Adventure Stage Chicago Announces 2008-09 Season

Adventure Stage Chicago (ASC) proudly announces their 2008-2009 season, which is comprised of two exciting productions for audiences age 8 and older.

Holes
by Louis Sachar (adapted from his novel)
Nov. 16 - Dec. 18, 2008

Directed by Matthew Reeder (The Shakespeare Stealer, Still Life With Iris)

Previews: 10:30 a.m. Nov. 14 & 2:00 p.m. Nov. 15.
Weekend Family Matinees: 2:00 p.m. every Sat. and Sun. during run (no show Dec. 14).
Weekdays (school groups and single tickets): 10:30 a.m. Nov. 18, 19, 20, 25 & Dec. 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18.

Fourteen-year-old Stanley Yelnats is convicted for a crime he didn't commit and sentenced to Camp Green Lake–where nothing is green and no lake is in sight. He blames his rotten luck on the Yelnats family curse, which traces back to his "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealin'-great-great-grandfather." Supposedly to build character, the camp boys spend their days digging huge holes under the brutal desert sun. But as Stanley discovers the real reason behind all those countless holes, fate begins to point him toward his true destiny. Join Stanley, Zero, Kissin' Kate, Mr. Sir, the Warden, and other favorite characters from Mr. Sachar's immensely popular novel for a rowdy adventure you won't soon forget.

Louis Sachar is the author of over 20 fiction and educational books for children, including 'Sideways Stories from Wayside School', 'There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom' and 'Holes', which has won numerous awards including the National Book Award and Newbery Medal (the only book ever to be awarded both honors). The stage adaptation of Holes is the only play Mr. Sachar has written and was a commission of Seattle Children's Theatre, where it premiered in 2002. John Olive's adaptation of Mr. Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School was the inaugural production of Adventure Stage Chicago in 2004.

World Premiere!
Katrina: The Girl Who Wanted Her Name Back
April 5 - May 21, 2009

by Jason Tremblay

Directed by Tom Arvetis (Producing Artistic Director, Adventure Stage Chicago)

Previews: 10:30 a.m. April 3 & 2:00 p.m. April 4.
Weekend Family Matinees: 2:00 p.m. April 5, 11, 18, 19, 25, 26 & May 2, 3, 9.
Weekdays (school groups and single tickets): 10:30 a.m. April 9, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28, 30 & May 1, 5, 7, 12, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21.
Special Evening Performance: Friday, April 10 at 7:00 p.m.

This exciting new work follows Katrina, a young girl from New Orleans forced to face the powerful hurricane that shares her name. Separated from her beloved father during the storm, Katrina must journey to safety with only ghosts, sweet N'awlins music and her own bravery as companions. Despite enormous obstacles, Katrina is determined to reclaim her name and recover the magic and fire that lie within the city and herself. Featuring live jazz music and non-stop action, Katrina: The Girl Who Wanted Her Name Back is an exuberant celebration of one of America's most historical cities. 

Katrina: The Girl Who Wanted Her Name Back has already received two major honors. It was one of seven plays from around the world selected as part of the 2008 New Voices/New Visions biennial festival at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where the play underwent a week-long, collaborative workshop process that culminated in a rehearsed reading to theater professionals, educators and others interested in the field. Mr. Tremblay also received the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for Young Audiences Playwriting Award for 2008.

Jason Tremblay grew up just hours away from New Orleans in southeast Arkansas, and the historic city became his urban refuge by exposing him to art and music - particularly jazz. After Hurricane Katrina, many of Mr. Tremblay's musician friends rendered homeless by the storm stayed with him in Austin, TX, where he currently resides. These experiences and friendships inspired Mr. Tremblay to write Katrina: The Girl Who Wanted Her Name Back. Mr. Tremblay recently received his MFA in playwriting from the University of Texas and is an exciting new voice in the world of theater for young audiences.

Adventure Stage Chicago's mission is to create dynamic theatre for young audiences that activates the imagination, inspires dialogue and celebrates community among families, educators and artists. ASC is Chicago's only professional theatre company dedicated solely to theatrical programming for young people ages 8-14 and the adults in their lives. As artists, ASC seeks to produce renowned stories as well as cultivate new work. As educators, Adventure Stage Chicago endeavors to be a model for professional development through workshops, residencies and other resources that offer concrete ways to infuse theatre in the classroom. This is ASC's fifth season.

ASC (under the former name of Vittum Theater) received the prestigious 2007 Zeta Phi Eta-Winifred Ward for Outstanding New Children's Theatre Company Award from The American Alliance for Theatre and Education. The award, given by Zeta Phi Eta, a national arts fraternity, honors a theatre company serving young audiences which has been in operation at least two full years, but not more than five years. The company must have attained a high level of artistic production, sound management practices, and must have stimulated community interest in its endeavors.

Adventure Stage Chicago is a program of Northwestern University Settlement House, the oldest continually operating settlement house in Chicago. Throughout its 117-year history, the Settlement has remained committed to providing resources that empower our neighbors to overcome the obstacles of poverty. ASC extends this mission by presenting Chicago's young audiences, educators and families with an affordable artistic experience rooted in performance. Last season, ASC served over 10,000 students from 95 schools throughout the Chicagoland area.

Each Adventure Stage Chicago production presents weekday performances primarily for school groups, as well as weekend matinees for the general public. All performances include a post-show audience talkback with the cast. Adventure Stage Chicago also conducts a pre-show Saturday Workshop Series at 1pm for adults and children ages 8-12 at an additional cost of $5.00 per person.

All shows are performed at Vittum Theater, 1012 N. Noble St., in the heart of Chicago's West Town neighborhood. Free parking is available, and the theater is close to the Noble St. stop on the #56 Milwaukee bus line and the Division stop on the CTA Blue Line. The theater is wheelchair accessible.

Tickets for all shows are $17.00 for adults, $12.00 children aged 14 and under, $10.00 previews and $8.00 school groups. Other group discounts available. Passport to Adventure subscriptions are available beginning in mid-September. For tickets or more information, call (773) 342-4141 or visit www.adventurestage.org.

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