Sideshow Theatre Company Ends Run of MEDEA WITH CHILD

Sideshow Theatre Company concludes its 2009-2010 season this March, a brand new edition and a Chicago premiere of Pulitzer Prize nominee Janet Burroway's Medea With Child, directed by Artistic Director Jonathan L. Green, on April 25.

The Play 

It's the same, familiar story. Daddy married Mommy, but now he's found somebody new, and Mom is none too happy. Unleashing Euripides' tragedy on a modern, lyrically soaring stage, Medea With Child provides a wildly witty retelling that blasts down to the core of the Greek classic Medea. When her husband strays from their marriage, Medea's fury unleashes a storm of epic proportions on both family and country. Can the characters escape the fate awaiting them? And what will be left if they can?

Unfolding in a magical and madcap style, Medea With Child blends the talents of an internationally acclaimed playwright with the energy and verve of one of Chicago's most ambitious young companies. What results is a new, exciting take on a classic and all-too-close-to-home story, reminding us that even our most familiar tales can constantly surprise us. The dynamic, six person cast includes Sojourner Zenobia Wright as Media, visiting guest artist Richard Warner as Crayon, John Bonner as Chasten, Lea Pascal as Murmurous, Andrew Sa as Fairies, and Nicole Richwalsky as Glossy. Actor biographies can be found at www.medeawithchild.com.

The Company
Sideshow Theatre Company NFP is an Illinois-based company incorporated in November 2007, whose mission is to mine The Collective Unconscious of the world we live in with limitless curiosity, drawing inspiration from the stories, memories and images we all share to spark new conversation and bring our audiences together as adventurers in a communal experience of exploration. Sideshow's first production,

Dante Dies!! (and then things get weird) by Walt McGough was hailed by Time Out Chicago as ‘impressive young talent at play', and the Daily Herald described Sideshow as ‘vivid, intimate, and visually arresting.' Since then Sideshow has produced several other world premiere plays, including Everything Freezes, another winter's tale by Walt McGough and Jonathan L. Green, and Ekphrasis: Cave Walls to Soup Cans, by E. Warren Perry Jr.

Sideshow also produces CLLAW, the Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers, an interactive fundraising event that benefits Sideshow Theatre Company and several other local charities. Past events have benefited Cornerstone Community Outreach, Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education, New Leash on Life Animal Shelter, and Rock for Kids. Sideshow Theatre Company is launching an Actor Workshop Series in February 2010, providing extremely affordable subsidized classes on performance and devising original work. Information available at www.sideshowtheatre.org/classes. Sideshow is proud to have been awarded $25,000 from the Chase Community Giving Grant via Facebook in January 2010.

Through its ensemble-generated, one-of-a-kind productions, Sideshow strives to provide its audience with a communal experience of exploration according to its motto: "Familiar Stories. Unorthodox Methods. Perpetually Curious." For more information on Sideshow, visit www.sideshowtheatre.org.

The Production Team

Playwright Janet Burroway is the author of eight novels including Raw Silk (runner-up for the National Book Award), Opening Nights, Cutting Stone, and the 2009 Bridge of Sand. Her Writing Fiction is the most widely used creative writing text in America, and Imaginative Writing has just appeared in its third edition. Ms. Burroway received a Pulitzer Prize nomination for her novel Buzzards. Recent works include the plays Sweepstakes, Instant Replay, and Parts of Speech; and a collection of essays, Embalming Mom. She is Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Emerita at the Florida State University.

Director Jonathan L. Green has directed regionally with Sideshow, Chicago Dramatists, Live Arts and the Earl Hamner, Jr. Theatre. Recent projects include Everything Freezes: another winter's tale, Dante Dies!! (and then things get weird), Mud, Waiting for the Parade (for which he received a nomination for the KCACTF SSDC Fellowship), A Number and Shakespeare's R&J. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he was the recipient of the William Demoville Pettway Prize, and currently works at Lookingglass Theatre.

The rest of the Production Staff of Medea with Child includes Jeffrey Gardner (Dramaturgy), David Hyman (Costume Designer), Jessica R. Fike (Stage Manager), Joshua Lansing (Scenic Designer), Christopher M. LaPorte (Sound Designer & Original Music), Makena Levine (Properties Designer), Karie Miller (Vocal/Dialect Coaching), Betsey Palmer (Production Management) and KimberLee Winters-Jones (Lighting Designer).

Dates • Times • Tickets

For more information on Medea With Child, or Sideshow Theatre Company, contact Managing Director Megan Smith at megan@sideshowtheatre.org, by phone at (773) 583-4317, or visit our website at www.sideshowtheatre.org.

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