Strawdog Theatre Presents THE REVOLUTIONISTS

Strawdog Theatre Company is pleased to continue its 31st season with THE REVOLUTIONISTS, Lauren M. Gunderson's brutal comedic quartet about four very real women who lived boldly during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror, directed by Denise Yvette Serna. THE REVOLUTIONISTS will play November 15 - December 29, 2018 at Strawdog's new home at 1802 W. Berenice Ave. in Chicago's Northcenter neighborhood. Casting will be announced shortly. Single tickets and season subscriptions are currently available at www.strawdog.org. Press opening to be announced.

THE REVOLUTIONISTS tells the story of four women who made history during the French Revolution: playwright Olympe de Gouge attempts to write something politically meaningful for which she will be remembered. Charlotte Corday plots to assassinate one of the Revolution's most evil participants. Deposed Queen Marie Antoinette grapples with her recent losses. Marianne Angelle, free woman of color and Caribbean spy, fights to expand the nation's notion of liberty to include women of color. When Lauren Gunderson puts these four women in the same room, questions arise about art's ability to make meaningful change, whether violence is ever the right course of action and what on earth a woman's role can be in the midst of the madness.

The production team for THE REVOLUTIONISTS includes: Strawdog ensemble member Claire Chrzan* (lighting design) with Alex Casillas (scenic design), Leah Hummel (costume design), Spencer Meeks (sound design), Danielle Myerscough (props design), Jess Haworth (assistant director), Shelbi Ardnt (master electrician), Rachel Rauscher (charge painter), Lauren Brady (stage manager), and Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel (Dramaturg).

* Denotes Strawdog ensemble member

^ Denotes Strawdog company member

About the Artists

Lauren M. Gunderson (Playwright) is the most produced playwright in America of 2017, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award, the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, she is also a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and John Gassner Award for Playwriting, and a recipient of the Mellon Foundation's 3-Year Residency with Marin Theatre Company. She studied Southern Literature and Drama at Emory University, and Dramatic Writing at NYU's Tisch School where she was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. Her work has been commissioned, produced and developed at companies across the U.S. including South Cost Rep (Emilie, Silent Sky), The Kennedy Center (The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful And Her Dog!), Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The O'Neill, The Denver Center, San Francisco Playhouse, Marin Theatre, Synchronicity, Berkeley Rep, Shotgun Players, TheatreWorks, Crowded Fire and more. She co-authored Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley with Margot Melcon, which was one of the most produced plays in America in 2017. Her work is published at Playscripts (I and You, Exit Pursued By A Bear, The Taming and Toil And Trouble), Dramatists (The Revolutionists, The Book of Will, Silent Sky, Bauer, Miss Bennet) and Samuel French (Emilie). Her picture book Dr Wonderful: Blast Off to the Moon was be released from Two Lions / Amazon in May 2017. LaurenGunderson.com and @LalaTellsAStory

Denise Yvette Serna (Director) is a theatre practitioner and arts activist based in Chicago. Credits include Carnaval 2018: ConeXion! (Latinx Theatre Commons), HIR (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Earthquakes in London (Steep Theatre Company), The View Upstairs (Circle Theatre Chicago), For The Love Of (Pride Films & Plays), SPARK (20% Theatre Company), After Orlando (Pride Films & Plays), La Chingada (inappropriate theatre company), (the)forget_meknot (inappropriate theatre company), Much Ado About Nothing (The Shaw Theatre), Om Swastyastu from London - The Wailing Woman (Institut Seni Indonesia Denpasar) and Heart's Core (Refugee Women's Theatre Programme). Denise holds an MFA in Theatre Directing and is co-founder of Global Hive Laboratories, a collective of international practitioners working toward a global theatre.

About Strawdog Theatre Company

Since its founding in 1988, Strawdog Theatre Company has offered Chicagoland the premiere storefront theatre experience and garnered numerous Non-Equity Jeff Awards with its commitment to ensemble acting and an immersive design approach. The celebrated Company develops new work, re-imagines the classics, melds music with theatre, asks provocative questions and delivers their audience the unexpected.

Strawdog Theatre Company is supported in part by The Macarthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Alphawood Foundation, The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Photo: Kamille Dawkins. Photo by Jon Cole.

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