French With Me 6 Bio: Tim Lee

Tim Lee (Edgar) is very excited to be joining The Inexhaustible, Unpredictable, Amaranthine Shadow Circus. After studying theatre at Evangel University, he toured and performed as a part of the Skinny Improv. He decided to move to Chicago to pursue acting. Some of his most recent roles include, Busman in Strangeloop Theatre’s production of Rossum’s Universal Robots and as Andy in 101 Ways to Fall in Love with Bard and Fool Theatre. He is very proud to be an Associate Member of Strangeloop Theatre and part of Under the Gun Theatre’s ensemble. Thanks to Miona for always being there with love and support.

French With Me 6: Lover's Eclipse

It wouldn't be French With Me without the love-based stories that started it all. So this week, leading up to the gala on Saturday, February 13, we'll be spotlighting the original performance pieces that have been created for this event.

First up, Lover's Eclipse - The Untold Story of the Sun and the Moon conceived by Letitia Guillaud, is the silly, unscientific and unseen love story that unfolds between the sun and the moon during an eclipse.

Performers: Letitia Guillaud, Tim Lee and Miona Lee.

 

French With Me 6: Le Salon takes place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, February 13, at Vagabond School of the Arts (4001 N Ravenswood Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60613). Tickets are $25 in advance or at the door, and are available now through Brown Paper Tickets.

Thanks to those who attended the reading of The Odyssey

Thanks to everyone who came out on Monday evening and packed the house for our staged reading of The Odyssey. We're looking forward to receiving additional feedback as we continue to develop this script and concept with an eye toward production.

The reading, which took place at Black Rock Pub on Damen Avenue, was directed by Maria Burnham with movement direction by Miona Lee and Carrie Campana. The script is being written by Tim Lee and Maria Burnham.

Actors for the reading were: Brian Barber, Tara Bouldrey, Gilly Guire, Cassandra Hannan, Nellsyn Hill, Arti Ishak, Andrew McClelland, Karissa Murrell Myers, Kyla Norton, Kamron Palmer, Howard Raik, Madeline Schmit and Audra Yokley.

Strangeloop Theatre is in the process of developing a movement-driven adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey.

We are working toward a production that will use a chorus of about 15 to 20 actors who will embody not just the human characters in the story, but the gods, monsters and inanimate objects – from storms and ships to bows and looms – on a bare stage. Lighting will be the primary technical storytelling element in our production with minimal assistance from costumes, props and sound. This is not a dance piece. We are developing a physical theater piece that relies almost completely on the ensemble of actors telling the story.

The Odyssey tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus and his 10-year journey home after the fall of Troy, as well as the political situation in his homeland of Ithaca during his 20-year absence.

Select scenes from this work in progress have been presented as part of Strangeloop's short play and new works development series, Loopshop, in 2013, and at a staged reading last year. Revisions to the script are already underway and the creative team plans to present a second, more movement-enhanced reading later this year.

Strangeloop presents a new adaptation of The Odyssey

Strangeloop Theatre will present a staged reading of its original movement-driven adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey at 8 p.m. on Monday, May 18, at Black Rock Pub.

The Odyssey centers on the Greek hero Odysseus and his 10-year journey home after the fall of Troy, as well as the political situation in his homeland of Ithaca during his 20-year absence.

Strangeloop is in the process of developing a movement-driven adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey. This free staged reading of the first draft of our script is part of that process. We welcome and need your feedback.

Our adaptation, conceived by Company Member Carrie Campana, will eventually use a chorus of actors to embody not just the human characters in the story, but the gods, monsters and inanimate objects. This physical theater piece relies almost completely on the ensemble of actors telling the story. As part of the reading, we will be presenting examples of this style of theatre.

Actors for the reading are: Brian Barber, Tara Bouldrey, Gilly Guire, Cassandra Hannan, Nellsyn Hill, Arti Ishak, Andrew McClelland, Karissa Murrell Myers, Kyla Norton, Kamron Palmer, Howard Raik, Madeline Schmit and Audra Yokley.

The development team for The Odyssey is: Maria Burnham, Carrie Campana, Miona Lee and Tim Lee.

More information is available is available on our Facebook page.

Thinking Caps Testimonial: Sam Cohen

Thanks to those who attended the reading of Mitera!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the staged reading of Mitera on Monday evening. We had an engaged crowd that gave us some valuable feedback, which will help as we continue to develop this script with an eye toward production.

The reading, which took place at Celtic Crown on Western Avenue, was directed by Breahan Eve Pautsch and stared Allison McCorkle as Olga Sheridan, Holly Robison as Nitsa Sheridan, Cyra K. Polizzi as Dimitra Sheridan, Lona Livingston as Sharon Kaskalis and Tim Lee as Dimitris Kokkinakis.

Mitera, a new work written by Strangeloop Company Member Maria Burnham, centers around three, single sisters have their lives turned upside down when they find out their Greek mother is still micromanaging their lives from beyond the grave. Mitera pokes and prods the boundaries of family loyalty and examines the idea that sometimes the people we’ve known our entire lives are the people we know the least.

Mitera is part of Strangeloop Theatre's development series. A scene from Mitera was originally featured in our short play and new works development series, Loopshop, in 2013.

Hack/Slash: Get to know Tim Lee

Who's that tall drink of bloody stabby water on stage you ask? Why that's Mr. Tim Lee, the man with knives. Add him to your trading card collection.

Hack/Slash: Get to know Vlad

Continuing your collection of Hack/Slash trading cards: Vlad, the gentle, knife-wielding giant. Seriously, though, don't cross him.

Hack/Slash Bio: Tim Lee

Tim Lee (Vlad) is very excited to be a part of Hack/Slash. After studying theatre at Evangel University, he toured and performed as a part of the Skinny Improv. He decided to move to Chicago to pursue acting. Some of his most recent roles include, Busman in Strangeloop Theatre’s production of Rossum’s Universal Robots and as Andy in 101 Ways to Fall in Love with Bard and Fool Theatre. He is very proud to be an Associate Member of Strangeloop Theatre and part of Under the Gun Theatre’s ensemble. Thanks to Miona for always being there with love and support.

Loopshop 7: The Safety of Lies

We're previewing all seven of the plays featured in Loopshop 7.

Today we get a glimpse of The Safety of Lies by Kyle Martin:

All the signs are there —veiled barbs, half truths, outright lies — a husband and wife both believe the other is cheating on them. And on this night, they stop pretending and find out they're both right...

Sort of.

Directed by Strangeloop Associate Memeber Tim Lee, The Safety of Lies stars Laura Deger as Jan and Sean Goldrick as Tom.

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.

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.

Strangeloop welcomes three new Artistic Associates

Strangeloop Theatre is thrilled to announce the addition of Artistic Associates to our company with three veterans of past and current productions comprising the initial members.

The new members are:

Miona Lee is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, and received her BFA in Theatre Performance from Missouri State University. While in Springfield, she worked with the Skinny Improv, Vandivort Theater, the Springfield Shakespeare Festival and Springfield Children's Playhouse. While in Chicago, she has worked with Geopolis Theater, National Pastime Theater and has been performing and writing with The Living Canvas for several seasons. In addition to acting, she toured the United States with the Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps and performed with National Avenue and The Pride of Missouri State Winterguards. Miona is currently playing Snug/Cobweb in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Tim Lee is an actor who originally comes from Springfield, Missouri. He stayed in his hometown to attend Evangel University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre. After college, he traveled, performed and brought the funny across the country with The Skinny Improv. He has been living and performing in Chicago for the past several years, and has had the pleasure of performing with companies like Prologue Theatre, Living Canvas and Bootstraps Theatre. He is very excited to be a part of Strangeloop Theatre. While his first love is being on the stage, he loves being in the shop, building and painting from scratch. Tim was last seen as the Mime in French With Me and Truncheon in Nutcracker Nightmare.

Allison McCorkle is an actor who also really enjoys seeing theatre, dancing Bollywood and getting caught up in the latest story or classic that she missed as a child. A performer since the age of 8, she studied theatre at Texas Wesleyan University and stuck around the Fort Worth/Dallas theatre scene for awhile. Then the allure of public transit and beautiful weather beckoned her to Chicago, where her credits include Piccolo Theatre, Black Ensemble Theatre, Haylcon, Chicago dell'Arte, Polarity, Red Tape and GreatWorks Theatre. Allison was thrilled to work on The Robbers, Loopshop and Nutcracker Nightmare with Strangeloop and looks forward to the next great adventure! During the day, she is an administrative assistant for a meat marketing company. That's right, that's what it says. Allison McCorkle was last seen as Dora/The Doll Queen in Nutcracker Nightmare.

Currently, there are 10 Company Members in Strangeloop.

"The idea of adding an Associate level of membership comes from a sense that there are more people we'd like to work with under the umbrella of the company, and this offers both the Associate and the company a chance to get to know each other in a more formal way without the full commitment of being a Company Member," said Brad Gunter, co-artistic director. "Miona, Tim and Allison are all talented actors who have worked with Strangeloop on multiple projects and have expressed an interest in developing a closer relationship with the company. Their talents onstage and off will be a tremendous addition to Strangeloop."