SCOOTER THOMAS MAKES IT TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD Runs 9/24-10/10 at Stage Left Theatre

Team Venture Productions team up with Chicago actors Danny Bernardo and Jacob A. Ware and director Lavina Jadhwani to present Scooter Thomas Makes it to the Top of the World, by Peter Parnell. An exceptionally original and affecting "memory play" first presented at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center Playwrights Conference, the play is a lively yet touching examination of the relationship between two boyhood friends, a relationship which is gradually altered as they begin to follow different paths and then abruptly terminated by an apparent suicide.

Dennis (Jacob A. Ware) receives a call from his mother telling him that his best friend from boyhood, Scooter Thomas (Danny Bernardo), has died. Shaken, Dennis packs for the funeral and recalls their relationship in brief, poignant scenes, during which he plays himself, friends from their past (who have since graduated college and gotten married) and the oppressive male authority figures in Scooter's life. A successful architect, Dennis is the polar opposite to slacker Scooter, who'd dropped out of life and out of college. Scooter dreamed of adventure on the open road, but gradual disenchantment overcame him as his hopes remained unfulfilled. Ultimately, the play looks at the choices we make when youthful expectations meet the realities of adulthood.

Actor/Producers Danny Bernardo and Jacob A. Ware epitomize the Chicago theatre experience: having met during a lackluster storefront theatre experience, the two formed an instant friendship and longed for a collaboration that would feed them artistically and showcase their talents. Originally drawn to Scooter Thomas... for its truth and simplicity, it quickly became apparent to the pair that this piece, originally meant to appeal to the lost youth of post-Vietnam America, had immediate relevancy in the confused but self-entitled youth of "Generation Me" in the midst of a war and recession. Their project came to for wishing with the involvement of directing wunderkind Lavina Jadhwani and the producing prowess of Christopher Boyd, founder and executive producer of TEAM VENTURE PRODUCTIONS.

Founded in 2007, TEAM VENTURE PRODUCTIONS is an ensemble of artists that is committed to developing and producing plays that engage a diverse audience, while showcasing new talent. TEAM VENTURE strives to create theatre that is truly collaborative from start to finish, and that provides an outlet for voices that have yet to be heard

Tickets for SCOOTER THOMAS MAKES IT TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD are $10 for General Admission and $8 for Students, Seniors, and Industry. Group rates are available. Performances are Stage Left Theatre, located at 3408 N. Sheffield, Chicago, Illinois.

SYNOPSIS- An exceptionally original and affecting "memory play", first presented at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center Playwrights Conference. "Scooter Thomas Makes it to the Top of the World" is a lively yet touching examination of the relationship between two boyhood friends, a relationship which is gradually altered as they begin to follow different paths and then abruptly terminated by Scooter's sudden death. Ultimately, the play looks at the choices we make when youthful expectations meet the realities of adulthood.

CAST: Danny Bernardo (Scooter), Jacob A. Ware (Dennis);

PRODUCTION TEAM: Lavina Jadhwani (Director), Christopher Boyd (Executive Producer), Rudy Galvan (Stage Manager), Camden Peterson (Light Design), Katherine Meister (Costume Design)

Featured Bios:

Danny Bernardo (Scooter) was most recently seen in Porchlight's Pacific Overtures as "Kayama" and Oak Park Festival Theatre's 5th of July as "Jed". Other favorite credits include the Bailiwick's multi-Jeff award winning Kiss of the Spider Woman, Lifeline's After Dark Award winning Piano Tuner, and the title role in Disney's Aladdin at Emerald City. He also directed and choreographed Tonakawa's production of Hair, which ran for six months at Strawdog, Live Bait and Lakeshore. He has aworked as actor or on production with such companies as Victory Gardens, About Face, Collaboraction, Silk Road, Rasaka and Stir-Friday Night. He has also spent some time as a theatre educator, with Maggie Daley's AfterSchool Matters and on the adjunct faculty at the Chicago Academy for the Arts. His training comes from Columbia College Chicago, Second City Chicago, the Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts High School and the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

JACOB A. WARE (Dennis) has been performing in and around Chicago since '05. This year, along with working with such theatre companies as ATC, the side project, Point of Contention, 20% Theatre Co. and Brain Surgeons Theatre, Jacob has been studying the Meisner Technique at Black Box Studio under the tutelage of Audrey Francis and Laura Hooper.

LAVINA JADHWANI (Director) is an Associate Artist at Silk Road Theatre Project and the Artistic Director of Rasaka Theatre Company, where she directed the critically acclaimed Yoni Ki Baat; she also serves on the Steering Committee for the South Asian Theatre Arts Movement. Lavina received LMDA awards for her work on Merchant on Venice at Silk Road and Urinetown and Arcadia at Carnegie Mellon University. Lavina's work has been seen at Apple Tree (The Devil's Arithmetic, Number the Stars, Where the Red Fern Grows), Bailiwick (Kissing), Chicago Dramatists (Gandhi Marg), Remy Bumppo (thinkTank 2007 and 2008), the side project (Kiss, Yes to Everything, Before or After the Zygote), Stage Left (Foundations) and Victory Gardens (Access Project 2007 and 2008). As an assistant director, she has worked with Barbara Gaines (Comedy of Errors, Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Frank Galati (The Snow Queen, Victory Gardens Theater), Henry Godinez (Esperanza Rising, Chicago Children's Theatre/Goodman Theatre), Steve Scott (Yohen, Silk Road Theatre Project/Goodman Theatre) and Chay Yew (Po Boy Tango, Northlight Theatre). Lavina is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University (BFA, Drama; Masters, Arts Management) and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.

Tickets for SCOOTER THOMAS MAKES IT TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD are $10 for General Admission and $8 for Students, Seniors, and Industry. Group rates are available. Performances are Stage Left Theatre, located at 3408 N. Sheffield, Chicago, Illinois.

For more information call the box office at (773) 355-1752 or e-mail at scooterthomas@ymail.com.

 

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