French With Me 6: A success!

Thanks to everyone who packed the house on Saturday, February 13, for French With Me 6: Le Salon. We so enjoyed sharing the love of the holiday with you.
 
Were you there? Want to relive the evening and see the photos of yourself from the event? Check out our photo gallery on Facebook. Tag yourself and share with your friends.

If you missed the event — that included a romance story involving the moon and sun, another featuring an extremely overprotective cat, a heartfelt monologue about rejection and a soul-stealing circus...well, there's always next year. 

Thanks again to all our sponsors, who played cupid to all this love: Chef Thom Ramirez, 525 Executive Sweets and Finch's Beer Co., and to the gentlemen of Arcana, who closed out the night with a crash, boom, bang!

Next up for Strangeloop? Mitera. Stay tuned for more information!

French With Me 6: Spotlight on Finch's Beer

Strangeloop is pleased to announce that Finch's Beer is returning as the beer sponsor of French With Me, providing an array of home-brewed beverages for our gala.

Finch's, a craft brewery that opened in Chicago in 2011, has worked with us since 2013, when French With Me evolved from a Valentine's Day-themed short play festival to the celebration of love it is today. As Finch's has continued to grow into one of the premiere cannery brands, so French With Me has grown, attracting larger and larger crowds interested in celebrating love, community and the arts.


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.

We are honored to have Finch's along on this journey with us. Come sample their delicious beers at French With Me — drinks, food and performances are included in the price of your ticket — then take the love with you and buy Finch's all year long!

French With Me 6: Le Salon

French With Me 6: Le Salon will dazzle all your senses as our popular gala returns with a slightly different twist. 

For the last five years, French With Me has featured short, original works by up-and-coming playwrights and showcased the amazing talents of Chicago storefront actors and directors. This year, performances will be integrated with the event in a style evoking 18th Century French salons.

Pieces, created and conceived by Strangeloop Company Members, range from sonnets and short plays to monologues, movement and music. Love comes in all shapes and sizes at French With Me. It's for couples or friends, singletons or marrieds. We have platonic love, maddening love, Shakespearean love and, of course, the love of a good pet. Plus, the Inexhaustible, Unpredictable, Amaranthine Shadow Circus will terrify and amaze us with its unique brand of storytelling.

Musical act, Arcana — a Chicago-based brass band featuring the talents of Joe Clark (trumpet), Mark Hiebert (bari sax), Will Russell (tuba) and David Agee (drums) — will close out the night. 

But it's not a gala without food and drinks! We'll have fantastic food by Chef Thom Ramirez, delectable deserts by 525 Executive Sweets, blissful beers from Finch's Beer Co. (plus other beverage options for our non-beer drinking friends).

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.

Strangeloop is also thrilled to be part of the League of Chicago Theatres' Theatre Week, once again. Chicago Theatre Week celebrates the rich tradition of theatre-going in Chicago. Returning for the fourth year, Chicago Theatre Week 2016 will be held February 11-21, and includes specially-priced tickets to more than 100 shows, including French With Me. For more information on all the participating shows, visit the Theatre Week website.

Thank you from Strangeloop

Thank you to everyone who made it out to French With Me: A Classic Affaire. We had a lot of fun with all of you and the tubas (if you are wondering what that means, you weren't there and we feel very sad for you).

We'd especially like to thank our event sponsors: Finch's Beer Company, Honey Baby Bakery, 525 Executive Sweets and Cafe Bella.

We'd also like to thank our auction donors: Sarah Satre De Reyes at Salon 833, The Mistress, Second City, MAKA Designs, M Henry, Albina Tritina, Universal Wellness Source, Bollywood Groove, Sweets by Meghan McClure, Good & Honest Natural Soaps, Jaclyn Garland, Your Edible Backyard, The Burlington, Starbucks Coffee, Adriatic Cafe and New England Seafood Company.

And thanks to all our volunteers who helped things run smoothly and all the actors, directors, writers and musicians (We're looking at you, Aces of Basses: William Russell, Aden Beery, Ben Darneille and Chris Smith!) who donated their time to put on such a successful event.

If you missed our fundraising gala, but would still like to donate you can do so through our website,  strangelooptheatre.org. Simply click on the donation button and you'll be able to set up the amount you wish to give. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way by sending us a check to made out to "Strangeloop Theatre, NFP" to 2616 N. Spaulding Ave. #2, Chicago, IL 60647.

*Photos from French With Me: A Classic Affair by Jaclyn Garland