The Tragedy of Jennifer, Brad and Angelina, as Performed by the Members of Blackbeard Theatre in their Last Production Due to the Recession.
"A play about putting on a show."
When a small Chicago theatre company struggles to survive, they opt to seduce their audience by telling "America's love story," with much debate amoung the company members. A ridiculously serious account of the historical events surrounding the dazzling marriage and surprising break up of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, and an honest look into the inner workings of a theatre company on the fringe, The Tragedy of Jennifer, Brad and Angelina is a show not to be missed!
Directed by Danielle Holtz
Concept by Danny Volk
Design by Heather Nels Olsen
Written by Danielle Holtz, Daniel Jackson, Bernadette Johnston-Peck,
Danny Volk and Robert Walter
Friday, August 14 - Sunday September 6th
at the Side Project
1439 West Jarvis
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm
Sundays at 3pm
$20 General Admission
$15 Students/Seniors/Industry
Thursdays and Sundays are Pay What You Will
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Production Stills!
Clockwise from bottom: Katy Neilsen (Judy), Emily Fosgren (Potter), Andrew Strenk (Frank), Ryan Washabaugh (Louie), Yolanda Davis (Alice), Whitney Derendinger (Irv)
The full cast of Into the Pool; or the Cheshire Cat Mourns the Death of the American Dream.
Frank (Andrew Strenk) confronts the memory of Judy (Katy Neilsen).
Alice (Yolanda Davis) and Louie (Ryan Washabaugh) dig up a forgotten memory.
Alice (Yolanda Davis) and Louie (Ryan Washabaugh) dig up a forgotten memory.Friday, November 21, 2008
Into the Pool
Last night was our public reading of Into the Pool, or the Cheshire Cat Mourns the Death of the American Dream.
We had five workshops of the text before our public reading, which was of great benefit to the playwright and to our cast. They were able to spend time truly collaborating on the voice of each character, which is an unique experience for both actor and author. The result was a night full of energy, laughs, and intrigue.
It is always amazing to me when an audience can connect so fully to just a reading of a script. There were no visuals, no blocking - just the text and the actor's voice. The audience was extraordinarily responsive to the story and the actors fed off their energy. It brings great comfort to me when I can find moments in life that prove theatre is alive and well in Chicago and last night was one of them. The idealist in me always wants to believe that good theatre can make a difference in the world - no matter how small that difference may be. I think Blackbird is steadily heading in that direction with Into the Pool.
We will be starting our rehearsal process December 1st, at which point there will be much more to blog about. Needless to say, we at Blackbird are all really looking forward to getting this show on it's feet. Thanks for reading!
We had five workshops of the text before our public reading, which was of great benefit to the playwright and to our cast. They were able to spend time truly collaborating on the voice of each character, which is an unique experience for both actor and author. The result was a night full of energy, laughs, and intrigue.
It is always amazing to me when an audience can connect so fully to just a reading of a script. There were no visuals, no blocking - just the text and the actor's voice. The audience was extraordinarily responsive to the story and the actors fed off their energy. It brings great comfort to me when I can find moments in life that prove theatre is alive and well in Chicago and last night was one of them. The idealist in me always wants to believe that good theatre can make a difference in the world - no matter how small that difference may be. I think Blackbird is steadily heading in that direction with Into the Pool.
We will be starting our rehearsal process December 1st, at which point there will be much more to blog about. Needless to say, we at Blackbird are all really looking forward to getting this show on it's feet. Thanks for reading!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Why Blog?
In an ideal world, theatre becomes a shared experience for its community. It is a moment in time that either resonates sharply with its audience, or fades quickly into memory. This ideal is rarely cherished in a world of mass marketing, of Jersey Boys and endlessly similar re-stagings of texts. It is easy to see why theatre is dying. As the concern of theatre owners becomes, "What will make money?" it becomes easier to cut corners and to forget why we make theatre in the first place.
I can't speak for the theatre community as an entirety, but I can tell you why Blackbird makes theatre. We believe that theatre gives us an open forum to present the world as it is to an audience, for better or for worse. And not to decide for our audience what is right and what is wrong, but rather to simply tell the story and let the audience decide for themselves. It allows us to showcase an issue, an idea, or a story that inspires thought, reflection and hopefully, change.
And specifically, from our mission: Blackbird Theatre Company is a group of artists whose mission is to theatrically express emotion with intellect, beauty with reason, and the way things are with the way things could be. Our aim is to critique contemporary culture by showcasing Utopian and Dystopian forms. We challenge our audiences and ourselves to find the balance between.
So why blog? It is a question I have pondered for quite some time. A theatre blog gives us another way to extend our voice into our community and to examine the questions that will be presented in our season.
Our first season has focused primarily on contemporary America. We started with Nicky Silver's The Altruists, a dark comedy of protesting in the 21st century, which asked us not what we believe in, but rather how we stand up for our beliefs.
James A. Herne's Margaret Fleming, a shocking tale of adultery from the 1890's, asked us to think about the female and male roles in the family and how (if at all) they have changed. It also begged the question - why was this so unbelievable to audiences 100 years ago and why does it seem so common today?
The upcoming world premiere of company member Daniel Jackson's play, Into the Pool or, the Cheshire Cat Mourns the Death of the American Dream, asks us to consider the stories we tell to our children. It also deals specifically with how we move forward with confidence in a world that seems to be barreling towards catastrophe. I'll write more about this show in the upcoming weeks, as our rehearsal process begins.
So why do we blog? To ask questions and to (hopefully) one day have some answers.
I can't speak for the theatre community as an entirety, but I can tell you why Blackbird makes theatre. We believe that theatre gives us an open forum to present the world as it is to an audience, for better or for worse. And not to decide for our audience what is right and what is wrong, but rather to simply tell the story and let the audience decide for themselves. It allows us to showcase an issue, an idea, or a story that inspires thought, reflection and hopefully, change.
And specifically, from our mission: Blackbird Theatre Company is a group of artists whose mission is to theatrically express emotion with intellect, beauty with reason, and the way things are with the way things could be. Our aim is to critique contemporary culture by showcasing Utopian and Dystopian forms. We challenge our audiences and ourselves to find the balance between.
So why blog? It is a question I have pondered for quite some time. A theatre blog gives us another way to extend our voice into our community and to examine the questions that will be presented in our season.
Our first season has focused primarily on contemporary America. We started with Nicky Silver's The Altruists, a dark comedy of protesting in the 21st century, which asked us not what we believe in, but rather how we stand up for our beliefs.
James A. Herne's Margaret Fleming, a shocking tale of adultery from the 1890's, asked us to think about the female and male roles in the family and how (if at all) they have changed. It also begged the question - why was this so unbelievable to audiences 100 years ago and why does it seem so common today?
The upcoming world premiere of company member Daniel Jackson's play, Into the Pool or, the Cheshire Cat Mourns the Death of the American Dream, asks us to consider the stories we tell to our children. It also deals specifically with how we move forward with confidence in a world that seems to be barreling towards catastrophe. I'll write more about this show in the upcoming weeks, as our rehearsal process begins.
So why do we blog? To ask questions and to (hopefully) one day have some answers.
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