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. 

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Cast and Crew bios

by William Shakespeare

Cast
Theseus/Oberon:      Geoff Zimmerman
Hippolyta/Titania:      Caitlin Jackson
Egeus:                       Kitty Mortland
Demetrius:                Tim Larson
Lysander:                  Ken Miller
Hermia:                     Letitia Guillaud *
Helena:                     Mary-Kate Arnold
Quince:                     Maria Burnham *
Bottom:                     Michael Houghton Wagman *
Flute/Peaseblossom: Naomi Lindh
Snug/Cobweb:          Miona Lee †
Puck:                         Julia Rigby
The Lion:                  Herbert the Lion
Understudy:              Kirk Jackson

Production Team
Director:                          Holly Robison *
Stage Manager:              Lisa Uhlig *
Costume Designer:         Carrie Campana *
Lighting Designer:           Eric Van Tassell
Scenic Designer:             Lauren Angel-Nichols
Sound Designer:             Keith Gatchel *
Production Manager:      Brad Gunter *
Prop Designer:                Mel Gill
Fight Choreographer:      Robert Tobin
Graphic Designer:           Mike Wozniak
Photographer:                 Austin D. Oie
Audience Development: Jaclyn Jensen*
Marketing:                      Maria Burnham*

*Strangeloop Company Member
†Strangeloop Associate Company Member

April 24 – May 25, 2014
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

The Side Project Theatre, 1439 West Jarvis Avenue, Chicago, IL

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' closes this weekend

The final four performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream begin tonight. This is the last weekend to see this show, which audiences have called "a magnificent and intimate production. Such fine acting and a joy to witness!"

Tickets are going fast (as all closing weekends do). Get yours now on Brown Paper Tickets.

Strangeloop's intimate approach to William Shakespeare’s classic tale of love, magic and fairies features promenade-style staging, in which audience members move and sit amongst the action of the play with no formal differentiation between stage and seating.

The production takes place in the 1940s – a time period that shares with the ancient Athens of Shakespeare’s original setting political turmoil, war and the subduing of monstrous beasts (literal in one case, figurative in the other). But despite the unrest of the outside world, love still finds a place to bloom during this, the shortest night of the year.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs through May 25 at the side project theatre (1439 W. Jarvis Ave.) in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood (just steps from the Jarvis Red Line stop), at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Review: 'Go home Helena, you’re drunk'

Chicago Theatre Review recently recommended Strangeloop Theatre's A Midsummer Night's Dream, calling it "ribald, cacophonous and soused" and "never bloodless":

Actresses fly past inches from your knees, suitors are hurled across the room and, unless you chose to avert your eyes, you can catch eyefuls of intimate caresses between the monarchs of the forest.

Read the whole review here and then come join us this weekend.(Just make sure you're "prepared to duck, weave, and dance to ukulele strains and forties hits.")

A Midsummer Night's Dream Bio: Herbert the Lion

Herbert the Lion (The Lion) is excited to make his Strangeloop debut. He previously was seen roaming the plains of Africa looking for zebra meat and in the Lion King. Favorite roles include Aslan in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz. For some reason people keep trying to cast him as Tigger in Winnie the Pooh and that always ends in an awkward discussion about specie-ism against the Big Cat community. Much love to this cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream who teach him something new about the craft of acting every day, and to Holly for seeing him across a crowded train station and knowing, on the spot, he’d be perfect for this part. Love always to Miona, who sticks her hand inside me every day and touches my heart. I wouldn’t be the lion I am without you, dear.