Mitera Bio: Molly Mason

Molly Mason (Costume Design) is so excited to be working with Strangeloop Theater again! Previously working as the costume designer on last season’s Thinking Caps she is excited to return and work on such a great show. She is a graduate of Carthage College majoring in theatre with an emphasis in costume design. Most recently Molly worked at the Shawnee Summer Theatre in Bloomfield, Ind., as costume designer for their annual Shawnee Melodrama and The Boys Next Door. While at Carthage she worked as the designer of The Inn, a new student work as well as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead on the main stage. She has also participated with Carthage Theatre in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as assistant designer and head of wardrobe. Molly thanks Strangeloop for this opportunity and her friends and family for their support!

French With Me 6 Bio: Casey Kells

Casey Kells (The Clown Possibly Not Appearing In This Production) is glad to be working with Strangeloop Theatre once again! He most recently worked with them on their original production, Thinking Caps. Casey is a graduate of Roosevelt University and does theatre around Chicago.

Thinking Caps Testimonial: Carly Williams

Thinking Caps Q&A: Laura Stratford

We sat down recently with Laura Stratford, who plays Maggie Cusick in Strangeloop's current production, Thinking Caps, and chatted about Cabaret, dogs and what it would be like to connect with the entire world.

Q: What do you like about your character and Thinking Caps? 
A: Maggie is a passionate, vibrant person who's a lot of fun to play, and the possibilities of the Thinking Caps world are nearly endless for her.

Q: What have been your biggest challenges? 
A: Trying to really feel what it would be like to be connected to the entire world and then have them turn on you. That's embarrassment and terror on a scale that's hard to imagine.

Q: What are you working on after Thinking Caps? 
A: Producing the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival with Underscore Theatre Company.

Q: What are you favorite highlights on your resume?
A: I was Sally Bowles in Cabaret in college and convinced them to put Maybe This Time back into the stage show.

Q: Any interesting hobbies when not acting? 
A: For awhile I was taking aerial silks classes; I'm out of the habit right now but would love to get back into it.

Q: Anything else about Thinking Caps you'd like to add? 
I'm really excited for this show — I think it has everything, from humor to horror to heart. 

Q: Tell us a little bit about where you live and what you like most about your neighborhood.
A: Andersonville is the perfect blend of small-town feel, families, inclusive LGBT storefronts and visibility, and interesting stores and restaurants. Plus lots of dogs.


See Laura in Thinking Caps through May 31 at The Charnel House, 3421 W Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. The show is at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $18 for general admission and available at the door or in advance through Brown Paper Tickets. Discounts are available for students and seniors.

Thinking Caps Testimonial: Bethany Novak

Thinking Caps Q&A: Drew Wancket

We sat down recently with Drew Wancket, who plays Charles Cusick in Strangeloop's current production, Thinking Caps, and chatted about the future of technology, his alter ego and the challenges of acting with actors who are not physically in the same room.

Q: What do you like about your character and Thinking Caps?
A:I love that Charles is, more than anything, so grounded. In a seemingly inevitable future where technology is slowly replacing every aspect of human interaction, Charles is an anachronism. He seems to exist in a world completely different than the rest of the characters. I love how he is so disinterested in keeping up with the times. He only cares about his family, and their happiness. Thinking Caps are the future, maybe not 20 years from now, but they seem inevitable. They frankly kind of terrify me. For all the reasons the play exhibits. I am much like Charles, I love old things, and losing such simple objects as books is not something that appeals to me.

Q: What have been your biggest challenges?

A: My biggest challenge has been figuring out how to relate to this world. Much of the script involves interacting with this headnet space, which is something I have no experience with.  It kind of like how I imagine acting with a green screen is like. The give and take is difficult without the other present.

Q: What are you working on after Thinking Caps?

A:  I am moving to New York City the day after this show closes. I am looking forward to finding new experiences in this city.

Q: Before you leave for NYC, tell us about your Chicago experience.Where do you live and what do you like about that neighborhood?

A: I live in Rogers Park, which I believe is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country. Even block to block can have a different feel to it. It feels much more family oriented than other neighborhoods I have lived in. In addition, it is pretty convenient, but it is far enough away from the city center to still be affordable.

Q: What are you favorite highlights on your resume?

A: I am immensely proud of my improv teaching, both at Columbia College and Independence. I also produce and host a variety comedy show every Sunday Night at the Underground Lounge. 

Q: Do you have any interesting hobbies when you're not acting?

A: I work on my blog, the taoofsteven, and have interdisciplinary projects I work on, involving my alter ego, Steven. I also write theater reviews for chicagostagestandard.com

Q: You have a masters degree in Interdisciplinary Arts. What does a program like that look like?
A: It is a one year MA program. It is focused on giving artists from various disciplines a chance to increase their artistic knowledge. For me, is was incredibly rejuvenating. I have always considered myself more than an actor, and now I am involved is so many different projects, ranging from writing to art installations and performance art.
 
See Drew in Thinking Caps through May 31 at The Charnel House, 3421 W Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. The show is at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $18 for general admission and available at the door or in advance through Brown Paper Tickets. Discounts are available for students and seniors.

Ada Grey reviews Thinking Caps

Photo by Chris Owens/For Strangeloop Theatre

If you aren't familiar with Ada Grey's reviews, you're missing out.

The 10-year-old reviewer has been seeing theater and sharing her thoughts with the internet since she was 4, and her youthful curiosity and enthusiasm brings a unique perspective to theater. Her reviews are a delight to read. They are cute and funny and at the same time insightful in a way adult reviewers often miss.

She recently saw Thinking Caps and she had a lot to say about the show (including more than a few spoilers, so consider yourself warned).

People who would like this show are people who like virtual reality, scifi, and Superman. I think people should definitely go see this show. I think it is an amazing low-budget production and I really want you to go see it. I had a lot of fun.

 Read her full review here.

DeSitter contorts her way onto the stage and into the virtual world

Thinking Caps actress Ellen DeSitter was featured in this story on The Chicago Tribune.com.

 Get to know Ellen and then come see her work, May 8-31 at the Charnel House.

For a girl who can stilt walk, make small talk in Russian, draw, paint and contort herself into pretzel-like poses, bringing a dragon to life is all in a day's work. 

Actress Ellen DeSitter, a Lisle native, pulls from all her various skills to craft honest portrayals of multiple characters - from the personification of a what a four-month old would imagine her adult self to be, to a television host, to a dragon - in her latest production, Strangeloop Theatre's Thinking Caps.

Read the full article here, including her thoughts on what she loves about playing Emma Cusick.

Thinking Caps: Cast and Crew Bios

Cast

Maggie Cusick:                  Laura Stratford

Charles Cusick:                  Drew Wancket
Moderator/Becky/
Emma Cusick:                    Ellen DeSitter
Kim Ayers:                         Jaclyn Jensen*
David Scrab:                       Casey Kells

The Headnet

Headnet Voice:                   Letitia Guillaud

Crystal Freema:                  Kyla Norton  

The Forum for the Integration of Sensible Technology: Caitlin Jackson, Kirk Jackson, Miona Lee+, Tim Lee+, Allison McCorkle+, Paul Tinsley, Patricia Tinsley and Chad Wise

Headnet Friends: Julia Beck, Maria Burnham*, Jean E. Burr, Gabrielle Cauchon, Grace DeSant, Elana Elyce, Stefanie Johnsen, Carolyn Minor, John Morrison, Mark Penzien and Denise A. Stein

Production Team

Playwright:                                                      Keith Gatchel*

Director:                                                          Maria Burnham*
Assistant Director:                                          John Morrison
Production Manager:                                      Holly Robison*
Stage Manager:                                               Jennifer Roseman
Assistant Stage Manager:                                Miona Lee+
Projections/Video Designer:                           Chris Owens
Sound Designer/Original Composition:          Antonio Bruno
Scenic/Thinking Cap Designer:                      Archer Curry
Light Designer:                                               Brad Gunter*
Costume Designer:                                          Molly Mason
Props Designer:                                               Holly Robison*
Violence Designer:                                          Robert Tobin
Fight Captain:                                                  Casey Kells
Movement Designer:                                       Miona Lee+
Graphic Design:                                              Mike Wozniak
Marketing:                                                      Maria Burnham*

 
*Denotes a Strangeloop Company Member
+Denotes a Strangeloop Associate Company Member

Playwright's Note: Thinking Caps

This play is not trying to predict the future. It's about how amazing the present is right now and how used to it we all are.

My nieces and nephews don't know a world before cell phones and the Internet. I've never lived in a world without cable or home video. My parents remember when TV was only black and white, and my grandma was 22 when the atomic bomb changed the world. There's no way to fully convey how absolutely revolutionary these concepts are when, to you and I, they've always been around. But, every day we hold better technology in our hands than what sent man to the moon, and we use it to play games.

The moment Martin Cooper at Motorola called his rival, Joel S. Engal, at Bell Labs in 1973 from outside of a New York Hilton practically divides human history into “before cell phones” and “after cell phones.” My nieces and nephews are starting to reach 10 years old as of this production. Someday, they'll tell their kids about a world before 3-D printing, self-driving cars, nano-surgery and possibly even electronic telepathy.

And, we can only imagine how they might tell them.

– Keith Gatchel

Thinking Caps Bio: Drew Wancket

 

Drew Wancket (Charles Cusick) has most recently performed with 20% Theatre and The Public House Theatre. He is a professional improv coach with One Group Mind in Chicago and also teaches a team at Columbia College. He performs with his improve group, Kat Dadz, and hosts and produces the Sunday Night Show, a weekly variety show. He can also be seen around Chicago with his two-man, musical comedy duo, Lange and Wancket. Drew recently finished his Master’s in Interdisciplinary Arts at Columbia College. He is excited to get back into scripted theater after spending so much time making the words up.

Thinking Caps Bio: Laura Stratford

Lara Stratford (Maggie Cusick) is a co-founder and the Executive Director of Underscore Theatre Company (www.underscoretheatre.org). Thinking Caps marks her return to the stage; her last performance was as an emergency understudy for the role of Charlotte in Underscore's production of pr0ne: a casting couch musical comedy. She is thrilled to be performing in an establishment that used to be a funeral home, and devoutly hopes for some paranormal activity.

Thinking Caps Bio: Jaclyn Jensen

Jaclyn Jensen (Kim Ayers)is a native of Sandy, Utah, and has her BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Central Missouri. She is proud to be a company member with Strangeloop Theatre. Other Chicago credits include productions with Consortium Project, Chicago Parks District, Saint Sebastian Players and Shapeshifters Theatre Company. Thanks Mike, and thank YOU for supporting live theatre.

Thinking Caps Bio: Casey Kells

Casey Kells (David Scrab/Fight Captain) is ecstatic to be making his Strangeloop debut with Thinking Caps! Casey is a graduate of Roosevelt University where he obtained his B.F.A. in acting. He has worked with companies around Chicago including Cold Basement Dramatics, Nothing Special Productions, and Emergent Theatre. Casey would like to thank his family and friends for their support, with a special thanks to Cress, who makes everything possible.

Thinking Caps Bio: Ellen DeSitter

Ellen DeSitter (Emma Cusick, Moderator, Becky) is very excited to be working with Strangeloop Theatre for the first time. Her most recent performance credits include the Fool in Queen Lear, the Genie in the Windy City Players touring production of Aladdin and Lula in Manual Cinema's touring production of Lula Del Ray. Other companies she has had the privilege of working with include: Steep Theatre, Suitcase Shakespeare, Navy Pier, Redmoon and Side Project Theatre.

Thinking Caps Bio: Maria Burnham

Maria Burnham (Director, Marketing) is a director, writer, sometimes stage manager,   full-time theater monkey and all around jack-of-all-trades. Storefront theater, ho! She studied creative writing and theater at Louisiana State University and has worked in Chicago with such companies as Appetite Theatre Co., New Millennium Theatre Co., Red Theater, Stockyards Theatre Project and TUTA. Maria is thrilled to be a member of Strangeloop. She loves pursuing the undiscovered, though mostly she’s just in it for the chicken.

Thinking Caps Bio: Keith Gatchel

Keith Gatchel (Playwright) comes to us from Rockford, IL, by way of Southern Illinois University (with a few stops in Florida). Since 2005, Keith has worked tech at The Goodman Theatre, Collaboraction, Teatro Vista, Victory Gardens, Pegasus Players, Blue Man Group and more. He was also a writer for Big News at IO and Second City, and contributor to several productions of Loopshop and French With Me, as well as Strangeloop's Our Perfect Holiday 2012 with the cast. Along with being the co-literary manager for Strangeloop, he also is the stage manager for The Kiss Kiss Cabaret at Uptown Underground. He would like to thank his family, the cast, designers and especially everyone in Strangeloop for all of their contributions to this script and production. If this were a jewel heist, I'd want you all on my crew.

Thinking Caps Bio: Jennifer Roseman

Jennifer Roseman (Stage Manager) earned her degree from Franklin College in Theatre and English. Since moving to Chicago, she has enjoyed working as a stage manager, including for Theatre Y's production of Happy Days. She looks forward to continuing to work with great theatre companies.

Thinking Caps Bio: John Morrison

John Morrison (Assistant Director)is a proud member of the Bruised Orange Theater Company. Favorite directing credits include Autumn Leaves, Wyrd Sisters, The Bugaboo Room, Daddy Long Legs, Determination, The Nebraska Project, Geeks Vs. Zombies, and Heft. More about John is available at jmorrisondirect.com.

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.