BTE Celebrates Old And New Friends At Friendraiser Today

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (BTE), the professional Equity company in residence at the McAninch Arts Center, hosts a "Give Stories Life" Friendraiser benefit BTE at the McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd., on the campus of College of DuPage, Dec. 14, 6-8 p.m.

This event will serve as an opportunity for the public to learn more about BTE and join members of the BTE Ensemble and Board as they celebrate BTE's joining of the Glen Ellyn Chamber, and acknowledge Dr. Donald G. Westlake's enduring support of the company. This event is free and open to the public. RSVPs are requested but not required. To RSVP or for more information email ab@btechicago.com.

The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a reception featuring light refreshments and beverages. A ceremonial ribbon cutting will take place at 6:30 p.m. to mark BTE's inaugural year with the Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce. The evening will also provide a quick look back via trailers of moments from some of BTE's recent productions and, at 7 p.m., a program by Dr. Donald G. Westlake, featuring some of his memoirs, including regarding BTE. The evening will conclude with a look at the scenic build in process for BTE's next production, "Defiance" by John Patrick Shanley, directed by BTE Ensemble Member, Kurt Naebig (Jan. 31-March 3) and a backstage tour.

"Don has seen all of our productions, since BTE's inception, and has been a strong advocate for us, always, including our 2016 return to our residence at the MAC. We would not be who and where we are without his enduring support," BTE Artistic Director Connie Canaday Howard.

Westlake, currently a resident of Wheaton, grew up in Elburn Ill. and received his B.S. in Ed. from Northern Illinois University. He was a mathematics and physical education teacher in his home town before becoming an analytical chemist at Argonne and, then, in the U.S. Army. He received his Ph.D. in Metallurgy from Iowa State University before returning to Argonne in 1959. Dr. Westlake retired in 1984 as a Senior Scientist in the Materials Science Division of the Argonne National Laboratory. As an author he has written two books co-authored with his late wife Helen Gum Westlake, plus a book of poetry, "Elburn: Forty-four Miles to Chicago," which received the Studs Terkel Award from the Illinois Humanities Council. His stories can be heard on the podcast "Reflections from the Cloud."

The mission of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble is to provide a forum in which artists, scholars, writers, students and community members explore new ideas and provocative issues through the production of high-quality theater for the enjoyment of its audiences. Since 1986 BTE has staged more than 117 productions. For more information about BTE visit btechicago.com.