The Building Stage Adds 3 Performances of MOBY-DICK

With the number of remaining tickets for its adaptation of MOBY-DICK running low, The Building Stage has added three additional performances of this Jeff recommended and critically acclaimed show now playing through Friday, November 4 at The Building Stage, 412 N. Carpenter Street in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood.

Remaining Performances:
Friday, October 21 at 8:00pm
Saturday, October 22 at 8:00pm
Sunday, October 23 at 4:00pm
Friday, October 28 at 8:00pm
*Saturday, October 29 at 4:00pm
Saturday, October 29 at 8:00pm
Sunday, October 30 at 4:00pm
*Thursday, November 3 at 8:00pm
*Friday, November 4 at 8:00pm

*Added Show
Tickets are available online (www.buildingstage.com) or by calling (312) 491-1369. General Admission tickets are $22. Student tickets are available for $12.

ABOUT MOBY-DICK
The audience is confined on board with the crew of the Pequod as this original adaptation of MOBY-DICK focuses on the contagious nature of obsession. Evolving from their highly visual 2006 production, The Building Stage MOBY-DICK reaches beyond the story of Captain Ahab to capture the shifting currents of the novel itself. Melville's prose mixes with movement, museum displays, and miniature ships as a trio of percussionists loom over the stage, propelling Ahab's obsession with the white whale to its fateful conclusion.
"Call me Ishmael." With this bold direct address of the audience, Herman Melville launches into one of the greatest American literary creations. Passionate, philosophical, and funny, Melville's Moby-Dick is a grand and messy work. In order to capture the giddy swirl of ideas that characterize the book, The Building Stage employs a chorus of "Ishmaels" to tell the story; each Ishmael in turn plays the key characters of the story, allowing for six united but unique perspectives on Ahab, Starbuck, Stubb, and the crew of the Pequod. The company's tight focus allows them to invest fully in their chosen theme and motifs instead of frantically chasing down every narrative detail from the novel.

HISTORY OF THE PRODUCTION
The Building Stage works from pre-existing sources that reflect the world we live in. The company transforms those sources through rehearsal, creating on their feet, with no separation between play and production. This project is no different. As a result, while this Moby-Dick is an adaptation of a novel, it is perhaps even more a response to - or adaptation of - the company's previous production of Moby-Dick.
Over the summer of 2006, The Building Stage set out with six actors, a composer, three designers, and one director to adapt the novel for the stage. The resulting production's unusual combination of visuals, live music, literary text, and dramatic scenes became an early touchstone for the style the company has become known for.
It has always been part of The Building Stage philosophy that productions evolve over the course of performances. Now, five years after the first production of Moby-Dick, the timing is right to take that philosophy to the next phase: using the lessons learned in performance to make major changes to an existing production. It has been a surprising experience for director Blake Montgomery: "The main reason for returning to Moby-Dick was to celebrate the great creative work of our original production. And now, I'm frankly more excited - and a bit surprised - by how much this has taken on a new life and grown in some unforeseen directions. We've built on the strengths of the old production but also, in the process, created something new."

Credits for Moby-Dick (2011 Version)
Created by The Building Stage
Adapted from the Herman Melville novel
Conceived and directed by Blake Montgomery
Original Music composed by Kevin O'Donnell
Developed and performed by Rachel Griesinger, Sarah Hecht, Chelsea Keenan, Ian Knox,
Jon Stutzman, and Nathan Wonder
with
Costume Design by Izumi Inaba
Lighting Design by Danny Osburn
Technical Direction by Blake Montgomery
Drum Captain: Kevin O'Donnell

This 2011 Version is built on the amazing foundation laid by the original co-creators, both designers and performers, of Moby-Dick (2006 Version):
Kevin O'Donnell; Meghan Raham, Marcus Stephens, and Stephanie Millar; David Amaral, Sarah Goeden, Fannie Hungerford, Jason Martin, Joel Sugerman, and Leah Urzendowski; Justin D.M. Palmer and Mike Przygoda.

ABOUT THE BUILDING STAGE
The Building Stage opened its doors with a critically acclaimed new vision of Hamlet in the fall of 2005, described as "an exquisite bare-bones [production]" (Performink Year in Review), and "a triumph of extraordinary achievement" (Gay Chicago). Since then the company has been honored with an After Dark Award for Outstanding Production (Dustbowl Gothic) and has presented a world premiere adaptation of Moby-Dick; an original work created out of clips from 1940s cinema classics, Noir (After Dark Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement); a minimalist adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's The Master Builder; a silent film-inspired adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula; a six-hour theatrical event based on Wagner's operatic masterpiece The Ring Cycle; and a poetic re-imagining of the history of arctic exploration, The Franklin Expedition.
The Building Stage exists to create original theatrical events that celebrate, mourn, explore, and question our world and ourselves. Serving as both a neighborhood theater and a cultural destination, the company seeks to combine an entertaining, approachable experience with unique and challenging artistic products, in the hope of rediscovering the vital role that theater can play in American cultural life.
The Building Stage company members include: David Amaral, Daiva Bhandari, Chelsea Keenan, Pamela Maurer, Jon Stutzman, and Max Wirt. Blake Montgomery is the founder and Artistic Director.

THE BUILDING STAGE 2011/2012 SEASON
After six years of producing on a project-by-project basis, The Building Stage is producing a full, four-show season for the first time in order to make deeper connections with its audience.
Moby-Dick
Created by The Building Stage
Adapted from the novel by Herman Melville
Conceived and directed by Blake Montgomery
Original music by Kevin O'Donnell
September 15 - October 30, 2011?
Opening/Press Night: Monday, September 19 at 7:30pm
Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs A Christmas Carol. Again.
Loosely based on the life of the author and his most theatricalized text
Created by The Building Stage
Directed by David Amaral
Featuring Blake Montgomery as Charles Dickens
November 17 - December 24, 2011?
Opening/Press Night: Sunday, November 20 at 7:00pm
Hänsel und Gretel
Inspired by the classic story and its variations
from The Brothers Grimm to the opera by Engelbert Humperdinck
Created by The Building Stage
Conceived and directed by Blake Montgomery
Original music by Stephen Ptacek
February 25 - April 15, 2012
Opening/Press Night: Sunday, March 4 at 7:00pm
Life is a Dream
A Summer Event with Picnics, Poetry, and Revolution
By Pedro Calderon de la Barca
Adapted by The Building Stage
Directed by Blake Montgomery
May 5 - June 24, 2012?
Opening/Press Night: Sunday, May 13 at 7:00pm
You can find more information on the season at our website buildingstage.com

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