CONCENTRATION to be Presented at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts
The cast of Concentration includes Jack Aschenbach, Lynne Baker, Rich Lazatin, and Jourdan Lewanda.
On the eve of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Concentration, Arne Weingart's theatrical adaptation of his poetry written in the voice of a World War II death camp prisoner, runs April 11 and 12 in a new, reimagined production at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago. This new production is co-produced by Temple Sholom of Chicago.
Concentration imagines a young poet in a World War II death camp, sharing his experience through 50 short poems voiced by four actors and serving as a kind of journal—an imagined response to all-too-real yet unthinkable events. The production features striking visual effects and original music by Cherise Leiter, performed live by four musicians: violin, cello, clarinet, and voice.
Award-winning poet and author Arne Weingart originally wrote and published Concentration in 2023 and adapted it in 2024 for an initial staged reading in Denver. Concentration was subsequently staged in a full production at the 2024 Rhinoceros Theater Festival (Rhino Fest) in Chicago. Weingart has several published poetry collections, and his work appears in numerous literary journals. Full bio below.
Directing Concentration is Anna H. Gelman, an artistic associate of The Neo-Futurists and lead creative producer and director of livestream at Mishkan Chicago. She has also worked with Organic Theater Company, Red Tape Theatre, Shattered Globe, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre's LookOut series, and more. Full bio below.
Composer Cherise Leiter has composed works for choir, piano, voice, band, orchestra, and assorted chamber ensembles. Her works have been performed throughout the U.S., Canada, Scotland, France, Italy, Romania, and Japan. Full bio below.
The cast of Concentration includes Jack Aschenbach, Lynne Baker, Rich Lazatin, and Jourdan Lewanda. Musicians are Barbara Drapcho (clarinet), Sonia Goldberg (voice), Kelly Quesada (cello), and Nathan Urdangen (piano). Jordan Olive is music director, Ryn Hardiman is lighting designer, Madeline Felauer is Costume Designer, Zach Weinberg is production manager, and Eliot Colin is stage manager.
A talkback featuring Weingart, Gelman, and Leiter follows the April 12 performance.
Concentration takes place Saturday, April 11 at 7 p.m.
and Sunday, April 12 at 2:30 p.m. at
Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago
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