Adventure Stage

A Fond Farewell

2012-01-19T14:07:00.000-06:00

As some of you already know, the time has come for me tohang up my Adventure Stage Chicago hat. After 5 ½ years I have made the verybittersweet decision to move on. I was offered a position in the Marketing andSales department of Second City and am excited for what this new opportunitywill bring.

This move wasn’t an easy challenge for me to accept. I havecounted myself lucky to work alongside some of the most dedicated andpassionate people I have ever known and I am very proud of the theatre weproduce. From our mainstage shows to our workshops, classes, in-schoolresidences and professional development workshops to our more recent work withneighborhood community members I was lucky enough to have a first-hand view oftheatre changing people’s perspectives and lives. The lessons I have learned here will be withme for the long-haul and I will be a life-long Adventure Stage Chicagosupporter.

Before I go, I want to take a second to thank you all forbeing a wonderful part of my time here.

To the parents,grandparents, older siblings and family friends who take pride in seeking outeducational and enlightening theatre for the young people in their lives, andwho are usually surprised to find themselves relating to a young protagonistwho feels out of place, or wiping a tear away in a dark theater. To the kids,who continually ask the most amazing and unexpected questions, who remind us inso many ways to never short-change their capacity for critical thinking oremotional maturity. And to the teachers and school administrators whounderstand the value of arts in learning, who encourage classroom discussionabout difficult topics and enjoy learning withtheir students….and are not afraid to be silly sometimes.

I thank you all for a great ride.

Sincerely,

Jana

A last look at Walk Two Moons through Student Artwork

2011-12-21T12:48:00.008-06:00

We love receiving artwork from audience members after they've seen a show. Here are a few of our favorites from Walk Two Moons- thank you to all the contributors!!!!

Artwork by Jerry

Artwork by Claudia

Artwork by Kennedy

Artwork by Aleema

Artwork by Elena

Artwork by Jane

Artwork by David

A Heartfelt Goodbye

2011-12-15T13:35:00.002-06:00

After a long, richprocess, the curtain has been drawn on Walk Two Moons. Show closings arealways marked by mixed emotions. There is great joy in a finalperformance of a show that is dear to you. For the actors, it is a chanceto bring beloved characters to life for the last time. For the director,it is a chance to get lost in the story once and for all, to set aside thedirector's eye and just enjoy the story for what it is in it's final moment ofglory.

But for everyoneinvolved, the final performance is also filled with sorrow. Theatre is anart form that is transient--it has a short life. Movies are defined bythe final cut for as long as people have the gadgets to view them on, and theynever change. Paintings are frozen expressions of the artist that maymean different things to different people, but the paintings themselves neverchange, and the paintings will hang on walls and last as long as people knowhow to take care of them.

But theatre isdifferent. Each show has an actual lifespan. It has a beginning, amiddle and an end. I can say with complete confidence that theproduction of Walk Two Moons that you saw at Adventure Stage is finished, andit will not come back. Like the artists involved in the production, youtoo have already said goodbye. It now lives in whatever special part ofyour heart that it sneaked its way into when you saw it for the first time. There may be other productions of this play at other theatre's, but itwill be very different from ours. The one you saw at Adventure Stage haspassed, forever.

And yet ... I thinkthis sorrow actually adds to the joy. The fact that a play can nevertruly be duplicated is a large part of what makes it special. A good playtiptoes into your spirit, and nestles into your life in a way that is unique. It will stay there, hanging on the walls of your spirit for as long asyou know how to take care of it.

I know that Sal andPhoebe will be with me for a very, very long time. Tom (theplaywright) and I began talking about Walk Two Moons a very long time ago. We read and loved the book, we worked through many drafts of Sal's story,we workshopped it with actors, and finally we assembled a very large team ofwonderful artists who eventually brought it to life in such a beautiful way. We felt like this story was important enough to work on until we gotit right.

And now, after such along labor of love, we have to let go of it and say goodbye. And as avery wise man said a very long time ago . . .

" . . . partingis such sweet sorrow."

-Matthew Reeder

Director, Walk TwoMoons

Walking Two Moons

2011-11-15T15:05:00.012-06:00

It's really hard to believe that over a week has passed since we officially opened Walk Two Moons. Openings of world premiere productions are very special occasions. They are the culmination of months, sometimes years, of work. In this case, it took over seven years--from the day I first purchased a copy of the book from Barnes & Noble in downtown Evanston, IL--to get to the stage. I grabbed the book off of a table of recommended reading for young adults. It was an Newbery Medal-winner. It was already 10 years in publication. And it had the most curious cover design.

It's funny how vivid that memory is for me. I've bought a lot of books in my life. But of all the books I could have taken home that day, this one seemed to call out to me.

I devoured it, of course. It was such a funny, heartbreaking and, ultimately, graceful book about acceptance and forgiveness and, even though Sal was a girl, she reminded me a lot of me. The theatrical possibilities for Walk Two Moons struck me immediately. The tree. That central image that Sal keeps returning to in the book. I knew it would have to anchor whatever sort of theatrical retelling I would like to try. The car ride with Gram and Gramps as they journey west. How else is Sal going to find her Momma. That surely has to be there. But so, too, does Phoebe Winterbottom and her elaborate visions of lunatics and murderers. Not to mention that there are things that Sal can only confide in us. Oh, it's a heck of a lot of threads to weave together but somehow it happened. And, I'm pleased to say, Sharon Creech has given our production her unequivocal and resounding approval.

Ms. Creech took time from her busy schedule to join our celebration, a festive affair that began with a 90-minute performance and was followed by a great Curtain Conversation expertly moderated by ASC Ensemble Member Brian Bell.

We then moved downstairs to Burnside Hall where guests were treated to ice cream and syrup and sweet toppings of their choice...

as well as a chance encounter with Ms. Creech, herself.

Sharon took time to greet every fan who waited patiently in line, to sign their books and pose for photos. (Special thanks also goes out to The Book Cellar of Lincoln Square who was on hand to sell books.) Having only just met her for the first time, I was struck by her warmth and generosity and her ability to make every individual feel recognized. Frankly, I was sad to say good-bye.

The occasion of opening may be behind us but we look forward to four more weeks of performances. I hope you'll consider bringing your class, your friends, your parents, your kids. I'll admit that, as the playwright and artistic director, I am biased. But I'm pretty sure you'll want to catch this one before it goes.

Meet The Cast of Walk Two Moons-Tanya McBride

2011-11-03T11:02:00.003-05:00

Walk Two Moons opens on Saturday! We are down to our last cast member to introduce to you – and she plays a major role in the show, that of the character Sal. The dedication this actress has shown throughout our rehearsal process has been unbelievable, and her performance will be one for the record books. We truly appreciate the hard work all of our actors have put in - especially this past week – as we gear up for opening. And finally, with no further ado, please meet our Sal – Tanya McBride!

ASC: Are there any proverbs or sayings that hold special meaning for you?

Tanya: "Chop wood. Carry water." This is one of my favorite sayings because it reminds me to focus on doing one thing at a time, and with full intention.

ASC: Which character in the story do you most associate with?

Tanya: I most associate with the character I play: Sal. When I was her age, I often found myself befriending girls like Phoebe because of the adventures they drew me into. I was always the sidekick who was slightly stunned by all that I was experiencing. I didn't want to get in trouble but I secretly loved the trouble I was getting into. Also, Sal is very resentful of leaving her hometown. When I was young I hated moving, whether it was to a different house or a different city, because I was scared I would lose touch with the places and the stories that defined me. Roots and family are very important to me.

ASC: Did you have a wild imagination as a child like Phoebe?

Tanya: I had a very wild imagination. When I was six my mother went on an extended vacation, and when she came back I was convinced my real mother had been replaced by a look-a-like robot sent by the government to spy on us. It took a few months for me to be convinced otherwise.

ASC: What moment in the show has had the deepest impact on you?

Spoiler Alert, this response might reveal details about the end of the show!!!!

Tanya: The moment in the show that has the deepest impact for me is when Sal arrives at the scene of the bus accident and realizes that her mother is really, truly gone. It's heartbreaking every single time I read that scene.

ASC: Have you ever been on a road trip? If so, tell us about it. If not, what is a road trip you’d like to take?

Tanya: I moved from my hometown, Los Angeles, to Columbus, Ohio to go to school. I drove the entire way and it was amazing seeing how each state was different.

The mountains of Colorado were gorgeous but very scary when you're driving through them in the middle of the night. I had too many ghost stories floating through my head while we drove through the fog and the winding roads.

ASC: What connection do you have to your character?

Tanya: Everybody is afraid of being abandoned or left behind by a loved one. This fear has come true for Sal, and I very much understand the anger and confusion she feels.

ASC: What do you think the message of this story is?

Tanya: Sometimes we don't understand the choices our loved ones make. Sal didn't understand why her mother had to leave her and go on that trip to Lewiston. Phoebe didn't understand why her mother had to leave either. It's hard not to react with anger, but until you take time to "Walk Two Moons" in another's moccassins, and take time to understand their experience, it's best to trust that they really do love you.

ASC: What challenges have you faced or do you anticipate facing with this production?

Tanya: Choreographing Sal's fall from the tree will be very interesting...

ASC: What are you hoping someone will ask you after the show?

Tanya: "Is it fun climbing the tree?"

Thank you Tanya! As always, special thanks to Merissa Stewart for doing the interviewing. We look forward to seeing you all at the theater and hope that you have enjoyed learning a little more about the actors you will be seeing. See you at the show!

Tell Us What You Think of "Walk Two Moons"

2011-10-31T10:36:00.001-05:00

Hello Everyone! Walk Two Moons is open here at Adventure Stage and it's a project we are very proud of here at the theater. We do hope you have a chance to catch it before it disappears. And we hope you like it enough to tell us about your experience.

Just click on the "Post a Comment" link and type away. Write a review, leave a comment for one of our actors or pose a question to our director. We think there is a lot to discuss in this piece and encourage you to jump on in.

Don't be shy! We can't wait to hear from you.

Meet the Cast of Walk Two Moons - Skyler Schrempp

2011-10-31T09:44:00.001-05:00

Walk Two Moons is less than a week away! We have just acouple more awesome actors to introduce to you before opening on November 5^th.As always, we thank them all for their dedication, and hope you enjoy gettingto know a little more about them. Up now – a girl who should be commended forher bravery because she accepted one of the hardest roles in the theater, thatof an understudy. Here is Skyler Schrempp, who is understudying the role ofSal!

ASC: Did you have a wild imagination as a child like Phoebe?

Skyler: Yes, I stilldo!

ASC: What moment in the show has had the deepest impact on you?

Spoiler Alert, this response mightreveal details about the end of the show!!!!

Skyler: I think when you understandwhat's happened to Sal's mom. It makes everything fall into place.

ASC: Have you ever been on a road trip? If so, tell us about it.If not, what is a road trip you’d like to take?

Skyler: I drove cross country on old route 66 a couple years agowith some friends. We were all pretty unhappy at the direction our liveswere going and so we ran away from our problems and drove towards bigger skies,mountains, canyons. The farther we got the clearer things became.Sometimes a mountain sunset provides the best advice on what to do next.

ASC: Did you read the novel? If so, how did the novel help youdevelop your character?

Skyler: I did read thenovel! I actually listened to it as a book on tape on a road trip with myparents! Novels are great because they have a lot of description andinner thoughts of characters that you can't always get from just dialogue,which is what a play is. Novels can tell you what characters are thinkingin the most candid way whereas most plays have to show those thoughts maskedthrough what we say out loud...which isn't always the truth.

ASC: What connection do you have to your character?

Skyler: I am a fantastic story teller. My best stories are ghost stories.

ASC: What do you think the message of this story is?

Skyler: I think this is a story about mothers. I think itencourages children to see their moms as individuals with needs, past historiesand such. As a child you see your parents as parents. They existonly in relationship to you. This story really challenges kids to seetheir parents, mothers specifically, as people with important needs.

ASC: What challenges have you faced or do you anticipate facingwith this production?

Skyler: Well I'm anunderstudy and I've never done that before so I think taking on thatresponsibility will be a new and challenging one!

ASC: What are you hoping someone will ask you after the show?

Skyler: hmmm...I'm hoping it will be a surprise!

Thank you Skyler! As always, special thanks to Merissa Stewart for doingthe interviewing. We’ll post our last actor’s interview on Thursday, so be sureto check back then!

Meet the Cast of Walk Two Moons - Kyle Johnson

2011-10-27T12:56:00.002-05:00

Another awesome Walk Two Moons cast member? How can that be? Well, it just IS! I amnot done introducing you to our hard working actors so you have three more tomeet before opening on November 5^th. We thank them all for theirdedication, and hope you enjoy getting to know a little more about them. Up now– a fairly new face to ASC and the city of Chicago, Kyle Johnson, who plays TheLunatic, River Bank Boy and Brother!

ASC: Arethere any proverbs or sayings that hold special meaning for you?

Kyle: Thisisn’t from my childhood, but it’s definitely something that has stuck with mefrom the time I first read it. StephenKing once said:

“Faultalways lies in the same place. With himweak enough to lay the blame.” Thisstuck with me because growing up my father always preached the same thing aboutbeing honest and taking responsibility, and it really resonated and I like tothink that I am the kind of person who accepts the responsibility for my ownactions every day.

ASC: Which character in the story do you most associate with?

Kyle: Ithink I associate most with Sal. Ihadn’t read the book before the first time I read the script, and when Salstarted walking down the hill to the bus, realization smacked me in the facelike a ton of bricks. Though I was mucholder, my mother died unexpectedly while I was in high school, and I realizedthat many of the things that Sal had been feeling and experiencing, I had gonethrough as well.

ASC: Did you have a wild imagination as a child like Phoebe?

Kyle: Ihave always been a very practical person. As a child, my father always introduced me to his co-workers as 10 goingon 50, and I think that speaks volumes about my personality. I remember being upset as a child when mybrother/friends would play with toys in a way that was contrary to how theywere intended. I still am baffled by howI became an actor with the piddling imagination that I have, haha.

ASC: What moment in the show has had the deepest impact on you?

Spoiler Alert, this response mightreveal details about the end of the show!!!!

Kyle: Iwould say the moment when Sal tells the police officer about her mother. It is still difficult for me to speak aboutmy own experience today, and Sal shows this immense stoic strength in themiddle of all the craziness around her to go from denial, to grief, toacceptance in a single scene that I find incredibly beautiful.

ASC: Have you ever been on a road trip? If so, tell us about it.If not, what is a road trip you’d like to take?

Kyle: I have never been on a true road trip, but while living in Asia,some friends and I took a vacation to Malaysia. We flew into Kuala Lumpur, and had to bus across Malaysia to get to aferry to take us to the island we were staying on. In total, were traveled more than 24 hoursnon-stop, and by the time we went to bed we were no longer the best of friends,haha. But when we woke up to thegorgeous view of the South Pacific, we were perfectly fine with each other for therest of the week.

ASC: Did you read the novel? If so, how did the novel help youdevelop your character?

Kyle: At this time I havenot yet read the novel, but I did just finish downloading it to my Kindle! I’m excited for my bus rides to work for thenext couple of days!

ASC: What connection do you have to your character?

Kyle:I think of the characters I play, I connect with Ben the most. I say this because as a fully-grown adult, Istill often have the sense of humor of a 13 year old boy, and find the dumbestjokes to be the funniest. Just the otherday at work, one of my co-workers and I got into a highlighter war, and spentthe bulk of the day trying to mark each other when we weren’t paying attention.

ASC: What do you think the message of this story is?

Kyle: I hope that afterseeing this show, and Sal’s growth throughout her journey, our younger audiencerealizes that it is ok to talk about things that they might not feelemotionally capable of discussing. Everyone has had some kind of tragedy/struggle in life, and it doesn’tmake you weak to show emotion because of it. I hope that Sal’s acceptance and newfound ability to tell her storyprovides a mirror for at least one of our audience members to feel a little bitbetter about sharing what they might be hiding inside. As far as Phoebe goes, I believe we’ve alllearned by now not to jump to conclusions about things, and she has kindlyprovided yet another example of why not, haha.

ASC: What are you hoping someone will ask you after the show?

Kyle:I hope someone asks me what Ben wrote in his journal. I’ve already been contemplating this, and Iplan on sitting down and writing a journal for him. It’s kind of silly, but I think it will helpme with figuring Ben out. I also hopethey ask me anything about The Lunatic/Mike. Mike is still a bit of a mystery to me, and I think he’s a mysteriouscharacter in the show. I look forward todiscovering more and more about him.

Thank you Kyle! We can’t wait to see you get all Lunatic-ish. As always,special thanks to Merissa STEWART for doing the interviewing. We’ll postanother actor’s interview on Monday, so be sure to check back for more!

Meet the Cast of Walk Two Moons- Millie Hurley

2011-10-24T09:51:00.003-05:00

Let’s meet another super-fabulous cast member of Walk Two Moons! As I mentioned before, we think this group of actors rocks and up until opening on November 5th, we will be posting cast interviews twice a week. We thank them all for their hard work, and hope you enjoy getting to know a little more about them. Up now – to know her is to love her, Millie Hurley, who plays Gram, Mrs. Partridge and a Police Officer!

ASC: Are there any proverbs or sayings that hold special meaning for you?
Millie: "Everyone has his own agenda"

ASC: Which character in the story do you most associate with?
Millie: Several actually, but I can see myself in later years as Mrs. Partridge (hopefully not blind) reading murder mysteries and running around leaving "life's lessons" on peoples porches or in their mailboxes!

ASC: Did you have a wild imagination as a child like Phoebe?
Millie: Oh, absolutely. She is another one of the character's I identify with!

ASC: What moment in the show has had the deepest impact on you?
Millie: When the Sheriff asks Sal why she is in the bus in Lewiston.

ASC: Have you ever been on a road trip? If so, tell us about it. If not, what is a road trip you’d like to take?
Millie: I drove from Minneapolis to NY and then Maine with several friends when I was around 25. We had a blast because we knew what places we wanted to get to, but we never quite knew where we were going to stay at night along the way. Even if we were really tired after sightseeing or traveling that day, if a motel looked like it housed an axe murderer, we would pass it up until we found one we all found "safe" looking!!!! We would laugh and laugh about the horrors that would have happened to us had we not passed up those evil places! Oddly enough, we did end up in a "haunted" B & B...that' another story!

ASC: Did you read the novel? If so, how did the novel help you develop your character?
Millie: I read the novel and for Gram, it gives me background on the love, strong sense of fun, adventure, and the true bonding Gramps and Gram have in their lives. For Mrs. Partridge, you see she has kept her integrity and sense of playfulness- though she has lost her son, her sight and is very forgetful!

ASC: What connection do you have to your character?
Millie: Oh, I saw that bonding with my parents and my husband I have it, so that would be for Gram. For Mrs. Partridge? I am an avid reader of murder mysteries and can tease folks a little!

ASC: What do you think the message of this story is?
Millie: Live and love in the moment. (I particularly remember the part in the book where a baby calf looks Sal in the eye and she totally forgets about her missing her mother).

ASC: What challenges have you faced or do you anticipate facing with this production?
Millie: Working on more than one character in a show is always challenging, you want to make sure they are very individual characters. I think the transitions will be the biggest challenge!

ASC: What are you hoping someone will ask you after the show?
Millie: That I will sign their program!

Thank you Millie! We can’t wait to meet you bring your characters to life onstage. As always, special thanks to Merissa STEWART for doing the interviewing. We’ll post another actor’s interview on Monday, so be sure to check back for more!

Meet the Cast of Walk Two Moons - Joe Zarrow

2011-10-20T13:43:00.000-05:00

Let’s meet another super-fabulous castmember of Walk Two Moons! As I mentionedbefore, we think this group of actors rocks and up until opening on November 5^th,we will be posting cast interviews twice a week. We thank them all for their hard work, andhope you enjoy getting to know a little more about them. Up now – a man who isnot only a terrific actor, but an awesome writer and supporter of all thinksASC, Joe Zarrow, who plays Mr. Birkway and John!

ASC: Arethere any proverbs or sayings that hold special meaning for you?

Joe: I don't really likeproverbs; they seem too simplistic for real life, a lot of the time. I do likeremembering the good lines from books or poems.

ASC: Which character in the story do you most associate with?

Joe: Mr. Birkway. I usedto be an excitable English teacher in real life.

ASC: Did you have a wild imagination as a child like Phoebe?

Joe: Yes, but it didn'tget me into as much trouble.

ASC: What moment in the show has had the deepest impact on you?

Spoiler Alert, this response mightreveal details about the end of the show!!!!

Joe: The end, and thetransformation that Sal goes through.

ASC: Have you ever been on a road trip? If so, tell us about it.If not, what is a road trip you’d like to take?

Joe: Drove overnightfrom Chicago to Providence with some close friends for a college reunion. Wespent the whole time talking, and it was a great chance to get to know eachother.

ASC: Did you read the novel? If so, how did the novel help youdevelop your character?

Joe: Yes. The novel hasa lot of physical description of the characters that isn't in the play. I alsogot to learn some of the poems that Mr. Birkway likes.

ASC: What connection do you have to your character?

Joe: Like I said, I usedto be an English teacher, and I certainly ticked kids off plenty of times.

ASC: What do you think the message of this story is?

Joe: To love one anotherby seeking to understand one another.

ASC: What challenges have you faced or do you anticipate facingwith this production?

Joe: It's a bigresponsibility to work on a play based on a book that so many people love.

Thank you Joe! We can’t wait to meet you bring John and Mr. Birkway tolife. As always, special thanks to Merissa STEWART for doing the interviewing.We’ll post another actor’s interview on Monday, so be sure to check back formore!

Meet the Cast of Walk Two Moons - Sandy Elias

2011-10-17T15:00:00.003-05:00

It’s hard to believe, but we arealready into week three of our “Meet the Cast” blog posts. As I mentionedbefore, we are super proud of this group of actors and up until opening onNovember 5^th, we will be posting cast interviews twice a week. We thank them all for their hard work, andhope you enjoy getting to know a little more about them. Up now – someone whowe are very happy to have returning to the ASC stage, Sandy Elias, who playsGramps and Sergeant Bickle!

ASC: Arethere any proverbs or sayings that hold special meaning for you?

Sandy: The goldenrule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

ASC: Which character in the story do you most associate with?

Sandy:Gramps.

ASC: Did you have a wild imagination as a child like Phoebe?

Sandy:Yes- I had several imaginary friends.

ASC: What moment in the show has had the deepest impact on you?

Spoiler Alert, this response mightreveal details about the end of the show!!!!

Sandy:Gramps saying goodbye to Grams.

ASC: Have you ever been on a road trip? If so, tell us about it.If not, what is a road trip you’d like to take?

Sandy: I drove from Chicago to Squaw Valley with cousin-we had aball. I was 21-he was 18.

ASC: What connection do you have to your character?

Sandy:Don’t have grandkids-yet- but I’m hoping!

ASC: What do you think the message of this story is?

Sandy: Listento the messages from your heart.

ASC: What challenges have you faced or do you anticipate facingwith this production?

Sandy: Just the normal challenges of aging-I’m a little worried aboutmy memory going-I forgot what else I’m worried about!

ASC: What are you hoping someone will ask you after the show?

Sandy: Howto cope with loss.

Thank you Sandy! We can’t wait to meet your Gramps. As always, specialthanks to Merissa STEWART for doing the interviewing. We’ll post anotheractor’s interview on Thursday, so be sure to check back for more!

Meet the Cast of Walk Two Moons - Baize Buzan

2011-10-13T11:54:00.001-05:00

This Walk Two Moons cast just keeps getting better and better! We areinto week two of our “Meet the Cast” blog posts. As I mentioned before, we aresuper proud of this group of actors and up until opening on November 5^th,we will be posting cast interviews twice a week. We thank them all for their hard work, andhope you enjoy getting to know a little more about them. Up now – yes this isher real name, Baize Buzan, who plays Phoebe!

ASC: Arethere any proverbs or sayings that hold special meaning for you?

Baize: My mom isbasically a walking encyclopedia of proverbs, idioms, sayings, etc... I grew upknowing - and still do! - that for every problem or bad day I had my mom wouldknow exactly the right thing to say to make me feel better. One of her most recent wisdoms was "Always make newmistakes." I love that. "Tomorrow is another day." "If youthink you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right." And,one I learned as a kid when I read Walk Two Moons for thefirst time.... "In the course of a lifetime, what does itmatter?"

ASC: Which character in the story do you most associate with?

Baize: One of the things I love most about WalkTwo Moons is that I feel like I can identify with every character inthe story. But right now, I think I most associate with Ben, because when Ihave a crush on someone all I want to do is stare at them, too.

ASC: Did you have a wild imagination as a child like Phoebe?

Baize:I think we all have the potential to have imaginations as wild as Phoebe...ifwe allow them to go that far. I certainly had my fair share of tall tales andwacky stories that I created to spice things up. And, like Phoebe, I was reallygood at bringing other people on board, too.

ASC: What moment in the show has had the deepest impact on you?

Spoiler Alert, this response mightreveal details about the end of the show!!!!

Baize: I am deeplyaffected by the scene in which Sal attempts to explain to Phoebe that a personmight leave without an explanation. Watching Sal triumph over her sadness in aneffort to help her friend, and witnessing Phoebe's complete inability to acceptthe idea Sal presents....I think it's such a beautiful moment, a place wheretheir individual stories really converge. They're both trying so hard to bestrong, and, for their own separate reasons, they're both clearly so confusedand so sad.

ASC: Have you ever been on a road trip? If so, tell us about it.If not, what is a road trip you’d like to take?

Baize: Yes! I have. Ihave actually been on a few road trips. I toured a show through the West a fewsummers back -- went from Colorado to Wyoming to Utah and, believe it or not,ended up in Idaho. I grew up on the East Coast -- it was totally amazing to seea part of the country I had never been to before. Especially a part of thecountry that is so remarkably gorgeous. When I moved to Chicago, I drove out here in aUHaul truck with my best friend by my side. That was a pretty crazy journey --my car was hitched to our truck, so our entire caravan was over 40 feet long!And, most recently, I just completed a round-trip roadtrip visiting my familyand friends on the East Coast. I had a friend who joined me on the way out,which was a blast, but on the way back to Chicago, I was by myself. I did thewhole drive in one day -- stopped in Erie, PA, ate a sandwich on Lake Erie, andhit the road again.

ASC: Did you read the novel? If so, how did the novel help youdevelop your character?

Baize: The reason Iauditioned for this show was because Walk Two Moons was myfavorite book growing up. I just reread it for the first time in many years andwas reminded of how much it meant to me and how excellent a story it is.Revisiting the book thickened the world of the story for me, and also allowedme to peek further into the world of the Winterbottoms, as Sharon Creechoriginally intended. Unlike the Phoebe we see in the play, Phoebe has a sisterin the book, and there is a lot of additional time spent in the Winterbottomhousehold. This helped me further understand the kind of life Phoebe is used tohaving, before her mother disappears.

ASC: What connection do you have to your character?

Baize: Like Phoebe, Ihave big blue eyes, a big imagination, admire those who are brave, and love mymother very much.

ASC: What do you think the message of this story is?

Baize: Oh, gosh. Thereare so many! I think that is part of this story's power - that there areendless things to learn, and that for each person, it is probably somethingdifferent. Lately, the message that sticks with me the most is somethingSal says in the book -- "She was my mother, and she was part ofme."

ASC: What challenges have you faced or do you anticipate facingwith this production?

Baize: As such a fan of the book, I am curious tosee how our ensemble will approach the givens in the book that are notaddressed in our script - whether we can use them in our imaginations, orwhether the world we create with our play will live outside of the world in thebook. I think of it as less of a challenge, and more of an exciting adventure-- I have never worked on a world-premiere adaptation before!

ASC: What are you hoping someone will ask you after the show?

Baize: Have you ever walked twomoons in someone else moccasins?

Thank you Baize! We can’t wait to see you bring Phoebe to life on stage.As always, special thanks to Merissa Shunk for doing the interviewing. We’llpost another actor’s interview on Tuesday, so be sure to check back for more!

Meet the Cast of Walk Two Moons - Casey Cunningham

2011-10-10T16:16:00.000-05:00

Next Walk Two Moons cast member, step right up! We are into week two ofour “Meet the Cast” blog posts. As I mentioned before, we are super proud ofthis group of actors and up until opening on November 5^th, we willbe posting cast interviews twice a week. We thank them all for their hard work, andhope you enjoy getting to know a little more about them. Up now – our very ownSteelers Fan, Casey Cunningham, who plays Mrs. Winterbottom and Sugar!

ASC: Arethere any proverbs or sayings that hold special meaning for you?

Casey: I'm a fan of thegolden rule. And my mother always used to tell me, "It's so nice tobe nice" and it's always stuck with me and it's true!

ASC: Which character in the story do you most associate with?

Casey: Sal. I admire herwisdom, her compassion and her spunk.

ASC: Did you have a wild imagination as a child like Phoebe?

Casey: I did. Iliked to create dramatic scenarios in my head. It's actually stuck withme as an adult but instead of child-like wonder and imagination it feels morbidbecause the more I know about the world, the scarier things get!

ASC: What moment in the show has had the deepest impact on you?

Spoiler Alert, this response mightreveal details about the end of the show!!!!

Casey: I loved thereveal that Sal, Gramps and Gram are traveling to the site of her mother'scrash. When Sal gets behind the wheel and is discovered by the Sheriff. It's so heartbreaking to me but shows such a strength and courage in Sal.

ASC: Have you ever been on a road trip? If so, tell us about it.If not, what is a road trip you’d like to take?

Casey: No, I haven't,but I love driving and would love steal away and drive across the country,visiting friends along the way!

ASC: Did you read the novel? If so, how did the novel help youdevelop your character?

Casey: I haven't,although a teacher friend of mine said it's his absolute favorite story to readwith his class, so I'm looking forward to it.

ASC: What connection do you have to your character?

Casey: I'm intrigued bySugar and Mrs. Winterbottom, by their courage and determination and theirvulnerability and heartache. I don't have a child of my own, so I don'tknow what it's like to leave one behind, but I admire that these women makedifficult decisions in hopes of bettering their families, if not always in themost graceful of ways. They're both in conflict with themselves and theidea of what they "should" do as mothers, as opposed to what is bestfor them as human souls.

ASC: What do you think the message of this story is?

Casey: To me it's astory of love and commitment to family. The message is to be grateful forthe people who love you, both friends and family, and to never take for grantedthe time you have with each other because you never know when time's up.

ASC: What challenges have you faced or do you anticipate facingwith this production?

Casey: I love the story,so I guess the biggest challenge will be to bring my love for the story to thestage in a way that our audiences can feel and relate to.

ASC: What are you hoping someone will ask you after the show?

Casey: I'm not sure...Maybe something about my family and how I relate with them living far away.

Thank you Casey! We can’t wait to see you bring your characters to lifeon stage. Also, special thanks to Merissa Shunk for doing the interviewing.We’ll post another actor’s interview on Thursday, so be sure to check back formore!

Meet the Cast of Walk Two Moons - Michael Peters

2011-10-06T15:52:00.000-05:00

It’s time to meet another cast memberof Walk Two Moons! Over the next fewweeks, up until opening on November 5^th, we will be postinginterviews with these amazing people. We thank them all for their hard work,and hope you enjoy getting to know a little more about them. Up now – smart andtalented, Michael Peters, who plays Mr. Winterbottom and a couple smallerroles!

ASC: Arethere any proverbs or sayings that hold special meaning for you?

Michael: To pull from theatre,a lot of Polonius’ advice in Hamlet: “Neither a borrower or a lender be,” “Givethy thoughts no tongue,” and of course “To thine own self be true.” But…not necessarily all the clothing stuff hetalks about…

ASC: Which character in the story do you most associate with?

Michael: I definitely have an association with Sal. She’s always listening and really in tunewith the people in her life. I’m notsure if I’m always that way, but that’s the kind of person that I’d like to be.

ASC: Did you have a wild imagination as a child like Phoebe?

Michael:Absolutely. I was always trying to come up with new gameswith my friends and building various fantastical Lego vehicles and writingshort (sometimes nonsensical) stories about insects…all sorts of generalweirdness. I haven’t changed much.

ASC: What moment in the show has had the deepest impact on you?

Spoiler Alert, many of their responsesreveal details about the end of the show!!!!

Michael: Generally, I think the illness of Sal’sgrandmother. I lost the only GrandmaI’ve ever known a few years ago, and while she was older, it all happenedpretty quickly. And she was alwayspretty spirited and lively, just like Sal’s grandma. It really made me empathize with her.

ASC: Have you ever been on a road trip? If so, tell us about it.If not, what is a road trip you’d like to take?

Michael: Oh boy, I’ve been on a few. I just took a big road trip to New York Citylast year with a bunch of guys from college. We drove straight through, it’s lots of fun but can get pretty crampedafter a while. Got to see a bunch offriends I hadn’t seen in a while, it’s a bonding experience (with all the painsthat go with it, too!).

ASC: Did you read the novel? If so, how did the novel help youdevelop your character?

Michael: Yes, and it really helped me. I play a few different characters that don’tget as much face time as they do in the book, so that extra detail contextreally helps me figure out where they’re coming from when they are on stage.

ASC: What connection do you have to your character?

Michael:I especially connect with Mr.Winterbottom, I feel I’m a pretty stoic person like he is. It’s hard for me to open up emotionallysometimes because I’m so focused on working or the day-to-day stuff. I can really empathize with what he’s goingthrough.

ASC: What do you think the message of this story is?

Michael: There’s a lot going on in the story, but I think whathit me the most is how much understanding and communication are important toour relationships and how we lead our lives. Sal is a really compelling character because she’s so young, yet shecomes to a place where she understands that the only way we can truly handlethe ups and downs of this life is to share it with others, and in turn theywill get you through the hard parts. They also help you to savor the good stuff!

ASC: What challenges have you faced or do you anticipate facingwith this production?

Michael: It’s always a challenge to play multiple roles, butit’s also exciting because I get an opportunity to create three completelydifferent personalities. I’m reallylooking forward to it!

ASC: What are you hoping someone will ask you after the show?

Michael: I just hope that I’ll be able to share what a greatexperience this has been. Also, I justlove questions in general. Sometimesthey make me try to explain things I think I already know, and if I don’t, Iget to go find out the answers.

Thanks Michael! We can’t wait to see you bring your characters to life onstage. Also, special thanks to Merissa Shunk for doing the interviewing. We’llpost another actor’s interview on Tuesday, so be sure to check back for more!

Philip Pullman gets it right

2011-10-05T10:47:00.002-05:00

Philip Pullman has written many excellent novels for young (and old) audiences. The trilogy, His Dark Materials, is probably his best known work. If you haven't read it yet, you really should. The three books are The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. Besides his published work, Mr. Pullman is also a compelling speaker and essayist. Recently, he published a piece in The Guardian on the necessity of the arts, particularly theatre, in a child's life. Since theatre is obviously near and dear to us here at ASC, we felt we should share the piece with you. Click here to find it. And, after reading, please give us your thoughts here.

Meet the Cast of Walk Two Moons - Dani Bryant

2011-10-03T16:44:00.001-05:00

We are wellunderway with rehearsals for our upcoming production of Walk Two Moons and are very excited about the stellar cast we havebeen able to assemble for this show. Now I want to introduce them to you!So over the next few weeks, up until opening on November 5^th, wewill be posting interviews with these amazing people about working on the show. We thank them all fortheir hard work and hope you enjoy getting to know a little more about them.Up first – beautiful and talented ASC Artistic Ensemble Member, Dani Bryant,who plays Margaret, Mary Lou and a Nurse!

ASC: Arethere any proverbs or sayings that hold special meaning for you?

Dani: “Laughter is the best medicine."

ASC: Which character in the story do you most associate with?

Dani: Definitely Phoebe! I was a very dramatic kid.

ASC: Did you have a wild imagination as a child like Phoebe?

Dani: Yes indeed, being an only child I had to find ways of entertainingmyself! This usually meant playing in the woods building forts and making upcomplex plays for my Mom to watch.

ASC: What moment in the show has had the deepest impact on you?

SpoilerAlert, responses may reveal details about the end of the show!!!!

Dani: The moment when Sal tells her Dad, "Phoebe's Mom came home"and then runs to hug him.

ASC: Have you ever been on a road trip? If so, tell us about it.If not, what is a road trip you’d like to take?

Dani: All my road trips were without cool stops,just long drives to final destinations. I would love to do a real road trip andtake my time to see the whole ding dong country! Especially the Southwest.

ASC: Did you read the novel? If so, how did the novel help youdevelop your character?

Dani:The novel has lovely little extratidbits about Mary Lou and Margaret which helped round out there personalities.Also, I'm reading Absolutely Normal Chaos--a whole book about Mary Lou--which gave me lots of insight about how her little brain works.

ASC: What connection do you have to your character?

Dani: I can't say I have ever been in Margaret's situation, but I can relate toher desire to connect with Sal.

ASC: What do you think the message of this story is?

Dani:Sometimes we must witness other people’sstories and/or pain to come to terms with our own.

Thanks for the insight Dani! We can’t wait to see you bring yourcharacters to life on stage. Also, special thanks to Merissa Shunk for doingthe interviewing. We’ll post another actor’s interview on Thursday, so be sureto check back for more!

Catherine's Summer Journal

2011-09-29T14:54:00.008-05:00

Just like the character's in Walk Two Moons I asked our 10-year-old intern, Catherine, to reflect on her summer expoits and share what she was most looking forward to helping us with this coming year.

ASC: What fun theater things did you do this past summer?

Catherine: One fun thing I did this summer was I went to a camp called Lookingglass Lab. It was at Lookingglass Theater. It was a camp where you write your own show based on a one word theme and then you perform it. Our one word theme was “Immigration” and our show was called Breaking Borders. Another fun thing I did this summer was a camp at a place called Actors Studio. It was an On-camera/Monologue Camp. I also did one more camp called Summergglass. It was also at Lookingglass. It’s a camp where you perform a show and you incorporate things like Stage combat, Circus skills and Puppetry.

ASC: What are you looking forward to doing this year at ASC?

Catherine: One thing I am looking forward to is helping out with the productions; doing things like creating the lobby display and making the art for the lobby display. I am also looking forward to helping out with the Opening Weekend events. And I am looking forward to seeing the shows!

Sharon Creech is coming to ASC this fall!!!

2011-08-30T14:37:00.005-05:00

When I heard that Sharon Creech would be coming to our theater for the opening weekend of our World Premier of Walk Two Moons I was over the moon with excitement!!! Over the years Adventure Stage Chicago has been lucky to host some of the most beloved YA authors; Lois Lowry visited last year when we produced Gossamer and Louis Sachar made a stop at ASC during his tenth anniversary tour for Holes back in 2008. At both of those occasions Suzy at The Book Cellar has partnered with us to provide copies of the authors various books for sale after the show and we are so pleased that the partnership will take place again on November 5- so you can bring your own books or buy new ones (a great gift idea). That day is promising to be action packed and I’m so excited to offer the opportunity for families opportunity to bring their children to see this touching and powerful story, have a chance to Q & A with the author and then get a book or two signed. Unfortunately opportunities like this are few and far between, so I truly hope that our neighbors take advantage of this chance to meet such a talented and inspiring writer.

If you’ve read any of Sharon Creech’s work, you know that she writes a lot about the difficult “tween” years- growing out of childhood into adulthood, creating your own identity, coming to terms with difficult realities and dealing with loss- all very relevant for our middle school audience. I didn’t realize when I first read Walk Two Moons that there are actually two companion books; Absolutely Normal Chaos is a book about Sal’s new classmate in Euclid, Mary Lou Finney and her chaotic family and adventurous summer. Chasing Redbird is about the best friend that Sal left behind in Bybanks. I’d highly recommend these two books as supplemental reading for anyone who enjoyed Sal’s journey in Walk Two Moons. Another of my favorite Sharon Creech novels is The Wanderer, the story of 13-year-old Sophie’s voyage across the sea with her two annoying cousins and three eccentric uncles. I loved the poetic language of her dreams and the unraveling of her tragic history.

Feel free to comment on other favorite Sharon Creech novels, or what you love about the books I’ve already mentioned. We are just so honored to host such an imaginative and empathetic author at our theater and so proud to be producing the World Premier of Walk Two Moons.

Thank you Isobel!

2011-08-18T16:40:00.006-05:00

We love it when we have young people volunteer to help us in the theater offices; they bring energy and enthusiasm to the work that is so refreshing. I recently asked Isobel, the incredibly poised and mature 15-year-old (recently turned 16-year-old) intern who has been helping us for the past few weeks, to briefly blog about what she’s been doing here.Thanks for your help with everything Isobel!

" I had never really known what went on behind the stage of a theatrical production, so I didn't know what to expect from Adventure Stage but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It's like a mix between an office and a craft store, glitter and feathers among paperwork. There is a lot of phone calls and emails, all that sort of office stuff, but almost as important is all the painting and glue gunning that has to be done as well.

I had a wonderful time volunteering there and hope that I will get to do it again, it turned a dull summer into some of the funnest work experience I think I will ever have. I can only hope that one day, I will get paid to have as much fun as I did helping out at Adventure Stage Chicago!"

I love the line, "It's like a mix between an office and a craft store....." if that doesn't sum up the art of making theater - I don't know what does! Thanks again Isobel, you are welcome back anytime! No really....we'll save all of the glue gunning for you......

Director of Education Merissa Shunk and Isobel.

Update on the Innovation Lab

2011-08-11T16:26:00.005-05:00

AND

An update on the Innovation Lab from ASC Ensemble Member and Innovation Lab Program Coordinator - Allison Latta!

If you have been keeping up with the goings on at Adventure Stage Chicago, you have probably heard mention of the Innovation Lab at some point. Last year, we were the fortunate recipients of a grant that is allowing us to work closer with the Northwestern University Settlement House to infuse the arts and social services into a more holistic program for our community neighbors. Sounds exciting, right? It is and we have hit the ground running with a number of innovative programs that have begun to strengthen our relationships within the two organizations and with our neighbors. Here is a quick look at just a few of the new projects we have been working on….

Summer Adventure Camp

Every summer, students from the surrounding neighborhood partake in the Settlement House’s Summer Adventure Day Camp. This year, we added a theater component to the camp and allowed students to choose whether they wanted to focus on the performance or design aspects of theater. Members of Adventure Stage Chicago’s ensemble worked closely with the Summer Adventure staff to develop a curriculum that would complement the rest of the camp experience. Campers got the chance to learn stage combat, design and build their own masks, write their own play, design sets and more.

Needless to say, everyone involved has had a blast and the summer program seemed to fly by. This will certainly not be the last time we interact with these students. It is our hope to continue this programming in the future and find ways to include it in the Settlement House’s after-school programming as well.

Head Start

Every year the Head Start program offers a series of workshops to the families involved in the program. The workshops focus on different ways to enrich family life. As a part of this programming, Adventure Stage Chicago has partnered with the Head Start Site Director as well as the president of the parent organization to develop a series of cumulative workshops based on the concept of Family Literacy.

What is Family Literacy? Well, I am glad that you asked. We define it as the belief that when parents and children interact together, their relationship is enriched through reciprocal learning, allowing them to become partners in education. In simpler terms, families that play together, stay together. Our goal is to provide our neighbor families with tools of communication and inspire them to use play to connect on a deeper level.

The workshops will take place at the beginning of the school year, so we will keep you posted on their progress.

Neighborhood Perspectives

In an effort to build stronger relationships within our community of West Town, we have decided to develop a performance that is based on the experiences of our neighbors. Adventure Stage ensemble members have been running a series of Story Circles to gather stories about our neighbor’s lives. We have gotten to know many of the individuals who utilize the resources at the Settlement House on a deeper level and are thrilled to be sharing their stories in the coming weeks.

Tom Arvetis, Dani Bryant and Sarah Rose Graber from our ensemble are currently writing a script based on the stories we have collected. Soon we will begin rehearsing a show with professional actors and our neighbors included in the cast. The end result will be a public performance at the end of September.

This is only the first phase in what will be an ongoing community project. In this way, we hope to continue to develop deep connections with our neighbors that will enrich the lives of everyone involved.

Thanks Allison - for all of your hard work!

Adventure Stage Chicago at the AATE Conference with Suzan Zeder!

2011-08-02T12:54:00.013-05:00

We were recently asked by Suzan Zeder to perform readings from a couple of her plays at the American Alliance for Theatre in Education national conference here in Chicago. We were honored to be a part of the day! I asked ASC ensemble member Sarah Rose Graber, who took part in the reading, to share her experience. Enjoy - - and thanks again Suzan!

I was first introduced to Suzan Zeder's plays in college with "Wiley and Hairy Man" by the fantastic professor Rives Collins. We had to read the play and perform scenes from it in class. I remember thinking that this playwright was a complete genius and then immediately purchased her anthology of plays. It was a fantastic decision, because in that anthology I read "Mother Hicks" and was so moved by the story, characters, and themes, that it's one of those few plays that seems to follow you around.

So when Tom Arvetis asked me to read the role of "Girl" for the Adventure Stage reading at the AATE conference, I was beyond thrilled! We rehearsed selected scenes from both "Mother Hicks and "The Taste of Sunrise" to be part of a program sharing the background, creation, and evolution of these plays. All of this was in conjunction with the world premiere of Zeder's final play in the trilogy, "The Edge of Peace," which was performed at Northwestern University. We explored the universal themes of identity, learning to belong, the difficulties of being deaf in a hearing world, and working through the added challenge of integrating American Sign Language to the presentation. The use of ASL is a major component of the pieces because several of the characters are deaf. We had some incredible performers who were fluent in sign language that were able to give so much power and meaning to the text. It was really magically to watch them communicate the words through their gestures and facial expressions.

When it came time for us to perform, there was an intimate gathering of folk, many of which had either been part of a production of one of the two plays in the past or had read them. In between our scenes, Tom and Suzan, gave additional information about why certain artistic choices were made to the script and what Susan was hoping the audience would garner from each moment. She shared stories with us about her time actually visiting the real town of Ware (which is where the plays take place) and the inspiration for some of the characters (The character named Clovis got his name from an ancestor of a real person still living in the town).

Our program was a great segway to better understanding the world of Ware and Mother Hicks, but also for the first production of "The Edge of Peace." Suzan Zeder couldn't have been more charming, humble, and complimentary of our interpretation of her plays. So add that to the list of incredible qualities that make Suzan Zeder one of the best playwrights for Theatre for Young Audiences. I think ASC and Suzan make a great team so hopefully we'll get to work together again in the future!

Performing Arts Camp at House in the Wood

2011-07-08T11:20:00.015-05:00

Hello from camp everybody! Sarah Rose Graber and Matthew Wills, here! We're hanging out with some really cool kids in the performing arts camp at House in the Wood teaching theatre and directing an adaptation of "Holes." We started off playing a bunch of creative drama games that helped us learn names, encourage teambuilding, explore different physicalities and vocal choices, as well as thinking on our feet with some improv games and creating trust among our ensemble.

In the beginning, many of the students were timid and shy. Only a few campers had any theatre experience and were eager to learn about how we were going to put on a play. We auditioned the campers for each role by reading the play out loud and giving everyone a chance to read for the parts in which they were most interested. We really saw the students begin to grow as they made creative choices and had fun bringing life to the characters. Soon our group of 12 shy campers turned in a room of theatre superstars!

The show is now cast and the kids are looking forward to the characters they will be portraying in the play. We begin blocking tomorrow and the actual painting of our set that the campers designed. We talked a good deal about the technical elements of theatre as well and everyone is excited about wearing their costumes and incorporating props. Now we enter the whirlwind process of piecing this whole thing together in 4 days! Yikes! But no problem here. Few people know this, but we are actually magicians and can do the impossible. So watch out Delavan, Wisconsin because we're going to have a great show!

10 minute plays!

2011-06-21T10:35:00.005-05:00

Last year we decided to open up our process of play development to our audience by inaugurating our New Play Workshops. You had the chance to attend a staged reading of a script during its developmental path and help us by giving feedback. Some of the scripts work-shopped include City Of Ember

and Walk Two Moons (which will be produced as the first show of our 2011-12 season).

Our next New Play Workshop is this Sunday and I'm very excited that we are partnering with Chicago Dramatists to put it together. ASC and Dramatists are West Town neighbors, just across the expressway from each other, and we were looking for a way to work together. We are committed to producing new work in the Theatre for Young Audiences field and Chicago Dramatists' mission is to bring new work to life. However, they had not really explored work for young audiences with their roster of playwrights. After discussion, we decided to work with a format that Dramatists is very familiar with: a festival of 10 minute plays. The 10 minute play is the short (maybe short-short) story of theatre. It's a distinct challenge for a playwright to create a world and tell a story in that amount of time. But these plays can have a forceful impact because they are so focused. And the festival format gives us the opportunity to include more playwrights in the event.
After Russ Tutterow (Dramatists' Artistic Director) put the word out to their playwrights, Tom sifted through the submissions and selected 6 for the workshop. The plays run the gamut from realism to fantasy, drama to off-the-wall comedy (one piece is titled School For Wedgies), contemporary to period.
I'm also very excited to be sharing directing duties with fellow ASC ensemble member Sarah Rose Graber and the lovely and talented Joanie Schultz, who will be working with us for the first time. Each of us will helm two pieces, utilizing the talents of 13 actors in different combinations.
I wear my Managing Director hat proudly but I'm really looking forward to stretching my artistic muscles. Hopefully I won't pull anything.
Come out on Sunday and see what we've put together!

Send off the Clowns!

2011-06-14T12:29:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago we wrapped up our co-production of 500 Clown Trapped. As with all theatrical productions; closings are bitter sweet. Sweet because we were all drained from working weekends and evenings, bitter because it was such an enjoyable production to be a part of and we loved having the cast and crew join us for the run. Looking back on the production two things stick with me:
1- I have never seen students respond to a play the way they did to this one. The first performance we did for a student audience had us all marveling- were they laughing and shouting in joy, or rioting? I’ve never heard kids go from intensely listening on their edge of their seats to jumping in the air and whooping so quickly! To say students enjoyed this show would be understating it.
2- We at ASC have never done a co-production with another theater company before. Boy, did we learn a lot about the process! Now I’m hoping we can do a similar partnership again soon, to put to use all of the lessons we learned through trial and error this time around. 500 Clown staff were all really nice to work with and they brought a unique perspective to our work. ASC devotes itself to work for kids and their families, but 500 Clown brought in their own unique audience of fans- lots of adults, not all of which brought kids. We ended up with a hybrid audience of kids, parents, and kid-free adult groups. This presented challenges for us in the way we approached our pre-show and post-show conversation. Ultimately I think we met the challenge and were able to find new ways to communicate our mission to a wider audience- but it was a steep learning curve!

All in all, I think I can speak for the ASC staff when I say that this show was a lot of fun, a lot of hard work, and a great learning opportunity! We were so lucky to have the opportunity to co-produce this piece and I am very hopeful that it has a life beyond this run, so that other kids and adults in other cities can enjoy it as much as we did!

Wrapping up another great year of Neighborhood Bridges

2011-06-09T12:49:00.007-05:00

We've had a wonderful year, working with over 200 students at 13 classrooms in 8 schools, all over the city of Chicago.
I'd like to thank the classroom teachers who went above and beyond to coteach in the program, giving their students a chance to see a professional production, write lots of creative stories, listen to new stories, work together in groups to create drama pieces and perform their work on a professional stage! I'd also like to thank the students who brought some of the best student performance I've ever seen on our stage! And lastly, a big thank you to all of the amazing teaching artists who work tirelessly in this program to help students find their voice, celebrate their writing, and knock our socks off on stage! They did a great job this year and it's been such a pleasure to see the fruits of their labor!!! Here's a few highlights from the spring culminating events.

Here's what people had to say about 500 Clown Trapped!

2011-05-25T15:08:00.003-05:00

click on the image to see the full screen version!

3rd grade delightful works of art

2011-05-25T12:59:00.004-05:00

We recieved a collection of cards from a 3rd grade class at Pritzker Elementary School following their trip to see 500 Clown Trapped. Here is a small selection for your enjoyment. We posted the rest on the green room walls, to the delight of cast and crew.

Thank you for making us all smile!!!

The Book Bike Comes to ASC!

2011-05-18T11:37:00.010-05:00

We were lucky to have the Book Bike visit ASC this past weekend. Audience members who came to our 2:00 matinee of 500 Clown Trapped were able to visit the bike and take a book home. Here's a note from 500 Clown Board Member, Anjali Bidani, who set up our Book Bike visit. Thanks Anjali and Gabe!

First of all: FULL DISCLOSURE. I love to read. I have loved to read from the moment I learned how. I was that 7 year old who left the library every weekend with 22 or 23 books and returned the next weekend for more. 20 was my mother’s limit, but I was usually able to sneak in a few more. I know how many I checked out weekly because in an effort to make sure we returned all those books the next weekend, my mother made me make a list of the books in a designated spiral notebook as soon as we returned home from our library visit (I can't blame her, there were some significant library fines before this system was set in place). I have glorious memories, and lifelong connections to Frances the hedgehog, Paddington Bear, Lowly Worm, Henry Sugar and Charlie Bucket, just to name a few. I honestly can’t imagine anything better than being able to share that joy of reading with someone else.

I first heard about the Book Bike last summer – when a mutual friend of Gabe Levinson’s and mine hosted a fundraiser at his home for the Book Bike. I read an article about the trials of the Book Bike and, given what you now know about my reading habit, it’s no surprise that I couldn’t imagine a more delightful thing to discover at a park. (I was definitely glad that the Chicago Public Library stepped in to partner with the Book Bike.)

A man with free books on a bike tricked out with a bookshelf? As one young patron last Saturday said – it’s like the ice cream man. But really, so much better, because a good book can last forever, and a good ice cream really only has about 15 minutes of joy to give, and then it’s done.

I had just joined the board of 500 Clown a few months prior, and at my first meeting, Adrian had talked a bit about the all-ages show that was in the process of being created. When I saw the Book Bike and talked to Gabe, I immediately thought of how wonderful it would be to go to a 500 Clown show and then encounter the Book Bike and end the afternoon with memories of the performance AND a great book in hand. I mentioned my idea to Gabe, Adrian and Leslie and they were on board from the beginning. Everyone at Adventure Stage liked the idea as well. From there I found an incredibly generous donor to provide the funds to purchase the books, and gathered suggestions about what books to stock the Bike with. We purchased the books from Women and Children First, and The Book Cellar, both small independent bookstores in Chicago, and then, after last Saturday’s matinee, I watched children discussing books with Gabe, with each other (one boy very authoritatively advised a group of kids – “The Giver is the BEST book”), and their parents, discussing the logistics of having a bookshelf attached to a bike, and then walking out with one of these books, hopefully destined to discover a new friend, a new world, and new ideas that will be with them forever. It was MAGIC.

Critic's Corner - Tell Us What you Think of 500 Clown Trapped!

2011-05-03T13:26:00.004-05:00

Hello Everyone! 500 Clown Trapped is open here at Adventure Stage and it's a fun and rollicking time at the theater. We do hope you have a chance to catch it before it disappears. And we hope you like it enough to tell us about your experience.

Just click on the "Post a Comment" link and type away. Write a review, leave a comment for one of our actors or pose a question to our director. We think there is a lot to discuss in this piece and encourage you to jump on in.

Don't be shy! We can't wait to hear from you.

Up Next, 500 Clown Trapped

2011-04-25T16:15:00.003-05:00

The clowns are coming! The clowns are coming! We are getting ready to open the world-premiere of 500 Clown Trapped here at Adventure Stage. This show is a co-production between the renowned Chicago clown troupe, 500 Clown and Adventure Stage Chicago. We are super excited about what has come out of this partnership and can't wait to share the show with you.

Time Out Chicago Kids recently did an article about Trapped. You can read that article below, or click here!

Acrobatic troupe 500 Clown develops all-ages show

Trio uses stunts, music and comedy to explore being ‘Trapped’

By Web Behrens

Despite the fact that both critics and audiences love it, you’ve probably never heard of the Chicago-based performing-arts troupe 500 Clown. That’s because it’s managed to do something astonishing: maintain its special brand of original works (and a band of dedicated fans) despite—or because of?—its rare appearances: just four shows in 12 years. In May comes a fifth—and a company first: 500 Clown Trapped, a stunt-based show developed specifically with kids in mind.

For folks who’ve never seen these actors perform, here’s a quick primer. First: The company name is a feint. You won’t see a legion of clowns in this inventive troupe; almost every show has featured a cast of three. Second: Its concept of clown is different from yours. To some people’s disappointment (and others’ great relief), they don’t paint their faces white or sport red noses. These clowns are more about comedy teased out of dramatic tension, improv and plenty of risk-taking acrobatics.

Despite artistic roots in circus arts, until now, they’ve not done an overtly all-ages show. “In the clown world, this is one of the curses: People always assume it’s for kids,” says cofounder and producing artistic director Adrian Danzig. “We went to some lengths [in the past] to distance ourselves from kids’ stuff.” Today a father of two, Danzig admits the shift is “partially inspired by being a parent.”

For Trapped, 500 Clown teams with Adventure Stage Chicago, the children’s theater company with a reputation for not talking down to its target tween audience. Danzig met Tom Arvetis, Adventure Stage’s producing artistic director, through the child-care co-op their kids attend.

It’s not easy to tease details about Trapped out of Danzig and Arvetis. Three performers will play music, Danzig allows, and they’ll have their signature style of “rough-style acrobatics.” He pauses, then says, “It’s hard not to give stuff away.”

We’re guessing the title tells as much as you need to know—past titles always said more about theme, not plot. (The clowns are tricksy that way.) 500 Clown Macbeth departed from the Bard, riffing on the cost of ambition as a trio of daredevil jesters—two men, one woman—competed for a crown. In 500 Clown Frankenstein, one of them ended up the persecuted “monster”—a powerful lesson in bullying.

“We thought Frankenstein was going to be way too dark for kids,” recalls Danzig. But a four-year-old “taught us how to play that show. The kid stood up—the only brave member of the audience who did that—and stopped me from attacking [the monster].”

With a new audience in mind, Trapped tones down the physical violence. “What I love,” says Arvetis, “is that the show is about embracing one’s impulse to play.”

Danzig agrees. “Great stuff happens when you play,” he says, “and sometimes people get their eyes poked.”

500 Clown Trapped catches new fans starting May 3.

The Spring Fling has come and gone!

2011-04-13T15:03:00.008-05:00

Every year I spend a pretty large chunk of my time in February and March planning our annual fundraiser, The Spring Fling. This is our third year of hosting this event, and between the designing of the invitations, scheduling of the musicians, working out the catering menu, soliciting and organizing the Silent Auction and Raffle, and figuring out the decorations and activities, the details of the event can definitely start to overwhelm. But man, when it comes together as great as it did last Saturday, it's easy to say it's all worth it!

The day started with a performance of Sinbad: The Untold Tale, then the party moved to our ballroom, Burnside Hall. The food from Ameer Kabob was delish, beer from Metropolitian Brewery was cold, and the Slushie machine was hoppin! We had belly dancers from Jasmin Jahal School of Dance and the best Flying Carpet Photo Booth area ever. I am always amazed by the support we receive from our local businesses and patrons. The work we do here at Adventure Stage Chicago is very important and personal to each of us here on staff and to have all of your support means the world to us.

But what I loved most, were the conversations, the laughter and the fact that my 60-something father still has a skull and crossbones henna tattoo on his arm. :) Now that's a party.

Enjoy some favorite photos from the Flying Carpet Photo Booth - and be sure to join us next year!

Student Artwork in response to Sinbad!

2011-04-08T15:03:00.004-05:00

We've been recieving a ton of great letters and artwork from students who have come to see our current production of Sinbad: The Untold Tale, thank you to all who have written! The actors really enjoy reading your comments and answering your questions!!! Here is a sample of great artwork we recieved from Ms. Martinez's fourth graders at Carson Elementary- thank you for all the lovely drawings!

A word from our Ittifaq

2011-03-30T15:13:00.005-05:00

I asked Dana Dajani, who plays Ittifaq in Sinbad: The Untold Tale, to talk to us about her experience in the show. Enjoy!

Ahlan wa Sahlan, Adventurers!

(That is how we say “welcome” or “greetings” in Arabic.)

This is Dana Dajani, and you may know me as Ittifaq, daughter of Sinbad the Voyager in Sinbad: The Untold Tale. The cast and crew are going into our third weekend of shows, and so far it has been smooth sailing! The opening performance was fun but my favorite part was afterwards, when I got to eat cake and sign autographs, at the ASC Ice Cream Social. I am really looking forward to Adventure Stage’s Spring Fling and seeing all of you there!

Even though I am originally from the Levant region of the Middle East, I was surprised to learn all of the history that our dramturge, Lavina Jadhwani, provided us with in preparation to perform this play. A dramaturge is a person who researches the time in which the play was written, and the time it was written about, so that the actors, director, and designers can understand the circumstances surrounding life during that period in time. I am a bit of a dramaturge myself because I decided to do research on my own-- I had so many questions to ask!

In my exploration I came across a very cool blog, The Journal of 1001 Nights, which has chronicled all of the different manifestations of the Arabian Tales. It has given me the heads-up on some amazing projects; I found out about the Canadian production at Luminato Festival of One Thousand and One Nights, which is coming to Chicago Shakespeare Theater in July. I also found more news about Sinbad, the new series for SkyTV, and of the Arabian Nights 3D film starring Anthony Hopkins and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. I’ve submitted to act in all of these projects!

Working on Sinbad: The Untold Tale has made me consider the Hero’s Journey, as both Sinbad and Ittifaq transform through that ritual. As you’ve most likely heard on the news, there have been many revolts and revolutions in the Arab world recently. I was in Dubai, UAE and Amman, Jordan just this winter, and I was inspired by all of the artistic endeavors there. After observing, asking questions, and learning the history of the arts in the Middle East, I started to piece together a story using Sinbad and Ittifaq’s journey as a metaphor for the current opportunity for transformation in the Arab world. I wrote an essay, which was published in Quint Magazine, that you may read on my blog.

I find it interesting to compare the different Arab stories we tell in theater versus those told in film. I want to explore the Arab performance identity through a teaching of the native cultural arts history. There are three weekends left to see us live in Sinbad: The Untold Tale. Come share our adventures, engage in discussions on physical and intangible transformations with us, and never stop exploring. J

Ma’asallamah! (Be with Peace)

Dana

Ice Cream is Social!

2011-03-26T11:22:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe it has been a week since we opened Sinbad: The Untold Tale. Time is really flying this year. Opening was a wonderful day. Many, many hands and many long hours have gone into bringing this show to life. Our stellar cast of six (only six! You won't believe it when you see it) and our dynamic duo of a stage management team brought the show to life in front of a packed house last Saturday. And then we all gathered in Burnside Hall for Dairy Queen's delicious ice cream cakes.
The ice cream social after opening has quickly grown into a tradition here at ASC. It's a lovely way to celebrate the show and, more importantly, the community that was created that day. The group was such a mix of people from Settlement staff and neighbors to kids from the Viva After School Program in Oak Park. Audience members got the chance to talk with the cast. It was very satisfying and fulfilling day for all of us.
Beyond the cast, designers and crew, I want to thank the ASC ensemble and staff (including the lovely Jana Liles, pictured above) as well as our volunteers from the Settlement's Chicago Board (Ashley Welnhofer, Lizzie Westhouse and Christine Leiz) for all their help in making the opening such a success.

Tell us what you think of Sinbad: The Untold Tale!

2011-03-17T13:17:00.003-05:00

Hello Everyone! Sinbad: The Untold Tale is open here at Adventure Stage and it's a fun and rollicking time at the theater. We do hope you have a chance to catch it before it disappears. And we hope you like it enough to tell us about your experience.

Just click on the "Post a Comment" link and type away. Write a review, leave a comment for one of our actors or pose a question to our director. We think there is a lot to discuss in this piece and encourage you to jump on in.

Don't be shy! We can't wait to hear from you.

A Moment with our Director

2011-02-28T15:02:00.003-06:00

In every learning guide we like to spotlight one of our amazing collaborators. Each play has interesting and unique elements, whether it is puppetry, masks, stage combat, projections, etc. Sinbad: The Untold Tale is no exception. Sinbad is a story full of magical moments, which presents an interesting challenge to the design team who must bring those moments to life on the stage. The Director is the person responsible for coordinating the entire production team and bringing all aspects of the design together to serve one vision. Amanda Delheimer is a director with a long history of bringing exciting stories to ASC audiences. She was kind enough to speak with us about the role of a director and the specific challenges she’s facing in Sinbad.

ASC: Can you give us a general description of the role of the director in a staged play?

AD: Generally, the director is responsible for the overall vision and aesthetic of the play, and striving to get everyone on the same page. I think about it like standing on top of a mountain: the actors are on one side, and see one aspect of the show, and the designers are on another side of the mountain and can see another aspect of the show, and the staff is on another side and can see yet another aspect of the show, so if I'm the only one on the top of the mountain, I'm the only one who can see the full view, and it's my job to communicate to everyone about what's going on, and to facilitate communication between the creators of the play and the audience.

ASC: What first inspired you to become a director?

AD: I've been interested in plays and acting since I was really young, and was lucky enough to have the opportunity to participate in the making of plays and performances from a lot of different perspectives---as a young person I was an actor, in high school I started to do some choreography and to work backstage on lights and stuff, and in college I did both on stage and backstage work. It was when I was doing some set design in college that I first because interested in directing, I was really intrigued by the opportunity to be able to dabble in all of the different aspects of the creation of theater. As the director, I get to put on all the different hats, look at the play from all the different perspectives, and I find that really exciting.

ASC: What about Sinbad most excited you when you first read the script?

AD: I think it was the magic. I've always been one of those people with a really wild imagination, and I LOVE the idea of magic. There's something really transcendent about it, about imagining a world where ANYTHING is possible, where people can disappear and genies come out of bottles and carpets can fly. I also love the two heroes, and the fact that this young man and this young woman start off so much at odds with each other--they're totally at each other's throats, making fun and being really hurtful to each other, at the beginning of the play, but by the end, after all these adventures and dangers they've experienced together, they become much closer. I love that.

ASC: What aspect of Sinbad do you find or anticipate will be the most challenging?

AD: The magic. I mean, how do you make a carpet FLY? That's just Crazy! But its part of what makes the whole thing so exciting--we get to make skeletons come to life and fight a battle, and people turn into snakes. It's terribly exciting, and also really challenging.

ASC: We hear there are many magical moments in the play; can you tell us how you and your design team are approaching those moments?

AD: For me, it's all about the storytelling. So first we start by talking about what the moment is trying to accomplish--what's the most important thing to convey at this point, what's the thing that's the most important to the story? The answer to those questions helps us to determine our priorities when creating the moment. For example, is it the most important that the audience actually BELIEVE that we're stuffing a genie into a bottle? Or is it more important for us to be swept up in the conflict that leads to the genie being stuffed in the bottle? It's also really important that all of the storytelling is in the same vocabulary, so sometimes the way we've decided to approach one moment might influence how we approach another, because all of the decisions affect each other.

ASC: How do you try to coordinate the work of the many designers to have a cohesive vision?

AD: That comes back to director-on-top-of-the-mountain metaphor. There are a couple of things that are really important to supporting a cohesive vision: communication and trust come to mind immediately. It's important that the designers ultimately trust the director (as the one with the holistic vision) to bring to the table any potential hitches in the collaboration. For example, in this design, we're using a lot of black in the scenery. So in order for us to really see the actors, the costumes need to be in bright colors, so that they "pop" against the background of the scenery. We have a couple of meetings as a full group, and I also do a lot of smaller meetings, either just me and one designer, to allow them to focus on their particular specialty, or me and a couple of designers, especially those who have a lot of overlap in execution (like costumes and scenery--they're both very visual, so need to be in conversation with each other a lot.)

ASC: How do you approach working with actors?

AD: I love working with actors. In general (with both actors and designers) I approach working with them as if they are the expert and I am the outside eye. What this means to me is that it's important to start from where the actor is coming from---the actor playing Sinbad is the most knowledgeable about what he's doing and how he feels from moment to moment playing Sinbad. But that actor doesn't know what it looks like from the outside, so it's my job to reflect with the actor about how we, the audience, are perceiving the work that the actor is doing. He might feel like he's being really big and demonstrative, but from the outside, we see him as really small and intimate. So I dialogue with the actor about how things are "reading", and together we prioritize what the best choices are for the story that we're telling to this particular audience.

ASC: How does your role change once the show goes into technical rehearsals and then opens?

AD: Well, after we open, my job is mostly over, and I play support to the folks who are making the show happen from day-to-day. Technical rehearsal is more complicated, as it is during that week that the reins of the process are passed from the Director (who's "the boss" while we're in rehearsal) to the Stage Manager (who is "the boss" once the show opens). Tech is also the place where the actors and the designers work together for the first time, so I feel like my job at that point is at master facilitator---again, from my point of view on the top of the mountain, I'm the only one who has the holistic vision for how all eight hundred million parts (the actors plus the scenery plus the sound and music plus the transitions plus the lights plus the costumes plus EVERYTHING) should all come together in the end, so I work with everyone throughout that week, explaining, perfecting, adapting, cheerleading, with the hopes that by the end of the time, by the time we open, that we're all on top of that mountain together.

ASC: What advice would you give to any kids who are interested in directing?

AD: Oooooo, good question. I would absolutely recommend getting as much experience in all the different aspects of theater that you can. One of the things that's a huge boon to me is that, with the exception of sound design, I've done all of it---I've acted, I've done design for lights, set, and costumes, I've stage managed, production managed, worked the box office, so I know how it feels to be in all of the different roles. As the director, you're the leader, and it's your job to make sure that the whole machine is working smoothly, that everyone is happy and doing their part. Also, read a lot and flex your imaginative muscles. So much of the work of the director has to do with your imagination---it's your job to IMAGINE what this world is like, to bring it to life, and, at the beginning, all you have are the words on the page. And it takes practice, imagination. And it's fun!

ASC: Could you please describe the mechanics of how you are planning to create the magical moments onstage? AD: Okay, but only because you asked so nicely. We're accomplishing a lot of the magic via what we're calling black-on-black work. It's inspired by the Koken work in Kabuki theater (a Japanese tradition), but are essentially dressing people (characters and stage hands) all in black, and putting them in front of a black background, and using visual tricks so that essentially, we don't "see" them as they transform sticks into swords, or fly around on a carpet. I'm afraid I can't tell you more than that, partially because we need to discover it via rehearsal, partially because I don't want to give everything away!

Do you have questions for Amanda? Post them in the comments and we will pass them along!

Entering the Lab

2011-02-18T11:51:00.003-06:00

What is innovation? I used to think of it as a lightning strike, a flash of creativity from an individual. Especially in this country, we tend to associate innovative ideas with a person and his or her indefinable brilliance. Even when that person has a team of other people working to make that idea come to life, that individual genius is seen as the leader from whom all insight flows. This seems to be particularly true in the arts.
But...could innovation become systematic and intentional? Even in the performing arts? We're about to find out. EmcArts has chosen ASC to be part of the Innovation Lab of the Performing Arts. Along with some impressive high-profile fellow companies, we are being allowed to take a "half-baked" idea as far as we can. The Lab gives us the resources and guidance to explore some questions that have been slowly forming in the last couple of years: How is ASC serving the core community of the Northwestern Settlement? How can the performing arts work across all the Settlement programs to engage our West Town neighbors? Are traditional forms of theater sufficient?

Many of these questions were first articulated by Tom. Here are some of his thoughts on the Lab.

"We are ecstatic to be involved in the EmcArts Innovation Lab. It puts us in prestigious company and gives us an exclusive opportunity to reflect on our role as part of the Northwestern Settlement House and West Town neighborhood. Beyond putting on excellent theatrical productions, Adventure Stage has always strived to make meaningful connections to our audience, often through thoughtful dialogue. Despite nearly ten years of highly regarded programming and award-winning theatrical productions under our belt, we remain challenged to make meaningful connections to the families and youth who participate in so many of the valuable social services offered here at the Settlement. The Innovation Lab allows us to thoughtfully consider our Settlement roots and will provide the time and resources necessary to create opportunities that deeply engage our closest neighbors. Exactly what those are remain to be seen. This is what makes the Innovation Lab such a luxury. It isn't often that people working in the not-for-profit sector get the time to reflect and be intentional with change. We feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity and to be able to embrace our role as a Settlement resource. Theater is in a constant dialogue with its community. How else can it justify its existence? With the Innovation Lab, Adventure Stage will be given an opportunity to really clarify for itself and its neighbors why its work really matters."

The first phase of this process has involved putting together a core team committed to the entire process of the Lab. It was thrilling to hold our first meeting with such a varied group, all excited to embark on this journey. The group includes ASC staff and artists, the Settlement president, board members, program leaders from Emergency Services, Group Services and Head Start as well as outside people who believe in the necessity of ASC and the Settlement. And, when I say I was thrilled, that also means I am a bit apprehensive as well. We are moving into new territory as an organization and many, many more questions are popping up as we go. Even the process of finding a shared definition of "community" will not be simple. But, after that first meeting, I knew that the community in that room on that day was looking forward to what we will do next.

Behind the Scenes: Stage Combat

2011-02-16T13:23:00.008-06:00

Fight Director David Chrzanowski, in green hat, works with an actor during a fight rehearsal.

Sinbad; The Untold Tale is a play full of magic and adventure. There are genies, flying carpets, powerful potions and exciting sword fights! I asked our Fight Director, David Chrzanowski to talk about the process of putting these fights together and what it takes to stay safe. Read on, and enjoy!

For the last six weeks I’ve had the incredible good fortune to be collaborating with Director Amanda Delheimer and the cast of Sinbad; The Untold Tale at Adventure Stage Chicago. I wake up and get to figure out how we're going to slash off skeleton parts, battle with pressure points, wield quarterstaffs and squeeze a Genie into a bottle! How cool is that?! Answer: very cool.

The Greeks wrote in loads of gore and violence in their plays -remember Oedipus’ fate? In the Renaissance Shakespeare and his contemporaries brought the gore on-stage and the audiences just ate it up! Of course I wasn’t there, but judging by the number of productions that have taken place since then I’m guessing stage violence isn’t going away anytime soon. Why is this? Well, I’ll leave that for you to ponder. I’m hired to make that violence safe. It is the most important aspect of my job. Being an actor myself I also know that storytelling is also a priority. Fights do not exist in a vacuum so I look at conflicts that arise out of a situation.

For Sinbad; The Untold Tale we began fight rehearsal before the actors even had a read-through. Because of the amount of fighting and the large variety of weapons used, Amanda and I realized that the sooner we got started the better. I told the actors that this was a gift as rarely do I have this much time with them. Actors were forced to think about character right away. After I ran a basic weapons workshop we got started blocking some fights. My goal was to find the actors strengths and build the choreography from there. The actor playing Ittifaq (Dana Dajani) and I discussed how defensive parries (blocks with her sword) are really opportunities to look for offensive attacks. Another actor playing the Genie (Estaban Cruz) is very flexible so his fights have a very ‘pliable’ shape to them. This kind of discussion leads right into character and motivation. Cool stuff indeed!

Up to this point we have nearly all the fights blocked and will continue to adjust them as they rehearse while simultaneously holding fight rehearsals at a very slow percentage. As the actors build trust with one another, the speed can increase (very slowly) until the director and myself are happy with the storytelling being told. We are pretty excited with the work we have done so far and can't wait to share it with you - our audience!

Sinbad Director, Amanda Delheimer, looks on as Esteban Cruz and Mike Ooi practice a fight using staffs.

2011-01-25T15:31:00.012-06:00

Monday, January 31. 7:00 PM. We'll be having a little get-together to raise some funds for our spring production, the American premiere of Sinbad: The Untold Tale. We'll be at a lovely spot at 1415 W. Fullerton called Small Bar. Or,if you prefer

Here is an idea of how lovely it is.

Actually, that's the lower level. You can hang out there, but most of the action will be in the mezzanine.

And all those tables and chairs will be cleared to the sides of the room so you can view the stellar entertainment we have lined up. We will have the sultry lounge tones of Miss Honey and The Combs. This is your chance to see the lesser-known talents of ASC staff: Ms. Jana Liles on vocals and Mr. Brandon Campbell on sax. And that's not to slight the rest of the band. They rock, too. Or rather they lounge, too. Anyway, they're really good. And they have their own logo.

We will also show off the comedy talents of our ensemble member Sarah Rose Graber and her cohort from The Factory Theater. They will perform episodes of their late-night hit, The New Adventures of Popeye, in prime time. The theater and the show also have logos.

Plus, there will be a delicious appetizer spread and you get 2 drink tickets. All for only $25!
AND, we will raffling off one of these

Sounds like a full and fun Monday evening! I would like to thank Phil McFarland of Small Bar for making the night possible. We'll see you on Monday!

Neighborhood Bridges comes to life!

2011-01-05T16:00:00.001-06:00

On Thursday, December 16th we hosted our fall Neighborhood Bridges Culminating Event. It was such a blast to see each class perform original stories they had created during the residency! We saw performances by one 7^th grade class from Solomon and two 6^th grade classes from Goethe. (Our fourth residency this fall at Harvard performed their own stories for a first grade class at their school, to rave reviews!)

This year in honor of our new partnership with 826CHI we added a new component to the event: the teaching artists read one student story per class between performances.The student stories were remarkable; so funny and well crafted! Also, thanks to 826CHI each student received an anthology of their class stories as they left the event.

The students were all so wonderful; sharing positive feedback with the other classes, participating fully, and putting on 3 amazing shows! I know their teachers were proud of their work, and it was clear they had a lot of fun! The day was a huge success, in large part due to our experienced classroom teachers, our amazing teaching artists, and our expert staff- thank you all for making the event so smooth, polished,and fun for the students!

Hooray for stories and drama!

A Heartfelt Goodbye

2010-12-17T17:35:00.006-06:00

Last week saw the final two performances of And A Child Shall Lead, a project that will forever hold a special place in my heart.

The odds were against us early with a script never before produced with professional adult actors. Oh, it had been done dozens of times by companies of age-appropriate actors (professional and non-professional) the world over. But we had to go and cast twenty-somethings as eight different characters between the ages of 6 and 15!? It was such an intriguing idea that the playwright, Michael Slade, flew all the way out here from New York City to see for himself.

Well, it turned out (as it always does) that the power of a good story swept away any skepticism and not one audience 20 times over thought twice about that choice. In fact, one adult at a Family Matinee Curtain Conversation said, “You will forever be those characters for me.” And so it was that our telling of the story of Vedem and the children of Terezin was burned into the memory of our audiences.

In my seven years as Artistic Director of this company, I have never witnessed the kind of response we received from this show and I am humbled by and grateful for everyone’s generous compliments. I’ve wondered why this show above all others. Certainly the stakes of the drama were extremely high. And the talent of the cast was evident. But I keep coming back to the fact that there were no adult characters in this play. Everything, everything, was filtered through the experience of those eight children.

Michael Slade mentioned more than once on his visit that, in writing the piece, he discovered that the adults on stage always became the focus of any given scene. Perhaps it was because when the backdrop of your story is war – a deadly, high-stakes conflict that arises between adults with competing objectives – one can’t help but find the adults responsible. And there’s no question that Michael was laying some responsibility squarely at their feet. But including adults would have led to the writing of a different play, a different investigation than what Michael was truly aiming at. How do young people cope? How do young people, when they only have themselves to rely on, learn to make choices within the boundaries of their control?

And I think this is what makes And A Child Shall Lead brilliant and unique. For, in depriving us of the adult (German or Jew) with which to lay blame or seek salvation, we suddenly can recognize the true toll of war on young people – especially because of Michael’s unsparing, unsentimental treatment. I have no doubt that hearing those poems and songs recited by age-appropriate actors would add to the haunting qualities of the play. But I am proud that we were able to find a truth that transcended a literal casting interpretation and I feel incredibly lucky to have participated in a process with so many magical and meaningful moments.

This show is a testament to the fact that great theatre for young audiences can be simply told and yet transcend simplicity. I want to thank everyone – actors, designers, stage management, staff and audience members – who joined us for this production. It was an incredible adventure!

Solomon student artwork inspired by And A Child Shall Lead

2010-12-16T17:26:00.004-06:00

7th grade students at Solomon Elementary participated in our Neighborhood Bridges Program this fall. Not only did they have an ASC teaching artist work in their classroom for 20 hours, but they also came to see our production of And A Child Shall Lead. We were very pleased when they sent us their thoughts on the show along with wonderful artwork inspired by the show. Here are a few of their pieces. Thanks Solomon!

An Actor's Perspective

2010-11-22T15:45:00.003-06:00

I asked Kieran Kredell, who plays Pavel in And A Child Shall Lead to tell me a bit about what his experience in this show has been like. This is what he wrote, thanks Kieran!

This afternoon after the show, I immediately ran backstage to the dressing rooms, threw myself into a chair and shouted "Why do we keep doing this?" My face was covered with a gross mixture of makeup, clay, sweat and tears, my heart was racing, and I couldn't stop crying. I looked at the calendar, remembered we had a show the following morning, and thought "I'm not sure I can handle that." It was then that I remembered a moment from that performance's talk-back: just after the show ended and the lights came up, I noticed an elderly man reaching into his pocket. He grabbed a tissue to wipe the tears from his face. At that moment, his wife (or the woman seated next to him whom I am assuming is his wife) took one of his hands and held it tight between her palms. And she smiled. And he smiled. And I, of course, cried some more. In the dressing room, I remembered the man, and his tears, and the woman, and her smile, and I realized: This is why. This show asks audiences to remember a single, fleeting moment of hope in the face of an unthinkable nightmare. It inspires. It moves. And that is pretty cool. I was overwhelmed with a sense of pride for all the hard work everyone put into the show, (probably cried some more) and was ready as to tackle the next morning's show.

The Playwright is Coming, The Playwright is Coming

2010-11-11T11:25:00.000-06:00

It’s always a treat to welcome the person whose work we’ve been so inspired by for the past several months. In this case, it’s New York-based writer Michael Slade.

Michael’s one of the rare and fortunate writers whose career has taken him across mediums – he’s worked in television and theatre as well as written books – and across continents. And a Child Shall Lead, I have come to understand, was a labor of love that took many years to complete and included a trip to former Czechoslovakia where, with the blessing of the government, he worked with actual historical documents (poems, diaries and newspaper articles) from Terezin to weave together this extraordinary collage-like work.

It was a delightful surprise to receive a phone call from him several months ago to let me know he was eager to see what we would do with his play. It’s a script that has already received countless productions, several of them overseas. Most of them have been produced with age-appropriate actors in high schools and youth drama programs around the country. This makes sense given the characters range in age between 6 and 15 years old. But if you’ve ever seen a show at Adventure Stage, you know that we hire professional actors to play such parts and I think Michael’s curious to know what that will look like.

He’ll share his comments with audiences after each performance this weekend, so if you’d like to experience our production along with him and ask him a few questions of your own, I encourage you to join us. I’m quite proud of what we’ve accomplished with this show and I’m looking forward to sharing it with Michael and with you.

Family Story Circle at Rowe

2010-11-10T14:21:00.009-06:00

Yesterday, Merissa Shunk and I headed over to Rowe Elementary School just a couple of blocks from the theater to engage with parents and scholars in a “family story circle.” For those of you who aren’t aware, Rowe is a newly formed charter school owned and operated by the Northwestern Settlement House (the same organization that owns and operates ASC!). Every student is referred to as a scholar and each is instilled with the desire to succeed in and graduate from college. They’re exposed to an academically rigorous curriculum infused with unique social and emotional programming opportunities, like an ASC-led “family story circle.”

For the past several months, I’ve been interested in how storytelling and creative drama can be effective tools in building community and deepening relationships between parents and children. As a parent myself, I see first hand how children are natural born story-makers. From the time they are old enough to ask “why?” children are attempting to make sense of their environment and—through play—constantly experimenting with role playing and narrative building. However brief or simple these experiments may appear, I’d still call what they are doing story-making.

So it doesn’t take me long to leap to the conclusion that all of us are born storytellers. It’s a skill that some grow up feeling more confident about than others but I’d venture to guess that, given the right group of people and a welcoming environment, we all can tell stories. And we do. Every day.

So this was the premise behind our “family story circle” event, the first of three happening this school year at Rowe. To kick things off, we chose a theme that we thought everyone could connect to: pets. Who doesn’t have a pet story?! I’m allergic to anything walking on four legs and even I have a pet story or two.

The response to our invitation was overwhelming. We had at least 30 families, maybe more, show up ready and willing to engage in whatever silliness we had planned. We actually had to split our group in two and work in separate spaces in order to accommodate all the bodies. And I can’t say enough about how positive the experience was. Parents and kids gleefully shared stories of joy and bravely shared stories of sorrow. When asked, they embodied fierce tigers and soaring eagles. I saw multiple generations (grandparents, parents and kids from the same family) cooperating, engaging with and encouraging each other.

And I realized very quickly that the “parallel play” among families went a long way in building community. What better way to make new friends than by being silly in front of each other. That kind of vulnerability takes courage in front of strangers. But there’s a lot of respect to be gained among parents when we see others making such an effort to connect with their children.

It wasn’t a perfect afternoon. I was very aware of my lack of facility with the Spanish language and I think moving forward we will have to make a concerted effort to include Spanish speakers equally. I’m not sure what we’ll do if the next turnout exceeds this one. But Merissa and I have some time to put our heads together and make some important adjustments. It’s a learning process for everyone in the room. I’m already looking forward to Family Story Circle #2.

A children's play about the Holocaust? Really?

2010-11-08T17:34:00.004-06:00

When I tell people about our current show And A Child Shall Lead and mention that it takes place in a concentration camp during WW II, they will often get a slightly confused look on their face as if wondering how and why a children’s theater would do a play about the Holocaust. The subject is so overwhelming to any of us that the first thought is to shield rather than expose children to this painful subject. I agree that children should be a bit older before they are asked to grapple with the stories of the Holocaust. And there are methods to telling these stories that convey the pain and loss without graphic depictions of violence. But the reality is that many children were imprisoned in the camps and many found a way to endure their hardships and keep their spirits up. In the case of the camp at Terezin, the children used art in all its many forms to hold onto their identity, their community and their belief that beauty can exist in the harshest circumstances. This message will always resonate through the years even if you aren’t living through the extreme circumstances of Terezin. Ultimately, we felt And A Child Shall Lead is an important story because it celebrates the basic human impulse to use art to understand and surmount tragedy and suffering.

When we were getting close to opening, I wondered if our usual practice of a post-show ice cream social would be appropriate after this kind of show. But, then I realized a communal experience is exactly what we all need after a performance of this show. The playwright, Michael Slade, does not want people to leave the show consumed by hopelessness. It is undeniable that awful things happened to young people in Terezin, but the abundance of painting, poetry, music and other art that was found after the war is proof that the people in the camp, especially the children, did not live without hope or the belief that each of them mattered and their time in the world made a difference. It was very affirming to come together after the opening performance to celebrate the community we had formed that day.

I am deeply appreciative of all the effort and care that all the artists and staff put into helping bring this show to life. I am extremely grateful for each person who has chosen to spend his or her time with us in the theater and taken the time to talk afterwards about the show with us. I thank all of you.

Tell us what you think about "And A Child Shall Lead"

2010-11-02T16:13:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone! And a Child Shall Lead is open here at Adventure Stage and it's a moving and inspiring time at the theater. We do hope you have a chance to catch it before it disappears. And we hope you like it enough to tell us about your experience.

Just click on the "Post a Comment" link and type away. Write a review, leave a comment for one of our actors or pose a question to our director. We think there is a lot to discuss in this piece and encourage you to jump on in.

Don't be shy! We can't wait to hear from you.

Puppet making in Terezin

2010-10-28T15:31:00.002-05:00

There are so many people who work on every aspect of a show. From actors to directors, costume, lighting and props designers. In And A Child Shall Lead there is an amazing puppet show. I asked Kat Powers, our Props Designer, to tell us how those puppets came to life. Enjoy!

Within the current Adventure Stage production And A Child Shall Lead, are several smaller vignettes: a burlesque play, a propaganda film, poetry readings, and a puppet show of The Snow Queen. It is the puppet show that surpasses the reality of the work camp, utilizing objects that might not have been available. Here we see the heightened imaginations of the children of Terezin fully alive and engaged.

Because we didn’t have a puppet designer, three of us from the design team decided to work together. The Snow Queen puppet collaboration process began with a conversation between set designer Jessica Kuehnau, production designer Brandon Campbell, and myself, props designer. It was, in my opinion, a very fun and successful joint venture.

The Snow Queen is a story that takes place between two worlds, the real world that Karl and Gerta play in, and then the Snow Queen’s palace where kidnapped Karl is taken to and kept hostage. We decided that it would be fun to combine hand-operated puppets (not marionettes but puppets operated from a handle by actors) and shadow puppets, because that would be one way to effectively show the children playing and the faraway world of the Snow Queen.

Brandon, a puppet designer himself, happily offered to create Karl and Gerta. He did so using a clay mold, papier mache, and resin and paint, dressed with found materials (sourced and sewn by Jessica). I offered to create the shadow puppets, the wizard, the Snow Queen both from the front and in profile, the magic mirror, and trapped Karl. It was Jessica’s idea to do a melting queen who collapsed in on herself, tied with ropes, though later this turned into a piece of fabric that the actor could manipulate to look as though she were melting in the heat. I also created the mountain, sled, tree, cloud and bird. Jessica created the projections of the Snow Queen’s palace interior and the fireplace, and also designed the collaged backdrop, which also served as the projection screen. Erin Miller, our glorious TD, sewed the backdrop, and the Noble Street Theater Tech interns cut out and painted the smaller objects.

So as you can tell, every aspect of this part of the play was a combined effort. And a joyous one indeed! We hope you enjoy our show.

Bringing "And a Child Shall Lead" to life

2010-10-12T10:31:00.009-05:00

I asked Matthew Scott, who plays Miroslav in our upcoming production of And A Child Shall Lead to talk a little bit about the first month of rehearsals. Read on for his great insights!

When we got cast WAY back in late June, I was so excited to get started… and then I realized that we didn’t actually start rehearsals until the end of September. Months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, SECONDS of anticipation went by! Unable to take the excitement, I spontaneously combusted. The End.

Just kidding. We did have a first read through sometime in July, met some of the cast, some of the designers, and we even had Brian (our AD and Dramaturg) there via Skype! Oh, Technology. Finally, we made it to our first rehearsal and the buzz in the room certainly was exciting. Everyone who’s anyone was there. Designers, cast, the whole Adventure Stage Staff, and of course- our director Tom! We got a quick run down of costume, lighting, and set designs (I get super geeked about that stuff). Then we did another read through. We did some table work throughout that week and eventually got on our feet. Going on our fourth week of rehearsal we are off book and I feel like we can really begin to play. It’s so much easier when we don’t have scripts in our hands to explore…everything- relationships, blocking, physicality. You get the idea.

I play Miroslav Weiss. In a sentence, he’s a self assured leader with a clear plan of action. His main objective in the camp, aside from simply staying alive, is to rally the other kids together to create the newspaper, Vedem, so that we might get it to the outside world and let them know what Terezin is really like. The biggest challenge for me is targeting his physicality. I, in real life, am a tall gangly string bean with flailing limbs and an almost permanent smile. It is a challenge for me, as an actor to get that under control and channel that energy into the grounded, direct, resilient nature that is Miroslav. But I’ll get there. Don’t you worry! The show takes place over the course of three years. From 1942 – 1945. I think for all of us actors, a challenge is showing the character’s maturity through the show as well as our… physical downfall…for lack of better words. People in Terezin and other camps were underfed and overworked and I imagine that certainly takes its toll.

A week ago, we had the chance to visit the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Sure we’ve done our fair share of internet research, looking at books, clips and lengthy discussions in rehearsal. But I must say, there was something that hit home experiencing the museum with the rest of the cast. In the center of the museum is a replica of a train cart that people were transported to and from the camps in. The train cart is about half the size of a CTA car. Standing in there with the cast and imagining 150-200 people crammed in there with us was a crazy experience. It was then that I truly got the sense of how crowded and miserable the conditions were. I think it’s safe to say that we all left with an overwhelming amount of knowledge as well as some great images to draw from.

I think the great thing about this particular show is that it really sheds light on the hope and creativity that can exist in such desperate times. It can be a lot to act in or watch a show that deals with the Holocaust, but thankfully, playwright Michael Slade has included many great lighter moments of play. After all, we are portraying kids and well… kids will be kids. Games, Art, First Loves, you name it, we’ve got it and we are having an absolute blast working together both onstage and off! I know we all look forward to seeing you in the audience! In the meantime, we’ll hit the pavement (or stage) and work on creating the best show possible. See you soon!

Spotlight on Our Dramaturg

2010-09-29T15:17:00.006-05:00

Spotlight on
Our Dramaturg
ASC Ensemble Member Brian Bell

Because this play is a historical piece, set during such an important world event, ASC is committed to making the details of the play as accurate as possible. To that end, there is an addition role on the design team, that of the dramaturg. I recently had the opportunity to ask our dramaturg, Brian Bell, a few questions about his job. He was kind enough to give us a glimpse into the work he is doing on the play, here’s what he had to say:

ASC: What is the role of a dramaturg in a play?
BB: The dramaturg is responsible for researching all the historical background on a play, as well as working with the director to make sure the story is told clearly. Often the dramaturg will also help edit or make cuts to a particular play, and will work as a liaison with the playwright to help make the play as strong as possible and keep the original message clear in the production. This basically means lots of time in the library doing research as well as reading and re-reading the play many times to become an expert on the text.

ASC: What excites you most about this play?
BB: I'm really excited about the huge amount of art that was created by these children in such desperate circumstances. I think what is really powerful about this play is the use of the actual poems and pictures from the children of Terezin, as well as the scenes where the children perform for each other. The skits and puppet show that they put on in the story are highly imaginative moments in an otherwise very bleak reality. I think those scenes are going to be very entertaining and quite powerful.

ASC: What do you want the design team to keep in mind?
BB: I think there is an opportunity in this play to make some really bold, exciting design choices and take this play out of the realm of realism. I think that this is really important not only to experience the creative world of the children but also to see a contrast between it and the reality of their tragic circumstances. From the beginning, Tom (the director) and I have been talking about design choices that would exaggerate or heighten the emotional reality of these characters. And if our preliminary design meetings are any indication, I'm quite sure the design team is making some really exciting choices. I can't wait to see where we end up!

ASC: What type of materials do you provide the actors?
BB: I provide the actors with as much information about the time period, the circumstances of the Holocaust, and the everyday lives of the children in the camp as possible. I created a packet of information for the actors, in an attempt to give them a broad overview of these topics without overwhelming them. We have also provided examples of the artwork created by the children in Terezin, pictures of the children themselves and biographies of some of those that were very active in creating 'Vedem', the magazine that was secretly produced in the boy's barracks. It is my hope that with these tools, the actors will be able to have a greater understanding of the lives of the characters they are portraying. I'll also be present during the rehearsal process to help answer any questions about the historical figures and events in the play.

ASC: Why should families come to this show?
BB: The play is about courage despite hardship, and the power of the creative spirit in the worst circumstances imaginable. I think families will be able to identify with the characters in the story, and that they will recognize elements of themselves in those characters. I think this story is important for our culture, not only as an act of remembrance but also as a positive example of the transformative power of art in our lives.

ASC: What would you like kids and adults to talk about as they leave?
BB: I would hope they would talk about the characters' personalities; about what made them respond the way they did to their environment. Also the type of art that each character made (plays, poems, pictures, music) and what that meant to them. I also hope that the play makes kids and adults think about the role of art in their own lives, and that they would talk about what kind of art they like; be it movies or video games, poetry or music, theatre or visual art. I would love to see those conversations continue outside the theater.

Introducing our brand new Family Workshop Saturday Series!

2010-09-22T10:25:00.002-05:00

I asked Merissa, our Director of Education, to talk a little bit about our new Workshop Series and the inspiration behind it. Enjoy!

In summer of 2009 I went to a theater educator conference in New York. In addition to the many lectures, panels, and presentations, there were many workshops offered.

I decided to take a juggling workshop, thinking it would be a great way to take a break from the more heady academic fare. I was really surprised at how much fun I had! The workshop was lead by a representative from the New Victory Theater in NY. They told us that they teach similar workshops for families throughout the year. Hearing that made a light bulb turn on for me... Since I came to ASC almost 4 years ago, we've offered a variety of pre-show workshops for kids. The focus of each workshop was to prepare the kids to see the show by exploring the themes of the play through discussions and activities. In the last season we tried inviting the adults in the family to participate as well, with mixed response. What my experience in NY inspired me to try with this upcoming season is to offer a series of skill based workshops throughout the year that is geared toward the whole family.

We used our partnership with 500 Clown (performing a world premier in our theater this spring) as a jumping off point. This year we will offer a variety of workshops, from juggling, mime and stilt walking, to storytelling and stage combat. I'm really excited about adults and children learning new skills side by side. I believe that when parents can model risk taking and stretching out of their comfort zone, kids respect them even more and are more willing to engage in that kind of brave behavior themselves.

Some of our workshops happen in the morning before a show, so we hope families will come for the workshop, go out for lunch and return in the afternoon for the show- what a fun way to spend a day as a family! This whole year is going to be a big experiment, but one that promises to be a ton of fun! For a full description and dates of the upcoming workshops, take a look at the Family Workshops page under workshops and camps. I hope to see your family at one of these exciting workshops!!!

Finding inspiration in Minneapolis

2010-09-10T20:12:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago Tom, ASC's Artistic Producing Director, and I, the Education Director, had the opportunity to head out to Minneapolis for the Children's Theater Company, Neighborhood Bridges Conference. Neighborhood Bridges is a creative writing, critical literacy, storytelling and drama residency program that CTC developed over a decade ago. (If you want to know more about this awesome program take a look at our website, under for teachers)

4 years ago CTC received a grant to disseminate the program across the country to theater companies like ASC. We were lucky enough to be chosen as a national partner and are about to begin our fourth year delivering the program to CPS students across the city. Attending the conference was a blast! There were so many like-minded people in the room, sharing tips, games, successes and challenges, I feel like in the 3 short days of the conference I learned so much! Having Tom there was also great, many other organizations commented on how unusual it is to have an Artistic Director making such a commitment to an Education program and offering so much support. I was really proud of the successes we were able to share with the group and feel that they had so much to share with us as well! I learned so much from the keynote speaker, Dr. Stuart Brown, author of "Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul" about the importance of play in the development of children. NB founder, author, and renowned expert on fairy tales, Jack Zipes, also inspired us with a lecture on public spheres- He is man charged with endless energy and not afraid to speak his mind, what an honor to hear him speak! All in all, it was the best conference I attended this summer (and I went to several) and I am fired up to put many new ideas into practice right away!!!

Minneapolis Skyline