Timeline Theatre Announces New Company Members

TimeLine Theatre Company, named one of the nation's top 10 emerging professional theatres by the American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards®, is thrilled to announce that Mildred Marie Langford, Mechelle Moe and Maren Robinson have been named Company Members at the theater, effective immediately.

TimeLine also announces that casting is nearly complete for the plays in its 2012-13 season. Chicago actors who will be a part of the season include Kareem Bandealy, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Jessie Fisher, Steve Haggard, Terry Hamilton, Timothy Edward Kane, David Parkes, Rebecca Spence and Craig Spidle, among others.

Complete casting details are listed below.

NEW COMPANY MEMBERS

TimeLine Theatre's Company Members are the artistic leaders of the company, working collaboratively together to shape the artistic vision and choose the programming for the organization. Langford, Moe and Robinson join current Company Members Nick Bowling, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Lara Goetsch, Juliet Hart, David Parkes, PJ Powers and Ben Thiem.

"These three artists already have exemplified tremendous thought leadership at TimeLine, representing our mission, vision and values through their work on productions and the Living History Education Program," TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers said. "We look forward to their contributions as we keep elevating the work on our stage and in classrooms, and explore opportunities for engaging audiences in dialogue about our mission and the themes and issues of TimeLine productions.""

Powers continued: "By adding them to the Company we also further the commitment that TimeLine's founders had — to build a collective of artists with varied skills, backgrounds, points of view and aesthetics who work as a team to help shape seasons that are diverse, unique and mission-centric."

Biographies for Langford, Moe and Robinson are below.

2012-13 SEASON CASTING

Concurrent with the addition of these three new Company Members, TimeLine announces casting for the majority of roles in its 2012-13 season:

The cast for the Chicago premiere of 33 VARIATIONS by Moisés Kaufman, directed by Nick Bowling, features Janet Ulrich Brooks (Dr. Katherine Brandt), Ian Paul Custer (Mike Clark), Jessie Fisher (Clara Brandt), Terry Hamilton (Ludwig van Beethoven), Juliet Hart (Dr. Gertrude Ladenburger), Michael Kingston (Anton Diabelli) and Matthew Krause (Anton Schindler). 33 VARIATIONS runs August 24 – October 21, 2012 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago.

The cast for the world premiere of WASTELAND by Susan Felder, directed by William Brown, features Nate Burger (Joe) and Steve Haggard (Riley). WASTELAND runs October 12 – December 30, 2012 at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago.

The cast for the Chicago premiere of CONCERNING STRANGE DEVICES FROM THE DISTANT WEST by Naomi Iizuka, directed by Lisa Portes, features Kroydell Galima (Hiro, Ensemble), Michael McKeogh (Farsari, Dmitri Mendelssohn), Rebecca Spence (Isabel Hewlett), Craig Spidle (Edmund Hewlett) and Tiffany Villarin (Kiku, Ensemble). CONCERNING STRANGE DEVICES FROM THE DISTANT WEST runs January 15 – April 14, 2013 at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago.

The cast for the Chicago premiere of BLOOD AND GIFTS by J.T. Rogers, directed by Nick Bowling, includes Kareem Bandealy (Abdullah Khan), Behzad Dabu (Saeed), Terry Hamilton (Dmitri Gromov), Anish Jethmalani (Colonel Afridi), Timothy Edward Kane (James Warnock) and David Parkes (Walter Barnes). Several roles are still to be cast. BLOOD AND GIFTS runs April 30 – July 28, 2013, at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago.

BIOGRAPHIES

Mildred Marie Langford has appeared on stage at TimeLine in MY KIND OF TOWN and IN DARFUR, and she has worked as a teaching artist for TimeLine's Living History Education Program. Other Chicago credits include A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS (Northlight Theatre), THE CRUCIBLE (Steppenwolf Theatre), VENUS (Steppenwolf Garage/Next Up Series), WAR WITH THE NEWTS and THE OVERWHELMING (Next Theatre), ZULU FITS (MPAACT), AN ACTOR PREPARES (Logan Center for the Arts), THE GHOST IS HERE (Vitalist Theatre Chicago), FIVE FLIGHTS (Immediate Theatre), THE 13 CLOCKS (Lifeline Theatre), THE TWINS WOULD LIKE TO SAY (Dog & Pony Theatre, part of Steppenwolf Theatre's Visiting Company Initiative), 12 OPHELIAS (Trap Door Theatre), and THE GHOST OF TREASURE ISLAND, THE BLUE HOUSE and SINBAD: THE UNTOLD TALE (Adventure Stage Chicago). Langford is a graduate of George Mason University and The School at Steppenwolf. She can be seen next in Phillip Dawkins' new play FAILURE: A LOVE STORY at Victory Gardens.

Mechelle Moe has appeared on stage at TimeLine in MY KIND OF TOWN, THE FRONT PAGE, THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, PARADISE LOST, NOT ENOUGH AIR and MACHINAL. She also served as assistant director for WHEN SHE DANCED and has worked as a teaching artist for TimeLine's Living History Education Program. Other Chicago theatre credits include THE BALD SOPRANO, ANGELS IN AMERICA, THE GLASS MENAGERIE and ARCADIA (The Hypocrites, a company she co-founded and served for many years as Managing Director), WHAT THE BUTLER SAW (Court Theatre) and STAGE DOOR and LETTERS HOME (Griffin Theatre). She also has worked with Lifeline, A Red Orchid, Steppenwolf and Writers' theaters, among others. Moe received a Non-Equity Jeff Award for Actress in a Principal Role and an After Dark Award for her performance as the Young Woman in The Hypocrites' production of Sophie Treadwell's MACHINAL and Jeff Award nomination for Actress in a Principal Role for her performance in STAGE DOOR.

Maren Robinson has been a freelance dramaturg in Chicago for more than 10 years, working on more than 40 productions, including 11 new works and adaptations. For TimeLine Theatre she has served as dramaturg for 18 plays since 2004, most recently MY KIND OF TOWN, ENRON, THE PITMEN PAINTERS and A WALK IN THE WOODS. She has contributed to TimeLine's educational programming both through in-class work with Living History and through numerous discussions, forums and the development of TimeLine's Backstory, lobby displays and study guides. Maren holds an MA degree in Humanities from the University of Chicago, where she received the Catherine Ham Memorial Award for her play ANONYMOUS and accompanying thesis, which used the works of Peter Brook and Virginia Woolf to examine the issues of gender, writing, and absence in theatrical space. She has taught or guest lectured on dramaturgy and script analysis at DePaul and Loyola universities, the Newberry Library, Chicago Public Library and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Maren has worked with numerous other Chicago theaters including Lifeline, Camenae, Caffeine, Greasy Joan, Eclipse, Strawdog, The Plagiarists, Chicago Dancemaker's Forum, and Steppenwolf. Maren has been published in The Center for Classic Theater Review and was recently on a dramaturgy panel at the Chicago Theater Conference at Columbia College. She is a member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.

ABOUT TIMELINE

TimeLine Theatre Company, named one of the nation's top 10 emerging professional theatres (American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards®), Best Theatre in Chicago (Chicago magazine, 2011) and the nation's theater "Company of the Year" (The Wall Street Journal, 2010), was founded in April 1997 with a mission to present stories inspired by history that connect with today's social and political issues. Over 15 seasons, TimeLine has presented 51 productions, including eight world premieres and 16 Chicago premieres; launched the Living History Education Program, bringing the company's mission to life for students in Chicago Public Schools; and completed each season operating in the black. Recipient of the Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence and the Richard Goodman Strategic Planning Award from the Association for Strategic Planning, TimeLine has received 46 Jeff Awards, including an award for Outstanding Production eight times.

 

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