Strawdog Theatre's Fall 2008 Late Night Schedule Announced

Strawdog Theatre Company continues Late Night offerings into their 21st anniversary season, with free or low-cost shows following Friday and Saturday performances of 'R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots),' as well as on Sunday nights, and runs September 18 to October 25, 2008. Late Night patrons must be 21 or over.

The Friday offering is called 'Strawdog Welcomes,' and features guest artists and companies to present various entertainment acts. Saturdays bring 'Strawdog Presents,' which consists of Strawdog ensemble members and their programming, including 'The Game Show Show and Stuff,' 'The Mic,' 'The Direct-Off,' and 'Kyle's Basement,' as well as live music, improvisation and the like. The 'Strawdog Sunday Showcase' presents live music, stand-up comedy, improv, and variety acts. The fall 2008 schedule is listed below (subject to change; check www.strawdog.org).

The Strawdog Theatre is located at 3829 N. Broadway St., Chicago, IL 60613 (Red Line Sheridan stop; 36-Broadway and 80-Irving Park buses; $6 honor parking at Greeley School, 832 W. Sheridan, weekends after 5 p.m.).  Strawdog Late Nights will take place September 18 to October 25, 2008 on Fridays and Saturdays at 11 p.m. and Sundays at 10 p.m.  For tickets call 773-528-9696.  Tickets are free with a Strawdog mainstage ticket purchase (same night only), with a $5-$10 cover for certain events; visit www.strawdog.org for details.   

Strawdog Theatre Company is supported in part by The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Alphawood Foundation, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Illinois Arts Council (a state agency), Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Gerry Brown and Associates and the annual support of businesses and individuals.

Strawdog Theatre Company is committed to ensemble acting and an immersive design approach, offering Chicago the premiere storefront theatre experience. We develop new work, reimagine classic plays, explore new fusions of music and theatre, ask provocative questions and deliver our audience the unexpected. We provide a home for our celebrated ensemble to work and play with the most sought after artists in Chicago theatre along with the best new talents in the city. Founded in 1988, the Strawdog ensemble has consistently produced shows built on authentic human connections, and our comfortable 70-seat home in Lakeview is perfect for offering our audience a quintessential Chicago storefront theatre experience. "The whole wide world in a little black box." Strawdog is a proud member of the NortHalsted Area Merchant Association, The Chicago Storefront Theatre District and the League of Chicago Theatres.

The fall 2008 schedule for Strawdog Late Night is as follows :

Saturday, September 20, 'R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)' gala opening ($40 ticket) with DJ Gregor Mortis. Ensemble member, Jeff Award-winning sound designer and Charybdis arts organization founder Mortis has been a deejay for over 15 years.

Sunday, September 21, 'R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)' opening night party (free); meet the cast and director Shade Murray, with DJs and live music.

Friday, September 26, Yuri Lane ($5 ticket) - human beatbox Yuri Lane returns to Late Night for the third time, after touring all over the country and appearing in the film 'Compulsory Breathing.' www.yurilane.com

Saturday, September 27, 'The Mic' ($5 ticket) - Strawdog ensemble member emeritus Noah Simon hosts this Late Night classic, featuring several of Chicago's noted sound designers including Strawdog ensemble member Mikhail Fiksel with guest artists Miles Polaski, Mike Tutaj, Steve Tamburri and Adam Kozlowski.

Monday, September 29, Talkback Podcast (free, directly after the 7 p.m. performance) - Strawdog ensemble members Hank Boland and Aly Renee Greaves host a talkback after the added industry performance of 'R.U.R.' to be recorded and aired as a part of the Strawdog podcast (available for download at www.strawdog.org).

Friday, October 3, Blewt! Productions, and their newest comedy variety show 'Blewtenanny' ($5 ticket) - their previous live game show 'Don't Spit the Water' was a mix between 'Make Me Laugh,' 'The Gong Show,' and 'Pee Wee's Playhouse.' www.blewt.com

Saturday, October 4, Third Annual Direct-Off ($5 ticket) - noted Chicago directors are given short scenes and a stable of area actors, and the audience decides which director moves on the next round. Director Ann Filmer is the reigning two-time champion, and past participants have included Henry Godinez, Sean Graney, and others.

Sunday, October 5, The Temperates ($5 ticket) - alumni from Strawdog's production of 'Old Town' reunite for a night of music featuring vocalists and a five-piece band, featuring classics as well as original music from various Strawdog productions.

Friday, October 10, 2nd Story ($10 ticket) - a hybrid performance evening combining storytelling, wine, and music, produced by the Serendipity Theater Collective as both a monthly performance series and an annual festival. http://2ndstory.serendipitytheatre.org/

Saturday, October 11, Kyle's Basement ($5 ticket) - fourth installment of this "variety underground," featuring sketch comedy, cooking segments, the nightly news and special musical guests.

Sunday, October 12, Erik Hellman ($5 ticket) - ensemble member Hellman (performing in Chicago Shakespeare Theaters' 'Edward II' this fall) returns with his banjo and his friends for another musical evening.

Saturday, October 18, Roast of Bollo ($5 ticket) - ensemble member and host of 'The Game Show Show and Stuff' Anderson Lawfer is Master of Ceremonies for this Friar's Club style roast, "honoring" Chicago actor and 'R.U.R.' cast member Ryan Bollettino (also a longtime ensemble member of the Hypocrites).

Friday, October 24, Hit Factory Presents ($5 ticket) - ensemble playwrights present new work created for Strawdog's playwriting initiative, 'The Hit Factory.' Pieces will be performed in a radio theatre style with actors and live Foley sound effects.

Saturday, October 25, The 'R.U.R.' Puppet Show (free) - an hilarious Strawdog tradition of ensemble members sending up every production with an affectionate puppet version.

Strawdog Theatre Company kicks off their 21st season with Karel Čapek's science fiction drama 'R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots),' directed by Strawdog Artistic Associate Shade Murray. Set in the 1920s at the island factory of Rossum's Universal Robots, 'R.U.R.' follows a team of scientists who have created the model to factory-produce the world's first robotic workforce. When an idealistic young woman arrives on a quest to free the "souls" of the robots (and discovers there is no such thing), she manipulates the scientists to biologically remedy that fact. Soon after these "improved" and extremely humanlike robots have been shipped all over the world, the inevitable robot revolution explodes, leaving questions about the survival of humanity and what actually makes a human. 'R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)' runs about two hours with one intermission, with free admittance to Strawdog Late Night following the Friday and Saturday shows.

Čapek was the first person to introduce the term robot to the world, though the term was actually invented by his brother Josef. Čapek's famous utopian fantasy novel War with the Newts has been adapted into a play by Jason Loewith and Justin D.M. Palmer, and will premiere at Evanston's Next Theatre in February 2009. Murray returns after directing Strawdog's award-winning productions of 'Detective Story' (2003 Jeff Awards for Production, Director, and Ensemble), and 'Marathon '33' (2006 Jeff Award for Ensemble).

The show opens Sunday, September 21, 2008, at 7 p.m. (reception following) and closes on Saturday, October 25, 2008.  'R.U.R.' runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 7 p.m., with previews on September 18 and September 19 at 8 p.m.  Thursday shows have been added on October 16 and 23, 8 p.m. (tickets $20) and there will be a special Gala Benefit performance Saturday, September 20 at 7 p.m. (tickets $40).  Tickets are $20 for all regular performances, $15 for students and seniors (with ID) and for groups of ten or more, $10 for previews, $40 for Gala Benefit on September 20 (including cocktails and appetizers), $5 for industry show on September 29 (with resume/headshot/card); $20 otherwise. Regular ticket purchase also includes admittance to Strawdog Late Nights (improv, comedy, music, etc.) directly after Friday and Saturday night shows, $50 for 3-show season tickets (or all-gala package for $100). Call 773-528-9696 or visit www.strawdog.org for further information.

Strawdog's design team consists of Mikhail Fiksel (Sound Design), Aly Renee Greaves (Costume Design), with artistic associate Shade Murray (Director) and guest artists Dan Stratton (Scenic Design), Miles Polaski (Sound Design), Samantha Szigeti (Lighting Design), Sean Sheridan (Stage Manager), and Cortney Hurley (Production Manager). Strawdog ensemble members include Carmine Grisolia (Hallemeir), Anderson Lawfer (Fabry), Michaela Petro (Helena), and John Henry Roberts (Gall), with guest artists Ryan Bolletino (Domin), Brennan Buhl (Busman), Zach Clark (Marius), Andrew Gebhart (Radius), Joe Goldhammer (Primus), Sara Gorsky (Ensemble), Jocelyn Kelvin (Sulla), Nick Lake (Damon), Henry Riggs (Ensemble), Noah Simon (Alquist), and Rebekah Ward Hays (Emma).

Playwright Karel Čapek (1890-1938) was born in Czechoslovakia and was one the most influential Czech writers of the 20th century. Čapek was the first person to introduce the term robot to the world. His other works of science fiction include 'The Makropulos Affair,' 'The Absolute at Large,' 'The White Disease' and 'The Mother -Matka.'

Strawdog will continue their 21st season with Curt Columbus' translation of 'The Cherry Orchard' by Anton Chekhov, directed by Strawdog Artistic Associate Kimberly Senior, running February 19 to March 28, 2009; and Peter Barnes' black comedy 'Red Noses,' directed by House Theatre's Matthew Hawkins, running April 16-May 23, 2009.

Strawdog Theatre Company was formed in 1988 by a group of actors who had performed together in a production of Euripides's 'Helen' at a (now defunct) theatre on the west side. The group took their name from Sam Peckinpah's movie 'Straw Dogs' (Theatresaurus Rex was, thankfully, the runner-up), and they produced their first show, Len Jenkin's 'Five of Us' at a (now defunct) space in Bucktown. At the time, the Chicago Reader said "Strawdog Theatre Company's inaugural production brings ... truth home with a vengeance," and Skyline Chicago added "The Strawdog troupe shows us what an ensemble can do." Twenty years later, Strawdog Theatre Company has survived the ups and downs of Chicago theatre, and is still dedicated to bringing the truth to audiences through the committed work of an award-winning ensemble of actors and designers.

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