Photo Flash: First Look at Hillary Clemens and More in The Gift Theatre's MINE

New mother Mari has a devoted husband, a reassuring midwife and a mom who can't wait to babysit. But she can't shake the feeling that there's something strange about her newborn daughter. Chicago's The Gift Theatre Company births a world of new motherhood, where doubt and certainty blur, in the Chicago premiere of Laura Marks' thrilling, haunting and terrifying Mine, directed by Marti Lyons. Mine makes its Chicago premiere now through August 11, 2013, at The Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Avenue (at Lawrence) in Chicago. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

New York-based, Kentucky-born playwright Laura Marks made an explosive off-Broadway debut earlier this year with Bethany, which starred America Ferrera, was a New York Times Critic's Pick and garnered Marks a Lucille Lortel nomination for Outstanding Play. The New Yorker subsequently called the recent Juilliard School grad and mother of two "a real talent to watch." Marks wrote Mine shortly after completing Bethany, while still a student at Juilliard. Mine director Marti Lyons (Maria/Stuart) previously worked at The Gift as assistant director on Will Eno's Oh, the Humanity (and other exclamations) for Michael Patrick Thornton in 2012 and twice directing short plays for TEN. She is the Literary Manager and Company Dramaturg for Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre.

Mine stars The Gift Ensemble members Hillary Clemens (Vigils, Dirty) as Mari, Gabriel Franken (Northwest Highway) as her husband and Alexandra Main (Wit, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest) as the midwife. Returning to The Gift are SiNNERMAN Ensemble and Pavement Group's Cyd Blakewell(TEN) as a mysterious stranger and Rendition Theatre's Deborah Ann Smith (The Last Days of Judas Iscariot) as Mari's mom.

The Gift Theatre is dedicated to telling great stories on stage with honesty and simplicity. Previous productions include: Vigils; TEN 2013; Natural Gas' Jugband Christmas; Dirty; Oh, The Humanity (and other exclamations); Fact & Fiction; Absolute Hell; TEN; Cloud 9; Northwest Highway; Night and Her Stars; Get Behind Me, Santa!; Lonesome West; Suicide, Inc.; One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Almost, Maine; Santa's Great American Depression Holiday Show! (2009 & 2010); Summer People; The Ruby Sunrise; Talk Radio; Stop/Kiss; Natural Gas; Streamers; Wit ;The Last Days of Judas Iscariot; White People; Three Sisters; The Beauty Queen of Leenane; Blithe Spirit; 365 Days/365 Plays; The Halloween Show; Long Day's Journey Into Night; The Glass Menagerie (Remount: Theatre on the Lake); The Good Thief; The Clearing; Hurlyburly; The Glass Menagerie; The Pavilion; A Young Man In Pieces; Language of Angels; 6; County Fair; The Countess; Alcatraz (Abbie Hoffman Festival); Orestes 2.0; Boys' Life. The theater also sponsors the giftED Ensemble, a rigorous two-year afterschool course for creative and motivated high school students on Chicago's Northwest side, and the literary program/Salon Series giftLIT.

The Gift's 2013 Season opened in January with TEN, its annual kickoff celebration of ten-minute plays curated by Gift Co-Founder Michael Patrick Thornton, then shifted tone with the Chicago revival of Vigils, directed by Erica Weiss. The final production of the 2013 Season is the Chicago premiere ofBroadsword by former Sons of Anarchy staff writer Marco Ramirez, October 3 (first preview)-November 24. Subscriptions for the remainder of the 2013 season, which includes two Chicago premieres, are available for as little as $50. The Gift subscribers ("Gifters") receive admission to three shows, free parking at Gale Street Inn, free admission to all Wednesday night "Natural Gas" improv shows and invitations to special subscriber-only special events.

Performances of MINE are Thursday, Friday and Saturdayevenings at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Single tickets are $25-$30 and subscriptions start at $50. To purchase tickets or for more information, call 773-283-7071 or visit www.thegifttheatre.org.

Photo Credit: http://clairedemos.com

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