The Ruckus and Tympanic Theatre Announce Casting for BREWED

The Ruckus Theater and Tympanic Theatre announces casting for the world premiere of Brewed starting March 2, 2013 at Theater Wit in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. The script of Brewed is written by Ruckus Season 4 featured playwright Scott T. Barsotti and is directed by Chicago director Anna C. Bahow. The all-female cast of seven includes Dana Black (Next Theatre Company, Lifeline Theatre), Ruckus Ensemble Member Stevie Chaddock-Lambert (Ka-Tet Theatre, Strangeloop Theatre), Tympanic Company Member Charlotte Mae Ellison (Clockwise Theatre, Awkward Pause), MerEdith Lyons (The House Theatre, Theatre for People Who Need It) Ruckus Company Member Elise Mayfield (The Mammals, Infusion Theatre), Tympanic Artistic Associate Susan Myburgh (Right Brain Project, Chicago Fusion Theatre), and Erin Myers (The Mammals, 16th Street Theater).

Performances of Brewed begin March 2nd, with press opening on March 4th, and run through March 24th, 2013 at Theater Wit (1229 W. Belmont); performances are Thursday-Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7pm. Industry performance dates will be announced at a later date. Tickets are $17 and go on sale February 1st at theaterwit.org. The Ruckus is partially funded by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

In the world of Brewed, the task is stirring a pot...all day, every day. The six sisters don't share the task as they once did. With Nannette busy racing stock cars and Roxette off doing her own thing, the others are left to shoulder the burden. But Paulette is fed up; Collette is clueless; and Babette, crippled in more ways than one, is volatile. Juliette does her best to maintain order and civility...for now. But why must they do this? When one of the sisters calls everyone together, old venom bubbles up and grievance flares, setting into motion an impossible moral struggle. Join The Ruckus and Tympanic Theatre as they explore this new work about gatherings, sacrifice, and the dark art of obligation.

In preparation for and in celebration of Brewed, The Ruckus and Tympanic Theater will be hosting a joint fundraiser called The Brawl Ball on Sat. February 9th, 2013 at Victory Gardens Theater (2433 N. Lincoln) from 9pm-1am. Wear your best tuxedo or ball gown, pin on a boutonniere or slap on a corsage, and come join the kids from Tympanic Preparatory Academy and The Ruckus High School for Troubled Teens at the best prom you'll ever attend. Live music from local Chicago acts, games, a photo booth, and maybe a fight or two will make this a night to remember. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $15 beginning on Jan. 16th at ruckustheater.org and tympanictheatre.org or at the door for $20.

Playwright Scott T. Barsotti is a writer and performer originally from Pittsburgh, PA. Scott's original plays include Kill Me, The Revenants, Jet Black Chevrolet, Brewed, McMeekin Finds Out, and Your Teacher is Out Today and have been performed at many theatres nationwide. His adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Body Snatcher recently opened at Brisbane Arts Theatre in Queensland, Australia; also in 2012, The Revenants will be produced by Happy Medium Theatre in Boston, as well as New World Arts in Goshen, IN. His work has been seen at the New York International Fringe Festival, the Rhinoceros Theater Festival, and Collaboraction's Sketchbook, and has been produced and/or developed by WildClaw Theatre, Curious Theatre Branch, Chicago Dramatists, The Route 66 Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Playwrights, Roundelay Theatre Company, Theatre Seven of Chicago, American Theatre Company, Tympanic Theatre Company, The Ruckus, and The Visceral Company among others. He is currently adapting Geoffrey Hayes's children's book The Mystery of the Pirate Ghost for Lifeline Theatre's 2012-13 KidSeries season. As an actor, Scott has appeared with WildClaw Theatre, Lifeline Theatre, Curious Theatre Branch, The Mammals, WNEP Theater, Collaboraction, Pavement Group, and Victory Gardens, and he has designed movement for WildClaw and Strawdog Theatre. Scott is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists. For more information about Scott T. Barsotti, please visit his website at:
http://scottbarsotti.wordpress.com/.

Director Anna C. Bahow is committed to the development of new work. Anna is an Associate Artist at the side project, Premiere Theatre and Performance and Chicago Dramatists. She served as the 2011-2012 Michael Maggio Directing Fellow at Goodman Theatre, has received an After Dark Award for direction, and her productions have received JEFF Awards for New Work and Use of Multi-Media. Upcoming: The Extinction Project at Rhino Fest in January and February, Brewed with Ruckus and Tympanic Theatres in March, Comrades Mine at City Lit in April and Invasion! with Silk Road Rising this summer. World premieres include: 2009 JEFF recommended The Rocks, Laura Eason's Rewind- the side project, 2008 JEFF nominated Odin's Horse - Infamous Commonwealth ("Top Five Fringe List 2008" Chicago Tribune), Keith Huff's Gray City - PTP, Mark Young's New Orleans - side project ("Top Five Fringe List 2006" Chicago Tribune), St. Colm's Inch - Chicago Dramatists, Martin's Fury Shot (Special JEFF- use of Multi Media) - Timeline and Robert Koon's Vintage Red And The Dust Of The Road (JEFF Citation New Work, American Critics' Association Steinberg Nominee Best New Work Produced Outside NY).

About The Ruckus Theater

Founded by an industrious group of Michigan ex-pats, The Ruckus is composed of actors, directors, playwrights, musicians, casting directors, publicity managers, grant writers, baristas, grad students, poets, computer fixers, appointment-makers and census-takers who aim to create a new kind of company-a casteless theater that blends the lines between playwright and actor, audience and company member. The Ruckus Theater is led by Artistic Director Allison Shoemaker, Associate Artistic Director Joshua Davis and a company and ensemble of twenty.

We're here to create, to examine, to invent, to explode-to create a ruckus. The Ruckus develops new work and the artists who create that work. Our ensemble breaks down the walls of traditional methods to nurture new plays and challenge exceptional artists. We believe in creating our process for every project from the ground up. We commit to the growth of our ensemble, the artists we collaborate with, and the plays we develop. We aim to deepen the cultural bedrock of our community by giving megaphones to new voices and by making theater affordable. By fostering conversations that rip through the curtain, we aim to lead both artist and audience down an unexpected path with art that doesn't play by the rules.

See how we make a ruckus all over the internet on our blog, iruckus.blogspot.com; like us at facebook.com/theruckustheater; view our photostream at flickr.com/ruckustheater; follow our tweets at twitter.com/ruckustheater; and spend hours at youtube.com/theruckustheater.