Happy New Year!

Wishing all of you a very safe and happy New Year! Thanks for a great 2009 and we look forward to an exciting 2010.

Ghost Light Yoga

Broadway In Chicago is sponsoring a month of free Yoga Classes to all League Members.
Every Monday in February, 6:15 P.M. – 7:30 P.M.
Yoga on stage at the Bank of America Theatre with a certified instructor in the shadow of the ghost light. 18 W. Monroe, Chicago
The first 50 people to RSVP to the League will be registered into the date or dates that they request – the only requirement is to bring your own mat! The goal is for all of us to meet people we haven’t met before in an environment of health, happiness and peace.
Sign up for one or all classes (while spots are still available). RSVP to ben@chicagoplays.com with the date(s) you'd like to participate in the subject line. (February 1, 8, 15, and 22)

AND, if you are a theater that wants to continue this opportunity for community building email Deb Clapp (deb@chicagoplays.com) about sponsoring Ghost Light Yoga for March!

Outrageous Fortune

Theatre Development Fund has just released their new book, Outrageous Fortune, The Life and Times of the New American Play. TDF is convening discussions in nine cities across the country to discuss the findings of this book. The League is working with TDF on the Chicago convening.

The meeting will be on January 11 from 10AM – 1PM at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W Chicago. Managing leaders, artistic leaders, playwrights and funders are invited to participate. There will be a presentation of the findings from the book, break-out discussions and a re-assembling of the group to talk about the results of the break-out discussions.

Space is limited. Please RSVP to info@chicagoplays.com.

Industry Ticket Offer

Chicago Young Playwrights Festival - Pegasus Players is offering $5 tickets to previews and $10 tickets to all regular performances. Tickets may be purchased online or by telephone with the codeword "preview" for performances from January 7-10 and with code word"industry" for performances between January 15-31. Visit www.pegasusplayers.org or call (773) 878-9761, ext 17 to purchase tickets.

Industry Ticket Offer

Miracle on 34th Street - Porchlight Music Theatre at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., is offering $15 tickets to all industry/League members Saturday, January 2nd, at 2:30 and 8 p.m., and Sunday, January 3rd, at 2:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling 773-327-5252 and use the code "ACTOR", with proof of industry status.

Happy Holidays!

We wish you all peace, cheer, and safe travels this holiday season, and we look forward to a Happy New Year with many great things to come in 2010!

Industry Ticket Offer

Sleeping Beauty - Moscow Festival Ballet at the McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd.,Glen Ellyn. is offering $36 industry tickets for the Sunday, Jan. 10, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. performances. Tickets are available with a copy of this notice. Subject to availability. For more information call (630) 942-4000.

Performance Rental Space Available

Rent a space at Gorilla Tango Theatre in Chicago (Bucktown); easily accessible by “L” or bus, ample street parking available. Basic marketing, box-office services (online and phone), and rehearsal space is included (FREE) for all weekday and weekend timeslots. GTT runs shows 7 days per week, multiple shows per day; greatest potential for profit and greatest protection from loss for any self-producing company or individual. Mainstage space has 80-seat capacity – for pictures and more information visit http://www.gorillatango.com and click on “Producers Wanted” page, or contact Bryan Cohen at 215-407-8753 or bryan@gorillatango.com.

Rehearsal and Performance Space Available

Chicago Center for the Performing Arts has rehearsal and performance space available immediately. Call Joe Ford at 312-733-6000.

WORDS

Well, I’ve asked before, but I’m going to do it again – is there a sentence that describes who we are and what we do – are there specific words you would use? How about these?

Where drama lives
World-class theatre with Midwestern soul
Storefront to internationally renowned
A community on fire
Sophisticated and loud

I don’t know if I like any of these, but I like all of the ideas here. What do you think?

Deb

Chicago Theater Intern Networking Event

Monday, February 1, 2010, 6 - 8 p.m.
Yondorf Hall at the Steppenwolf Admin Building, 758 W. North Ave. 2nd Fl.
FREE
Meet and network with interns at other Chicago theater companies. Take part in breakout groups by job discipline led by established and emerging leaders in the Chicago theater community. Don't miss this unique opportunity to make connections and learn from the experience of leaders in the theatre community.

RSVP to ben@chicagoplays.com before Friday, January 29 to attend.

Mission Paradox: Marketing and Technology Workshop

Saturday, January 9, 2010, 1 - 4 p.m.
Hyde Park Arts Center, 5020 S. Cornell

You've heard a lot about the impact technology has had on Marketing. You know the importance of a good email marketing campaign and a well designed website. You've tried out Twitter. Played around with LinkedIn. But, despite your best efforts, you are not getting the results you are looking for.
It's time to change that.In this workshop you will learn how to:- Select the tools that are right for the work you do.- Understand the limitations of those tools and set proper expectations for how much they can impact your work.- Combine those tools with traditional marketing tactics to create an effective, comprehensive, marketing strategy.
And much more!
For more details visit www.squidoo.com/paradoxworkshop
Cost: $75, $65 for League members.
The workshop is only for 15 participants and seats are going fast.

Announcing 2nd Round of NEA New Play Development Program

To advance the American nonprofit theater's ability to provide meaningful support for new work, the program will provide financial support for playwrights and institutions developing outstanding new American plays, advance the field's ability to support the development process for new work, and disseminate information on effective models for developing outstanding new American plays.

Download the application and guidelines at
http://www.arenastage.org/npdp >

Participate on the New Play Development Program Blog andsign up for email updates at http://npdp.arenastage.org >

TIMELINE:
December 18, 2009: Your Intent to Apply is due.
January 29, 2010: Your postmarked Application is due.

Industry Ticket Offers

A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant – A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells St. is offering a pay what you can industry performance TONIGHT, December 14 at 8 p.m. For tickets call 312-943-8722.

The Pirates of Penzance - Light Opera Works at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson in Evanston, is offering half-price industry tickets on December 26 at 2 and 8 p.m., December 28 and 30 at 2 p.m. and January 2 at 8 p.m. For tickets call 847-869-6300 or visit www.LightOperaWorks.com and use code "Paradox." Tickets must be purchased in advance. No door sales.

UPDATE: Sketchbook Now Accepting Submissions

(UPDATE: Deadline extended to January 15, 2010.) Collaboraction is accepting all forms short plays, devised work submissions and director applications now through Jan. 15, 2010. For more information and to submit, visit collaboraction.org. SKETCHBOOK X is scheduled to run June 5 – 27 at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division Ave.

SKETCHBOOK is Collaboraction at its best: breaking down the walls that divide theater, music, visual art, video and the Internet. Selected from hundreds of submissions via the Internet, SKETCHBOOK once again brings together the collective talents of more than 200 pioneering directors, designers, actors, musicians and artists from Chicago and around the country for a jaw-dropping evening of creativity, experimentation and celebration.

A Template for Future Collaboration

I am very excited about the launch of fugardchicago2010.org. This website, created by Remy Bumppo, Court Theatre and TimeLine and sponsored by the League was the brainchild of the three theatres that discovered they were all doing Fugard shows this season. It is a superb example of ways in which we can collaborate. Check it out here

The best thing about this website is that we can use the basic site for other collaborations, so…if you and a couple other theatres want to do something like this or if there is some other way in which you feel your patrons would benefit from seeing a number of different shows in a season, you can use this site to promote that. If you would like to sell collaborative subscriptions, you can use the site to do that. All kinds of good stuff can happen.

The original three theatres will be using the site this season, but if you have something for the summer or for next season that you think would work well, let us know.

Deb

Industry Ticket Offer

It's a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play - American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron, is offering $10 industry rush tickets for the Thursday, December 10th performance at 8 p.m. Industry Rush tickets go on sale at the Box Office at 7:15 p.m. Please present head-shot, resume or equity card.

The Saints Now Accepting Grant Applications

The Saints, Volunteers for the Performing Arts, are now accepting applications from not-for-profit Chicago-area performing arts organizations for grants. To see qualifications and to download an application, go to www.saintschicago.org. Applications must be submitted by Jan. 30. If you have any questions or want more information, contact Dale Kuypers, Grants Chair, at grants4saints@sbcglobal.net.

Yale Institute for Music Theatre Now Accepting Applications

Now in its second year, the Yale Institute for Music Theatre, a collaboration between Yale School of Drama and Yale School of Music, endeavors to bridge the gap between graduate school and the professional world for gifted, emerging composers and playwrights. Developed as a laboratory for the creation of music theatre works, YIMT runs from June 13 to 27, 2010. Three works will be selected for workshop. The Institute is process-oriented. The selected composers and writers will be matched with directors, music directors, actors, and singers from New York and Yale to workshop the selected scripts/scores. The final week will culminate in public open rehearsals of each work. The writers will each receive a stipend of $1,000 plus travel and housing accommodations in New Haven. Submissions must be received by January 11, 2010. The three selections will be announced by March 1, 2009. Book musicals, opera, and other imaginative music-theatre projects are welcome. Only composers, playwrights, lyricists, or librettists who are current graduate students, as well as those who have graduated from an accredited degree granting institution (undergraduate or graduate) within the past five years, or are current Yale students, are eligible to apply.

Click here for this year's guidelines and application materials.
Questions? Contact: YIMT@yale.edu.

Chicago Fringe Festival Now Accepting Applications

The Chicago Fringe Festival (CFF) invites emerging and established performing artists from Chicago, the U.S. and beyond to showcase their work and add to the dialogue of theatrical art. The Festival also seeks to enhance the perception of Chicago as a major hub for theatre. CFF encourages performers to take bold risks by providing an avenue for affordable productions. It also seeks to bring in non-traditional theater-goers through a commitment to low ticket prices and outreach into communities not commonly represented. In this fashion, The Chicago Fringe Festival provides an avenue for diverse artists and audience members to connect in a singular and immediate way.

For more information and to apply: http://www.chicagofringe.org/perform.html

Request for Proposals: Shakespeare in American Communities

Shakespeare for a New Generation, part of the NEA’s Shakespeare in American Communities initiative, provides grants to professional theater companies to introduce middle and high school students to the power of live theater and William Shakespeare. Theater companies selected present productions of Shakespeare plays with accompanying educational activities to students from at least 10 schools in their communities.

The program period is June 1, 2010-May 31, 2011. Approximately 40 theater companies will be selected. The standard grant award is $25,000. Grants must be matched 1:1 with nonfederal funds. Deadline: January 20, 2010.

Visit http://www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org/ to download the Request for Proposals and to connect to Arts Midwest's eGRANT. Proposals must be completed through eGRANT.

Questions? Contact Christy Dickinson, program director at Arts Midwest at shakespeare@artsmidwest.org.

Attn: Drama and Improv Instructors

Do you work with a hilarious group of teen improvisors, sketch-writers, or stand-up commedians? The 2010 TEEN COMEDY FEST is now accepting submissions for individuals and groups of students between the ages of 13 and 19 to participate in our fourth annual festival. The Teen Comedy Fest is produced by the Chicago Improv Festival and features a variety of styles of teen comedy performance from across the country. Participants take part in workshops, performances, and inter-group jam sessions in this full-day event. For more information or an application, email festival director Emily Dugan at directordugan@gmail.com. Application deadline Jan 15, 2010.

Upcoming Events

There are a few community events coming up in the next couple weeks that we'd like to remind everyone about and encourage your attendance. Each event provides a fantastic opportunity for networking, conversation and to share a little holiday cheer. We hope to see you at one or all of them! Just follow the links below for more information and to RSVP.

Chicago Storefront Summit II - Sunday, December 6, 7 - 9 p.m. at DANK Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. Click here for more information.

'Tis the Season Holiday Party with Season of Concern - Monday, December 7, 6:30 p.m. at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division. Click here for more information.

Executive/Managing Director Roundtable - Monday, December 14, 6 - 8 p.m. at ComedySportz Theatre, 929 W. Belmont Ave. Click here for more information.

Arts Midwest Performing Arts Fund Grants

This fund supports the inter-state touring of professional performing artists throughout Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Grants are applied for and made directly to presenting organizations, and engagements must feature a professional performing artist or ensemble from anywhere outside the applicant’s state. The review of applications will begin on March 24, 2010 and continue until funds are depleted. Visit the Arts Midwest website for application guidelines and materials.

2010 CAAP Grants Application and Deadline

The Community Arts Assistance Program (CAAP) is an annual grant opportunity open to new, emerging and mid-career artists and nonprofit arts organizations. Applicants can request a maximum of $1,000 for projects that address specific professional and artistic development needs. Applications are available in mid-December and are due on January 25. The Department of Cultural Affairs is offering a series of Application Assistance Workshops to those interested in applying. More

Industry Ticket Offers

The Snow Queen - Victory Gardens Theater at the Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln, is offering $10 industry tickets Thursday, Dec. 3rd to Thursday, Dec. 10th . Available online, by phone or in person. Subject to availability. For tickets call 773-871-3000 or go to www.victorygardens.org and use promo code "INDUSTRY"

Holiday Divas - Theatre and Intepretation Center at Northwestern University is offering $5 off tickets to the two-night-only cabaret event featuring Ross Lehman, Susan Moniz and Hollis Resnik performing favorite and festive holiday classics. Performances take place December 7-8 at 8 p.m. Tickets: (847) 491-7282 or www.tic.northwestern.edu. Mention promo code: SING.

Industry Ticket Offers

It's a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play - American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron Street, is offering $10 industry rush tickets for the Thursday, December 3rd performance at 8 p.m. Industry Rush tickets go on sale at the Box Office 45 minutes prior to the performance. Please present a head-shot, resume or equity card at time of purchase.

Democracy - Eclipse Theatre Co. at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., is offering $10 industry tickets for the Thursday, December 3rd at 8 p.m., and Saturday, December 5th at 3 p.m. performances. Call the box office at 773-404-7336 and mention "industry discount". Visit www.eclipsetheatre.com for more details.