Strange Bedfellows Theatre Stages BADFIC LOVE at The Den Theatre, Now thru 5/2

Strange Bedfellows Theatre, known for its integrated, experiential approach to producing theatre, proudly announces the Professional World Premiere of Badfic Love by Adam Pasen and directed by Aaron Henrickson.

Badfic Love will be presented at The Den Theatre, 1333 N Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, for 15 performances, tonight, April 3 - May 2, 2015. The Press Opening is scheduled for Monday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, priced at $20, will go on sale Sunday, March 1 at strangebedfellowstheatre.com.

By day Kyle is a lowly sales associate at Staples, but by night he is part of an elite organization that scours the internet to keep it safe from the writers of bad fanfiction. When he becomes obsessed with a Harry Potter badfic and falls for the group's public enemy #1, his love life and the fate of the entire plot continuum are at stake. Meanwhile, inside the badfic, the characters formerly known as Harry and Draco race to understand who they are as their narrative goes increasingly off the rails. Part Pirandello and part Joss Whedon, Badfic Love asks the question: "what if the writer telling your story never disappeared, but is just really, really, REALLY terrible?"

In 2012 playwright Adam Pasen was awarded the WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory Fellowship by the Kennedy Center to develop Badfic Love at Center Stage in Baltimore with dramaturg George Brant (Grounded). Badfic Love was also a finalist for the 2015 Steppenwolf Garage Rep, as well as a semifinalist for the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference and The Dionysos Cup Festival of New Plays.

The Strange Bedfellows are proud to have a number of talented partners for the Integration Projects on Badfic Love, bringing together musicians, visual artists and local businesses in creating an integrated environment surrounding the performance.

• A comic book adaptation of the Badfic Love script has been put to page by artist Don Edwards (creator of Unemployed Duck, Ultrakyle, and Stickman comics). The comic will also feature the art of several guest artists, such as Jay Taylor, Chris Merkley, and J Tinman, among others. Badfic Love: The Comic Book will be available for purchase at all performances.
• Local "Wizard Rock" bands will perform Harry Potter-inspired rock music before all performances of Badfic Love (doors open at 7:00 pm). Bands scheduled to appear include Tonks and the Aurors, Hawthorn & Holly, Diagon Alley and more.
• Dark Sage Brewery has created two custom craft beers for Badfic Love - Diagon Delight, a butterscotch ESB, and Amurican Red, a Locavore American Red Ale. The beer will be available exclusively at Strange Bedfellows Theatre's upcoming event, One Night Stand: A Celebration of the Arts (And Bite-Sized Convention), to be held at The HQ (1914 N Milwaukee Ave) on Saturday, February 28 at 7:30 pm. Tickets, priced $25 - $65 are available at strangebedfellowstheatre.com.

The cast of Badfic Love includes Cristiana Barbatelli (Michelle), David Flora (Benny), Chris Fowler (Kyle), Katie Hunter (Cynthia), Jovan King (Jared), Connor Konz (Harry), Stephanie Shum (Dale), and Jake Szczepaniak (Draco).

The creative team includes: Jeff Chaney (Scenic), Barbara Little (Costumes), Zoe Mikel-Stites (Lighting), Petra Cantzler (Production Manager), Danielle Moore (Stage Manager), Eric Backus (Sound / Composer), Paul Deziel (Projections), Jeremiah Barr (Props), Alex Farrington (Fight Choreographer), and Kyle Encinas (Asst. Fight Choreographer).

Badfic Love will be presented at The Den Theatre, 1333 N Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, for 15 performances, April 3 - May 2, 2015. Performances will be held Thursdays thru Saturdays at 7:30 pm. The Press Opening is scheduled for Monday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, priced at $20, will go on sale Sunday, March 1 at strangebedfellowstheatre.com or dime.io/events/badfic-love.

About Strange Bedfellows Theatre - Strange Bedfellows Theatre is dedicated to finding unlikely companions to theatre and art, while focusing on engaging audiences in experiential storytelling. We seek to bring dynamic insight to the re-telling of familiar stories and characters through both existing and newly developed text. We collaborate with other artists in interactive, mixed media and mystically charged performances to augment the Chicago community. Strange Bedfellows Theatre earnestly works at inspiring audiences to discover beauty in the everyday strange. For more information about Badfic Love or Strange Bedfellows Theatre visit strangebedfellowstheatre.com.

About the Artists:

Adam Pasen (Playwright) is a North Shore-native and holds a PhD in Playwriting from Western Michigan University, as well as a MA and BA in Creative Writing from Northwestern and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, respectively. His plays include Tea with Edie and Fitz, Board Fold: a tale of retail, Badfic Love, Vanity Fair, "Spats," and "Starf*cker," and have been awarded a BroadwayWorld Award for Best New Work, a WordBRIDGE fellowship, and the KCACTF National Ten-Minute Play Award. Pasen's plays have also been produced or workshopped by Theatre Oxford, American Theater Company, Remy Bumppo, the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival, and Tectonic Theater Project and have been published in Best American Short Plays from Applause Books and Best Women's Stage Monologues and Scenes from Smith & Kraus.

Aaron Henrickson (Director) earned a BA in Theatre Directing from Columbia College Chicago. After graduating, he entered the Chicago theatre scene, directing for such theatres as Tympanic Theatre Company, New Suit Theatre Company, Fairlane Theatre Company, Fox Valley Rep, and Cold Basement Dramatics. He has also worked as an assistant director, teaching artist, and dramaturg with such companies as Writers' Theatre, Redtwist Theatre Company, American Theatre Company, CityLit, and Dead Writers Theatre Company.

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