Idle Muse Theatre Co Reschedules 10th Season

Idle Muse Theatre Company was recently informed that The Factory Theater's Season 23 has been postponed until further notice due to building permit issues with the city. As this was the planned venue for The Woman Who Amuses Herself in November, Idle Muse Theatre Company has rescheduled the 10th Season and reassigned the upcoming 10th Season venue. The fall slot will be replaced by a staged reading of The War of the Worlds directed by ensemble member Tristan Brandon and new festival celebrating plays written and directed by women entitled the Athena Festival to be curated by ensemble member Sara Robinson.

"We were informed that the construction timeline for The Factory Theater's space will be delayed due to permit delays with the city. As a result of this last minute development, we will be unable to produce any Season 10 programming at Factory as planned. In short, there is no way to know if the space would be completed by our opening date. While this was in way anyone's fault, it still meant that decisions needed to be made in order to bring our patrons a season they would love and that Idle Muse could be proud of without sacrificing the quality they've come to expect from us," said Idle Muse Artistic Director, Evan Jackson.

Idle Muse Theatre Company's tenth season features plays which explore the thin line between truth and fantasy. Idle Muse Theatre Company will now open its tenth season with the addition of a staged reading of The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells and adapted by Howard E. Koch on October 30, 2015. This infamous radio play had many terrified listenersconvinced an actual alien invasion of Earth was taking place when it was originally broadcast from New York's Mercury Theatre in 1938. Adapted by the co-writer of Casablanca, this original script details the frightening tale of an extraterrestrial takeover to thrill and chill audiences. Idle Muse ensemble member Tristan Brandon directs a team of actors and Foley artists to recreate this chilling story as a staged reading. Brandon, a founding member of Idle Muse, directed the Jeff nominated production, Shakespeare's R & J for Idle Muse in 2012.

The tenth season will now include the addition of the new Athena Festival. The festival is a project to provide a greater voice and representation for women in Chicago theatre. Athena is the Greek goddess of reason, intelligent activity, arts and literature. Likewise, the Athena Festival will feature staged readings of plays by diverse women playwrights, directed by women, and featuring women in prominent roles. Idle Muse is hoping this will be the beginning of an annual festival that will expand into full productions. The Athena Festival will be curated by Idle Muse ensemble member Sara Robinson. Festival lineup will be announced at a later date.

The tenth season continues in 2016 with The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, adapted by Althos Low and directed by IMTC artistic director Evan Jackson. One of the most beloved Sherlock Holmes stories comes to life in a striking new reimagining from the team that adapted last season's Animal Farm for the Steppenwolf Young Adults Program. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson trade the foggy streets of London for the country wilds of Dartmoor to hunt down the truth behind the Baskerville curse and the legendary hound stalking the night with a taste for blood!

Althos Low is the pen name for Shanghai Low Theatricals (SLT), an adaptation development group based in Chicago. For the Hound of the Baskervilles collaboration, co-founder Steve Pickering serves as Adaptor and SLT House Artists Fred Baxter and Tom Kyzivat provide pre-production art and dramaturgy. Formed in 2001 as a group of theatre craftspeople adapting literary works for the stage, in 2009 the company expanded into the creation of graphics and visual development. 2014 projects included adapting Alastair Reynolds' science fiction novella Diamond Dogs for the stage and Lion Miller's 1953 story The Available Data on the Warp Reaction as a picture book and adapting George Orwell's Animal Farm at Steppenwolf for Young Adults. (www.shanghailow.org)

Evan Jackson is the Artistic Director of Idle Muse Theatre Company, a position he has had the honor of holding since the company's inception. He has directed ten previous productions for Idle Muse, including The Lion in Winter and Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure (both Jeff-Recommended. Luke Hamilton received a Jeff Awards nomination for Best Actor for his role as Sherlock Holmes). Last season, he directed Idle Muse's production The Talking Cure.

Idle Muse Theatre Company will now close its season with the Chicago premiere of The Woman Who Amuses Herself, by Victor Lodato, directed by Idle Muse ensemble member Nathan Pease and featuring an all-ensemble cast from Idle Muse Theatre Company. In 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia, a worker at the Louvre, committed the crime of the century by walking out with the Mona Lisa hidden under his coat. Peruggia then spent two years in his Paris apartment alone with the mysteriously smiling woman as his muse. But was he an Italian patriot who believed "La Gioconda" should be returned to her native Italy? Or was he a not-so-common thief seeking his fortune? Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece has attracted, inspired, and perplexed millions of admirers across generations and continents but what makes the Mona Lisa so special? Was it her theft alone that brought her the world's attention? Meet Vincenzo and others affected by the smiling lady in this intriguing whydunnit. Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com). Nathan Pease directed last season's Jeff nominated production, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for Idle Muse Theatre Company.

The War of the Worlds will be presented as a staged reading October 30th at 7:30PM at Geek Bar Chicago, located at 1941 W North Ave, Chicago, IL 60622. Admission is by suggested donation.

Athena Festival will run December 5th through December 6th and will be presented at Jackalope Theatre's Frontier performance space located at 1106 W Thorndale Ave, Chicago, IL 60660. Ticket prices range from $10 - $30.

The Hound of the Baskervilles will run March 5th through April 3rd, 2016 with previews March 3rd and March 4th and will be presented at Edge Theatre, a newly-renovated performance venue located at 5451 N Broadway Ave, Chicago, IL 60640

The Woman Who Amuses Herself will run June 25th through July 24th, 2016 with previews June 23rd and 24th and will be presented at Edge Theatre, a newly-renovated performance venue located at 5451 N Broadway Ave, Chicago, IL 60640

Performance times for The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Woman Who Amuses Herself are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 3PM. Ticket prices are $20 for adults and $15 for students/seniors. Tickets for previews are $10. Every Thursday is Industry Night with $10 tickets for industry members with headshot/resume. Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.idlemuse.org or by calling 773-340-9438.

Idle Muse Theatre Company presents War of the Worlds, October 30 at 7:30PM at Geek Bar Chicago, 1941 W North Ave., Athena Festival, running December 5 & 6, at 1:00PM & 5:00PM at Jackalope Theatre's Frontier at 1106 W Thorndale Ave, Chicago, IL 60660, The Hound of the Baskervilles, running March 5 - April 3 at Edge Theatre at 5451 N. Broadway Ave. and The Woman Who Amuses Herself, running June 25 - July 24, 2016 at Edge Theatre, 5451 N. Broadway Ave. Street parking is available at all venues and all venues are handicapped and CTA accessible (Edge Theatre is CTA accessible by Red Line Berwyn/Bryn Mawr stop/ 36 Broadway Bus).

Press opening for the new adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles is Saturday, March 5 at 8 p.m. (Previews are Friday, March 3 and March 4 at 8:00 p.m.) Press opening for the Chicago premiere of The Woman Who Amuses Herself is Saturday, June 25 at 8 p.m. (Previews are June 23 and June 24 at 8:00 p.m.) Regular performance times are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Ticket prices are $20 for regular single tickets, $15 for seniors and students, and $10 for previews. Group rate for 10 or more upon request. Tickets may be purchased at 773-340-9438 or by visiting www.IdleMuse.org.

Idle Muse Theatre is partially supported and funded by a generous grant from The MacArthur Funds for the Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.

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