Woyzeck Project is Seeking Proposals

About Face Theatre, The Hypocrites, and Collaboraction announce The Woyzeck Project

Submission Deadline: February 14th, 2011

Woyzeck Project Description
Woyzeck Project is seeking proposals for artistic projects based on Georg Buchner’s Woyzeck, to be a part of the Woyzeck festival at the Chopin Theatre and Collaboraction space in May 2011. Woyzek was left unfinished by Buchner who died in 1837 prior to completing it. Since
then its fragments have fascinated avant-garde artists with a violent examination of what it means to be human. All pieces must be inspired in some way by Woyzeck, but in no way need to be straight adaptations.

For all categories, Woyzeck Project encourages applicants to be as creative as possible. Projects should run the gamut of creative expression in relationship to Woyzeck. Multi-media, video, dance, movement, devised pieces, panel discussions, play readings, street performances, one-person shows are all acceptable forms of expression for Woyzeck Project. Please do not hesitate to propose something, even if it stretches the limits of “traditional” theatre.

The Festival will consist of three types of projects:
1) Very short projects between 5-20 minutes. These will be performed as part of a performance party at Collaboraction. Some pieces may also be selected as curtain-raisers or lobby performances during the festival, leading up to the performance party.

You will be provided a performance space, a short tech rehearsal, rep stage lights, sound equipment and an operator. We will also provide the party. You provide all other production needs for your piece. You will receive no box office revenue.

2) Installation Art and/or Photography. A small group of artists will be selected for a curated gallery show in the Chopin’s lobby. We also encourage visual artists to collaborate with performance artists in the other categories.

3) Full length performance events based on Woyzeck. Events shall be between 60 and 90 minutes. These will have one featured slot in the festival, and will be performed on stage at the Chopin Theater. We will provide performance space, a technical rehearsal, sound, lights
and an operator. You provide all other production needs.

To submit: One Page Project Proposal. In one page please provide a detailed description of your proposed project.

One-Page Bio/Production History
On a second page, please provide bio of lead artists and history of producing organization. Be sure to include specifics regarding any extraordinary technical requirements.

Submission Details: Email literary@aboutfacetheatre.com with all submission materials. Put Woyzeck festival in the subject line. Be sure to include a primary contact person for your company in both the body of the email and in the attached documents.

Applicants will be notified of their acceptance to the Festival by Feb 21, 2011.

Submission Deadline: Feb 14, 2011

Submit all materials to literary@aboutfacetheatre.com. Please email literary@aboutfacetheatre.com with any questions.

Industry Ticket Offers

The Wedding - TUTA Theatre Chicago at Chopin Theatre Studio Stage, 1543 W. Division, is offering $15 industry tickets to all Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. through March 6th. To redeem these specially priced tickets present a headshot, resume or business card at the box office day of performance. For more information http://www.tutato.com/.

reasons to be pretty - Profiles Theatre, 4147 N. Broadway, is offering $15 industry tickets to all Wednesday performances at 8 p.m. through March 9th. Advance reservations are required and present a headshot, resume or business card at the box office when attending. For reservations, call (773) 549-1815.

Jailbait - Profiles Theatre at The Second Stage, 3408 N. Sheffield, is offering $15 industry tickets to all Thursday performances at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. through February 27. Advance reservations are required and present a headshot, resume or business card at the box office when attending. For reservations, call (773) 549-1815.

What Can We Do?

Last week we sent all the Aldermanic candidates (even those who are running unopposed) packets of information about Chicago theatre and a list of theatres in their wards. We also sent copies of those packets to each theatre in the ward. Please follow up with your aldermanic candidates by letting them know that you care about arts policy in the city and letting them know about all the great things you do in your ward. As we get responses from the candidates we will post them on our website. Don't know what's going on in your ward? Find out here.

Did you go to ArtsPowerChicago.com yet? Not only can you sign the petition theatre, but there is lots of good info.

What can we do to help? Do you need talking points? Need a template for a letter? Email us or give us a call, we would be more than happy to work with you to develop something.

Look in your inboxes next week for an invitation to the Mayoral Debate on February 17. I hope to see you all there.

Deb

The Alternative History of Chicago Theater (Abridged)

Wednesday, March 2 2011 @ 7:00pm
Chopin Theatre
1543 W Division
Chicago , IL 60622

Presented by Chicago Public Media (WBEZ-Chicago)

In the past ten years, Chicago has emerged as America’s Theater City. With institutions like The Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and Victory Gardens Theater as well as a host of smaller storefront and itinerant groups, including Theater Oobleck, The House Theatre, and WNEP Theater – when talking about the stage, Chicago is no longer the second city.

And while the history of Chicago’s theater scene is well documented from A Theater of Our Own: A History and a Memoir of 1,001 Nights in Chicago by long time Chicago Tribune critic Richard Christiansen, and Jeffrey Sweet’s Something Wonderful Right Away (an oral history of Chicago's The Second City troupe), missing from the written histories is a seedier, funnier past known only to those that were there.

Join WBEZ Dueling Critics Kelly Kleiman and Jonathan Arbarbanel and a panel of distinguished Chicago theater experts – including critic Albert Williams, Broadway actreress Kate Buddeke, and Victory Gardens' founder Dennis Zacek – as they tell of their favorite moments watching and creating theater over the past six decades. The evening will also include original pieces created and performed by sketch comedy group Robot vs. Dinosaur, spoken word troupe BoyGirlBoyGirl, fringe theater companies The Plagiarists and RoShamBo Theater, and southside educational theater company Tofu Chitlin' Circut. Reception to follow.

Admission:
$15/general admission
$12/WBEZ members
$10/students (with valid ID)

Click here to buy tickets

Spring Space Availability at The Building Stage

The Building Stage is available to rent for performance from March 1 through April 24. Contact Blake Montgomery at blake@buildingstage.com or 312-933-4858 for information or to arrange a site visit.

Industry Ticket Offers

Three Tall Women - Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis, is offering $10 industry rush tickets. Rush tickets can be purchased in person at the box office beginning one hour before curtain, and are subject to availability. This offer applies to all performances but Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday performances tend to have the best chance of availability. One industry rush ticket per person, proof of industry (H/R, business card, etc.) required.

Conviction - Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, is offering industry comps to previews February 3, 4 and 5 at 7:30 PM and February 6 at 3 PM. Bring Valid Credentials; On First Come Basis at the Door. Visit http://www.convictiononstage.com/ for more information.

Odradek by Brett Neveu - The House Theatre of Chicago at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., offers $10 industry rush tickets available at all performances pending availability one prior to curtain at the box office window through March 5, 2011.

Join TCG's Town Hall Discussions: The Artist-Theatre Relationship

As part of their current Field Conversations between independent artists and theatres, TCG is encouraging theatres to organize Town Hall meetings in which artists and theatres talk openly about successes and challenges they face in working together.

Participation is entirely voluntary - just fill out the "Join-In Form", and get started!

Guidelines to help you structure your Town Hall:
- TCG will provide talking points taken from Roundtable conversations to be used as starting points for dialogue;
- Host one 3 hour session held between January 23 –February 15, 2011 on a date/time that works for your schedule;
- Meeting location is at your discretion – at your theatre if you have a facility, at a local coffee shop or via SKYPE;
- Meeting Size is at your discretion, but we ask that the participants include non-staff individual artists in your area, as well as theatre staff;
- Try to include a range of performing artist disciplines – including but not limited to actors, directors, playwrights, designers and dramaturges;
- Appoint a facilitator for the conversation – it could be someone on the theatre’s staff, an artist associated with the theatre, a theatre trustee or someone from your community, TCG does not expect you to formally contract a facilitator;
- Appoint a note taker to capture key discussion points, and report back to TCG on the key points form (link) by February 18, 5pm EDT;
- Notify Sarah McLellan if you can offer the option of calling into your meeting either via a landline or SKYPE. TCG Staff is trying to observe (listening, not participating in the discussion) as many of the Town Halls as possible.

If you have any questions, please contact Sarah McLellan at smclellan@tcg.org. Thank you for taking part in these important discussions!

Not for Profit Incorporation and Tax Exemption Workshop

Lawyers for the Creative Arts
Thursday, March 3, 2011, 5:30-9 p.m.
213 W. Institute Place, Ste. 403
The cost is $100 for one person, and $125 for two people.
This workshop will discuss whether to start a NFP, how to establish a NFP, as well as certain recurring operating problems. It will also cover in detail how to obtain a 501(c) (3) tax exemption and discuss several legal issues regarding maintaining tax exempt status. A full package of documents is included. Although this workshop is intended for artists of all types, it has been very popular with lawyers as well as it provides comprehensive coverage of the subject.
Please call LCA at 312-649-4111 to register.

Spring Space Availability at the Viaduct Theater

Viaduct Theater Mainstage available for $700 per week in March & April. Viaduct offers full-service bar, box office services, parking lot, wi-fi, PAV license, and new heating & air conditioning system. Contact whitney@viaducttheater.com or 773-544-4029.

Industry Ticket Offer

In Darfur - TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave. is offering $15 tickets for the Friday, January 21 preview at 8 P.M. For tickets call 773.281.8463 and mention this industry offer. Visit www.timelinetheatre.com for more information.

Have you made your voice heard?

Have you made your voice heard? Thanks to the Arts Alliance Illinois, all of the mayoral candidates have signed on to the Principles for a 21st Century Creative Chicago. That is fantastic news, it means that each candidate has said that the arts and arts education are important to them. The League sent letters and packets of information about Chicago theatre to all the candidates this week. It would be really awesome if you could write each of them a letter letting them know how important you are and it would be incredibly awesome if you exhorted your constituents to do the same. If you don’t know what to write, contact us, we can give you tips.

Two other things you can do…have you signed the petition yet? Please go to ArtsPowerChicago.com and add your name to the list of supporters in Chicago. AND…ask your supporters to do the same. Sign up for our advocacy training on Monday, January 24 – it’s a great opportunity to learn what to say and how to say it and it’s fun!

Chicago Theatre New Play Convening

The League of Chicago Theatres and Victory Gardens Theater will host a Chicago theatre new play convening in conjunction with the final day of the national new play convening, organized by the American Voices New Play Institute at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, entitled Scarcity to Abundance: Capturing the Moment for the New Work Sector.

The event will take place Saturday, Jan. 29 from 8:30am-1pm in the Richard Christiansen Theater at the Victory Gardens Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. Click here for VG Directions and Parking. Attendees will watch a live stream of the roundtable discussions from the national convening, and then participate in a moderated discussion of the topics within the context of the Chicago theatre community.

The national convening will focus on the following: identifying the rich and vital activity that already exists in the new play sector, exploring the gaps and challenges facing the field and strategizing the means of continued and closer collaboration to advance the new work infrastructure moving forward. In partnership with 2AMt, Arena Stage is setting up viewing parties across the country. Convenings are also taking place in Austin, Dallas, DC, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New Orleans, and San Francisco. All findings from these community discussions will be published on the 2AMt blog. In order to view live-streamed events, please access #NewPlay TV online at http://www.livestream.com/newplay. You can join the discussion on Twitter at #NewPlay

To attend please RSVP to ben@chicagoplays.com before Friday, January 28 at 5 p.m.

Conversations in the Arts with David Cromer

Conversations in the Arts: Fine and Performing Arts with David Cromer
Wednesday, February 23, 2011.
Register here: www.colum.edu/conversations

All lectures begin at 7:00 P.M. at the Film Row Cinema of Columbia College Chicago,
1104 S. Wabash Ave., on the 8th floor.

Interviewed by Chris Jones, chief theatre critic of the Chicago Tribune. This conversation will be held in association with Story Week Festival of Writers (March 13-19, 2011) and the Fiction Writing and Theatre Departments.

Industry Ticket Offer

The Boys Room by Joel Drake Johnson- Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. is offering $10 industry tickets to previews January 21 through 30th. For tickets call 773.871.3000 or http://www.victorygardens.org/ and use code INDUSTRY

Church/Pullman, WA by Young Jean Lee - Red Tape Theatre, 621 W. Belmont, is offering $5 industry tickets to previews January 27-29 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available at the door or through our website at www.redtapetheatre.org. Use the code: YJL005 and choose "More Prices." Contact Myah Shein at myahshein@gmail.com with questions.

Industry Ticket Offer

Eclipsed - Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd. Skokie, is offering $10 industry tickets available for performances January 13-22. Call 847-673-6300 and mention the code INDUSTRY to reserve. Proof of industry (headshot, business card, etc) requested upon ticket pickup.

Arts Power Chicago

What an exciting time to be a citizen of Chicago and to be involved in a real way in local politics. Can you do one simple thing right now? Go to ArtsPowerChicago.com and sign the petition, tell the candidates you care about the arts in Chicago. Just go do it, right now. Then come back and finish reading.

Great! Signing the petition is an important first step. The goal is to have 10,000 signatures on that petition, personally, I think we can do much better than that. What did you say? That was so much fun you want to do more? OK, post the link to the petition on your facebook page, tweet it, blog it, and if you really want to go crazy, send an email to your constituents urging them to sign it. Go do that, should take about 10 minutes, then come back and finish reading.

As promised the League has developed a page on our website where you can go for more information. There is lots more there. Go there.

Each Mayoral candidate has received a document that includes Principles for a 21st Century Creative Chicago. We are asking all candidates to sign on to that indicating their support for the arts in Chicago by tomorrow. You can find that document here.

If you are still looking for more ways to get involved, please see last week’s blog here.

Chicago is a world-class city and an extraordinary place to live because of our arts industry. Let’s make ourselves heard.

Industry Ticket Offer

Blithe Spirit - First Folio Theatre at Mayslake Hall, Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St. Oak Brook, is offering $10 industry tickets for Wednesday performances at 8 p.m. on February 2, 9 and 16th. Tickets are on an "as available" basis and may be purchased no sooner than 48 hours in advance. Professionals must bring a union card, a headshot/resume, tech resume, or business card indicating employment in the theater business. Tickets may be purchased by calling 630-986-8067.

Submit a Proposal for the 2011 Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference

Friday, January 15th, is the final day for panel and workshop submissions for the Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference in Chicago this summer. Conference will be held at Francis Parker School from July 20th-23rd.

Check the website for more information. Submit your proposal today!

Be a Part of Chicago Office of Tourism's Get Up and Go! Series

COT launched its Get Up And Go! Conversation Series in Summer 2010 to showcase Chicago's diverse communities, and offer visitors a fresh, local perspective on things to see, do and eat in the neighborhoods. This weekly series was presented in the Chicago Cultural Center's Visitor Information Center, and highlighted the city's arts, history and culture through moderated chats with experts from each week's featured neighborhood.

They are putting together the schedule for 2011's Get Up And Go! series, and would love for your neighborhood or community organization to be involved. This is an excellent opportunity for you to connect directly with tourists and entice leisure visitors to experience all the historical, cultural and culinary gems your neighborhood has to offer.

New for 2011, each weekly session at the Chicago Cultural Center will be followed by a free guided walking tour of that week's featured neighborhood, which will bring visitors directly into your community. We encourage you or a member of your organization to partner with us on planning or leading this tour of your neighborhood.

If you know of any additional partners in your community that might be interested in participating in this exciting program, please have them email us at info@chicagoofficeoftourism.org. Together, we can continue to promote Chicago's diverse communities and the many treasures to be found in our neighborhoods.

Gorilla Tango Theatre seeks Directors/Producers for Spring/Summer 2011.

Gorilla Tango Theatre is seeking Director/Producers who have a show or a project and are looking for a space! GTT makes producing simple – we provide all infrastructure (audition and rehearsal space, performance space, box-office, online ticketing, basic marketing), and you provide the show.

GTT is 100% legal – we’re licensed, insured, and we even have a liquor license and can serve you and your patrons alcohol. Yes, alcohol, you drunkies.

Check out our website at www.gorillatango.com and click on “Producers” to learn more about producing at Gorilla Tango Theatre or contact Dan at 773.598.4549, dan@gorillatango.com for more info.

Chicago Elections

For the next few weeks, this blog will be all about Chicago’s Mayoral and Aldermanic elections. I sincerely hope that you will all want to be involved in these elections in some way. We are going to be providing you with all the tools and information you need. We can make a difference in this election but we MUST make some noise. Arts funding and support gets cut because politicians think it doesn’t matter to their constituents. Let’s change that.

Here’s what you can start to do now. Think about what city support for theatre in general and for your theatre in particular means. What’s important to you? Is the shake up at the Department of Cultural Affairs something that you want to know more about? Is it something you are angry about? Is it important to you that the city continues to make an investment in the arts? Do you receive City Arts funding? Is that important to you? It goes without saying that each of our theatres is vital to the cultural fabric of our city, but you might have to remind politicians of that. Do a little “Wonderful Life” thinking about your theatre, if you weren’t there, what would the city lose? And, I’m sorry but you have to think about what’s important to politicians, voters and jobs and education and safety. How can you work yourselves into that? Why do I want you to think about these things? Because I want you to talk to your aldermanic candidates and the mayoral candidates about what is important to you and what you mean to this city.

The League is partnering with Arts Alliance Illinois to have an impact on this election. We will be providing the candidates with information about the arts in Chicago and encouraging them to develop an arts policy. We have a lot to lose in Chicago and we want to be sure that support for the arts is maintained in our city.

AAI is developing a website where you will be able to go for all kinds of information about the election and to learn about all kinds of ways you can be involved. That should be ready to go next week.

The League is developing a page on our website where you will be able to go and learn who is running for Alderman in your ward and what other theatres are in your ward – maybe you can all contact your Alderman together. That should also be ready to go next week.

We have developed a core principles document which will be shared with the candidates to assist them in developing an arts policy, the League will be sending theatre specific information to the candidates.

The League is co-sponsoring the ABC7 candidate debate on February 17 at 7:00 PM at the Oriental Theatre.

We will be sending a direct mail piece to the top 5-10,000 theatre goers in Chicago (determined from the Chicago Community Database), inviting them to examine the arts policies of the candidates.

We will be providing you with stuffers or curtain speeches, talking points, and frankly, whatever you tell us you need to get this job done.

Here’s a few things that we will be asking you to do:

Encourage candidates to develop an arts policy.

Let your Aldermanic candidates and Mayoral candidates know that the arts are important to you and your constituents.

Send emails to your constituents asking them to join you in letting the candidates know what is important to you.

AAI will be providing web stickers for your websites.

Do curtain speeches or stuffers, asking patrons to support the arts by speaking up.

Attend our advocacy training on January 24 (see the broadcast).

Invite candidates to your events.

Do any of it, do all of it, it is important. More next week.

Deb

Equipment Offer

Chicago Shakespeare Theater has an Amano Time Clock (model MJR8000N) that it no longer needs. Includes two racks for time cards, but no cards.
If interested, contact Susan Knill at 312/595-5655 or sknill@chicagoshakes.com.