Sideshow Theatre Sets 2014-15 Season: ANTIGONICK, CHALK & More

Sideshow Theatre Company is pleased to announce its full 2014/15 Season, beginning this fall with the Midwest premiere of Aaron Posner's comic spin on Chekhov's The Seagull, STUPID f-ing BIRD, directed by artistic director Jonathan L. Green. In March 2015, the season continues with Anne Carson's ANTIGONICK, a modern re-imagining of the Greek tragedy Antigone, also directed by Green and choreographed by Katie Spelman. The season concludes next spring with the rolling world premiere (with Fresh Ink Theatre in Boston) of CHALK, a sci-fi fable by ensemble member Walt McGough, directed by ensemble member Megan A. Smith. All three productions will be presented at Chicago's Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., where Sideshow continues its multi-year residency. For additional information and updates, visit www.sideshowtheatre.org.

Sideshow Theatre is also pleased to announce the addition of four new artistic associates: Ben Dawson, Andrew Goetten, Marti Lyons and Bruce Phillips. Additionally, the 2014/15 Season marks the launch of "The Freshness Initiative," Sideshow's new script development program, which focuses on new plays from three playwrights annually. The year-long program will include public readings at Victory Gardens coinciding with the conclusion of each mainstage shows. The inaugural 2014/15 Freshness Initiative includes Emily Dendinger and Calamity West, with one additional playwright to be announced.

Tickets for Sideshow Theatre's Company's 2014/15 Season are currently available through Victory Gardens' Membership program. The program allows patrons one reserved seat for every Sideshow production (and almost any other production at Victory Gardens), as well as unlimited free standby seats, for just $15 per month. To become a member or to learn more, visit www.victorygardens.org or call (773) 871-3000. Single tickets for the 2014/15 Season will go on sale at a later date.

The 2014/15 Sideshow Theatre Company Season:

The Midwest premiere of
STUPID f-ing BIRD
By Aaron Posner, sort of adapted from Chekhov's The Seagull
Directed by Jonathan L. Green
August 16 - September 21, 2014
at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago

On the grounds of a country estate, two generations worth of Russians mope and love and hate and make a lot of bird-based metaphors. Sound familiar? It's Anton f-ing Chekhov versus the modern world in Aaron Posner's ballsy Midwest premiere. A smash-hit on the east coast and a finalist for the 2014 ACTA Award, this heartbreakingly hilarious sort-of-adaptation of The Seagull takes a baseball bat to one of theatre's most famous works and staunchly refuses to pick up the pieces. Sideshow's signature energy and wit are on full display in this very funny examination of what drives us to make art and find love.

ANTIGONICK
By Sophokles, freely translated by Anne Carson
Directed by Jonathan L. Green, choreographed by Katie Spelman
March 1 - April 5, 2015
at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago

Ancient Greece looks suspiciously similar to the present day in the hands of world-renowned poet and MacArthur Genius Anne Carson (The Autobiography of Red). Antigone has lost two brothers but by law can only bury one. She takes a stand for her beliefs, pitting morality against patriotism, and in doing so starts a series of events that threaten the newfound national peace. It's one of the most famous myths of all, told and re-told for more than two thousand years, but what use is a cautionary tale if no one heeds it? With a large cast and the creative team behind Sideshow's Idomeneus, Carson's biting and thrilling free translation brings Antigone to new light and casts unexpected shadows on issues of loyalty and family.

A rolling world premiere with Boston's Fresh Ink Theatre
CHALK
By Walt McGough
Directed by Megan A. Smith
May 24 - June 28, 2015
at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago

Maggie survived the end of the world, but it hasn't really ended, has it? Stuck in an abandoned building with nearly unlimited supplies, a broken radio and a book of spells, she bides her time and waits for the monsters to leave. But when her daughter reappears, Maggie can't celebrate because something is not quite right. The two women square off with both their lives hanging in the balance, and all that keeps them separate is a razor-thin chalk circle, hastily drawn by Maggie on the floor. The world premiere of ensemble member Walt McGough's intense sci-fi fable digs deep into issues of motherhood, responsibility and possession of all kinds.

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