Jackalope Theatre Company Stages THE KILLING OF MICHAEL X, Now thru 4/13

Jackalope Theatre Company, The Edgewater-based group which cultivates theatre that manifests the adventure deeply rooted in the American mythos, announces the second production in its sixth season. Jackalope's season continues with the world premiere of THE KILLING OF MICHAEL X written by Cory Hinkle and directed by Associate Artistic Director Kaiser Ahmed. It will play today, March 12 - April 13 at Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N. Broadway in Chicago. Tickets will be available starting February 7 through jackalopetheatre.org. The Press Performance is Monday, March 17 at 7:30pm.

THE KILLING OF MICHAEL X features Joanne Dubach, Andrew Goetten, Charlie Strater, Jared Fernley, and Kirstin Collins.

Somewhere in Middle America, teenagers Celia and Randy careen down a dark highway in a stolen Lexus. Cut to: Big Pharma, a disappearing brother, a femur unearthed in a backyard dig. As the mysteries mount and the body count rises, Celia goes in search of her revenge, but she keeps getting closer to her own loss. Every road trip movie ends with redemption, but will this one? Developed at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, the Playwright's Foundation's "In the Rough Series," the Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep, and New York Theater Workshop, Jackalope Theatre proudly presents THE KILLING OF MICHAEL X, a humorous, tragic, and intensely human world premiere.

The production team for THE KILLING OF MICHAEL X includes: Eleanor Kahn (scenic and props design), Artistic Associate Claire Sangster (lighting design), Delia Ridenour (costume design), Thomas Dixon (sound design and original music), Artistic Associate Alex Hand (Videography and Film), Neil Pandya (projection design), Peter DiCamillo (animation), Jen Dorman (poster design), Cody Spellman (dramaturgy), Jordan Siragusa (production stage manager), Natalie Weldon (assistant stage manager), Artist Director AJ Ware (co-producer), Director of Community Engagement Andrew Swanson (co-producer), and Ensemble Member Pat Whalen (associate producer).

Previews: March 12 - 14 at 8:00pm; March 15 at 7:30pm; March 16 at 3:00pm. Press Night: Monday, March 17 at 7:30pm. Regular Run: March 20 - April 13; Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm; Sunday at 3:00pm. Industry Performance: Monday, March 31 at 7:30pm. Tickets: $5 - $20, on sale February 7 via jackalopetheatre.org.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: Cory Hinkle's plays include The End of Beauty, A Disappearance in Two Parts, Little Eyes, Cipher, Phosphorescence, The Killing of Michael X, and SadGrrl13. Cory has been commissioned twice by the Guthrie Theater, and is one of several writers from Workhaus Collective to co-write Fissures (lost and found), which premiered at the Humana Festival in 2010. Other plays have been produced or developed at the Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep, The Workhaus Collective, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, HERE Arts Center, American Repertory Theatre, Minneapolis' Southern Theater, the Williamstown Theater Festival, SPF Summer Play Festival, The Great Plains Theatre Conference, New York Theatre Workshop, Ars Nova, Illusion Theater, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Salvage Vanguard, P73 Productions, Hangar Theater, and Red Eye, among others. Cory is the recipient of a McKnight Advancement Grant, two Jerome fellowships and a Jerome Travel and Study Grant. He is a former MacDowell Colony fellow, resident at the Hermitage Artist's Retreat and Tofte Lake Center. His work is published by Heinemann, Playscripts Inc. and Dramatic Publishing. He is an affiliated writer at the Playwrights' Center and he earned his M.F.A. in Playwriting from Brown University.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: Kaiser Zaki Ahmed is the Associate Artistic Director of Jackalope Theatre Company. He served as the Founding Artistic Director of the company from its inception in May of 2008 through the end of 2011. With Jackalope, Kaiser has directed Long Way Go Down (remounted at Theatre on the Lake 2013), The Administration Offers Our Answer as part of the 3rd Annual Living Newspapers Festival, Slaughter City, and he co-directed Jackalope's inaugural production The Last Exodus of American Men. A graduate of Columbia College Chicago's Theatre Directing program, Kaiser is also an Artistic Associate at The Artistic Home Theatre Company. A member there since 2005, he has directed House of Yes, the one-acts Two Men on a Train Platform, Memories from Dreamland and Last Days of Communism, and he will be directing the Chicago premiere of The Late Henry Moss, opening in summer 2014.

We cultivate theatre that manifests the adventure deeply rooted in the American mythos. For more information, visit www.jackalopetheatre.org.

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