French With Me 6: Lover's Eclipse

It wouldn't be French With Me without the love-based stories that started it all. So this week, leading up to the gala on Saturday, February 13, we'll be spotlighting the original performance pieces that have been created for this event.

First up, Lover's Eclipse - The Untold Story of the Sun and the Moon conceived by Letitia Guillaud, is the silly, unscientific and unseen love story that unfolds between the sun and the moon during an eclipse.

Performers: Letitia Guillaud, Tim Lee and Miona Lee.

 

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 gets all Dolled up for Fight Night: X this Friday!

This Friday at the Mayne Stage in Rogers Park, Strangeloop brings it darkly humorous tale of violent sex and silicone to Nothing Special Production's Fight Night: X.


A collector of sex dolls brings his new acquisition home, but too late finds out she isn't quite like the rest. With the help of her glassy-eyed sisters, she exacts her revenge on the man who would keep her on a shelf.  

Doll, written and directed by Company Member Maria Burnham, stars Artistic Associates Jean E. Burr and Miona Lee, as well as guest artists Grace DeSant and Nora Lise Ulrey as the Dolls and Mark Edward Penzien as the collector. The piece is co-directed by Artistic Associate John Morrison. Violence is designed by Artistic Associate Justin Martin Fill. The fight captain is Mark Edward Penzien.


Fight Night is a one-night, violent cabaret celebrating the art of stage combat through original storytelling and violence design. Fight Night: X is a night of theatrical violence. No theme, no rules, just fights. 

The event takes place on Friday, September 4. Music by Barker begins at 8 p.m. Fights begin at 8:30 p.m. 
Tickets are $15 online, and $18 at the door. Purchasing in advance is highly recommended as this show always sells out.

Strangeloop returns to Fight Night in September

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

This go round, the 10th installment of the evening of short plays and punches, Strangeloop brings you Doll, written and directed by Company Member Maria Burnham, co-directed by Artistic Associate John Morrison. Violence is designed by Artistic Associate Justin Martin Fill. The fight captain is Mark Edward Penzien.

A collector of sex dolls brings his new acquisition home, but too late finds out she isn't quite like the rest. With the help of her glassy-eyed sisters, she exacts her revenge on the man who would keep her on a shelf. Doll stars Artistic Associates Jean E. Burr and Miona Lee, as well as guest artists Grace DeSant and Nora Lise Ulrey as the Dolls and Mark Edward Penzien as the collector. 

Fight Night is a one-night, violent cabaret celebrating the art of stage combat through original storytelling and violence design.

Fight Night: X challenges eight Chicago theater companies to each create a 10-minute play focusing on violence. No theme, no rules, just fights. The event takes place at 8 p.m. Friday, September 4, 2015, at the Mayne Stage in Rogers Park.

In addition to Strangeloop and Nothing Special, other companies are: Babes With Blades, Honest Theatre, Live Action Theatre, Otherworld Theatre Company, Reutan Collective and Robert Frosty.

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

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.

Strangeloop presents a new adaptation of The Odyssey

Strangeloop Theatre will present a staged reading of its original movement-driven adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey at 8 p.m. on Monday, May 18, at Black Rock Pub.

The Odyssey centers on 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.

Strangeloop is in the process of developing a movement-driven adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey. This free staged reading of the first draft of our script is part of that process. We welcome and need your feedback.

Our adaptation, conceived by Company Member Carrie Campana, will eventually use a chorus of actors to embody not just the human characters in the story, but the gods, monsters and inanimate objects. This physical theater piece relies almost completely on the ensemble of actors telling the story. As part of the reading, we will be presenting examples of this style of theatre.

Actors for the reading are: 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.

The development team for The Odyssey is: Maria Burnham, Carrie Campana, Miona Lee and Tim Lee.

More information is available is available on our Facebook page.

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 Bio: Miona Lee

Miona Lee (Emily Cristy) 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: 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.

Strangeloop welcomes three new Artistic Associates

Strangeloop Theatre is thrilled to announce the addition of Artistic Associates to our company with three veterans of past and current productions comprising the initial members.

The new members are:

Miona Lee is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, and received her BFA in Theatre Performance from Missouri State University. While in Springfield, she worked with the Skinny Improv, Vandivort Theater, the Springfield Shakespeare Festival and Springfield Children's Playhouse. While in Chicago, she has worked with Geopolis Theater, National Pastime Theater and has been performing and writing with The Living Canvas for several seasons. In addition to acting, she toured the United States with the Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps and performed with National Avenue and The Pride of Missouri State Winterguards. Miona is currently playing Snug/Cobweb in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Tim Lee is an actor who originally comes from Springfield, Missouri. He stayed in his hometown to attend Evangel University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre. After college, he traveled, performed and brought the funny across the country with The Skinny Improv. He has been living and performing in Chicago for the past several years, and has had the pleasure of performing with companies like Prologue Theatre, Living Canvas and Bootstraps Theatre. He is very excited to be a part of Strangeloop Theatre. While his first love is being on the stage, he loves being in the shop, building and painting from scratch. Tim was last seen as the Mime in French With Me and Truncheon in Nutcracker Nightmare.

Allison McCorkle is an actor who also really enjoys seeing theatre, dancing Bollywood and getting caught up in the latest story or classic that she missed as a child. A performer since the age of 8, she studied theatre at Texas Wesleyan University and stuck around the Fort Worth/Dallas theatre scene for awhile. Then the allure of public transit and beautiful weather beckoned her to Chicago, where her credits include Piccolo Theatre, Black Ensemble Theatre, Haylcon, Chicago dell'Arte, Polarity, Red Tape and GreatWorks Theatre. Allison was thrilled to work on The Robbers, Loopshop and Nutcracker Nightmare with Strangeloop and looks forward to the next great adventure! During the day, she is an administrative assistant for a meat marketing company. That's right, that's what it says. Allison McCorkle was last seen as Dora/The Doll Queen in Nutcracker Nightmare.

Currently, there are 10 Company Members in Strangeloop.

"The idea of adding an Associate level of membership comes from a sense that there are more people we'd like to work with under the umbrella of the company, and this offers both the Associate and the company a chance to get to know each other in a more formal way without the full commitment of being a Company Member," said Brad Gunter, co-artistic director. "Miona, Tim and Allison are all talented actors who have worked with Strangeloop on multiple projects and have expressed an interest in developing a closer relationship with the company. Their talents onstage and off will be a tremendous addition to Strangeloop."