THE DOG SHOW Performance Will Benefit the MEH Lewis Memorial Fund

The January 27 performance of The Dog Show, playing at The Players Theatre January 12-29, will help raise money for the M.E.H. Lewis Memorial Fund housed at Chicago Dramatists.

The fund, in memory of playwright M.E.H. Lewis, assists dramatic writers in their artistic growth. Partial scholarships cover 75% of course costs at Chicago Dramatists to further the development of Chicago-area playwrights.

Lewis, an award-winning playwright and author, passed away in 2015 at 50. She created more than a dozen works to critical acclaim, most noticeably Burying the Bones, which was nominated for three Joseph Jefferson Awards, including Best New Work. Lewis' work addressed social justice and humanized global and historic struggles. In addition to writing, she devoted her life to education. As an instructor at Chicago Dramatists, she believed passionately in helping others excel in theater and was a member of both the Dramatists Guild and the Women's Theatre Alliance.

Ivan Faute, playwright, explains that The Dog Show is the result of Lewis' encouragement and guidance, and was started in a workshop Lewis held in Chicago. "The exercises she asked us to do that day gave birth to the main character Pauline," Faute recalls. "She was fundamental in teaching me to think dramatically and was also a kind and powerful voice that reminded us all that theatre is an essential art form."

The January 20 performance will be dedicated to Lewis with a special program insert. Additionally, 10% of gross ticket sales and all concession funds that night will go directly to the M.E.H. Lewis Memorial Fund. More information about the scholarships and donations can be made at chicagodramatists.org/meh-lewis-scholarship.

The Dog Show, set in southeast Missouri on a small dog breeder's farm, focuses on the unravelling that occurs after the matriarch Pauline is institutionalized and son Alex comes home to discover why. As Alex pushes everyone to tell the truth about what has happened, the group must confront a past that can't be absolved by confession but must be confronted.

The cast features Cathy Carlton* as the Pauline, and Conor Murphy as Alex, Pauline's son, Barry Rowell as Commodore, and Raimy O. Washington as Shawna.

The play, directed by Christina Rose Ashby, has lighting design by Autum Casey and original music and sound design by Sam Kaseta.

* These Actors are appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

The Dog Show

Steve and Marie Sgouros Theatre at The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal St.

January 12-29, Thursday-Saturday 7pm, Sunday 3pm

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