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?).

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.   

Thinking Caps Testimonial: Bethany Novak

Thinking Caps Bio: Holly Robison

Holly Robison (Production Manager/Props) is happy to help bring to life Thinking Caps, an original work by a fellow Strangeloop Company Member. In her previous work with Strangeloop, she directed last season's A Midsummer Night's Dream, as well as two past holiday production and various Loopshop pieces. She has also performed in numerous Strangeloop productions, including R.U.R.: Rossum's Universal Robots, The Robbers, and As You Like It. Holly is also a member of Improvised Jane Austen. She has been living and performing in the Chicago for several years. Big shout out to Maria, Director and Jedi Master, for her commitment to this show.

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.

Strangeloop returns to Fight Night!

Strangeloop is excited to once again be part of Nothing Special Production's Fight Night!

This time we bring you Fight of The Bumblebee, conceived and directed by Strangeloop Company Member Holly Robison and starring company members Maria Burnham, Carrie Campana and Michael Houghton Wagman. Violence is once again designed by Justin Martin Fill.

Fight Night is a one-night, (now in prime-time!) violent cabaret celebrating the art of stage combat through original storytelling and violence design...and this time, it’s MUSICAL!

Fight Night: A Little Fight Music challenges eight Chicago theater companies to each create a 10-minute play combining violence design with musical elements.

The event takes place at 8 p.m. Friday, March 20 at the Mayne Stage in Rogers Park.

In addition to Strangeloop, other companies are: Live Action Theatre, To The Point, Walkabout Theater Company, Wayward Productions, Robert Frosty and Bare Knuckle Productions.

The evening also includes the opening act and house band Realife Dinosaurs.

Tickets are $15 online, and $18 at the door.

Hack/Slash Bio: Holly Robison

Holly Robison (Marketing/Events) has been living and working in Chicago for several years, and she is proud to be a Company Member and Development Manager with Strangeloop Theatre. In addition to acting and directing with Strangeloop, she has worked with Citadel Theatre Company, Greenman Theatre Troupe, Genesis Theatrical Productions and Sheil Park Theatre. She has also studied with TUTA Theatre, Victory Gardens Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. To pay those pesky bills, Holly spends her days working in grants at a non-profit. She has a B.A. in English and Political Science from the University of Illinois. When not at her job, rehearsals or performances, Holly enjoys several varied and interesting hobbies, including reading and traveling. She wishes she had time for them.

Thinking Caps Recap

We had a great reception for Thinking Caps at the Greenhouse Theater Center on Tuesday evening. Thank you to everyone who came out and gave their feedback. We're looking forward to the next step in the development process for this script by Company Member Keith Gatchel.

Thinking Caps explores the upsides and downsides of virtual reality technology in the near future as seen through the lives of Charles and Maggie Cusick. The play is set in the near future in places both real and imaginary, in a time when the internet is all but dead and people communicate via telepathy and interact socially in a type of virtual reality known as the Headnet.

The staged reading was directed by Co-Artistic Director Letitia Guillaud. The cast was as follows:

• Charles                   Michael Houghton Wagman
• Maggie                    Maria Burnham
• Kim Ayers               Holly Robison
• David Scrab            Justin Cornwell
• Actor                       Nick Vidal
• Actress                    Patricia Tinsley
• Headnet Voice        Letitia Guillaud

The staged reading was produced as part of the Trellis reading series, Greenhouse's artist development program that showcases plays from playwrights who aren’t otherwise able to find a space for their work to be seen.

Loopshop 7: Kidney Katie

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

Today we cut into Kidney Katie by Strangeloop Company Member Keith Gatchel:

A girl seduces a guy and lures him into the bathroom when her mom suddenly shows up to document her "first time." Starting work at the family business is never easy, especially when your parents are looking over your shoulder the whole time.

Directed by Strangeloop Company Memeber Holly Robison, Kidney Katie stars Melissa Fricke as Katie, Pat Parks as Melanie and Sean Thomas as Ben.

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.

Get ready for Loopshop 2014!

Strangeloop Theatre kicks off its 7th Season with Loopshop 2014, the company's annual workshop series, featuring six new works from up-and-coming playwrights, each performed both nights of this two-night-only run.

Enjoy a great mix of performances blended from short plays and scenes from full scripts in development. Loopshop highlights new works ranging from the ridiculous to the deadly serious. Join us as we delve into these pieces and become a part of the play development process!

Featured plays:

• "iLove" by Maria Burnham (Directed by Jessica Kent)
• "Kidney Katie" by Keith Gatchel (Directed by Holly Robison)
• "The Safety of Lies" by Kyle Martin (Directed by Tim Lee)
• "Aqua Woman" by Megan Mackie (Directed by Chad Wise)
• "Higher Up" by B. Walker Sampson (Directed by Zack Florent)
• "Spake" by David L. Williams (Directed by John Morrison)

Performances for Loopshop will be at 8 p.m. on Monday, July 28 & Tuesday, July 29, 2014 at Chemically Imbalanced Comedy Theatre, 1422 West Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL. Tickets for the show are $10 and are available at the door or at Brown Paper Tickets.