Fox Valley Rep's Collider New Play Project Now "Ready for Audiences"

Fox Valley Repertory will present the inaugural Collider New Play Project in conjunction with the St. Charles Summer Theater Festival. Selected playwrights have been partnered with area scientists to further develop new works, and the resulting three staged readings will be produced by professional actors and directors.

These staged readings will take place through Fox Valley Repertory at the Pheasant Run Resort Mainstage, located at 4051 E. Main Street, St. Charles, IL. Stars and Barmen will take place July 16 at 1pm, Clockwork Child will be July 23 at 1pm, and A Scientists Guide to Love and Poetry will be performed July 30 at 1pm. Tickets will be available at the door for a $10 suggested donation, and the first 10 arrivals each week will receive a free T-shirt from Summer Theater Fest sponsor, WNIJ Radio at 89.5 AM.

The Collider Project is a unique opportunity for the selected scientists and playwrights. Incorporating science into her story was new to playwright Reina Harding of Chicago, who recalls questions she asked of her local scientist such as "Bruce, where do you see beauty in science?" and "Hey, Bruce. I found this contemporary poem about love and zero vector algebra. Your thoughts...about zero vector, please." The three playwrights have blogged their experiences with the Collider Project on Fox Valley Rep's website. Harding admits, "It rocks having Bruce."

Harding's play, Stars and Barmen, will be directed by award-winning director Matt Miller, also of Chicago. This play tells the story of Rupert, an astrophysicist in a city where the streetlights hide the stars. He spends his nights manning a dim telescope and waits to observe spectacular events in distant galaxies. "The main character in it knows way more facts about the universe than I ever will," Hardy says. The staged reading and talkback will be Saturday, July 16 at 1pm.

Clockwork Child, by Garret C. Schneider, examines "scientific exploration, gender inequality in science...and the lives of people with astounding mental abilities." The play is based on the true story of two 19th Century mathematicians, Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace, who worked to create a computer 100 years before the first computer was actually invented. It also involves time travel as Ada breaks into the past to deter her younger self to stay off the path of science. Clockwork Child will be directed by Jason W. Gerace, and the staged reading and talkback will be held Saturday, July 23 at 1pm.

K. Frithjof Peterson's A Scientists Guide to Love and Poetry will be directed by Fox Valley Rep's Artistic Director, John Gawlik. A physics undergrad named Jeremiah is in love with a literature student named Lucy, and he sets out on a quest to prove to her that there can be poetry and love in the world of physics. Peterson comments, "It's about two very different notions and experiences of love ... [both] poetic and scientific beauty." The staged reading and talkback will take place Saturday, July 30 at 1pm.

About Collider 2011
The collaboration involved with each play offers material of interest to regular theatergoers and new audiences alike. Peterson points out, "the audience plays a vital role in new play development...that's the beauty of theatre. We're limited to see whatever movies or television is released in our area but we can make our own theatre." The public is invited and encouraged to stay after each performance for a talkback with the playwright and director of each play.

The Collider New Play Project is presented by Fox Valley Repertory at the Pheasant Run Resort Mainstage, located at 4051 E. Main Street, St. Charles, IL. Tickets for each performance will be available at the door for a $10 suggested donation. For more information on Fox Valley Repertory, the St. Charles Summer Theater Festival or the Collider New Play Project, please visit www.summertheaterfest.org or www.foxvalleyrep.org.

Need more Chicago Theatre News in your life? Sign up for all the news on the Winter season, discounts & more...