Loopshop 8: Birthday

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

Today we take a look at Birthday, written by Chicago playwright, songwriter and actor Jeff Bouthiette.

A same sex couple gets word they've been approved to adopt a child, but as they prepare to bring home the baby a new issue of familial identification arises that takes one partner by surprise.

Directed by Emmi Hilger, Birthday stars Alison Dornheggen as Ellen and Taylor Raye as Delia.

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: Emmi Hilger

Emmi Hilger (Director, Birthday) is thrilled to be working with Strangeloop for the first time. She is currently also directing Love in the Time of Bumblehive by Jeff Tabnick with Stage Left. Emmi is the Artistic Director of Something Marvelous, a festival of magical realism, and she will soon join the staff of The Fine Print Theatre Company as Associate Artistic Director. With Something Marvelous, Emmi has produced and directed The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl and References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot by José Rivera. Directing credits also include Sand Castles by John Green (RhinoFest), 10 Things by Scott Tobin (Collaboraction), The Lover by Harold Pinter (Walkabout Theater Company) and Punk Grandpa, a one-woman show by Laura Scruggs that has performed across the country. She has worked extensively on new plays with Chicago Dramatists, The Fine Print Theatre Company, Piccolo Theatre, 20% Theatre Company, Women's Theatre Alliance, The Arc Theatre and Pegasus Players. Emmi is a proud graduate of Northwestern University. www.emmihilger.com

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.

Scripts, directors announced for Loopshop 8

Loopshop 8 kicks off Strangeloop's eighth season this July with an array of bite-sized plays on topics ranging from Swedish furniture to time travel. Scripts and directors have been selected and casting is underway.

The annual series, which showcases short plays or scenes from full-length scripts in development, is set for 8 p.m. on Monday, July 27, and Tuesday, July 28, at the Charnel House in Logan Square.

The selected pieces are:

• All the World's An Ikea written by Maria Burnham and directed by John Morrison
• Birthday written by Jeff Bouthiette and directed by Emmi Hilger 
• Get Back written by Keith Gatchel and directed by Spenser Davis 
• Here's My Card written by Paul Tinsley and directed by Breahan Pautsch 
• Pity & Guilt written by L.M. Frank and directed by Maria Burnham

Tickets for Loopshop 8 are $10 and on sale now at Brown Paper Tickets. Check back here soon for casts and summaries of each piece!