TimeLine Theatre Company presents A House With No Walls!

TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS
THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS
BY THOMAS GIBBONS, OCTOBER 29 - DECEMBER 21

 

TimeLine Theatre Company presents the Chicago premiere of A House With No Walls by Thomas Gibbons. The play, directed by Louis Contey, runs November 1 through December 21, 2008 (previews October 29 through October 31) at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. Press Opening performances are Saturday, November 1 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, November 2 at 2 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit timelinetheatre.com or call 773.281.TIME (8463).

Philadelphia wants to build its new American Museum of Liberty on the grounds of George Washington’s home and slave quarters. Soon a conservative academic star and a liberal political activist are confronting each other with polarizing questions of African-American identity and legacy. Elegantly juxtaposed with this contemporary conflict is the true story of one of Washington’s slaves as she contemplates escape. The result is a thought-provoking drama that asks vital questions about race in America, both where we’ve been and where we go next.

A House With No Walls is the third drama in Gibbons’ “race trilogy,” which also includes the plays Bee-luther-hatchee and Permanent Collection, both of which premiered in Chicago at Northlight Theatre. Inspired by the true story of a controversy that arose in Philadelphia in 2002 during the construction of the city’s new Liberty Bell Center, the play had its world premiere in January 2007 at Philadelphia’s InterAct Theatre and went on to be performed around the United States as part of the National New Play Network.

“This is a provocative and innovative play that addresses not only race relations in this country, but also the challenges that come from trying to even discuss race relations,” said TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers. “Honestly, it’s not a conversation we’ve had enough at TimeLine, and we’re very much looking forward to engaging in that dialogue with this production.”

The cast of A House With No Walls features Barbara LW Myers (Cadence), Steve O’Connell (Allen), Mark Richard (Gardner, Park Ranger, George Washington), Leslie Ann Sheppard (Oney), Eric Sherman-Christ (Austin, Jacob) and A.C. Smith (Salif).

Performance Schedule/Events

Preview performances are Wednesday, October 29 through Friday, October 31 at 8 p.m. A House With No Walls opens on Saturday, November 1 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, November 2 at 2 p.m. and then runs Wednesdays (12/3, 12/10 and 12/17 only) and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m. (also 4 p.m. on November 28), Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through Sunday, December 21, 2008. There will be no performance on Thanksgiving Day. The running time is approximately 2 hours 10 minutes, including one intermission.

POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: Free post-show discussions led by a TimeLine Company Member and featuring the production dramaturg and members of the cast on Thursdays, November 6, 13 and 20; Sundays, November 23 and 30; and Wednesday, December 3.

SUNDAY SCHOLARS SERIES: A free hour-long post-show panel discussion with experts on the themes and issues of the play on Sunday, November 16.

DISCUSSION WITH TIMELINE COMPANY MEMBERS: Free post-show discussion with TimeLine Company members on Sunday, December 7.

Buying Tickets

Tickets are $25 (Wednesday – Friday) or $35 (Saturday & Sunday). Preview tickets are $15. Student discount is $10 off the regular ticket price with valid ID. Group rates for groups of 10 or more are available. Advance purchase is recommended as performances may sell out. To purchase tickets or for more information, call 773.281.TIME (8463) or visit timelinetheatre.com.

Audience Resources

Dramaturgical lobby displays, a production Study Guide and other information will be made available at timelinetheatre.com. A streaming video preview will be available at StageChannel.com.

Sponsors

TimeLine’s 2008-09 season is sponsored in part by the McCormick Foundation.

Location/Transportation/Parking/Accessibility

TimeLine Theatre is located at 615 W. Wellington Ave., inside the Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ building, near the corner of Wellington and Broadway in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood. CTA El stops at Diversey (Brown/Purple lines) and Belmont (Red/Brown/Purple lines) are nearby. CTA busses #36-Broadway, #76-Diversey, #77-Belmont, #22-Clark and #8-Halsted stop nearby. There is limited street parking, but several paid parking facilities are located nearby. Visit timelinetheatre.com for complete directions and parking information. There are two flights of stairs totaling 18 steps between the street and the theater space, with no elevator.

Production Staff

The production staff for A House With No Walls includes Collette Pollard (Scenic Design), Alex Wren Meadows (Costume Design), Diane D. Fairchild (Lighting Design), Andrew Hansen (Sound Design & Original Music), Mike Tutaj (Projections Design), Ann Meilahn (Properties Design), Aaron Carter (Dramaturg), Jo Ann Flores (Stage Manager), Kristopher McDowell (Production Manager), James Ogden (Technical Director), Mac Vaughey (Master Electrician), Lucinda Alipio (Assistant Director), Patrick Fries (Assistant Stage Manager), Kristin Eaves (Wardrobe Supervisor), Robert Coleman (Graphic Designer), James Keister (Lobby Display Designer), Lara Goetsch (Director of Marketing and Communications), PJ Powers (Artistic Director) and Elizabeth K. Auman (Managing Director).

Biographies

Thomas Gibbons (Playwright) is playwright-in-residence at InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia, which has produced six of his plays: Pretending to America, 6221: Prophecy and Tragedy, Axis Sally, Black Russian, Bee-luther-hatchee and Permanent Collection. His plays have been seen at the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center, off-off-Broadway at Blue Heron Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Actors Express, Florida Stage, Unicorn Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Center Stage and others. Gibbons is the recipient of six playwriting fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a Roger L. Stevens Award from the Fund for New American Plays, a Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwriting Award, two Barrymore Awards for outstanding new play, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts.

Louis Contey (Director) is an Associate Artist at TimeLine. He received a Joseph Jefferson Citation for Outstanding Direction of Awake and Sing! and a Jeff Citation nomination for It’s All True, both at TimeLine. Other TimeLine productions include Trumbo, Paradise Lost, The General from America, Pravda and Copenhagen. He has directed more than 60 plays, among them Requiem for a Heavyweight, A View from the Bridge, A Streetcar Named Desire, All My Sons, Rocket to the Moon, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Judgment at Nuremberg, Meet John Doe, Boys Next Door and Marriage Play. He is an 11-time Joseph Jefferson nominee and has received seven Joseph Jefferson Citations. He has worked at The Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Theatre at the Center, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Shattered Globe Theatre, Provision Theatre, Eclipse Theatre and American Theater Company, among others. He received his M.F.A. in directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University, where he is currently an adjunct instructor.

About TimeLine Theatre Company

TimeLine was founded in April 1997 by six graduates of The Theatre School at DePaul University. The company’s mission is to present stories inspired by history that connect with today’s social and political issues.

TimeLine’s first 11 seasons featured 35 productions, including five world premieres and eight Chicago premieres. Praised as “a must-see company” (Chicago Sun-Times) and a “fast-rising Chicago company” (The New York Times) and recipient of the 2006 Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence, TimeLine has received 37 Non-Equity Jeff Awards, including an award for Outstanding Production six of the past eight seasons: Not About Nightingales (2001); The Crucible (2002), Awake and Sing! (2003), Hannah and Martin (2004), This Happy Breed (2005) and Fiorello! (2007). TimeLine’s 2008-09 season is presented under contract with Actors Equity Association.

The rest of TimeLine’s 2008-09 season will include:

• The world premiere of NOT ENOUGH AIR, by Masha Obolensky, directed by Nick Bowling, January 24 – March 22, 2009 (previews 1/21 – 1/23)
• The Chicago premiere of THE HISTORY BOYS, by Alan Bennett, directed by Nick Bowling, April 25 – June 21, 2009 (previews 4/22 – 4/24)

Company members are Nick Bowling, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Lara Goetsch, Juliet Hart, David Parkes, Maureen Powers, PJ Powers and Benjamin Thiem. TimeLine is a member of the League of Chicago Theatres, Theatre Communications Group and the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce.

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