CABARET, UNSPOKEN and More Set for No Stakes Theater Project's New Season

No Stakes Theater Project brings advocacy to the forefront in their third season, which features two workshop productions that engage in discussion about body image, inclusion and mental illness.

In Spring 2017, Artistic Director Erin Shea Brady will direct Kander and Ebb's CABARET, featuring Artistic Associate Rebecca Sohn as Sally Bowles. This is the first production under No Stakes' new Actor Initiative, which promises to overcome the limitations of typecasting by providing actors with the opportunity to take their education into their own hands. The production will be choreographed by Artistic Associate Mollyanne Nunn. Brady previously directed No Stakes' critically acclaimed inaugural production of Jim Cartwright's THE RISE AND FALL OF LITTLE VOICE, which also featured Sohn and ran at Theater Wit in 2015.

In Fall 2017, No Stakes will produce the premiere production of UNSPOKEN, a documentary piece created and directed by Chicago-based, Australian director Bec Willett, who serves as a board member at No Stakes. Developed through a series of interviews, UNSPOKEN features the words and stories of real people struggling with mental health issues. The piece explores class, race, gender and family and strives to give these stories a platform, stripping away the silence of mental illness. The ensemble will feature No Stakes' Marketing Director Emilie Modaff, Elaine Bell, and Nathaniel Andrew.

The young company, called "one to watch" by Amy Munice (Splash! Chicago, 2015), continues to focus on providing meaningful opportunities for local artists. This year, in 2016, they are partnering with Uncommon Ground to produce WINGSPAN, a series of staged readings designed to foster and encourage the creative risks of emerging directors, and HUMMINGBIRD, a podcast and live-lit event that serves to engage audiences in conversations with the themes explored by their WINGSPAN directors.

Please visit www.nostakestheaterproject.org for more information.