Promethean presents works-in-progress

Posted by DCA Theater on September 1, 2009 in July-December 2009 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Promethean Theatre Ensemble

Promethean Theatre Ensemble entertained a crowd of about 50 people last night in the DCA Studio Theater with three excerpts from plays in development. Alan Bresloff of Steadstyle Chicago wrote a great summary of the night’s events. Click here to the review.

The event was presented as a part of INCUBATOR, a series designed to support the creation of new work by emerging Chicago theater companies. Utilizing Chicago DCA Theater space and resources, participants explore new projects, develop and refine styles, and share their process with the public during a special showcase event.

Don’t miss the next INCUBATOR series showcase performance by Striding Lion InterArts Workshop: Tuesday, September 29 at 7:30pm. Click here to make a reservation for this FREE event.

Ed’s photo blog

Posted by DCA Theater on August 28, 2009 in July-December 2009 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Promethean Theatre Ensemble

by Ed Rutherford, co-director of A Month of Development

Hi everyone.  We’re getting really close to the final performance and I can’t wait to show you what we’ve got.  No, literally, I can’t wait. So here are a few photos now!  Enjoy.

Paul Miller as Glinda/Nyarlathotep, Mistress of the Dark, about to cast a spell of awesomeness on our concert reading of “The Peculiar Case of Dorothy Gale.”

From the staging of “Over Insurance” My answer to the question: how do you quickly and effectively give the audience an overhead shot of two people in bed together, when you’re staging it live instead of shooting a movie?

All of my actors, hard at work on the Dorothy Gale script. From left to right: Fred Uebele doing stage directions, PTE ensemble member Nicole Hand as Aunt Emily, Tom McGrath as Howard Phillip Lowell, PTE ensemble member Devon Candura as Dorothy Gale, Annie Hogan as Miss Gulch, and Paul Miller as Glinda/Nyarlathotep.

All of my actors, hard at work on the Dorothy Gale script. From left to right: Fred Uebele doing stage directions, PTE ensemble member Nicole Hand as Aunt Emily, Tom McGrath as Howard Phillip Lowell, PTE ensemble member Devon Candura as Dorothy Gale, Annie Hogan as Miss Gulch, and Paul Miller as Glinda/Nyarlathotep.”

Worst Sock Puppet EVER

Posted by DCA Theater on August 27, 2009 in July-December 2009 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Promethean Theatre Ensemble

by Ed Rutherford, co-director of A Month of Development

Isn’t it a thing of repellent beauty? Meet Dickie, the Canary. He’s a (mercifully brief) presence in our staged performance of the John Collier short story “Over Insurance.” I made him (with HOURS of painstaking labor, can’t you tell?) a couple of days ago and we’ll be rehearsing with him tonight. Notice that it’s essentially a yellow(ish) sock with a cardboard cone stuck on the end. Still, this canary has a lot of personality. Seriously though, it’s ok to mock it- actually part of the humor of the piece comes from how ramshackle the production values are. I hope that when Dickie makes his appearance (on the arm of one of our guest artists, Paul Miller) it gets a laugh. I hope you’ll join me in finding out this Monday!

The Moonstone

Posted by DCA Theater on August 27, 2009 in July-December 2009 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Promethean Theatre Ensemble

by Brian Pastor, co-director, A Month of Development

The piece I’m developing through the Incubator program is a Victorian Detective novel called The Moonstone. It is widely considered the very first detective novel, though that term was not widespread at the time. In fact, its author, Wilkie Collins, called it a Romance.

The story is about a mysterious gemstone that is stolen from India and brought back to England. The stone is passed on to its owner’s niece after his mysterious death. Legend has it that the stone carries with it a curse, doomed to bring destruction to those who possess it.  The stone eventually disappears, setting up the mystery. The novel is broken down into three basic parts. The first part is a prologue describing how the stone got from India to England. The second is a long narrative by the butler describing the circumstances surrounding the stone’s arrival at the niece’s household and its subsequent disappearance. The final section is a series of accounts from each of the primary characters about their experience in solving the mystery.

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The One that Got Away

Posted by DCA Theater on August 24, 2009 in July-December 2009 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Promethean Theatre Ensemble

by Ed Rutherford, co-director of A Month of Development

We were very graciously given permission to workshop the stories that make up the John Collier script by the literary agent for the author’s estate, Harold Matson & Company.  But there was one more story that I wanted to include in the script that unfortunately the rights aren’t available for.  No big deal; he does have many other excellent stories, and rights are always a bit tricky when it comes to new stage adaptations of existing work.  But I did want to pause for a moment to give it a wistful goodbye.  The story is called De mortuis.  The title derives from the Latin phrase “De mortuis nil nisi bonum,” which is usually translated to mean “Of the dead, speak no evil.”  It was also adapted to become a TV episode on “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”.

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