TimeLine presents Chicago Premiere of IN DARFUR, Opens 1/22/11

TimeLine Theatre Company presents the Chicago premiere of In Darfur by Winter Miller, directed by TimeLine Associate Artistic Director Nick Bowling, January 22 March 20, 2011 (previews January 18 through January 21) at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. Press Opening performances are Saturday, January 22 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, January 23 at 2 p.m.

To purchase tickets or for more information, call the TimeLine Theatre Box Office at 773.281.8463 or buy online via timelinetheatre.com.

Originally commissioned by the Guthrie Theatre and the Minneapolis Playwright's Centre and informed by the playwright's first-hand experiences accompanying Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof in Sudan, In Darfur is a provocative account unfolding amidst the horrors of genocide. In a camp for internally displaced persons in Darfur, three lives intertwine - an aid worker trying to save lives, a Darfuri woman searching for safety and a journalist who believes that one front page-story can help stop the madness. Together they tell an intense, inspired-by-real-life story that demands international attention.

"TimeLine is honored to bring Winter Miller's urgent, provocative and must-see play to Chicago for the first time," said TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers. "Winter's script is one of the most daring and theatrical I have come across, and I expect it will prompt more discussion and inspire more action than any of TimeLine's previous 45 productions. Director Nick Bowling is sure to create for our audience a theatrical experience they won't soon forget."

The cast of In Darfur features Tyla Abercrumbie, Kelli Simpkins, Gregory Isaac, Eddie Jordan III, Mildred Marie Langford, Brian-Alwyn Newland and Ebony Wimbs.

Sponsor
In Darfur is supported in part by The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation.

Performance Schedule/Events
Preview performances of In Darfur are Tuesday, January 18 through Friday, January 21 at 8 p.m. The play opens on Saturday, January 22 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, January 23 at 2 p.m. and then runs Wednesdays (3/2, 3/9 and 3/16 only) and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through March 20, 2011.

POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: Free post-show discussions led by a TimeLine Company Member and featuring the production dramaturg and members of the cast on Thursdays, January 27 and February 3, 10, 17 and 24; Sundays, January 30 and February 6 and 20; and Wednesday, March 2.

SUNDAY SCHOLARS SERIES: A free hour-long post-show panel discussion with experts on the themes and issues of the play on Sunday, February 13.

DISCUSSION WITH TIMELINE COMPANY MEMBERS: Free post-show discussion with TimeLine Company members on Sunday, February 27.

Buying Tickets
Tickets are $28 (Wednesday - Friday) or $38 (Saturday & Sunday). Preview tickets are $18. Student discount is $10 off the regular ticket price with valid ID. Group rates for groups of 10 or more are available. Advance purchase is recommended as performances may sell out. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the TimeLine Theatre Box Office at 773.281.8463 or buy online via timelinetheatre.com.

Location/Transportation/Parking/Accessibility
TimeLine Theatre is located at 615 W. Wellington Ave., inside the Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ building, near the corner of Wellington and Broadway in Chicago's Lakeview East neighborhood. CTA El stops at Wellington (Brown/Purple lines) and Belmont (Red/Brown/Purple lines) are nearby. CTA busses #36-Broadway, #76-Diversey, #77-Belmont, #22-Clark and #8-Halsted stop nearby. TimeLine offers parking for $8 with validation at the Standard Parking garages at Broadway Center (2846 N. Broadway, at Surf) or the Century Mall (2836 N. Clark), both within two blocks of TimeLine. There is also limited street parking and other paid parking lots nearby. Visit timelinetheatre.com for complete directions and parking information. There are two flights of stairs totaling 18 steps between the street and the theater space, with no elevator.

Production Staff
The production staff for In Darfur includes Amanda Sweger (Scenic Design), Lindsey Pate (Costume Design), Keith Parham (Lighting Design), Andrew Hansen (Sound Design and Original Music), Mike Tutaj (Video and Projections Design), Julia Eberhardt (Properties Design), Maren Robinson (Dramaturg), Cheney Tardio (Stage Manager), Amanda Baker (Production Assistant), John Kearns (Productions Manager), Will Allan (Assistant Director), Eva Breneman (Dialect Coach), Caleb McAndrew (Technical Director) and Mac Vaughey (Master Electrician).

Biographies
Winter Miller (Playwright) is a journalist and playwright. Her other plays include The Penetration Play, Conspicuous and Cake and Ice Cream. Her play Paternity was directed by Craig Lucas as part of the Mentor Project at Cherry Lane Theatre in May 2010. She is also developing The Arrival (Sundance Institute Playwriting Fellow 2010) and the musical Something's Wrong With Amandine. Miller's plays have been produced and/or developed by The Public Theater, 13P, The Guthrie Theatre, Sundance Institute, The New Group, New York Theater Workshop, The Donmar Warehouse, Theater J, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, The Tricycle Theatre, GeVa Theatre Center and the 52nd Street Project, among others, as well as in London, Uganda and Canada.

Nick Bowling (Director) was the founding Artistic Director and is now a Company member and Associate Artistic Director of TimeLine Theatre. He is the recipient of an Equity Jeff Award for Outstanding Direction (The History Boys at TimeLine) and four Non-Equity Jeff Awards for Outstanding Direction (Fiorello!, This Happy Breed and The Crucible at TimeLine, Another Part of the Forest at Eclipse Theatre) and also received Jeff Award nominations for The Farnsworth Invention, Hauptmann and The Lion in Winter at TimeLine and for Closer Than Ever at Porchlight Music Theatre. Recent credits at TimeLine include When She Danced, Not Enough Air and Fiorello!. Other Chicago credits include Writers' Theatre's Bach at Leipzig, Shattered Globe Theatre's Time of the Cuckoo and Frozen Assets, Rivendell Theatre's Factory Girls and Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's Angels in America, among others. He will next direct The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur at TimeLine.

About TimeLine Theatre Company
Founded in April 1997, TimeLine Theatre Company's mission is to present stories inspired by history that connect with today's social and political issues. During its first 13 seasons, TimeLine has presented 45 productions, including seven world premieres and 13 Chicago premieres. Recipient of the 2006 Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence and the 2009 Richard Goodman Strategic Planning Award from the Association for Strategic Planning, TimeLine has received 43 Jeff Awards, including an award for Outstanding Production eight times.

Still to come during TimeLine's 2011 season:

THE FRONT PAGE by Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur
directed by Nick Bowling, April 12 - June 12, 2011
TimeLine is led by Artistic Director PJ Powers and Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman. Company members are Nick Bowling, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Lara Goetsch, Juliet Hart, David Parkes, PJ Powers and Benjamin Thiem. TimeLine is a member of the League of Chicago Theatres, Theatre Communications Group and the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce.