Shattered Globe Theatre Presents Chicago Premiere of HOW TO USE A KNIFE

Shattered Globe Theatre is pleased to conclude its 2017-18 Season with the Chicago premiere of Will Snider's fast-paced gritty drama HOW TO USE A KNIFE, directed by SGT Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner*, playing April 26 - June 9, 2018 at SGT's resident home Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. Single tickets are currently available at www.shatteredglobe.org, by calling (773) 975-8150 or in person at the Theater Wit Box Office. The press opening is Sunday, April 29 at 3 pm.

HOW TO USE A KNIFE will feature Shattered Globe ensemble Brad Woodard* with Michelle Bester, Peter DeFaria, Dennis García, Anthony Irons, Dillon Kelleher and Víctor Maraña.

In the chaotic kitchen of a Wall Street restaurant, Chef George is trying to stay sober and keep the cross-cultural kitchen staff churning out orders on time. While dealing with two trash-talking line cooks, a naïve busboy and a jerk of a boss, George strikes up a surprising friendship with an unassuming dishwasher. The heat is turned up when secrets from their pasts are exposed. Raw, fast-paced and funny, HOW TO USE A KNIFE serves up plenty of food for thought.

"Shattered Globe is thrilled to produce Will Snider's How To Use a Knife which I enjoyed several years ago in an early reading at the National New Play Network and have been pursuing ever since," comments Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner. "The overwhelmingly positive response from audiences and artists across the country during the play's rolling world premiere is a tribute to Will's compelling story and the energy and musicality of his dialogue. This is a playwright to watch. SGT is proud to introduce Will's work to Chicago audiences."

The production team for HOW TO USE A KNIFE includes Jeff Bauer (scenic design), Hailey Rakowiecki (costume design), Shelley Strasser Holland* (lighting design), Abigail Cain (props design), Daniel Carylon (sound design), Judy Anderson* (executive production manager), Colin David+ (production manager), J. Hampton Cade and Arianna Soloway (asst. directors), Tina M. Jach (stage manager) and Devonte Washington+ and Ayanna Wimberly (asst. stage managers).

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: HOW TO USE A KNIFE

Playwright: Will Snider

Director: Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner*

Cast: Michelle Bester (Kim), Peter DeFaria (George), Dennis García (Carlos), Anthony Irons (Steve), Dillon Kelleher (Jack), Víctor Maraña (Miguel) and Brad Woodard* (Michael).

Location: Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave, Chicago

Dates: Previews: Thursday, April 26 at 8 pm, Friday, April 27 at 8 pm and Saturday, April 28 at 8 pm

Press Performance: Sunday, April 29 at 3 pm

Regular Run: Thursday, May 3 - Saturday, June 9, 2018

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: there will not be an 8 pm performance on Friday, May 11; there will be an added performance on Saturday, June 9 at 3 pm.

Touch Tour/Audio Description Performance: Friday, May 18, 2018 - 6:30 pm touch tour, 8 pm performance with audio description. $20 tickets available with code "ACCESS."

Global Perspectives: SGT will be hosting post-show discussions immediately following 3 pm performances on Sundays.

Tickets: Previews: $20 general admission, $10 students, $10 industry tickets with code "FRIEND". Regular Run: $35 general admission. Discounts: $15 students, $28 seniors, $20 under 30. $15 industry tickets on Thursdays with code "INDUSTRY." Tickets are currently available at www.theaterwit.org, in person at the Theater Wit Box Office or by calling (773) 975-8150. Group discounts are currently available by contacting groupsales@shatteredglobe.org or by calling (773) 770-0333.

* Denotes SGT Ensemble Member

+ Denotes SGT Artistic Associate

About the Artists:

Will Snider (Playwright) was born and raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. His play How to Use a Knife received a Rolling World Premiere through National New Play Network, won the Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play, and was a finalist for a PEN Center USA Literary Award. Other plays include The Big Man (Ensemble Studio Theatre's 35th Marathon of One-Act Plays), Strange Men and Death of a Driver. His work has been developed at MCC, NNPN National Showcase of New Plays, The Kennedy Center, SPACE on Ryder Farm, #serials@theflea, the claque and MAKEHOUSE. He is an alumnus of Youngblood and received an EST/Soan Grant and The Kennedy Center's Paula Vogel Playwriting Award. MFA: UCSD.

Sandy Shinner (Director) joined Shattered Globe Theatre in October 2013 as the theater's first Producing Artistic Director. She directed Scott McPherson's Marvin's Room in 2015 and Sally Nemeth's Mill Fire at SGT in 2014 for SGT. The former Associate Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theater, she created the nationally known IGNITION! Festival, served as co-director of the Access Project, and accepted the 2001 Regional Theater Tony Award on behalf of VG with former Artistic Director Dennis Zacek and former Managing Director Marcelle McVay. Her other recent directing credits include: the world premiere of Rasheeda Speaking by Joel Drake Johnson (Rivendell Theater Ensemble) and Creditors by August Strindberg (Remy Bumppo Theater Company). She has directed over 80 plays at theaters including Victory Gardens, Remy Bumppo, American Blues, the University of Virginia, Actors Theater of Louisville's Humana Festival, Steppenwolf's First Look Repertory of New Work, New York's 78th Street Theater Lab and the Sacramento Theater Company, among others. Her production of Trying by Joanna McClelland Glass transferred to New York and her direction was nominated for the Joe A. Callaway Award. Shinner received the 2013 Kathryn V. Lamkey Spirit Award from the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee of Actors' Equity Association for her commitment to diversity and non-traditional casting. She has been recognized as one of "50 Top Players" by Newcity and a "Chicagoan of the Year" by the Chicago Tribune. She is an adjunct professor at DePaul's Theatre School, an At Large Ambassador for the National New Play Network and an Artistic Affiliate at American Blues Theater.

About Shattered Globe Theatre

Shattered Globe Theatre (Sandy Shinner, Producing Artistic Director; Doug McDade, Managing Director) was born in a storefront space on Halsted Street in 1991. Since then, SGT has produced more than 60 plays, including nine American and world premieres, and garnered an impressive 42 Jeff Awards and 106 Jeff Award nominations, as well as the acclaim of critics and audiences alike. Shattered Globe is an ensemble driven theater whose mission is to create an intimate, visceral theater experience that challenges the perspective of audience and artist alike through passionate storytelling. Shattered Globe is inspired by the diversity of our city and committed to making the theater available to all audiences. Through initiatives such as the Protégé Program, Shattered Globe creates a space which allows emerging artists to grow and share in the ensemble experience.

Shattered Globe Theatre is partially supported and funded by generous grants from The Shulman-Rochambeau Charitable Foundation, The James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation, Alphawood Foundation, The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, The Shubert Foundation, The Blum-Kovler Family Foundation, and The Robert J. & Loretta W. Cooney Family Foundation.

For more information on Shattered Globe Theatre, please visit www.shatteredglobe.org.

PHOTO CREDIT: (left to right) Peter DeFaria and Anthony Irons in a publicity image for Shattered Globe Theatre's Chicago premiere of HOW TO USE A KNIFE. Photo by Joe Martinez Jr.

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