New Colony & U of C to Present B-SIDE STUDIO, Begin. 9/13

Join a live studio audience on the set of a '70s-style sitcom as The Inconvenience, The New Colony and the University of Chicago's Theater and Performance Studies Program team up to co-produce the world premiere of B-SIDE STUDIO, co-written by Inconvenience Resident Writer Ike Holter and New Colony Co-Artistic Director Evan Linder and directed by Nicholas J. Carroll, Andrew Hobgood and Gus Menary. B-SIDE STUDIO is performed on Fridays and Saturdays at 9/8c (that's 8 pm in Chicago, meathead!) from September 13 - October 12, 2013 at The Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. in Chicago. The press performances are Friday, September 13 at 8 pm and Saturday, September 14 at 8 pm.

B-SIDE STUDIO stars Daeshawna Cook, Missi Davis, Michael Harnichar, Wes Needham, Brad Smith and Kevin Stangler.

Each week's performances of B-SIDE STUDIO will feature a new episode performed in front of a live studio audience. The Monday following each performance weekend, the most recently taped episode will be made available for online viewing at www.thenewcolony.org and www.theinconvenience.org allowing audiences to stay current with the latest antics of their B-Side friends. Season subscriptions for all four episodes of B-SIDE STUDIO will go on sale Wednesday, July 31 at 773.702.ARTS (2787) or www.ticketsweb.uchicago.edu. Tickets for single episodes will go on sale Wednesday, August 14.

The episodic story of B-SIDE STUDIO focuses on Gary and Felix McNamara and their failing Chicago recording studio. Despite Felix's get-rich-quick schemes, it seems that B-Side is never going to reach the heights of success that the once-promising McNamara brothers always dreamed of. When Felix decides to use the studio to record "Song Poems" with the help of their assistant Janice and in-house musicians Butch and Marvin, there might be hope yet to save the studio. They just have to convince Lady, the overbearing trophy wife of their absentee landlord. Tune in to find out what happens next at B-Side Studio.

In a joint statement, co-writers Linder and Holter said "B-Side Studio has been a long time in the works, so we're excited to finally be working together. This blending of creative mediums comes naturally to all three artistic partners, allowing each group to play off their own strengths while working together to build a unique performance experience that harkens back to the sitcoms of the 1970s while simultaneously revealing a glimpse into the future of the arts."

Both writers have seen recent success and accolades. Linder's 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche made its move to the off-Broadway Soho Playhouse after taking home the Best Overall Production prize at the 2012 NYC International Fringe Festival. Similarly, Holter's Hit The Wall received raves at the Steppenwolf Garage and played a subsequent run off-Broadway at New York's Barrow Street Theater.

In keeping with The New Colony's devised, collaborative artistic process, B-SIDE STUDIO will present two free public readings for audience feedback on Tuesday, July 16 at 7:30 pm (Episodes 1 and 2) and Tuesday, July 30 at 7:30 pm (Episodes 3 and 4) at the Dank Haus German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave). No reservations necessary. Audience feedback is crucial in honing in on character development, overall story structure and clarity.

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