MAGIC, MACHINES INVADE NEW SEASON AT STRANGELOOP THEATRE

2013-2014 season launches with Loopshop 6 on July 29 & 30

CHICAGO – Strangeloop Theatre announces its sixth season of pursing the undiscovered, highlighting big stories in intimate spaces. The five productions in the 2013-2014 Season range from new twists on well-known pieces to original works created by company members.

“As our company matures on its journey into the undiscovered, we wanted to consciously reach back and pull from the imagination of childhood,” said Co-Artistic Director Brad Gunter. “These plays continue our mission to present works of consequence, but with the kind of magic and mystery that captivated us when we were young – robots and fairies and frogs.”

The season begins in July with Loopshop 6, the company’s annual short play and new works series, with seven new pieces from local playwrights, each performed both nights of this two-night run.

This year's production features a mix of short, original plays and scenes from full scripts in development, which will give audience members the opportunity to join Strangeloop in the discovery process. The pieces in Loopshop 6 take viewers on a journey from the Animal Universe to Wedding Hell with conspiracy and sibling-rivalry-filled stops in between.

The featured plays of Loopshop 6 are:

• Mitera by Maria Burnham (Directed by Elana Elyce)
• The Mad Gasser of Mattoon by Keith Gatchel (Directed by Maria Burnham)
• Wedding Hell by Letitia Guillaud (Directed by Lisa Uhlig) 
• Conspiracy Theory by Brad Gunter (Directed by Letitia Guillaud) 
• The Mating Habits of Frogs by Barb Lhota (Directed by Ben Campana) 
• In Light of the Drinking Man’s Moon by Kyle Martin (Directed by James Sparling) 
• The Odyssey an adaptation by Michael Wagman (Directed by Carrie Campana) 

Performances for Loopshop 6 will be at 8 p.m. on Monday, July 29, and Tuesday, July 30, 2013, at Chemically Imbalanced Comedy Theatre, 1422 West Irving Park Road, Chicago. Tickets for the show are $10 at the door or online at www.strangelooptheatre.org.

The sixth season continues in the fall with R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots), by the Czech writer Karel Capek and directed by Brad Gunter. The play, which introduced the word robot (from the Czech robota, meaning forced labor) to the world in 1920, examines what it is to be human and robot, and what it means to love. R.U.R. runs Sept. 5 through Oct. 6, 2013, at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays.

The company will continue its collaborative tradition of developing a holiday show in December, and bring back its popular French With Me production with vignette-style musings on love just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Next spring, the season will close with an original interpretation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, bringing a fun-filled and intimate approach to this perennial favorite. Company member Holly Robison will direct this classic story of girl loves boy who loves other girl who loves other boy. (Now with more fairies!)

With R.U.R. and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Strangeloop returns to The Side Project Theatre, 1439 West Jarvis Ave, Chicago.

Season 6 subscriptions will be available at Loopshop 6 and online at www.strangelooptheatre.com.