Chris Maher Steps In For Genevive Thompson As Artistic Director Of ICT 6/1

Infamous Commonwealth Theatre announces that effective June 1, 2009, founding member Genevieve Thompson is stepping down as Artistic Director of ICT. Her successor in the role will be Chris Maher, current Artistic Director of Open Eye Productions.

Genevieve Thompson co-founded Infamous Commonwealth Theatre in 2001, and she directed ICT's debut production, Tetherball: A Song in Three Acts, in 2002. She received both the Jeff Citation & After Dark Award for Outstanding Direction as co-director of ICT's production of The Kentucky Cycle. Other ICT directing credits include TreeGirl, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Credo, My Thing of Love, and the Jeff-nominated and After Dark Award-winning Cloud 9. She has appeared onstage with ICT in Keely and Du, Savage in Limbo and Big Dreams. She is also the director of ICT's current revival of The Grapes of Wrath, which closes May 24, 2009. She is a graduate of Milliken University.

"This decision was a hard one for me to make," explains MS. Thompson. "Infamous Commonwealth Theatre has been my artistic home for ten years, and has been fulfilling and empowering. But my family is growing - I'm expecting my second child in June - and I'm finding it difficult to balance a family life, an artistic life, and the administrative duties that come along with my role as Artistic Director. The obvious choice for me was to eliminate some administrative duties so I could concentrate more on my life as a wife, a mother, and an artist. While resigning as Artistic Director means that I will have less of a voice in the artistic direction of the company, I have no intention of leaving ICT and still consider it my artistic home. I have complete faith in Chris Maher. I know he will lead our company well, and I look forward to remaining a company member under his leadership."

Chris Maher graduated with a degree in theatre performance from Illinois State University in 1997. Upon arrival in Chicago, he served as Artistic Director for the now defunct East Window Theatre Company. Chris appeared in several shows for them and directed Say Goodnight Gracie in 1999. He joined Open Eye Productions in 2001 and became artistic director in 2004. His Open Eye directing credits include Christopher Durang's Titanic, You Can't Take It With You, Assassins, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Trust, and most recently, The Solid Gold Cadillac. Last year, Mr. Maher directed the Midwest Premiere of Robert Schenkkan's Lewis & Clark Reach The Euphrates for ICT.

"Having had the opportunity to get to know everyone at ICT while working on Lewis & Clark, I think this is a great fit on both sides," says Mr. Maher. "To get the chance to work with so many talented artists is about as exciting as it gets. I'm really looking forward to creating some stirring theatre with everyone moving forward."

ICT plans to refrain from producing a Fall 2009 show so the company can better focus on the upcoming shift in leadership. ICT will announce next season's topic and production schedule soon.
ICT's unique mission is to illuminate diverse perspectives around one centralized topic per season. ICT has received seven After Dark Awards and four Joseph Jefferson Citations since its inception. For more information on ICT, please visit www.infamouscommonwealth.org.