Category: Physical Environs
Think Fast: Cleveland Playhouse, All State Arena, Harlem Summer Shakespeare, Lincoln Park Arts Festival
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SONIA DADA LIVE IN SANTA MONICA,CA…………..
Lifeline Theatre’s new MARQUEE
Pretty cool, huh? Lifeline Theatre, which recently was awarded more Jeff Award nominations – a total of 14 – added this great marquee to their theatre edifice. My theory of theater is that it’s the ultimate live experience (okay, along with opera), and thus all parts of the experience must be taken into account when developing your outer persona. I always connect marquees to those theaters I went to when I was a kid, so seeing this brings back those joyous memories. And this priceless memory is added (usually subconsciously) into the ticket price, especially when person is assessing whether the ticket price is worth it. Way to go Lifeline Theatre!!
Actor’s Equity is movin’ on up! (to the West side)
Via Chris Jones’ blog: The Theater Loop
Besides buying a new building, Actors’ Equity has plans to expand presence here in Chi-Town (i.e. which means more jobs!!)
Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States, has purchased its own building on Randolph Street just a block or two west of the core of Chicago’s theater district (click on map below to see exact location). And according to Steven DiPaola, the union’s assistant executive director for finance and administration, Equity is considering moving some of the union’s national back-office functions from New York to Chicago.
The new office, located at 557 W. Randolph Street, will house the headquarters of Equity’s Central Region, an office that covers all Chicago theaters as well as such active theater cities as Minneapolis and Milwaukee.
“We’re going to have an expanded audition center and member’s center,” said DiPaola. “And we hope to bring in some arts-related tenants into the building.” That list is likely to include Equity’s credit union, as well as some external cultural organizations.
Says Mark Staples, senior vice president of Office Group, who facilitated the transaction: “With its immediate proximity to I-90/94, the Clinton Green Line L stop and both the Ogilvie Transportation Center and Union Station, 557 W. Randolph is a perfect match for Actors’ Equity Association,”
The purchase price was $2 million. 557 W. Randolph Street is a four-story building with about 21,000 square feet. Equity, which will occupy two floors beginning in 2010, will be able to lease the space that it doesn’t use.
For larger map, click on pushpin
Built in 1855, 557 W. Randolph was one of the very few buildings in its area to survive the infamous 1871 Chicago fire. According to a statement from the union’s agent in the transaction, Mark Stables, a senior vice-president at Grubb and Ellis Company, Equity was able to save “nearly a third of the asking price” by paying in cash in these tough times. Equity will be moving from less than 10,000 square feet of rented space at 125 S. Clark St.
“This move shows our confidence in Chicago and its theater community,” DiPaola said.
Equity has about 1,500 members residing in Chicago.
Related articles:
- Yahoo: Actors’ Equity Gets New Chicago Home
- BroadwayWorld.com: Actors’ Equity to Expand Windy City presence
2009 Creative Chicago Expo – Saturday at the Cultural Center!
2009 Creative Chicago Expo
Info for artists on
Space • Housing • Business • Community
Saturday, April 4 10 AM – 4 PM
Chicago Cultural Center
Admission free ~ bring a friend!
20+ Workshops | 100+ Vendors | 40+ Consultants
Services for all Artists, Arts Businesses and Organizations
Dance | Fashion | Media | Music | Theater | Visual Art | Words
Once a year, the Creative Chicago Expo presents Chicago’s top resources, services and expertise specifically for people in the arts. Featuring workshops and vendors for individuals and arts organizations, the Expo is also an important opportunity to network and build community. Join over 3,500 artists who will make their way through the Cultural Center on Saturday April 4. The Expo is brings Chicago’s cultural community together under one roof!
CONSULT-A-THON!
Pick an expert on something you need — career coaching, legal or accounting issues, portfolio or grant review, casting agents, even organizational development and business issues for non-profits.
Schedule a 25 minute appointment for one-on-one consulting for only $10. Over 40 consultants will be available for appointments. Click here for the complete consultant list and to make an appointment. Limited to 3 appointments per person.
WORKSHOPS
Presented by top local and national service providers all day:
• Affordable Housing in Chicago
• Art Festival How-tos
• Benchmarking 101: Outcomes & Measurements
• Building a Board of Directors
• Business Licensing Basics
• Cultivating Individual Donors
• Finding Live/Work Space
• Fiscal Sponsorship
• Forming a Non-Profit
• Health Insurance Advice for Artists
• Marketing For the Cash Strapped and Time Poor
• Meet your Arts Service Agencies
• Obtaining Capital for your Creative Industry
• Reaching New Audiences
• Space Development Starter Kit for Non-profits
• Starting an Arts-Based Business
• Strategic Planning for Non-Profits
• Time Management for Artists
• Tips for “Successful Grant Applications
• Winning Public Art Commissions
• Your Credit Score: Re-Building Your Financial Health
Workshop Presenters include: Arts and Business Council of Chicago, Amdur Productions, Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, The Center for What Works, Columbia College Chicago Arts Entrepreneurship Center, Community Media Workshop, Communication Society, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Executive Service Corps, Fractured Atlas, Future of Music Coalition, Illinois Arts Alliance, Illinois Association of Mortgage Professionals, Illinois Facility Fund, International Academy of Design and Technology, Lawyers for the Creative Arts, Inc., League of Chicago Theatres, Mission Paradox, and others.
Read complete workshop descriptions and schedule here
All 2009 Vendors after the fold.
A new home for Steep Theatre!
It seemed innocent enough – I was just waiting this past Sunday for a friend to pick me up at the Berwin Red Line stop. While waiting there, however, I spotted this sign in the window of an empty storefront:
Needless to say, I was very excited to see this. Steep Theatre has been an outstanding theatre company here in Chicago, promoting the sort of ensemble-based productions for which Chicago is best known. And knowing that Steep is investing both the time and money into a new space assures that Steep will be here for years to come. Yeah! Here’s a few more pictures:
As you can tell, this is a great location, with a much larger space, complete with large sun-gathering windows. And the site is just down the street from the Berwyn el-stop. In a perfect world, the theatre company will be able to work out some kind of parking accomodations with the Jewel grocery store across the street. You can see what a great improvement this will be for the theatre by comparing it with their present space:
I found these poetic words on Steep Theatre’s website:
Steep Theatre Company is our family and Steep Theatre is our home. We have created an environment that other artists and audience members have always found welcoming, enjoyable and engaging. Each of our talented members are dedicated both artistically and administratively to making Steep a fixture in the Chicago theatre community.
I wish Steep Theatre, and the Steep Theatre family, the best of success in their future space.
Review – “Talking It Over” at Lifeline Theatre
Talking It Over
Producers: Lifeline Theatre (map)
Set-Up: When steady Stuart (John Ferrick) marries the enigmatic Gillian (Elise Kauzlaric), his impetuous school chum Oliver (Christopher Hainsworth) senses that three has become a crowd. But who will end up on the outside, as this love triangle struggles to find balance?
Pros: The performances, save for Ferrick’s overdone drunkenness, are commendable. The characters themselves are rather grating, which makes them even harder to pull off, and the cast overcomes this obstacle. Nice sets and staging.
Cons: As mentioned earlier, the characters in this play are difficult to stomach. This has nothing to do with whether they’re “good” people or not – you can have a villain that is a joy to watch because they have something that they truly believe in, and have a reason for choosing what they do – and then they go for it. But these characters. save for Stuart’s best friend Val (Katie McLean), are whiny, clothed in layers of victimhood – but unfortunately lack targeted purpose.
Technicals: The set, designed by Andre LaSalle, works well. Consisting of three raised stages, LaSalle has placed layers of large paintings-in-progress behind each of the stage areas; the respective paintings torn down to match the scene. This works well, especially as the character of Gillian is a painting restorer. Lighting (Fullilove-Nugent) and Sound Design (Fiksel) fit nicely into the show.
Environment: Lifeline Theatre maintains a pleasant lobby and facilities, and the personnel are warm and helpful. The theatre space itself is nice-sized, perfect for more intimate works. The neighborhood wrapping around the theatre may seem a bit iffy, but don’t let that assuage you – Rogers Park is a quickly-gentrifying neighborhood, and Lifeline is certainly one of the stalwarts of this transformation. (Directions to the theatre can be found on Lifeline’s website. I suggest taking the el, as the theatre is less than a block away from the Morse red-line el stop)
Summary: Talking It Over has a number of things going for it – including nice staging and decent performances from the majority of the cast. Unfortunately, these positives are overshadowed by the underlying idea that we just don’t care about the trio’s separate stories. There’s a clever analogy inserted into a scene where Gillian explains – as she is restoring a painting – the thrill she gets when she uncovers objects in the painting that have been obscured over years of painting wear-and-tear. An analogy can be projected that we are seeing the same thing happen with the characters, that parts of their personalities and inner struggles are uncovered through their conversations with us. Unfortunately this done not happen.
Rating: ««
Other Reviews: Timeout Chicago, Tribune, TheatreInChicago.com
Personnel and Show Times
| Adaptor: | Peter Greenberg |
| Director: | Dorothy Milne |
| Sets: | Andre LaSalle |
| Lights: | Maggie Fullilove-Nugent |
| Costumes: | Branimira Ivanova |
| Sound Design: | Mikhail Fiksel |
| Dialect Coach: | Phil Timberlake |
| Stage Manager: | Ellen Willett |
| Featuring: | Elise Kauzlaric (Gillian) |
| Katie McLean (Val and others) | |
| John Ferrick (Stuart) | |
| Christopher Hainsworth (Oliver) | |
| Ann Wakefield (Madame Wyatt and others) | |
| Location: | Lifeline Theatre 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. (map) |
| Dates: | Through March 23rd |
| Show Times: | Fridays – 7:30pm; Saturdays – 4pm and 8pm; Sundays – 4pm |
