Otherworld Theatre Of Chicago Announces 2018/2019 Season, Including World's First Venue Dedicated To Live Science Fiction + Fantasy

Otherworld Theatre, which recently opened the world's first venue dedicated to the performance of Science Fiction and Fantasy genres, has announced its first season at its new home. Artistic Director Tiffany Keane Schaefer made the announcement this evening at a gathering of company donors, board members, and patrons in its newly acquired theater location, 3914 N Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60613. The property, a two-stage facility with a main stage which boasts a flexible performance and seating area that will seat approximately a 120 seats, a 40 seat black box, bar, and lobby located a few blocks north of Wrigley Field is located at 3914 N Clark Street was home to the former Public House Theatre and Live Bait Theatre. The new season includes local and world premieres. Tickets to all shows will be available at www.OtherworldTheatre.org

"We are extremely proud to create a space that celebrates Science Fiction and Fantasy performance and provide a community hub for fans of all stripes to explore their passions for these genres and express themselves in a safe and inviting environment. Whether you are mildly interested in Science Fiction and Fantasy or a die hard fan, we welcome you to Otherworld Theatre to enjoy these stories together," said Tiffany Keane Schaefer, Otherworld Theatre founding artistic director.

Otherworld Theatre is Chicago's only Science Fiction and Fantasy theatre company and one of the few theatre companies in the world dedicated to live performance in these genres. The company produced mainstage theatrical productions while itinerant in theaters with house capacities anywhere from 30 - 150 seats, utilizing various venues in the Chicago area.

Otherworld plans to maintain its mission to keep theatre accessible for all. All mainstage tickets are pay-what-you-can, allowing people of any and all means to experience live performance.

The 2018/2019 Season begins with All I Want is One More Meanwhile..., a Midwest premiere, written by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons and directed by ensemble member Nathan Pease runs September 26, 2018 - October 27, 2018. Press opening is September 29, 2018. Twenty years ago she was Perfectra, an artificially engineered superhero impervious to humanity's flaws. Today, she is Jane, a real woman who gave up power and perfection to become a mother. But estranged from her daughter and battling against a no-longer-perfect physique is not the ending she planned on. Discovering her daughter has not only been kidnapped by a canine-controlling criminal but worse still, engaged to a local superhero-can this supermom stand by and let her daughter spend her life dangling in distress? Especially as she suspects her daughter might have a secret of her own... Nathan Pease directed the Midwest premiere of Bella Poynton's Speed of Light for Otherworld in 2017.

PARAGON Play Festival, now in its 4th year, is the world's largest Science Fiction and Fantasy play festival, receiving submissions from more than 20 states, 3 countries, and showcasing more than 400 playwrights, actors, directors, and theatre artists. PARAGON Play Festival runs November 17-18, 2018.

The Winter Wolf, a world premiere written by Joseph Zettelmaier, runs December 6, 2018 - January 5, 2019. Press opening is December 8, 2018. The Holiday Fantasy is directed by Lauren N. Fields. It's Christmas night in Cora's house. She's visited by her beloved grandfather, a man of high spirits and failing health. They sit around the fireplace and she listens to the legend of the Winter Wolf, a strange creature who serves as Time's hunter, stalking those who are in the winter of their lives. That night, the Winter Wolf comes for Cora's grandfather, but the young girl manages to trap it. What follows is a magical journey through the mysteries of time, as Cora learns how far one can go for the sake of someone they love. The Winter Wolf was workshopped in 2017 as part of the Otherworld Theatre Reading Series, a monthly staged reading and talkback series. Fields directed last season's world premiere production, Down the Rocky Road and All the Way to Bedlam.

Corona, a world premiere written by Elizabeth A. M. Keel and directed by otherworld Artistic Director, Tiffany Keane Schafer runs April 5, 2019 - May 18, 2019. Press opening is April 12, 2019. Captain Ariadne Minos must ferry the latest fourteen tributes to her home planet of Crete, where they will be fed as sacrifices to a fearsome bull. On the journey, she makes a surprise connection to two of her more forceful passengers: the headstrong prince Theseus, and Pneuma, a Healer who is outraged to face death with her medical education incomplete. However, as the spaceship nears its final destination, Ariadne must weigh the comfort of her new friends against family loyalties which have haunted her across the galaxy. The time has come for her to reconcile between monsters, gods, and men. Corona will run in rep with Medusa Undone, also directed by Keane Schaefer.

Running in rep with Corona April 10, 2019 - May 18, 2019 is Medusa Undone, a Midwest premiere written by Bella Poynton and also directed by Tiffany Keane Schafer. Press opening is April 13, 2019. Before she was one of the greatest mythical monsters of all time, Medusa was a kind, beautiful sea-nymph in Athena's service. Unparalleled in both her beauty and devotion to the Gods, Medusa catches the eye of the charming but narcissistic Poseidon. Interested only in the passions of the spirit, and not the flesh, Medusa has no choice but to reject the greedy God. She not only suffers violence at the hand of Poseidon, but also unknowingly incites a deep-seated jealousy in Athena, with horrific and disturbing consequences. Medusa Undone explores the social problem of rape culture, our tendency to victim blame, and the great injustice suffered by female victims of abuse of all kinds. Otherworld Theatre Company produced The Aurora Project in 2014 and Speed of Light in 2017, both written by Bella Poynton.

Otherworld already supplements programming with community-based events and one-off shows, tapping into the fandoms that surround its unique genre focus. Otherworld's Juggernaut Film Festival, a Science Fiction and Fantasy film festival now in its 6th year, draws submissions and attendees from all over the world and is hosted annually at Chicago's Music Box Theatre drawing hundreds of patrons. The company routinely engages with their fans and patrons through other small artistic events, like the monthly reading and talkback series, convention panels, galas, and more.

Otherworld targets theatre patrons of all ages, genders, and races, with a particular focus on fans of Science Fiction and Fantasy, or "genre" storytelling. This is a large, underserved market, particularly when it comes to live theatre. Otherworld's productions reach a wide ranging audience and multiple fandoms.

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