Save the Date: SOC Season of Celebration on October 26

Join Season of Concern on Monday, October 26 at Steppenwolf Theatre as they celebrate the legacy of beloved Chicago theatre artists, Tommy Biscotto and Pat Miller, who have inspired thirty years of service to the Chicago theatre community through the Biscotto/Miller Fund. It will be an evening of song and celebration! Details to come soon!

AIDS Run and Walk Chicago

On Saturday, September 26 at Soldier Field, Team Season of Concern will be participating in the AIDS Run & Walk Chicago 2015. We are thrilled to have been selected as one of the Community Direct organizations that raises funds through the AIDS Run & Walk. In short, we are raising money to save lives.

We would love to have as many people on our team as possible, representing the breadth and diversity of the Chicago theatre community! If you are interested in joining Team Season of Concern, please contact Scott Duff at scott@seasonofconcern.org for more information!

This has been a challenging year for our community. Let's come together to honor those lost and celebrate our strength! Interested in sponsoring our team, but you have a little hitch in your giddyap? You can donate your millions by clicking here!

Help us achieve a record breaking year!

A View from the Wings

Click Here to Register!

The Stage Managers' Association is hosting an all-day conference entitled:
A View from the Wings: Panel Discussions and Conversations with Chicago Stage Managers

Saturday, October 17th,  8am to 5pm 
 Steppenwolf Theatre's Yondorf Rehearsal Hall (758 North Ave, 2nd Floor)

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
 8:00am Check In, Registration, Continental Breakfast (provided by Matty K's Hardware on Lincoln Ave)
8:30am Welcome, SMA Organization Overview, Announcements
8:45am Session #1 Panel - "Working in Store Front Type Theatres: You're going to need a bigger tackle box!"
10:00am Break
10:15am Session #2 Panel - "Working Under an AEA CAT (Chicago Area Theatre) Contract"
12:00pm Lunch (provided by Grand Stage Lighting of Chicago)
1:00pm Session #3 - "Services Available to SMs"
2:15pm Break
2:30pm Session #4 - "Round Table Discussion Focused on Career Advice"
3:45pm Break
4:00pm Wrap Up, Networking Pizza Party (provided by the League of Chicago Theatres)
5:00pm End of Day

PANEL DESCRIPTIONS 
“Working in Store Front Type Theatres: You’re going to needed a bigger tackle box!” - Discussion moderated by Ellen Willett with store front stage managers Jennifer Aparicio, Lindsey Miller, Lauren Yarbrough and Stephanie Hurowitz

 “Working Under an Actors' Equity CAT (Chicago Area Theatre) Contract” - Explore what is unique about the contract and how the Tiers differ. Discussion moderated by Mary Hungerford with CAT stage managers Malcolm Ewen, Sara Gammage, Dennis Conners, Nora Mally and Jonathan Nook 

“Services Available to SMs” - Discussion led by Barbara Butts covering The League of Chicago Theatres, Matty K's Hardware, the Non Union Code of Conduct and others.

 "Round Table Discussion Focused on Career Advice" will be led by JoHannah Hail with Stage Managers Nora Mally, Dennis Conners, Nykol Dedreu, and Jeff Williams covering different areas of career advice.

MORE INFORMATION
A continental breakfast is being sponsored by Matty K’s Hardware on Lincoln Ave.
A box lunch will be sponsored by Grand Stage Lighting of Chicago.
A networking pizza party, sponsored by the League of Chicago Theatres, will wrap up the afternoon.
Due to Steppenwolf’s matinee, there is limited parking. The rehearsal hall is located ½ block east of the CTA North & Clybourn Red line stop.

REGISTRATION 
The cost of admission is $15 for all SMA members, $30 for non-member Students and $50 for all other non-member attendees. Non SMA Member admission to the conference will include a 1 year membership to the SMA, with the $25 initiation fee waived.

Click here to register

Art + Nature = HOMES / Tied by Water

Nature called and Moheb Soliman answered. The poet, performance artist, and Joyce Foundation Fellow is tracing the entire Great Lakes coastline by land, from June through October, for his work-in-progress HOMES / Tied by Water. His project focuses on nature, modernity, identity, belonging, and more. When Moheb reaches Chicago, The Joyce Foundation and Silk Road Rising will host a special FREE event, on Sept. 3 at 5:30 pm, with a reception for the artist, followed by a performance and a Q&A. You're invited to this unique discussion intersecting art, environment, and identity. Just reserve your FREE seat here. And in the meantime, check out some photos from Moheb's journey along the Great Lakes >>

Industry Ticket Offers

For a complete list of industry ticket offers available click here. To submit an industry ticket offer for listing email ben@chicagoplays.com.

The Lyons - AstonRep Theatre at the Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark Street is offering $10 industry tickets to any performance through September 27th. Please email info@astonrep.com or call 773-828-9129 to reserve your tickets and mention INDUSTRY. Walk-up industry tickets also available.

The Rainmaker - American Blues Theater at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln, is offering a limited number of $10 Industry tickets for preview performances August 28 - 30. Discounted tickets are available using promo code SNOOKIE online at AmericanBluesTheater.com or by calling 773-404-7336.

How the World Began - Rivendell Theatre - 5779 N. Ridge, invites theatres involved in new play development to a special industry night on Tuesday, September 8th including Libations and Conversations "New Work" networking event at 6:30pm with conversation focused on new play development, the challenges inherent in producing new work and maybe even a little brainstorming session on how we can work together communally to support the production of new work in Chicago, and a performance at 8PM.  Space is available on a first come first serve basis. RSVP to Trisha Hooper by Friday, September 4th at trisha@rivendelltheatre.org or call 773-334-7728.

The Madhatter’s Maritime Ball - Lookingglass Theatre Company is pleased to offer theater industry members a discounted ticket to the most unique fundraiser of the summer: The Madhatter’s Ball on Saturday, August 29, 2015. For the first time ever the event will be held inside the historic Water Works on Michigan Avenue which will be transformed into a nautical wonderland featuring food, drinks, dancing, acrobats, magic, a silent auction and raffle. $45 industry tickets are available via phone only with code INDUSTRY45 at 312-337-0665. Subject to availability. Please do not post this offer on social media. More information about the event at www.lookingglasstheatre.org/madhatters.

Sucker Punch - Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, is offering a limited number of $15 (reg. $20-$45) Industry tickets for preview performances September 18-24. Discounted tickets are available using promo code INDUSTRY online at Victorygardens.org or by calling 773-871-3000.

The Price - TimeLine Theatre Company, 615 W. Wellington Ave. is offering $15 industry tickets for any performance through Labor Day with code INDUSTRY15 (subject to availability). For tickets call 773-281-8463 x 6 or visit www.timelinetheatre.com.

September Chicago Green Theatre Alliance Meeting

Thursday, September 24, 2015, 3:30 - 5PM
Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood
Please join us for the the next meeting of the Chicago Green Theatre Alliance! We'll hear updates from the committees and discuss plans for a Fall Textile Drive. Click here to RSVP for the meeting.

Final Week to Submit for Blue Ink 2016

The 2016 Blue Ink Playwriting Award is currently open and will continue accepting submissions through August 31, 2015.

As announced previously, the winning script will be selected by Producing Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and the theater’s award-winning Ensemble. The winner of this annual competition will be awarded the Blue Ink Playwriting Award of $1,000 and receive a staged-reading at American Blues Theater in Chicago.

The Blue Ink Playwriting Award was created in 2010 to support new work. Previous winners include Jamie Pachino’s Other Than Honorable (2015) Douglas Post’s Comden Mall Community Activists (2014), Elaine Romero’s Graveyard of Empires (2013), Christina Gorman’s American Myth (2012), and Stephanie Walker’s American Home(2011). In addition we’ve named 2 runners up, 13 finalists, and 31 semi-finalists. American Blues Theater gave out $1,500 in cash prizes in 2015.

For submission guidelines click here and more information about American Blues Theater, please visit our website AmericanBluesTheater.com.

Inaugural Chicago MOMENT WORK Training Lab with Tectonic Theater Project

Learn the technique behind The Laramie Project with 2015 Chicago Training Lab Instructors Leigh Fondakowski (writer/director of TimeLine Theatre's upcoming Spill this season) and actress Kelli Simpkins.  Discover Moment Work, Tectonic's groundbreaking method for devised theater developed by Moisés Kaufman and members of Tectonic Theater Project. Moment Work encourages participants to actively engage with the elements of the stage—exploring lights, sound, costumes, movement, character, text, and architecture—to discover their full theatrical potential and inherent poetry. In this innovative and instructive Lab, participants work in an intimate, hands-on intensive to learn the technique used to create award-winning works like The Laramie Project Cyle, Gross Indecency, I Am My Own Wife, One Arm and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, and guided the performances of Jane Fonda and Tony-winner Jefferson Mays. Moment Work is a technique for theater artists of all backgrounds and specialties to explore new ways to develop work.

CHICAGO DETAILS:
Friday, September 11 • 6:30pm - 10:30pm
Saturday, September 12 • 10am - 6pm
Sunday, September 13 • 10am - 6pm
Lab Fee • $250

Location:
TimeLine Theatre Company 615 W. Wellington Ave. Chicago

REGISTER NOW

Implementing Ideas from the LEAD Conference at your Cultural Space

Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium (CCAC) 
Thursday, September 24, 2015 from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM (CDT) 
Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanter Meeting Center 
 220 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611
It's back to school time, and that means we're back to work making Chicago's cultural institutions more accessible! In August, many of us will attend the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) conference hosted by the Kennedy Center in Arlington, VA. We're eager to share information and insight on multiple topics at LEAD. We will offer small group discussions with opportunities to ask questions and join in the conversation. Whether or not you were able to attend LEAD, please participate and help us set goals to make our Chicago area cultural institutions more accessible for people with disabilities. Join us to informally review ideas from LEAD and acquire information on tools and resources to implement new ideas at your cultural institution!
FREE!
Learn more and register

Industry Ticket Offers

American Idiot - The Hypocrites at The Den Theatre's Heath Main Stage, 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave. is offering $10 industry tickets to any preview performance August 28 - September 5, subject to availability, when you use code industry10. Buy online at www.the-hypocrites.com.

Free Materials from EcoSet Consulting

EcoSet Consulting will be coming back to Chicago at the end of September to find homes for their client's gorgeous activation space from an event. Lots of amazing pieces including beautiful wood display units, walls and an awesome circular bar. This is your chance to help us create a “zero waste” environment and you can receive well constructed pieces for free and save them from landfill! We will even deliver it!

 1) Here is a materials list and photos of screen shots of the concepts as well as a full view photos of past years items to give you an idea of the set up. This year instead of all wood veneer, they have added brick backsplashes and side panels.

Please indicate the items you are requesting and be specific according to the materials list provided.

Most of the pieces are 10' long and 10' tall. They are basically 2' wide with some sections having a 3.5' W x 10' H end cap.

2) Tell us how you plan on using the items. We do a recap for the client and like to showcase where these materials went and how they benefitted the local community. It gives a real tangible element to the donation and demonstrates why these items are not “trash”.

3) Also indicate how much labor you will have to unload. We have a lot of stops and need to do this quickly so you must assist us to expedite the delivery.

Please feel free to pass this on to anyone in your network that you think might be interested. We are based in Los Angeles so I am trying to build my reuse network in Chicago.

Contact: Amy Hammes at donations@ecosetconsulting.com.

Industry Ticket Offers

The Price - TimeLine Theatre Company, 615 W. Wellington Ave. is offering $15 industry tickets to any preview performance August 18 - 26, subject to availability, when you use code INDUSTRY15. Buy online or call the TimeLine Box Office at 773.281.8463 x6.