Focal Point Theatre Company Presents The Against Type Project

Focal Point Theatre Company (FPTC) begins its first season with a show dubbed The Against Type Project. In this exciting event, the audience will experience a collection of traditional theatre scenes turned on their heads with non-traditional casting. Everything including race, gender, age and performance style will be challenged, proving that a great performer can play any role. With a wealth of Chicago's most talented directors and performers, this promises to be an evening not-to-be-missed.

The production will feature a reverse-gender take on David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross directed by company member Hayley L. Rice, the cast of which includes Morgan Manasa (FPTC Founding Member), Amy E. Harmon (Babes with Blades) Arielle Augustyn (Shaw Chicago) and Alison C. Vesely (First Folio Theatre). Kerstin Broockmann directs a scene from Our Town by Thornton Wilder, which will upend the context of age in casting. Crowd-pleaser The Four Yorkshiremen, made popular by Monty Python, is helmed by Idle Muse Artistic Director EVan Jackson and features David Skvarla. Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest will defy the context of race in a scene directed by Andrea Gail. FPTC Company Member Jason Peck will challenge the abilities of an ingénue with a scene from The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe by Jane Wagner. The evening is rounded out by another flip in gender expectations as Dan Foss directs an all-male selection from Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling.

This benefit production will run for three nights only, so tickets are limited. FPTC urges the public to make their reservations now at www.focalpointtheatre.com. All proceeds from this limited engagement goes towards producing Focal Point's first full length show, the Chicago premiere of After Miss Julie by Patrick Marber, a show which New York Magazine called "the rare reimagining of a classic play that may actually improve upon the original."

Runs: October 3, 4, & 5

Performance Times: 8:00 PM

Location: The Think Tank - 1770 W. Berteau #207, Chicago IL 60613

Tickets: $15; Reservations recommended