they gather to bury the family patriarch just before Christmas. Siblings Bo and Ally arrive after years away to find that their mother has painted everything in the house-including magazines, calendars and the television-white. They worry about the mental health of their mother, but as the play unwinds, so too does the method behind her madness. Bo and Ally are suddenly faced with a reality that brings their already strained worlds crashing down. A PERMANENT IMAGE paints a startling picture of the interrelations of a broken family, going far deeper. How do we cope when confronted with just how small our lives really are in the big picture?

"Samuel D. Hunter is the kind of playwright that LiveWire Chicago Theatre is immediately drawn to," comments Artistic Director Joel Ewing. "He writes small stories about big ideas with a clear and distinct voice. While his plays are largely based in his native Idaho, his characters are universally familiar. We feel an immediate connection because Sam's rural Idaho seems like the places we all grew up in and the struggles his characters go through are the same we deal with every day. LiveWire was honored to produce the Chicago premiere of his Obie Award-winning play A Bright New Boise in 2011 and are thrilled to produce the Chicago premiere of A Permanent Image at The Storefront Theater," adds Ewing.

The production team for A PERMANENT IMAGE includes: Anders Jacobson* and Judy Radovsky* (scenic design), Noel Huntzinger (costume design), Eric Branson* (lighting design), Stephen Ptacek (sound design), Angela Campos (properties design), Liviu Pasare (video/projection design), Hilary Williams* (dramaturg), Chris Zdenek* (assistant director), Caitlin O'Rourke (stage manager), Chris Tabor (asst. stage manager), Mary Ellen Rieck (production manager) and Justin Snyder (technical director). *Denotes LiveWire Collective member.

Performances will play The Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St. in Chicago. Previews: Thursday, April 4 & Friday, April 5 at 7:30 pm. Press preview: Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 pm. Regular run: Sunday, April 7 - Sunday, May 5, 2013. Curtain Times: Thursday, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 2 pm.

Tickets: Previews: $10. Regular run: $15; $12 students, seniors & industry. Tickets for A PERMANENT IMAGE go on sale Monday, February 25 at www.livewirechicago.com or by calling (312) 533-4666. Advance tickets available for $10 through Wednesday, April 3 using code "ADVANCE."

Samuel D. Hunter's recent plays include A Bright New Boise (2011 OBIE award for playwriting, 2011 Drama Desk Nomination for Best Play; original production by Partial Comfort Productions in NYC, second production at Woolly Mammoth Theater Company), The Whale (recently at Playwrights Horizons, upcoming at Victory Gardens and South Coast Repertory, original production at the Denver Center), A Permanent Image (commissioned and produced by Boise Contemporary Theater), Jack's Precious Moment (Page 73 Productions at 59E59), Five Genocides (Clubbed Thumb at the Ohio Theater), Norway (Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis; Boise Contemporary Theater). He has active commissions from MTC/Sloan, LCT3, Seattle Rep, South Coast Rep, and Playwrights Horizons. His plays have been developed at the O'Neill Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, PlayPenn, Ojai Playwrights Conference, the Lark Playwrights Workshop, Juilliard, LAByrinth, Rattlestick, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, 24Seven Lab and elsewhere. Internationally, his work has been translated into Spanish and presented in Mexico City and Monterrey, and he has worked in the West Bank with Ashtar Theatre of Ramallah and Ayyam al-Masrah of Hebron. At Ashtar, he co-wrote The Era of Whales which was performed in Ramallah and Istanbul. Awards: 2011 Sky Cooper Prize, 2008-2009 PONY Fellowship from the Lark, two Lincoln Center Le Compte du Nuoy Awards, others. He is a core member of the Playwrights Center, a member of Partial Comfort Productions, is an alum of Ars Nova's Playgroup, and will be a resident playwright at Arena Stage in 2013. Sam holds degrees in playwriting from NYU, The Iowa Playwrights Workshop and Juilliard.

Joshua Aaron Weinstein (director) is a writer, director and producer of both stage and film. Currently, Weinstein serves as the Executive Director of LiveWire Chicago Theatre, now in its seventh season. LiveWire has presented original plays by Weinstein including Lower Debt, Soldiers: The Desert Stand, A/other Lover and The Bout. Directing credits for LiveWire include the Chicago premiere of A Bright New Boise by 2011 Obie Award-winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter, the Chicago premiere of Eric Bogosian's Red Angel and the world premiere of his plays A/other Lover and The Bout. He has also directed short pieces during LiveWire's annual new play festival, VisionFest, including Short Straw by Bilal Dardai, Recognition by Elizabeth Dubus, Green by Sebastian Aguirre and Happy Hour by Scott Glander. As co-producer of WCProduction, an independent film Production Company, Josh has produced numerous short films, music videos and promos/trailers. As a musician, Josh has played with numerous bands most notably with the folk trio, Patchouli, who he recorded with on the album Visions. Josh received his Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting from the University of Arkansas in 2004 and his Bachelor of Sciences in Communications from Bradley University in 1998. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

LiveWire Chicago is a collective of artists who create theatre that reflects the current cultural landscape of our community through productions of original and contemporary works. Previous productions include the Chicago premiere of Oohrah! by Bekah Brunstetter presented as part of Garage Rep 2012 at Steppenwolf Theatre; the Chicago premiere of A Bright New Boise by 2011 Obie Award-winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter; the Chicago premiere of The 13th of Paris by Mat Smart, the world premiere of Emily Dendinger's Hideous Progeny, presented at the Chicago DCA Storefront Theater and the Chicago premiere of Red Angel by Eric Bogosian, among others. LiveWire presents an annual short play festival, VisionFest, which invites the community to be involved in the presentation of new works. For more information, visit www.livewirechicago.com, www.facebook.com/livewirechicago and www.twitter.com/LiveWireChicago.

Chicago Cultural Center Presents is an on-going performing arts series produced by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) that showcases critically acclaimed local, national and international music, theater, dance and multi-disciplinary artists, newly commissioned works and debut performances at the Chicago Cultural Center.

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