Jon Robin Baitz's TEN UNKNOWNS Runs at Athenaeum Theater 4/23-5/29

This spring, Will Act For Food will be bringing Ten Unknowns, by Jon Robin Baitz, to life for the first time on a Chicago stage. WAFF Executive Director Scott Pasko directs, and the play will feature all original oil paintings by Andrew Jordan.

Once-lauded New York painter Malcolm Raphelson found himself out of favor and out of work when abstract expressionism came into fashion, driving him to flee to rural Mexico to live in self-inflicted exile. Some forty years later, he has been rediscovered by art dealer Trevor Fabricant, who risks everything to facilitate Malcolm's retrospective return to the art world and installs his former lover Judd as assistant (and babysitter). Complicating the plan is the appearance of Julia, an American graduate student studying endangered frogs at the nearby lake, who simultaneously inspires and distracts Malcolm. It seems some endangered species just don't want to be saved.

Nominated for five Lucille Lortel Awards (including outstanding play), and three Outer Critics Circle Awards when it debuted in 2001, Jon Robin Baitz's Ten Unknowns is a study of human relevance and artistic authenticity, as well as the often-conflicting relationship between art and commerce. WAFF is thrilled to present this thoughtful, haunting, and often funny play for artists and art appreciators alike.

Performances will take place at The Athenaeum Theatre, Studio 1, 2936 N. Southport, Thursdays-Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 3PM from April 23 to May 29, 2010. Members of the press are invited to a preview April 22 at 8PM. Tickets are $20, or $15 with nonperishable food donation (minimum 3 items), and $10 for students/seniors. More information can be found at www.willactforfood.com; tickets are available at Ticketmaster Outlets, by phone at 800-982-2787, at www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Athenaeum box office.

Cast: Neil Huff, Rachel Neuman, Dennis Newport, Ben Veatch

Director: Scott Pasko is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and holds a BFA in performance from Southern Oregon University. Scott performed as Faber in Will Act For Food's recent production of American Notes, and he directed their production of The House of Yes.

Playwright: Jon Robin Baitz is probably best known as the creator and head writer of the ABC program "Brothers and Sisters", as well as episodes of "The West Wing" and "Alias." Mr. Baitz was born in 1961 in Los Angeles, and grew up there, as well as in Brazil and South Africa. He is the author of several acclaimed plays, including The Substance of Fire, A Fair Country, and Ten Unknowns, all of which were produced by Lincoln Center Theatre in New York. Earlier work includes The Film Society, Mizlansky/Zilinsky and Three Hotels, as well as a new version of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler for The Geffen Theatre, which was produced with Annette Bening in 1999 before a Broadway run in 2001. He is the recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation Award, a Drama Desk Award, is a Guggenheim Fellow, and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for A Fair Country. His film work includes People I know (2003), which starred Al Pacino, and The Substance of Fire (1996), starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Ron Rifkin and Tim Hutton, which he also produced.

About the company (www.willactforfood.com)
Founded in 1997, Will Act For Food nourishes the Chicago community artistically and literally. We take a collaborative approach to theater, finding the light in darkness, revealing truth within fiction and celebrating the absurd in the everyday. By offering discounted admission in exchange for non-perishable food donations, we empower our audiences to help feed those in need.

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