Muse of Fire Theatre to Auction Off Lead Roles in ROMEO AND JULIET Reading

Muse of Fire Theatre Company today announced a unique fundraiser - a gourmet dinner and reading of Romeo and Juliet where the roles are auctioned off to the general public. No acting experience required! The event, catered by two-time James Beard Award winning Chef Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Café in Northbrook, is co-hosted by beloved local children's librarian Martha Meyer and Board Member Julie Fenton.

The fundraiser also includes a discussion with Muse of Fire's Artistic Director Jemma Alix Levy, who will direct the play this summer. "With our productions, we always try to bring our audiences into the world of the play," says Levy. "This event allows us to take it one step further. The public can participate directly in the first readthrough of the Romeo and Juliet script we are using for our summer production. They will effectively be the first step in our rehearsal process."

An online auction (run on eBay through PayPal's Giving Fund) opens April 21 and will remain open for ten days. Ten roles are available for bidding, as well as ten additional non-reading seats (2 roles and 2 non-reading seats were already claimed at a live silent auction in March). The bidding for each seat opens at $50. All proceeds from the auction will go to support Muse of Fire's free summer Shakespeare performances in Evanston and the North Shore.

The Star-Crossed Lovers Dinner and Reading will be held on June 20, 2014, at 7pm, in a private residence in Evanston. Winning bidders will be given the location for the event. Bidders must be 21 or older.

For over five years Muse of Fire Theatre Company has been delighting Evanston audiences and critics alike with their low-tech productions, which erase barriers between audience and actors, make Shakespeare's art accessible to all, and at the same time subtly challenge traditional interpretations of the plays. The Chicago Reader called 2013's production of The Taming of the Shrew, "the best you've ever seen, bar none".

This summer Muse of Fire expands its offerings by adding an additional show and an additional performance space. For three weekends in July, audiences in Ingraham Park can enjoy a family-friendly one-hour production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, directed by Andrew Biliter, Artistic Director of Evanston's Mudlark Children's Theatre. In August, a full-length production of Romeo and Juliet will take over Ingraham Park, and then will move indoors to the Evanston Public Library for five unforgettable evening performances, bringing new meaning to Juliet's quip to Romeo, "You kiss by th' book." As always, admission to all performances will be free.

The work of Muse of Fire is supported by the Evanston Cultural Fund, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.