Strange Bedfellows Theatre to Present INVENTING VAN GOGH, Begin. 8/1

Strange Bedfellows Theatre, an independent Chicago based theatre company, is proud to announce their upcoming production of Steven Dietz's "Inventing Van Gogh," directed by Aaron Henrickson.

"Inventing Van Gogh" is the most recent project by Strange Bedfellows Theatre, and is the first with their new Artistic Director, Kristen Ahern at the helm. With Director Aaron Henrickson, Strange Bedfellows crosses the lines of what a traditional play is and means. Enveloping the audience with art from the moment they step into the lobby to the minute they walk out the door, as well as making their sets and space draw people into the living canvas itself, "Inventing Van Gogh" is their first attempt at bringing patrons multiple art forms at once.

Performances will be held at City Lit Theatre (1020 W Bryn Mawr Ave. Chicago, IL 60660). Previews are set for Aug. 1 & 2 @ 8pm, with performances on Aug. 3 & 4*, 9 & 10, 16 & 17, 23 - 25* @ 8pm *(Sundays @ 2pm).

From the very moment audiences step into the lobby of the theatre, they will be surrounded by a working art studio, manned by local artists from around Chicago looking to demonstrate their creative process inspired by Van Gogh's "Yellow Period".

The audience will then move into Patrick's studio (the lead character) and take in the first act of the play, before heading back out into the main studio space where the artists will be working based around Van Gogh's "Blue Period."

Throughout the show, the audience will be a part of the creative process with the performers and artists, reshaping and redefining the definitions of "theatre" and "art."

A haunting and hallucinatory drama about the making of art, "Inventing Van Gogh" is the story of the final van Gogh self-portrait, painted just before the artist's death, which has never been seen...until now. PatRick Stone, a contemporary painter, is hired to forge this final masterpiece-and finds himself squaring off, across the years, with van Gogh himself. The result is a compelling mystery about the obsession to create and the fine line that separates the truth from the myth of a man.

The entire purpose of this show is to demonstrate that the creative process, specifically that of painting, is one of obsession and drive. Hopefully, by being so tangibly close to the process of painting, audiences will have a deeper appreciation for the play, but also for art as a whole.

I sincerely hope that this is a work that interests you as both theatre goers, but artists in whatever way you prefer to create!

Strange Bedfellows Theatre believes strongly in supporting those who work with them, so to pay their actors, they are also having a special Actor's Performance, where all ticket sales of that performance will be split among the actors.