Profiles Continues 25th Anniversary Season with COCK, Now thru 4/6

Profiles Theatre continues its 25th Anniversary Season with the Midwest premiere of c*ckby Mike Bartlett, directed by Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox. The production runs tonight, February 14 - April 6, 2014 at The Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway. The press opening is Thursday, February 20 at 8:00pm.

In this tense comedy about sexual identity, c*ckexplores one man's choices about which path of love to pursue. When John takes a break from his longtime boyfriend, the last thing he expects is to fall in love with a woman. Trapped between two lovers, John feels the physical and emotional tug as neither party wants to lose the battle for his heart. John must make a choice as he navigates his sexuality, selfhood, and the intersection of the two.

Cock received its World premiere at London's Royal Court Theatre, selling out its entire run in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs before opening in November 2009. Directed by James Macdonald, it won the 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre as well as a nomination for Best Play at the 2010 Evening Standard Theatre Awards. The American premiere, also produced by Royal Court and staged by Macdonald, opened off-Broadway in May 2012 and received a nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play from the Outer Critics Circle Awards and Outstanding Play for the 2013 Lucille Lortel Awards. Mike Bartett won the Old Vic New Voices Award for Artefacts at the Bush Theatre while Contractions at Royal Court received a nomination for the TMA Best New Play Award. Bartlett, a Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Royal Court in 2007, currently works as Associate Playwright at Paines Plough.

Directed by Profiles Co-Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox, the cast of c*ckfeatures Guest Artists Larry Neumann, Jr., Eleni Pappageorge, Christopher Sheard and Jake Szczepaniak.

"I'm thrilled that Profiles Theatre is producing c*ckthis season," says playwright Mike Bartlett. "It's about sex and sexuality, fighting, falling in love, and getting things wrong. It needs four clever actors, and an audience with a bold imagination, a big heart, and a capacity to laugh out loud when required. From what I've heard about Profiles, it'll have no trouble finding that audience, and they'll encounter a fantastic production of a play I care a huge amount about."

The designers for c*ckare Katie-Bell Springmann (set), Mike Durst (lights), Jeffrey Levin (sound and original music), and Raquel Adorno (costumes), with Kaylie Honkala serving as stage manager and Scott Wolf as assistant director.

Profiles Theatre concludes its 25th Anniversary Season with the Midwest premiere of Hunter Gatherers by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, also at The Main Stage. Their Midwest premiere of Gidion's Knot by Johnna Adams is now playing at The Alley Stage, 4147 N. Broadway, through March 9, 2014.

Tickets for c*ckare $35 for Thursdays, $40 for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are available by phone, (773) 549-1815, or online, www.profilestheatre.org. Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 5:00 and 8:00 pm, Sundays at 7:00 p.m.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

MIKE BARTLETT (Playwright) is currently Associate Playwright at Paines Plough. In 2011 he was writer-in-residence at The National Theatre and in 2007 he was Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Royal Court Theatre. His play Love, Love, Love won Best New Play in the 2011 Theatre Awards UK, and his play c*ckwon an Olivier Award in 2010 for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre; he won the Writer's Guild Tinniswood and Imison prizes for Not Talking and the Old Vic New Voices Awards for Artefacts. Additional theatre credits include 13 (National Theatre), Decade (co-writer), Earthquakes in London, Contractors and My Child. His radio credits include: "The Core," "Heart," "Liam," "The Steps," "Love Contract," "Not Talking," and "The Family Man," all on BBC. Mike's screen credits include "Earthquakes in London" and "Hometown." His directing credits include Honest by DC Moore. Mike is currently under commission from Headlong Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Hampstead Theatre and The Royal Court Theatre.

DARRELL W. COX (Director) is the Co-Artistic Director of Profiles Theatre and most recently directed the holiday season revival as well as last year's 20th Anniversary productions of Hellcab by Will Kern. Prior to that, he directed the Midwest premiere of Bachelorette by Leslye Headland, the American premiere of The Wonderful World of Dissocia by Anthony Neilson, Profiles' Midwest premieres of This is How it Goes, "Coax" and the titular piece from Things We Said Today and Profiles' long running hit, Autobahn, all by Neil LaBute. Mr. Cox has directed numerous productions for Profiles over the years including the Midwest premieres of The Radiant Abyss by Angus MacLachlan and Wonder of the World by David Lindsay-Abaire. Other directorial credits for Profiles include The Water Engine, How the Other Half Loves and The Twilight Zone: The Series.

LARRY NEUMANN JR. (F) has performed in over 75 productions in his career. A native Chicagoan, audiences have seen Larry most recently in Goodman Theatre's A Christmas Carol. Profiles audiences will remember him as Mitch in their production of In God's Hat. Larry will reprise his role of Ed Mosher in Robert Falls' award-winning production of The Iceman Cometh with Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy at BAM in January 2015. At Lookingglass Theatre, Larry portrayed baseball icon Branch Rickey in the critically acclaimed production Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting, as the title role in The Richard Nickel Story and as Austin Shagg in the music-infused production, The Shaggs. Mr. Neumann received Jeff awards for performances in A Moon for the Misbegotten as Phil Hogan at First Folio Theatre, in the epic, two-part production of The Cider House Rules as Dr. Larch and for his portrayal of the Dali Lama in Hitting For The Cycle both at Famous Door Theater. Other Chicago performances include The Madness of Edgar Allen Poe (First Folio), The Puppetmaster of Ludz (Writer's Theatre) and Underneath The Lintel (Noble Fool). He has appeared regionally at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Madison Repertory Theater and Kansas City Repertory. His film credits include Merry Gentleman, Stranger Than Fiction and Stir of Echoes. Larry is a member of Actors' Equity.

ELENI PAPPAGEORGE (W) is makes her Profiles Theatre debut in Cock. She is a Waltzing Mechanics company member focusing these past few years on developing and performing original documentary theatre including EL Stories and Over My Dead Body. She's also had the pleasure of working with Northlight, The Chicago Dramatists, Remy Bumppo, Second City, Chemically Imbalanced Comedy, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, Circle Theatre and The Pre-Post Humanists. She is a graduate of the Second City Conservatory and holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

CHRISTOPHER SHEARD (John) is makes his Profiles Theatre debut with Cock. He was last seen in Chicago in SS! Romeo and Juliet with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and A Christmas Carol for Metropolis PAC. His regional credits include Skylight, Troilus and Cressida, Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Antony and Cleopatra with American Players Theatre as well as Henry IV Part One and A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Great River Shakespeare Festival. He is a graduate of Florida State University with a BA in Theatre and received his MFA from The University of Illinois PATP.

JAKE SZCZEPANIAK (M) appears with Profiles Theatre for the first time. He was last seen in Unwilling and Hostile Instruments with Theater Seven, Burn This with Shattered Globe, Changes of Heart with Remy Bumppo and Girl You Know It's True with Pavement Group. He has also worked with Baliwick Chicago, Circle Theater, Red Tape Theater, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Pride Films and Plays and (re)Discover theater. Jake is a graduate of the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana acting program and an artistic associate with Pavement Group.

ABOUT PROFILES THEATRE: Profiles Theatre, founded in 1988 by Artistic Director Joe Jahraus, joined shortly thereafter by Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox, was formed as an actor-driven theatre ensemble dedicated to creating provocative and emotionally truthful productions. Passionate about shaping an original vision for new works, they focused on performing World, American and Midwest premieres as well as rarely performed plays. Critically acclaimed hits, such as BLACKBIRD, FAT PIG, GRACELAND and the multiple Jeff Award-winning KILLER JOE, established Profiles as a destination for challenging and edgy theatre. Their unique collaboration with playwright Neil LaBute led the ensemble to perform an entire season of his plays in 2007-2008. Now a Resident Artist at Profiles, LaBute remains an unequivocal artistic influence on the ensemble.

After performing at 4147 North Broadway for more than two decades, Profiles acquired an adjacent theatre at 4139 North Broadway in 2012. Profiles' new theatre, The Main Stage, with its larger seating capacity, increased performance space and higher ceilings, accommodates more ambitious and technically demanding productions. Their long-time venue, renamed The Alley Stage, continues as the home for plays strengthened by a more intimate staging. Driven by an undiminished appetite for creating honest and resonant theatre, Profiles still seeks to present work that illuminates the determination and resiliency of the human spirit.

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