Join us this weekend as we say αντίο to 'Mitera'

Mitera closes this weekend and you only have three more chances to catch this world premiere show.

Due to the intimate nature of this production, seating is extremely limited and tickets are going fast for closing weekend, so get your tickets in advance.

Mitera, an examination of love set amongst a small Greek community in Mississippi, concludes May 14. Remaining performances for this site-specific production take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the North Mansion in Berger Park (6219 N. Sheridan Road) in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago.

Tickets are $18 and can be purchased in advance through Brown Paper Tickets or at the door. Discounts are available for seniors, students and industry members.

Set during the months preceding the Supreme Court's landmark decision on gay marriage, Mitera tells the story of the Sheridan sisters who discover their mother, upon her death, has left their entire inheritance contingent on the youngest sister marrying within a year. If she fails to do so everything goes to their oldest male cousin in Greece. Mitera examines the idea that sometimes the people we’ve known our entire lives are the people we know the least.

Mitera was written by Chicago playwright Maria Burnham and directed by Letitia Guillaud. It stars Allison McCorkle as Olga Sheridan, Holly Robison as Nitsa Sheridan, Lilly Apostolou as Dimitra Sheridan, Patricia Tinsley as Sharon Kaskalis and Michael Wagman as Dimitris Kokkinakis.

Berger Park does not have public parking; however there is a cul-de-sac on Granville Avenue on the south side of the park, which allows for handicap accessibility drop-off. Metered street parking is available on Granville Avenue and also on North Broadway. Permit-free neighborhood parking is also available on the streets just west of Sheridan Road. More on parking and transportation options can be found here.

Reviews for Mitera are coming in

Reviews are in for Mitera, an examination of love set amongst a small Greek community in Mississippi, and both audiences and critics are responding favorably to this new work.

According to the Chicago Reader, playwright Maria Burnham "creates a compelling, layered world where ossified ethnic traditions provide comfort and trauma."

Windy City Times calls Mitera "an appealing play" and " a nice production, as directed by Letitia Guillaud in the extremely cozy living room of Berger Park's Gunderson Mansion, which we share with the actors in fly-on-the-wall intimacy."

And audience members have written to say they enjoyed "the production and the plot and the twists and the ACTING!"

Mitera runs through May 14 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. All performances for this site-specific production take place at 7:30 p.m. at the North Mansion in Berger Park (6219 N. Sheridan Road) in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased in advance through Brown Paper Tickets or at the door.

Set during the months preceding the Supreme Court's landmark decision on gay marriage, Mitera tells the story of the Sheridan sisters who discover their mother, upon her death, has left their entire inheritance contingent on the youngest sister marrying within a year. If she fails to do so everything goes to their oldest male cousin in Greece. Mitera examines the idea that sometimes the people we’ve known our entire lives are the people we know the least.

Mitera stars Allison McCorkle as Olga Sheridan, Holly Robison as Nitsa Sheridan, Lilly Apostolou as Dimitra Sheridan, Patricia Tinsley as Sharon Kaskalis and Michael Wagman as Dimitris Kokkinakis.

Mitera: Cast and Crew Bios

Cast

Olga Sheridan:             Allison McCorkle+
Nitsa Sheridan:            Holly Robison^
Dimitra Sheridan:         Lilly Apostolou
Sharon Kaskalis:          Patricia Tinsley+
Dimitris Kokkinakis:      Michael Wagman^

Production Team

Playwright:                   Maria Burnham^
Director:                       Letitia Guillaud^
Production Manager:   Keith Gatchel^
Stage Manager:           Lisa Uhlig^
Production Designer:   Brad Gunter^
Dialect Coach:             Kate Jordan*
Costume Design:         Molly Mason
Marketing:                   Jean Burr+, Maria Burnham^
Graphic Design:           Mike Wozniak
Photographs:               Austin D. Oie

^Denotes a Strangeloop Company Member
+Denotes a Strangeloop Associate Company Member 
*Member of Actors Equity Association.

Mitera Bio: Holly Robison

Holly Robison (Nitsa) is thrilled to be appearing in the world premiere of Mitera. As a Company Member with Strangeloop Theatre, she has performed in a number of the Strangeloop's productions, including Rossum's Universal Robots, As You Like It and The Robbers, as well as directing the mainstage production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and several other short productions. Holly regularly exercises her comedy chops as a member of Improvised Jane Austen. Other favorite roles include Ellen in In the Wake, Jo in Independence, Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and Martha in The Children’s Hour. She has studied with Chicago organizations including Remy Bumppo, TUTA Theatre, Victory Gardens, Second City and First Folio Technique with Susan Hart and Jeffrey Carlson. When not acting or directing, she can probably be found reading, watching British costume dramas, eating too much Indian food and talking to her cat (don't judge, OK?).

Mitera Bio: Lilly Apostolou

Lilly Apostolou (Dimitra Sheridan) is so excited to be making her debut with Strangeloop in her very first production. She is in the advanced student program at The Second City studying improv, acting and sketch comedy writing. She is the host of Wards, a show filmed in Evanston, IL. She is also a vocalist with experience with musical theatre. She is an avid volunteer, most notably being a part of the SitStayRead literacy program serving low-income elementary schools in Chicago. She has a B.A. in Criminology from the University of New Mexico (Go Lobos!). Born on the Northside of Chicago, Lilly hails from a big Greek family and speaks the language fluently. She wants to thank her family, especially her Dad, her super supportive friends and her amazing boyfriend Shane.

Mitera Bio: Michael Wagman

Michael Wagman (Dimitris Kokkinakis) is thrilled to once more act with Strangeloop where he has been a company member since 2010. Previous Strangeloop acting credits include The Millionaire Farmer, The Maid of Orleans, As You Like It and his personal favorite, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other favorite acting credits include Cash on Delivery (Saint Sebastian Players), Some Air (Nothing Without a Company) and The Contract (Janus Theatre Company). Michael would like to thank Lisa, Ticha, this wonderful cast, his amazing teachers at Second City, iO and Acting Studio Chicago, and Maria for her brilliant script and for helping him get in touch with his inner Greek.

Mitera Bio: Maria Burnham

Maria Burnham (Playwright) grew up Greek in Mississippi where one makes their baklava with pecans instead of walnuts and never wears white before all of the Easters, just to be on the safe side. Opa, y'all! A writer, director, sometimes stage manager, full-time theater monkey and all around jack-of-all-trades, Burnham studied creative writing and theater at Louisiana State University and now makes her home in Chicago where she has worked with such companies as Appetite Theatre Co., New Millennium Theatre Co., Stockyards Theatre Project, Nothing Special Productions, TUTA and Red Theater, where she is also a company member and the literary manager. Her mother remains very much alive and disappointed in her ongoing childlessness.

McCorkle plays the long game in her latest role — onstage and off

It’s rare that an actress gets to spend years developing a character, but Edgewater actress Allison McCorkle has done just that in her latest role as Olga in Strangeloop Theatre’s Mitera.

“I am so excited to take part in the sharing of this wonderful story,” McCorkle said. “I've watched this script develop for a while and it has been really cool to watch it evolve.”

Read more about Allison and her character development in the Lincoln Park Patch.

For Wagman, acting is personal

Michael Wagman always tries to find the personal in the characters he portrays.


But for his latest role as the conniving Dimitris Kokkinakis in Strangeloop Theatre’s Mitera, the Wicker Park actor has struggled to make that connection.

“One of my biggest challenges has been playing someone who thinks so little of the people around him that he literally gives them and their views no credence,” Wagman said. “I’ve always tried to keep an open mind, so playing someone who is so resolutely closed-minded has forced me to find those areas of myself – those few relationships where I became closed-minded – and exploit them to understand this character.” 

Read more about Michael, including how he brought his character to life, in the Bucktown-Wicker Park Patch. 

Good to know: Transportation options if you're coming to Mitera

Mitera, which started tech this week, takes place in Berger Park in Edgewater. There are two mansions and a coach house on this property. Our production takes place in the building to the north on the property (known as the Gunder House, at 6219 N. Sheridan Road). 

If you go to the south building — also known as the Downey Mansion — you'll wind up seeing Ulysses by our friends at The Plagiarists. If you go to the coach house, you'll be sad because the beautiful Waterfront Cafe doesn't reopen until May 16.  

Berger Park does not have public parking; however there is a cul-de-sac on Granville Avenue on the south side of the park, which allows for handicap accessibility drop-off. Metered Street Parking is available on Granville Avenue and also on North Broadway. Permit-free neighborhood parking is also available on the streets just west of Sheridan Road.

Public transportation, bicycling or utilizing one of the city's ride-sharing or taxi cab companies is greatly encouraged.  

Public transportation options include:

• Red Line Train: Granville stop. Exit station and walk three blocks east to the Lake.            
• Bus: 151 Sheridan. Stops right in front of the park at Granville Avenue and Sheridan Road

 Bike racks are also located throughout Berger Park.   

Tinsley finds deep connection in theatre by, for women

Actress Patrica Tinsley likes to be called just that – actress.

“I greatly dislike being called a ‘female actor,’” Tinsley said. “I feel that women find too many ways to diminish themselves and wish more women would embrace the term actress instead of seeing it as lesser title.”

But for the Glenview resident it goes beyond just a title. She feels a strong connection to theatre by and for women. 

Read more about Patricia, including more about her role in Mitera, in the Chicago Tribune.

It actually is all Greek to Apostolou in her latest role

Lakeview resident Lilly Apostolou left behind her corporate job a few months ago to pursue a full-time career in the arts and immediately landed a role that seemed made for her in Strangeloop Theatre’s production, Mitera. 

Mitera really is an accurate depiction of Greek life, no matter where you live,” Apostolou said. “My parents are both from Greece and I was born in Chicago. These characters were raised in Mississippi, but I feel that same Greekness in the words of these characters, as it all stems from their mom – their Mitera.”

Read more about Lilly, including more about her role in Mitera, in the Lakeview Patch and in the Chicago Tribune. 

Robison balances accents, tradition and sisterhood in latest role

Actress Holly Robison is very much at home with period dramas, Shakespearean verse and English accents, but for her latest role she finds herself in less familiar territory – the Deep South circa 2015.

The Lincoln Square resident plays one of three sisters in Strangeloop Theatre’s production, Mitera, which premieres in April at the North Mansion at Berger Park in Edgewater. And while the Southern accent wouldn’t normally be a problem for Robison, her character Nitsa also tosses in a few Greek words for good measure.

Read more about Holly, including her thoughts on what audiences will like about Mitera, in the Lincoln Square Patch.   

Meet Maria Burnham on Windy City Greek

Windy City Greek recently spoke with playwright Maria Burnham about writing, her play Mitera — our spring show opening in a few weeks — and what it was like to grow up Greek in the Deep South.

“Major parts of the characters are made up, though the world they inhabit, and some of the ideas, personalities are based on people in my life. The Godmother is based on my godmother, who isn’t Greek but is married to a Greek. There’s a male cousin who is like a conglomeration of some of my relatives in Greece. Threads of my life are in this play.”

Read the full interview here.

Strangeloop announces production team for Mitera

Rehearsals are underway and the production team is in place for Mitera, Strangeloop's spring show, which opens in April.

The team includes: Letitia Guillaud (director), Lisa Uhlig (stage manager), Molly Mason, (costume design), Kate Jordan (dialect coach), Keith Gatchel (production manager) and Brad Gunter (production designer).

Set amongst a small Greek community in the American Deep South during the months preceding the Supreme Court's landmark decision in the gay marriage case Obergefell v. Hodges, Mitera tells the story of the Sheridan sisters who discover their mother, upon her death, has left their entire inheritance contingent on the youngest sister marrying within a year. If she fails to do so everything goes to their oldest male cousin in Greece. But the youngest sister is an unattached romantic who believes in marrying for love.

Mitera runs Thursdays through Saturdays April 7 through May 14 at 7:30 p.m. The site-specific production takes place at The North Mansion in Berger Park (6219 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60660).

Tickets are $5 for previews and $18 for the regular run and are available in advance through Brown Paper Tickets.

Casting announced for world premiere of Mitera, opening at Berger Park's North Mansion in April

Casting has been announced for Strangeloop Theatre's world premiere of Mitera by Maria Burnham.

Directed by Company Member Letitia Guillaud, Mitera stars Allison McCorkle as Olga Sheridan, Holly Robison as Nitsa Sheridan, Lilly Apostolou as Dimitra Sheridan, Patricia Tinsley as Sharon Kaskalis and Michael Wagman as Dimitris Kokkinakis.

Set amongst a small Greek community in the American Deep South during the months preceding the Supreme Court's landmark decision in the gay marriage case Obergefell v. Hodges, Mitera tells the story of the Sheridan sisters who discover their mother, upon her death, has left their entire inheritance contingent on the youngest sister marrying within a year. If she fails to do so everything goes to their oldest male cousin in Greece. But the youngest sister is an unattached romantic who believes in marrying for love.

While the script is steeped in Greek-American culture and deals with the familial politics of same-sex relationships, Burnham said the script will be accessible to anyone who has ever disagreed with a family member, and especially to anyone who has ever been in love.

“Ultimately this is a story about love. Love between family members, the things people do for love, the bad choices people make in the name of love, the ridiculous lengths we go to out of love. That’s what makes all stories relatable regardless of setting,” Burnham said.  “It’s not the trappings of a play that make a story compelling or interesting to an audience, it’s the heart of the story being told.”

Burnham, who was raised in a small Greek-American community in Jackson, Mississippi, by her Greek mother and American father, said she pulled from her own life to create the characters in this play, but they are not based on any one person, and the story is completely imaginary.

“Although,” she added, “I could totally see my mom pulling something like this because she is really getting desperate for grandchildren.” 

You can find more backstory on Mitera via this blog or in this interview with the playwright from our fall fundraiser.

Mitera runs Thursdays through Saturdays April 7 through May 14 at 7:30 p.m. The site-specific production takes place at The North Mansion in Berger Park (6219 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60660).

Tickets are $5 for previews and $18 for the regular run and are available in advance through Brown Paper Tickets.

Strangeloop announces auditions for its spring show, 'Mitera'

Strangeloop Theatre is seeking 1 male and 4 female actors for the world premiere production of Mitera by Maria Burnham. The play will be directed by Letitia Guillaud and performances will take place at Berger Park North Mansion in Edgewater, beginning in April.

 

Auditions are scheduled for Wednesday, February 3, and Thursday, February 4, at the Theatre School at DePaul University (2350 N Racine Ave, Chicago, IL 60614).  Email headshot and resume to casting@strangelooptheatre.org to reserve an audition spot. Sides will be provided.

 

Roles include:

Olga Sheridan - 40, the eldest sister, unmarried, Greek-America, spent life taking care of her parents
Nitsa Sheridan - 35, the middle sister, unmarried, Greek-American, works in family sweet shop
Dimitra Sheridan - 31, the youngest sister, unmarried, Greek-American, jewelry artist
Sharon Kaskalis - 65, godmother to Dimitra, American, husband was Greek
Dimitris Kokkinakis - 40's, Greek cousin to the Sheridan sisters

 

Please note the role of Dimitris Kokkinakis will require a Greek accent. 

 

Mitera is the story of three, single adult Greek-American sisters who live at home and have their lives turned upside down when they find out their mother is still micromanaging their lives from beyond the grave.

 

More information about the audition can be found here.

 

Mother always knows best...even after she's dead

Strangeloop is in the middle of a capital campaign to raise funds for our 8th Season. Your donations will help support new and exciting works like Mitera — Strangeloop's mainstage production, which will go up in the spring of 2016. We recently sat down with playwright Maria Burnham to chat about her inspiration for the play.

What is Mitera about? Mitera is the story of three, single adult sisters who live at home and have their lives turned upside down when they find out their mother is still micromanaging their lives from beyond the grave. As the play begins, they discover their mother has left their entire inheritance contingent on the youngest sister marrying within a year of her death, otherwise everything goes to their oldest male relative in Greece. But the youngest sister is an unattached romantic who believes in marrying for love.

What does Mitera mean? Mitera, or (ἡ) Mητέρα, means mother in Greek.

Where did you get the idea for this story? There were several different things going on when I decided to write this piece. One was simply that I wanted to write roles for Greek-American actresses because that’s not something that exists. We play a lot of other ethnic groups that are more prevalent in theater – Italian, French, various Middle Eastern nationalities. I have no idea if Greek-American actresses will be cast in these roles, but I wanted to create that opportunity. Then when I started thinking about the actual story that I wanted to write, I kept coming back to my own mother and her desperate desire that my brother or I get married and produce some grandchildren. I wanted to explore how far a mother might go to force that desire onto her children.

Is this a story that will be relatable to people who aren’t Greek? Ultimately it is a story about love. Love between family members, the things people do for love, the bad choices people make in the name of love, the ridiculous lengths we go to out of love. That’s what makes all stories relatable regardless of setting. Audiences relate to Les Miserables despite having no firsthand experience with the French Revolution. It’s not the trappings of a play that make a story compelling or interesting to an audience, it’s the heart of the story being told.  


Can a Greek story be told without a wedding? Ha ha ha! Yes. I’m sure it’s possible, but ceremony and celebrations are a huge part of Greek life, and so it feels like there is always a wedding on the horizon. It seems like for most of my life there’s been talk of someone getting married or babies being baptized or someone’s funeral or memorial service…every time I talk to my parents I get the update on all these points from back home. 

And back home is? Jackson, Mississippi. It’s probably not the first place that pops to mind when people think of Greek-American communities, but there is a small Greek community there with ties to the larger Greek communities in Memphis and New Orleans. You can find us everywhere. 

Because everywhere needs diners? You joke, but that’s pretty true. 

So is this play influenced by your own life? In some ways, yes. I’d say the larger world I’ve set this in is most influence by my own life. The sisters in this play grew up in an insular community, like we have in Jackson, where everyone knows everyone else’s business – where people can be friendly to you, even as they are gossiping about you behind your backs. They are half Greek, like me, which makes you an outsider to two difference communities. Character-wise, Sharon, the youngest sister’s godmother, is definitely modeled on my own godmother, and the Greek cousin has shades of my oldest male cousin back in Greece – though Adonis is not quite as nefarious as Demitrios. The sisters, though, are not based on anyone. They just sort of sprung to life on their own.

Do you want to explain the photograph that is accompanying this interview? That is the playwright at the tender young age of 4 being forced to recite something at a Greek Independence Day celebration at my church. It’s probably the least humiliating of the things Maria was made to do as a child to celebrate her Greek heritage. Most of the others involved funny hats.   

What can people do to support this production? We can always use help raising awareness of the productions we mount. More immediately we have a fundraising campaign going on that will help pay for rehearsal and performance space rentals and costuming, set and prop needs. It’s not a play with a lot of spectacle, but it still costs money to produce. We have a karaoke fundraising party coming up on Saturday, October 17, at Matilda’s in Lakeview. It’ll be a lot of fun and I’ll be there reading futures in coffee grounds if you want a glimpse into one of the more bizarre Greek customs. Plus, of course, karaoke. But if people can’t make that, we also have a Kickstarter campaign going on through October. You can help us out from the comfort of your own home.

Strangeloop Season 8 Announced

For those of you who missed the announcement during this summer's Loopshop, Strangeloop has announced our 8th Season lineup. See below for details. And keep your eye out for our fall fundraiser fete.

The 2015-2016 Strangeloop Season

July

Loopshop 8: The company’s annual short play and new works series, with five pieces from up-and-coming playwrights, each performed both nights of this two-night run. This year's production features an array of bite-sized plays on topics ranging from Swedish furniture to time travel.

December

Krampus!: A holiday-themed show written by Company Member Jaclyn Jensen and resident graphic designer Mike Wozniak. It's not enough that a family has to deal with the usual drama that comes with Christmas, but the Murray family has to do it in the isolation of a cabin in the woods, during a snow storm with a holiday devil running amok and only some peppermint schnaps to get them through it.

 

 

February

French With Me: Our popular gala affair returns, revamped and refilled with love — just in time for Valentine’s Day.

 

 Spring 2016

Mήτερα (Mitera): 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. Written by Company Member Maria Burnham, 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.

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.