Bramble Theatre Company To Host Q&A With Playwright Spencer Huffman In April

Bramble Theatre Company, founded by Matthew Lunt and Karissa Murrell Myers, will host a Q & A with Playwright Spencer Huffman on Thursday, April 18, 7 p.m. at The Bramble Arts Loft located on the second floor of the historic Capital Garage building at 5545 N. Clark St. Bramble Theatre Company will present ensemble member and Fulbright Scholar Spencer Huffman's Evil Perfect this fall as the company's first world premiere production in their new space.

At the April 18 event, guests are invited to engage with the playwright in anticipation of Evil Perfect's premiere and also learn about Huffman's experience during his Fulbright Program in Budapest, Hungary last year.

The 7700 square foot space will be home to Bramble Theatre Company and provide a creative home for itinerant theater companies, artists of all genres and community members alike.

The Bramble Arts Loft will house three performance spaces: The Beatrice (101-seat thrust theatre), The Berry (48-seat modular black box) and The Cabaret Stage (intimate space next to the bar). The Loft will also include George's Bar within the open and airy lobby area which can host a wide variety of special events.

The Bramble Arts Loft, designed by Design Principal Avram Lothan of Lothan Van Hook DeStefano Architecture, will host a variety of opening events throughout the month of April, Bramble Theatre Company's 3rd Annual Festival of Unfinished Work (June 2024), and the company's first production in the space, Spencer Huffman's Evil Perfect (Fall 2024). For more information on Bramble Theatre and the opening of The Bramble Arts Loft, visit BrambleTheatre.org.

Bramble leadership first visited the Capital Garage space in early 2022 and soon after expressed interest in signing a lease. Capital Garage's current owner, Bill Stotis, is a long-time resident of Andersonville and was delighted to accept Bramble's proposal to become the second-floor tenant. Bramble Co-Founder Matthew Lunt explained, "The pandemic has shuttered an untold number of venues creating a crunch that has yet to be fully understood. Securing not only a space for us but also the arts community at large ensures that the Chicago theatre world will continue to thrive. The time was not only right for us, but for the city." Lunt added, "It is our most fervent wish to do right by our new neighbors. We plan to call this our home for years to come."

"The Stotis family, our family, has been in the Andersonville neighborhood for more than 50 years. The addition of the Bramble Theatre Company, and other soon-to-open businesses, will benefit the entire Andersonville community. It is with much excitement and exhilaration that we welcome Bramble Theatre and The Bramble Arts Loft into our beloved Andersonville community," remarked Stotis.

The Bramble Arts Loft is designed by local architect Avram "Avi" Lothan of Lothan Van Hook DeStefano Architecture. Lothan has highlighted the extensive and unique features of the building. The restored European metalwork, the 40-foot skylight and wall of windows overlooking Clark Street are incorporated into the sustainably-minded build. "Collaborating with mission-driven organizations has always been central to our work. The space Bramble has selected for their new home is terrific, and we are excited at the prospect of creating something special for both the Bramble Theatre Company and the Andersonville community with the new project," revealed Lothan.

ABOUT PLAYWRIGHT, SPENCER HUFFMAN

Spencer Huffman is a playwright, director, and actor based in Chicago. As a playwright, his work has earned recognition from theatres and festivals across the country, including The National Playwrights Conference, The Austin Film Festival, American Stage's 21st Century Voices New Play Festival, the New American Voices Festival at Landing Theatre Co, and Relative Theatrics, among others. Most recently, his play THE SHAPE OF THE BONES was translated into Hungarian and workshopped at FreeSZFE in Budapest. His play EVIL PERFECT will make its world-premiere at Bramble Theatre Company this fall. Huffman has been a fellow at Millay Arts, The Marble House Project, and the Kerouac Project of Orlando. His directing work includes site-specific productions of FAR AWAY by Caryl Churchill, JERUSALEM by Jez Butterworth, BUG by Tracy Letts, and AALST by Duncan McLean and Pol Heyvaert, among others. Spencer's acting credits include: SPAY (Rivendell Theatre) and SPINNING INTO BUTTER (Janus Theatre Co).

Huffman is a Fulbright Scholar, a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf, and an ensemble member at Bramble Theatre Co. BA: Kenyon College.

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