American Theater Company Launches 'The Silver Project'

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American Theater Company (ATC) celebrates its 25th Anniversary with The Silver Project, a year-long festival of 30 world premiere short plays penned by some of the country's leading playwrights. The Silver Project will run over ten evenings between February 8, 2010 and June 20, 2010 at American Theater Company, 1909 W Byron St, Chicago.

In addition, ATC proudly announces the addition of three new ensemble members: Usman Ally, Patrick Andrews and Jaime Castañeda. They join fellow ensemble members Kareem Bandealy, Joseph Minoso, and Sadieh Rifai. Ally most recently starred in Victory Gardens' critically-acclaimed production of Kris Diaz's The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity; Andrews played the Emcee in Drury Lane Oakbrook's hit revival of Cabaret; and Castañeda will direct the world premiere of Diaz's Welcome to Arroyo's this spring at ATC.

To celebrate the company's 25th Anniversary, Artistic Director PJ Paparelli asked over 30 playwrights across the country to choose a year between 1985 and 2010 and write a short play that explores the company's mission: "what does it mean to be an American?" Directed and performed by over 50 Chicago artists, the plays will be presented in five parts throughout the year and as a complete cycle during the annual Theatre Communications Group Conference June 16-20, 2010 here in Chicago. As a prologue for the evening, Paparelli will collaborate with internationally-acclaimed Cuban playwright Maria Irene Fornes on a world premiere piece exploring America over the last 25 years.

"We are celebrating our anniversary by creating an historic event that brings together some of the country's leading playwrights with Chicago's most innovative artists to explore 25 years of American life," said Paparelli. "Both The Silver Project and our new ensemble members exemplify our company's future. We see ourselves as a theatrical crossroads for extraordinary artists that give voIce To America today."

THE PLAYWRIGHTS:
Usman Ally (Public Enemy and American Ethnic at Remy Bumppo thinkTank 2008/09)
Stephen Belber (Emmy-nominated writer of The Laramie Project and Tape)
Kristiana Rae Colon (Chicago Def Poet; writer of The Darkest Pit)
Kristoffer Diaz (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity and Welcome to Arroyo's)
Zayd Dohrn (Sick, Magic Forest Farm, Long Way Go Down)
Laura Eason (Sex with Strangers, Around the World in 80 Days)
Maria Irene Fornes (Promenade, Mud, The Conduct of Life)
Yussef el Guindi (Back of the Throat, Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat)
Steve Harper (Lions and Donkeys)
Andrew Hinderaker (Suicide, Incorporated at Gift Theatre, June 2010)
David Henry Hwang (Tony Award-winning writer of M. Butterfly)
Naomi Iizuka (Award winning writer of 36 Views; Language of Angels)
Laura Jacqmin (And When We Awoke There Was Light and Light, Ski Dubai)
Kyle Jarrow (Obie Award-winning writer of A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant)
Rolin Jones (The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow; Showtime's Weeds and Friday Night Lights)
Joel Drake Johnson (A Blue Moon, The Fall to Earth)
Stephen Karam (Speech & Debate, columbinus)
Nambi E. Kelley (Hope VI, How Kintu Became a Man)
Greg Kotis (Tony Award-winning writer of Urinetown, Yeast Nation, Pig Farm)
Joe Kraemer (The American Occupation; Literary Manager/Dramaturg of The Juilliard School's Drama Division)
Neil LaBute (Tony-nominated writer of reasons to be pretty; The Shape of Things)
Dan LeFranc (60 Miles to Silver Lake)
Craig Lucas (Pulitzer and Tony-nominated writer of Prelude to a Kiss, Light in the Piazza -book)
Laura Lynn MacDonald (Peer Gynt at Gorilla Rep, Mattress World with Blue Damen Pictures)
Rohina Malik (Unveiled)
Itamar Moses (Bach at Leipzig, Celebrity Row, The Four of Us)
Carlos Murillo (Dark Play or Stories for Boys, Diagram of a Paper Airplane)
Justin D. M. Palmer (As Fat as You Can, War with the Newts)
PJ Paparelli (columbinus, Raven Odyssey)
Joshua Rollins (American Rex)
Tanya Saracho (Our Lady of the Underpass, The House on Mango Street)
ReGina Taylor (Award winning writer of Crowns, Magnolia)
BrIan Tucker (ST. James Infirmary, Bathing Van Gogh)
Beau Willimon (Farragut North)

THE SILVER PROJECT SCHEDULE:
The Silver Project will be performed in 5 installments at American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron St. in Chicago.

Part 1: Monday, February 8, 2010 at 7:30pm
Part 2: Monday, March 1 at 7:30pm
Part 3: Monday, May 24 at 7:30pm
Part 4: Tuesday, June 1 at 7:30pm
Part 5: Monday, June 7 at 7:30pm
The Full Cycle (1985-2010): Wednesday, June 16 through 20 at 6pm each night.

Parking is available on the street and at the metered lot on the corner of Lincoln and Berenice. ATC is wheelchair accessible. Proceeds will benefit ATC's 25th Anniversary Campaign. For reservations or further information, call 773-409-4125 or visit www.atcweb.org.

NEW ATC ENSEMBLE MEMBERS:
Usman Ally was last seen in the world premiere of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Victory Gardens), Celebrity Row (American Theater Company), Tranquility Woods (Steppenwolf), Weapon of Mass Impact (Red Orchid), Relatively Close (Victory Gardens), Around the World in 80 Days (Baltimore Centerstage and Kansas City Rep) and Mary Zimmerman's Arabian Nights (Lookingglass). He wrote and starred in the hip-hop theatre productions of American Ethnic and Public Enemy at Remy Bumppo's thinkTank festivals. He received his MFA Magna Cum Laude from the University of Florida. His performance in ATC's Celebrity Row was named one of the Top 5 performances of 2008 by the NewCity Stage. Next at ATC, Usman will play Nelson Cardenal in the World Premiere of Welcome to Arroyo's. Born and raised in Southern and Eastern Africa, Usman calls Chicago home. Follow his writing at http://usmanally.blogspot.com

Patrick Andrews will next be seen with Tracy Letts and Francis Guinan in American Buffalo at Steppenwolf Theatre directed by Amy Morton, and most recently performed as the Emcee in Cabaret at Drury Lane Theatre and in the pop culture explosion Stupid Kids at About Face Theatre. Other Chicago Credits: The Benefit Readings of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later and The Laramie Project (About Face Theatre), the folk rock opera The Snow Queen (Victory

Gardens), The People's Temple and the regional premiere of Speech & Debate (American Theater Company), The Actor (Goodman), Willy Wonka (Chicago Shakespeare), Ellen Under Glass (House Theatre), Into the Woods and Oliver (Marriott Theatre), the physical adaptation of Dorian Gray, Dorian (Bailiwick.) He collaboratively created and performed in the House Theatre's award winning production The Sparrow (Steppenwolf, Apollo, Viaduct). Regional/Tour: West Side Story (Walnut Street Theatre, PA), Fosse (National Tour). He adapts 4th graders writing into plays from time to time with Barrel of Monkeys and loves getting the GLBTQA Youth Ensemble at About Face Theatre moving and shaking, and working with Black Box Acting Studio.

Jaime Castañeda was awarded a 2008 Princess Grace Fellowship with ATC where he assistant directed both versions of Topdog/Underdog and True West, and directed/co-wrote a new version of Blood Wedding co-written by Kristoffer Diaz. This season at ATC he will direct the World Premiere of Diaz's Welcome to Arroyo's. His directing credits include One for the Road (DirectorFest), Crave, Closer, Blue/Orange, Nocturne, Sonnets for an Old Century (FireStarter Productions), Red Light Winter (Perseverance Theatre), Attack of the Asians (Kennedy Center) This is How it Goes (Amphibian Stage Productions) Lincolnesque, A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant (Circle Theatre). Jaime has assistant directed shows at the Atlantic Theater Co., Old Globe Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Center Theatre Group and the recent revival of Speed the Plow on Broadway last season. He has received a Drama League
Fellowship, various Dallas/Fort Worth Critics awards and a TCG New Generations grant. Jaime currently works on the artistic staff of the Atlantic Theater Company in New York. He received his MFA in Directing at the University of Texas at Austin.

AMERICAN THEATER COMPANY

American Theater Company is an ensemble of artists committed to producing new and classic American stories that ask the question, "What does it mean to be an American?" We provide a truly intimate home for the community to experience meaningful stories. We foster a nurturing environment for artists to take risks and create essential work.

American Theater Company is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and CityArts II. Additional valuable support is provided by the Alphawood Foundation, the Bruce B. Boyd Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, the Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Mayer and Morris Kaplan Family Foundation, the Polk Bros. Foundation, and Prince Charitable Trust.