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.

 

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.

Strangeloop has an immediate need for a lighting designer

We have an immediate need for a Lighting Designer for our spring production, Thinking Caps by Keith Gatchel.

About the production: Thinking Caps is set in the near future and flows seamlessly between virtual reality and the real world. The play explores the upsides and downsides social media based in virtual reality technology. We need a lighting designer who can work with our projections designer to create these virtual reality worlds on stage and make the transitions from real life to the virtual one clear for the audience.

The production will be at the Charnel House in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago.

Pay is $100 flat fee.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES: Duties include:

• Creating design research to share with the team. 
• Designing and programing lighting. 
• Loading in lights. 
• Attending production meetings, tech rehearsals (as needed), and strike. 

PRODUCTION DATES:

• Load-in begins April 27 
• Possible previews May 6 & 7 
• Opening: May 8 
• Closing/Strike Set: May 31

TO APPLY: Please send resume and statement of interest to production manager Holly Robison at loop@strangelooptheatre.org.

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.

Auditions scheduled for Strangeloop's production of 'Thinking Caps'

A scene from the original Thinking Caps short
play presented as part of Loopshop 2012.

Strangeloop Theatre announces auditions for its world premier production of Thinking Caps by Strangeloop Company Member Keith Gatchel. Auditions will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 7, at DePaul University (2350 N Racine Avenue). Please see email address below to request an audition slot.

 

The near future. Websites and the internet are dead. Telepathy and Headsites are the new reality. Everyone who is anyone has a Thinking Cap and they live in a semi-virtual, semi-real world where imagination is the key to success. But how far is too far when it comes to technology? Thinking Caps explores the upsides and downsides of virtual reality technology in the near future.

 

We are casting 5 roles (3 men, 2 women). All ages and types encouraged to submit. For consideration, please submit your headshot and resume to casting@strangelooptheatre.org. If we are able to schedule you, we will contact you with a time slot. Please include any audition day time considerations with your email submission and we'll do our best to accommodate.

 

This is a non-equity production.

Time Commitment: The schedule will consist of four to six rehearsals per week during evenings and weekend days in late March and April, with the possibility of several readings and table work meetings beforehand. The final rehearsal schedule will be set after taking actor conflicts into consideration. 

The show will load in to The Charnel House (3421 W. Fullerton in Logan Square) on April 27, with tech and previews through opening on Friday, May 8. The show will then run at The Charnel House on Friday and Saturday nights with Sunday matinees until closing on Sunday, May 31.

 

Material To Prepare: Please prepare a 1-2 minute contemporary monologue.

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

Put on your Thinking Caps and join us at the Greenhouse Theater Center

The near future. Websites and the internet are dead. Telepathy and Headsites are the new reality. Everyone who is anyone has a Thinking Cap and they live in a semi-virtual, semi-real world where imagination is the key to success.

But how far is too far when it comes to technology?

Thinking Caps, an original play by Strangeloop Company Member Keith Gatchel, explores the upsides and downsides of virtual reality technology in the near future.

The play will be presented tonight, September 2, as part of the Greenhouse Theater Center's Trellis staged reading series. The reading is free and open to the public. Thinking Caps starts at 7 p.m. at the Greenhouse Theater Complex, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago. The theater is located near the Fullerton red line el stop and the #8 bus stop at the Halsted Street, Lincoln Avenue and Fullerton Avenue intersection. Free parking is available in the garage at 2316 N. Lincoln Ave.

The play was originally part of Strangeloop Theatre's short play and development series Loopshop.

The staged reading is directed by Strangeloop Co-Artistic Director Letitia Guillaud. The cast includes Michael Houghton Wagman, Maria Burnham, Justin Cornwell, Holly Robison, Nick Vidal and Patricia Tinsley.

The Trellis reading series is Greenhouse's artist development program that showcases plays from playwrights that aren’t otherwise able to find a space for their work to be seen.

Come enjoy half price drinks at the Greenhouse bar, and help support new works by coming to the readings and giving your feedback!