the side project will close its historic 15thseason with the World Premiere of Whatever, a new play by Robert Tenges that, like his plays Elsewhere and Strangers Knocking, is concerned with struggling adolescents, a niche for which the side project has been praised in the past.
Further, Tenges, a Chicago-based playwright and artist with New York City's
The New Group, has a long-standing history with the side project and Artistic Director Adam Webster, including three past world premieres, starting with 2005's Strangers Knocking, which The Chicago Tribune's
Chris Jones named as one of the 20 best Chicago productions of 2005.
In Whatever, running July 9-August 9 at the side project theatre, 1439 W. Jarvis in Rogers Park, two suburban teenagers - one facing an abortion, the other bucking his anger-management medications - try to navigate love, anger, and the bewildering adults who orbit their world.
The cast will include
Grace Melon (Redtwist's You & I) and Aaron Lockman as the two teens and
Josh Odor, Kirsten D'Aurelio, Mike Rice,
Shawna Tucker, and Bryan Breau as the adults. The production team includes Crystal Jovae Mazur (costumes), Becca Jeffords (lights), Stephen Gawrit (sound), Holly McCauley (props), Roxie Kooi (stage manager), and Brian Ruby (production coordinator).
Among the company's past youth-focused hits (including the world premieres of both Sean Graney's Fourth Graders Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide and Phillip Dawkins'Perfect, the Midwest premiere of
Adam Rapp's Faster, and two other Tenges plays, Strangers Knocking and Elsewhere) is also the world premiere of
Daniel Talbott's 2010 Lambda Award Finalist, Mike and Seth, which ran for four months and went to Dublin as part of the Dublin International Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival.
"I am so thrilled to wrap our 15th season with a brand new play from Robert Tenges, celebrating a decade of collaboration," Webster says. "When I read the first draft ofWhatever last year, I committed to it, not only on the basis of how strong that draft was, but also because of the rich and rewarding history between Robert and I. Each occasion has been among my most fulfilling as a director, and as a producer."
Webster went on to describe his relationship with Tenges. "I absolutely adore Robert's writing, but also his ability to adapt in the rehearsal room and continuing to hone and craft the best possible version of the play for our space and the company of actors we have assembled (including past Tenges/Webster collabrators, Kirsten D'Aurelio and
Shawna Tucker)."
Tickets: $20 General Admission, $15 Senior/Student, $10 Rogers Park Rush (all unsold tickets at the door with 60626 or 60645 ID). Group discounts available. Call 773-340-0140 for information/reservations. www.thesideproject.net.
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