Mitera Bio: Jean E. Burr

Jean E. Burr (Marketing) is originally from Greensboro, North Carolina, but moved to Chicago in the midst of the 2013 polar vortex. Although always in pursuit of theatrical endeavors, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a major in Film Studies and a minor in Japanese. She is an actress, singer and dancer, but she also enjoys costuming and set design/construction. You can find her under the alias Harley Darling, performing with burlesque companies like Gorilla Tango, Vaudezilla! and Plan 9. When not performing or solving problems at her muggle job, Jean loves superheroes, her cat, mozzarella sticks and trying to live every day like she’s Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road.

Krampus! Bio: Jean E. Burr

 

Jean E. Burr (Lauren) is very excited to be a part of this wonderful show! She moved to Chicago in the midst of the 2014 Polar Vortex after graduating from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she studied Film and Japanese. Since her arrival, she has performed with Nothing Special Productions, Gorilla Tango Burlesque, Vaudezilla Burlesque, Plan 9 Burlesque, Indie Boots Theatre, Open Door Rep, and, of course, Strangeloop Theatre, where she is an Artistic Associate. Love to her friends, family, co-workers, her cat, and the awesome cast & crew! Check out her upcoming projects at www.jeaneburr.com.

Strangeloop gets all Dolled up for Fight Night: X this Friday!

This Friday at the Mayne Stage in Rogers Park, Strangeloop brings it darkly humorous tale of violent sex and silicone to Nothing Special Production's Fight Night: X.


A collector of sex dolls brings his new acquisition home, but too late finds out she isn't quite like the rest. With the help of her glassy-eyed sisters, she exacts her revenge on the man who would keep her on a shelf.  

Doll, written and directed by Company Member Maria Burnham, stars Artistic Associates Jean E. Burr and Miona Lee, as well as guest artists Grace DeSant and Nora Lise Ulrey as the Dolls and Mark Edward Penzien as the collector. The piece is co-directed by Artistic Associate John Morrison. Violence is designed by Artistic Associate Justin Martin Fill. The fight captain is Mark Edward Penzien.


Fight Night is a one-night, violent cabaret celebrating the art of stage combat through original storytelling and violence design. Fight Night: X is a night of theatrical violence. No theme, no rules, just fights. 

The event takes place on Friday, September 4. Music by Barker begins at 8 p.m. Fights begin at 8:30 p.m. 
Tickets are $15 online, and $18 at the door. Purchasing in advance is highly recommended as this show always sells out.

Strangeloop returns to Fight Night in September

Strangeloop is excited to once again be part of Nothing Special Productions' Fight Night!

This go round, the 10th installment of the evening of short plays and punches, Strangeloop brings you Doll, written and directed by Company Member Maria Burnham, co-directed by Artistic Associate John Morrison. Violence is designed by Artistic Associate Justin Martin Fill. The fight captain is Mark Edward Penzien.

A collector of sex dolls brings his new acquisition home, but too late finds out she isn't quite like the rest. With the help of her glassy-eyed sisters, she exacts her revenge on the man who would keep her on a shelf. Doll stars Artistic Associates Jean E. Burr and Miona Lee, as well as guest artists Grace DeSant and Nora Lise Ulrey as the Dolls and Mark Edward Penzien as the collector. 

Fight Night is a one-night, violent cabaret celebrating the art of stage combat through original storytelling and violence design.

Fight Night: X challenges eight Chicago theater companies to each create a 10-minute play focusing on violence. No theme, no rules, just fights. The event takes place at 8 p.m. Friday, September 4, 2015, at the Mayne Stage in Rogers Park.

In addition to Strangeloop and Nothing Special, other companies are: Babes With Blades, Honest Theatre, Live Action Theatre, Otherworld Theatre Company, Reutan Collective and Robert Frosty.

Tickets are $15 online, and $18 at the door.

Loopshop 8: All The World's An IKEA

To get you in the mood for Loopshop 8 — which happens next week at The Charnel House in Logan Square — we've been sharing some short teasers about all five of our featured plays here and on Facebook. (Like us if you haven't already.)

Our last play is All The World's An IKEA by Strangeloop Company Member Maria Burnham.

The intricate comedy and drama of a relationship unfolds in the unintentionally theatrical setting that is a "living in" display at an IKEA, fueled by cinnamon rolls and environmentally sustainable wood.

Directed by Strangeloop Associate Member John Morrison, All The World's An IKEA stars Strangeloop's Jean E. Burr as Liyah and Mark Lancaster as Andy.

Loopshop is Chicago-based Strangeloop Theatre's annual short play and new works series. This year's production features original short plays on topics ranging from Swedish furniture to time travel. 

Performances for Loopshop 8 will be at 8 p.m. on Monday, July 27, and Tuesday, July 28, 2015, at The Charnel House, 3421 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago. Tickets for the show are $10 and are available at the door or online at Brown Paper Tickets. 

Loopshop 8 Bio: Jean E. Burr

Jean E. Burr (Liyah) is originally from Greensboro, North Carolina, but moved to Chicago in the midst of the 2013 polar vortex. Although always in pursuit of theatrical endeavors, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a major in Film Studies and a minor in Japanese. She is an actress, singer and dancer, but she also enjoys costuming and set design/construction. You can find her under the alias Harley Darling, performing with burlesque companies like Gorilla Tango, Vaudezilla! and Plan 9. When not performing or solving problems at her muggle job (customer service), Jean loves superheroes, her cat, mozzarella sticks and trying to live every day like she's Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road.

Casting announced for Loopshop 8

Casting is complete for Loopshop 8 and we've packed a lot of amazing talent into these bit-sized plays.

Check back next week for a more detailed look at each piece, but in the meantime let this wet your appetite.

• All the World’s An Ikea, written by Maria Burnham and directed by John Morrison,  crams massive relationship issues into a tiny "Living In 377 Sq. Ft." display space.  
• Birthday, written by Jeff Bouthiette and directed by Emmi Hilger, shows us the unexpected struggles of a lesbian couple trying to adopt. 
• Get Back, written by Keith Gatchel and directed by Spenser Davis, tells the story of two boys determined to make a potato-powered time machine that will let them right a playground wrong.
• Here’s My Card, written by Paul Tinsley and directed by Breahan Pautsch, warns us not to talk to strangers at bus stops.
• Pity & Guilt, written by L.M. Frank and directed by Maria Burnham, follows a married couple struggling to leave their past marriages behind.

Actors for these pieces include: Jean E. Burr, Alison Dornheggen, Linsey Falls, Justin Fill, Joe Giovannetti, Caitlin Jackson, Mark Lancaster, Christopher Paul Mueller, Taylor Raye and Gage Wallace.

Performances for Loopshop 8 will be at 8 p.m. on Monday, July 27, and Tuesday, July 28, 2015, at The Charnel House, 3421 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago. Tickets for the show are $10 at the door or online at Brown Paper Tickets.

Strangeloop welcomes three new Artistic Associates

Strangeloop Theatre is thrilled to announce the addition of three new Artistic Associates to our company. All three are veterans of past Strangeloop productions.

The new members are:

Jean E. Burr is originally from Greensboro, North Carolina, but moved to Chicago in the midst of the 2013 polar vortex. Although always in pursuit of theatrical endeavors, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a major in Film Studies and a minor in Japanese. She is an actress, singer, and dancer, but she also enjoys costuming and set design/construction. You can find her under the alias Harley Darling, performing with burlesque companies like Gorilla Tango, Vaudezilla! and Plan 9. When not performing or solving problems at her muggle job (customer service), Jean loves superheroes, her cat, mozzarella sticks and trying to live every day like she's Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road.

Justin Fill is extremely excited to be joining Strangeloop Theatre Company. Justin studied acting and digital storytelling at Ball State University, and is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors. Chicago credits include Theatre-Hikes and Forget Me Not Theatre. Justin's focuses are theatrical violence, music and integrating and interpreting technology into stage and film. When not immersed in the world of Theatre, Justin is a part of the pet-care industry, a courier and yogi in training. If you have time for an epic story, ask him about his WVO-powered RV.

John Morrison has worked as a director in Chicago for close to ten years. He is a proud member of the Bruised Orange Theater Company. He is an associate artist of Strangeloop where he assisted on Thinking Caps and directed last year's Loopshop play Spake. Favorite directing credits include Shuttle To Home, Autumn Leaves, Wyrd Sisters, The Bugaboo Room, Daddy Long Legs, Determination, The Nebraska Project, Geeks Vs. Zombies and Heft. jmorrisondirect.com


Currently, there are nine Company Members and three Associate Company Members in Strangeloop.

French With Me: French With Me (A Mime Love Story)

Mimes in love from 2014's French With Me: French Quarter. 

An inept, but beautiful mime enlists the help of a briliant and charismatic (but nasally afflicted) Mime Master to help her woo a handsome, intellectual mime with whom she has fallen in love. But the Mime Master has her work cut out for her! Further complicating matters, the Mime Master is secretly in love with the mime she's been taxed with helping woo. How will tale of unrequited love, love at first site and love of mime end?

French With Me (A Mime Love Story in Six Parts) stars Enan Heneghan and Stefanie Johnsen as Mimes 1 and 2 and Jean E. Burr as the Mime Master. The piece was conceived and directed by Strangeloop Company Member Maria Burnham.

The title piece is part of French With Me: A Classic Affaire. The gala event begins at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at the The Charnel House in Logan Square, 3421 W Fullerton Ave., with a reception and silent auction. The performances begin at 8 p.m. with live music from Hollywood's golden age and dessert to follow.

Tickets are $25 and available at the door or in advance at Brown Paper Tickets.

Hack/Slash: Get to know Jean E. Burr

For your actor trading card collection, the actress who brought life to Cassie Hack, Jean E. Burr.

Hack/Slash: Get to know Cassie Hack

Here's your Cassie Hack trading card. Print it out. Make all the kids jealous.

Hack/Slash Bio: Jean E. Burr

Jean E. Burr (Cassie Hack) is incredibly excited to be working with Strangeloop Theatre and CIC Theater for her first full-length Chicago show since moving to the city in January. She was recently seen as Aqua Woman in Strangeloop Theatre's Loopshop 7, and some of her favorite roles include Linda in Blood Brothers (Open Space Cafe Theatre), Amy Westmond in The Service at Rocky Bluff (The Barn Dinner Theatre), Roberta Victor in Working: The Musical (University of North Carolina at Wilmington) and Paulina in The Seagull (Millikin University). You can see her next in the independent film Battle Scars, as well as around town as Vaudezilla! Burlesque and Productions' Street Team Coordinator. She would like to thank the cast and crew for being awesome, her friends and co-workers for being so patient, her burlesque mentors for their support, and her family for basically everything. Keep up with Jean at www.jeaneburr.com.

Stalkers and Superheroines and Siberia. Oh My! (a.k.a. Loopshop 7: Therise of bite-sized theater!)

To get y'all ready for Loopshop 7 — which happens at the end of July at Chemically Imbalanced Theatre, — we'll be sharing some short teasers about all six of our featured plays here and on Facebook. (Like us if you haven't already.)

Performances for Loopshop 7 will be at 8 p.m. on Monday, July 28, and Tuesday, July 29, 2014, at Chemically Imbalanced Theatre, 1422 West Irving Park Road, Chicago. Tickets for the show are $10 and are available at the door or online at Brown Paper Tickets.

First up is Aqua Woman.

Living at home with your mother as a grown woman is hard enough, but when you're having trouble finding a paying gig as a superheroine and your mom is pressuring you to joint the League of Extradinary Evil and your perfect sister is dashing all over town kicking butt as Dr. Fabulous's sidekick...sigh, there are just some days when nothing seems to go right.

Written by Megan Mackie and directed by Chad Wise, Aqua Woman stars Jean E. Burr as Rhiannon and Shawna Tucker as Emma.

Loopshop is Chicago-based Strangeloop Theatre's annual short play and new works series. This year's production features a mix of short, original plays and scenes from full scripts in development — all from local playwrights.