Photo Flash: 'Everyman' Rock Ballet Runs June 18-21 At Vittum Theater

The original staging of Everyman (in April 2008 at Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater) was so successful that IDC wanted to take another crack at it and expose the work to a wider audience. This remount boasts newly honed choreography, with new talent and casting, coming together to create an even more crowd-pleasing show. Run details:
Performances at the Vittum Theater, 1012 N. Noble, Chicago, IL, 60622

Tickets at 773-342-4141 and www.adventurestage.org/pages/guest_presentations/64.php

Runs June 18, 19, and 20, 2009, at 8:00 p.m., and June 21, 2009, at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are $18 general admission, $15 students & seniors (with ID)/groups of 10+,
$60 Benefit Performance on 6/19
Plus the Thursday, June 18, show will have special pricing -add the dollar amount from a roll of the dice to a $5 base price.

Patrons of the Friday, June 19, show can choose to attend IDC's Benefit. For $60, Benefit attendees receive a ticket to the performance, as well as admittance to the post-show event at the Ritz Tango Cafe where there will be a tango lesson, an open bar, appetizers and desserts, and the opportunity to mingle with the IDC dancers and choreographers.

This 500-year-old allegorical tale explores the good and evil that is present in Everyman, and modern audiences will connect with the universal theme of making choices that lead to a life well lived. The choice to use an all-female cast for the ballet Everyman contributes to the conceit that the character of Everyman is indeed every human. While some of the characters in the allegory are in fact part of the whole person (Conscience, Good Deeds, Beauty, Intellect, Strength, the Five Senses), IDC emphasizes that everything and everyone-including friends, family, and death-are part of Everyman. What matters is not the gender, shape, color, or background of these characters, but that they are all part of the whole; we all face Everyman's dilemmas every day. Songs in the production include:

Wearing and Tearing, performed by Led Zeppelin
No Quarter, performed by Led Zeppelin
Gallows Pole, performed by Led Zeppelin
Ten Years Gone, performed by the Vitamin String Quartet
Down by the Seaside, performed by Robert Plant and Tori Amos
Since I've Been Loving You, performed by Led Zeppelin
The Ocean, performed by Led Zeppelin
D'Yer Mak'er, performed by Led Zeppelin
Kashmir, performed by Bond
Dazed and Confused, performed by the Vitamin String Quartet
Going to California, performed by the Vitamin String Quartet
Thank You, performed by Led Zeppelin
Night Flight, performed by Led Zeppelin
Carouselambra, performed by Led Zeppelin
When the Levee Breaks, performed by Led Zeppelin
Four Sticks, performed by Led Zeppelin
In the Light, performed by Led Zeppelin
The Rain Song, performed by Led Zeppelin

The characters in the Everyman allegory are played by Sandy Donahue (Everyman), Amy Williams (Death), Amanda Mitchell (Good Deeds), Rachel Zanders (Conscience), Jennifer Gage (Cousin), Tiffany Lawson (Kindred/Beauty), Elisa Carlson (Fellowship/Strength), Molly Beck (Fellowship/Intellect), Tiffany Janeway (Fellowship/Five Senses), Mandy Beck (Five Senses), Shayna Bjerke (Five Senses), Niki Wilk (Five Senses), Mandy Work (Five Senses) and Teresa Swanson (Five Senses). The lighting is designed by Sarah Leckner, costumes by Lauren Sharp and Liz Carlson, and music arrangements/editing by Elisa Carlson.

Innervation Dance Cooperative is a Chicago-based multi-disciplinary dance and theater company dedicated to presenting a unique and eclectic aesthetic in order to foster a wide appreciation of contemporary movement. Since its founding in 1998, Innervation Dance Cooperative (previously Irreverence Dance + Theatre) has been finding ways to meld the art forms of theater and dance. In 2007, the right group of artists was in place to make the company a true democracy, giving each member a voice in the creation of work and the management of the organization. The change to the company's name acknowledges the cooperative nature of the organization, and more accurately reflects the work we produce: innovative works that stimulate audiences. The Artistic Cooperative, made up of a creative group and an executive group, now consists of eight members - Molly Beck, Elisa Carlson, Sandy Donahue, Amy Russell, Michael Sherman, Christine Talley, Amy Williams, and Rachel Zanders. Each member of the cooperative has a unique background, shedding the light of multiple perspectives on its operations, and allowing the company to incorporate multiple disciplines of dance and theater throughout all of the works produced by IDC.

The next Innervation Dance Cooperative concert will be held at Links Hall from November 13-15, 2009. ID+T/IDC has performed at Dance Chicago, the Around the Coyote Arts Festival, Circle in the Square, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Fieldtrips, and the Vaudeville Underground, and has worked with Chicago choreographers such as Winifred Haun, Nicole Gifford, and Aaron Chen. Generous support has been provided by the funders listed at www.innervationdance.org/support.html

Photo credit Derek Feichtinger