Thinking Caps Bio: Miona Lee

Miona Lee (Assistant Stage Manager/Movement Director) received her BFA in Theatre Performance at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. She is an Associate Company Member for Strangeloop Theatre and a Company Member for The Living Canvas. Favorite roles include: Emily Cristy in Hack/Slash, Cobweb/Snug in A Midsummer Night's Dream, various characters in several Living Canvas productions (including credits for writer and movement consultant), Vixen in Bram Stoker's Dracula, Martha Graham in Ten Lives in Performance, various villainous characters at the Springfield Children's Playhouse, and Gwendolyn in The Odd Couple. Also, thank you to my husband, Tim, for the constant love and support.

Hack/Slash: Get to know Miona Lee

Wondering about the real life bombshell behind the onstage one? Meet actress and Strangeloop Associate Company Member Miona Lee.

Hack/Slash: Get to know Emily Cristy

She's not just a pretty face! Emily Cristy, the disgraced former Miss American, is a geneticist and a leader in the anti-aging cosmetics industry. Add her to your Hack/Slash card collection.

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: Get to know Jean E. Burr

For your actor trading card collection, the actress who brought life to Cassie Hack, Jean E. Burr.

Halloween comes early this year

Reviews are starting to come in for Hack/Slash and it's a bloody good time. Add your own reviews to the list of those who say the show is a great time for fans of the comic book, as well as those who have never even heard of Cassie and Vlad.

Based on Tim Seeley's comic-book series of the same name, Strangeloop Theatre and Chemically Imbalanced Comedy's punchy, bloody horror show takes us on the road with a formidable vigilante duo...with some extraordinary puppetry portraying a psychopathic teddy bear, unusual characters like a disgraced Miss America turned CEO, and a few well-paced slapstick ass kickings from Cassie and Vlad. 

— The Chicago Reader

Much like the comic, the show incorporated a lot of humor throughout.  The elevator scene was hilarious. The fight scenes were fun, and I avoided the front two rows to miss becoming blood splattered...I’m no theater critic, but I know I enjoyed myself, and I think any HACK/SLASH fan would get a kick out of seeing the show.  I also think that it would be a good introduction to HACK/SLASH to anyone that is unfamiliar with the book.

—Hack/Slash Inc. 

Hack/Slash runs through Saturday, November 1, on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. The performances are held at C.I.C. Theater (1422 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL 60613). Tickets are $15 and are available in advance through Brown Paper Tickets or at the door. Discount tickets are available on select nights (including tonight!) for industry professionals by entering the code 666 at checkout. Discount tickets are also available to the general public via Goldstar and Hot Tix.

More details are available at strangelooptheatre.org and at cictheater.com

Hacking & Slashing our way across the internets!

Did you miss Hack/Slash's opening weekend? Then you missed a great opening night party and two butt-kicking performances.

But no worries! We're at it again this weekend with a performance at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, and then through Nov. 1 with performances on Friday and Saturday nights. Get your tickets in advance here.

In the meantime, read up on what others are writing about the show that is your Number 1 Geek Pick of the month.

Geek Girl Chicago:

Three days ago, I promised a GEEKend events post. I realized, though, that all relevant goings-on are long-running shows. So, I'm tweaking the usual format. Here's a special list of geeky theatre productions you can enjoy all month:

1. Hack/Slash - The comic book series Hack/Slash is a Chicago favorite. Its writer, Tim Seeley, is from The Windy City. Now, a staged version has been launched here...

The Chicago Creepout:

Appropriately timed for the upcoming Halloween season, Strangeloop Theatre and Chemically Imbalanced Comedy (CIC) present a new stage adaptation of Tim Seeley's comic book series Hack/Slash. The revered horror comedy story originated a decade ago and still thrives strong within the horror comics community....

Hack/Slash Inc.:

Here are some more pictures from the Strangeloop Theatre/CIC Theater production of the HACK/SLASH play!...

Darkness falls across the land...Hack/Slash opening night is at hand

Grab your bats and meat cleavers, we're going monster hunting tonight!

Hack/Slash opens this evening at CIC Theater. The horror comedy series by Chicago artist and writer Tim Seeley comes to the stage in this co-production by Strangeloop Theatre and CIC.

The show starts at 8 p.m., but join us before and after for our opening night celebration. There will be treats, drinks with the cast and a raffle that includes a Hack/Slash trade collection signed by Tim Seeley, posters signed by Seeley and the cast and a headshot package by Larissa Zageris (valued at $200). 

For those unfamiliar with Hack/Slash, it is the story of horror victim survivor Cassie Hack who, together with her disfigured sidekick Vlad, travels the country (and sometimes the underworld) fighting evil slashers who refuse to just lay down and die even after being burned, impaled and shot 20 times.

This production pulls from several of the comic book series' storylines giving fans and newcomers alike a glimpse into Cassie's history, the mayhem that made her what she is and, of course, plenty of slashers.

The cast of Hack/Slask is: Jean E. Burr as Cassie Hack; Tim Lee as Vlad; Miona Lee as Emily Cristy and Erika Napoletano, Christopher Prchal, Pete Navi, Richard John McLain, John Rohr, Melissa Nelson, Kara Charlton and Renee Lynn Jackson as the ensemble. .

The production crew is: Brad Gunter (Director), Letitia Guillaud (Production Manager), John Wefler (Stage Manager), Barbara Charlene (Violence Designer), Christopher DeNardo (Assistant Violence Designer), Carrie Campana (Costume Designer), Chris Corwin (Sound Designer), Jay Gish (Projection Designer), Mel Gill (Props and Blood Designer), Mike Wozniak (Graphic Designer) and Maria Burnham, Holly Robison and Allison McCorkle (Marketing). Photographs are by Austin D. Oie.

Seeley is best known as co-creator of Hack/Slash and Revival, and for his work on G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, New Exiles and G.I. Joe vs. Transformers. He also currently co-writes the weekly series Batman: Eternal for DC Comics.

Full bios of the cast and crew are available here.

Hack/Slash runs through Saturday, November 1, on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. Please note, there is no performance on Friday, September 19. The performances will be held at C.I.C. Theater (1422 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL 60613). Tickets are $15 and are available in advance through Brown Paper Tickets or at the door.



More details are available at strangelooptheatre.org and at cictheater.com

Get a sneak peak at Hack/Slash: Preview performances are Friday,Saturday

Two preview performance of Strangeloop Theatre and CIC Theater co-production Hack/Slash are set for Friday, Sept. 5 and Saturday, Sept. 6 at 8 p.m. Discount tickets are available now at Brown Paper Tickets.

Hack/Slash is the story of horror victim survivor Cassie Hack who, together with her disfigured sidekick Vlad, travels the country (and sometimes the underworld) fighting evil slashers who refuse to just lay down and die even after being burned, impaled and shot 20 times.

The performaces are at CIC Theater, 1422 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago.