Mary-Arrchie's 26th Annual 'ABBIE FEST' Theater Festival to Run 8/15-17

Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. will present its 26th annual Abbie Hoffman Died for Our Sins Theater Festival, featuring three days of virtually non-stop theatrical entertainment on August 15, 16 & 17, 2014 at Angel Island, 731 W. Sheridan Rd. in Chicago. Abbie Fest, as it's affectionately called, was originally created to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethesda, NY. Since then, Mary-Arrchie has concluded its past 25 seasons by inviting any and all theater groups and performers into its performance space for the annual festival.

This year's festivities begin at 3 pm on Friday, August 15 at Daley Plaza with a peaceful march to Mary-Arrchie's home at Angel Island followed by opening ceremonies at 7 pm, with Artistic Director Richard Cotovsky's portrayal of political and social activist Abbie Hoffman to bless the non-stop weekend of entertainment. Performances will continue through the wee hours of Monday, August 18.

Abbie Fest XXVI will feature 40 - 50 theatre groups and individual performers including comedy, drama, music, stand-up, jugglers, mimes, improvisation and more. This year's event will include many of the festival's mainstays, as well as new participants. Each performance is one-hour or less.

The Abbie Fest XXVI line-up to date includes: The Abbeys, Black Forest, Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, A Chicken Legs Experiment, City Lit Theater Company, Clock Theater, Collage Productions, Cracked Pot Theatre Co., Dear Abby Productions, Democracy Burlesque, Dramageddon, Eileen Tull, El Bear, Eli Van Sickel, EnSolo, The Factory Theater, Famous In The Future, Found Objects Theater, Full Voice, Hard Knock Productions, Her Story Theater, Hobo Junction, Jacqueline Sylvie Band, Jess Wright Buha, King Berry, Knife and Fork Theatre, Little Howlin' Wolf, The Living Canvas, Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co., Mischa the Yippie/Zippie, Mudgeonsoul Productions, Night Magic Designs, Nothing Without a Company, On Golden Pond Entertainment, The Resonant Authority, The Right Brain Project, Sense of Urgency Theatre, Spanglish Productions, Spoiled Seed, Stand On Your Hands and Clap, THEINTERNET.COM!!!, The Spectapulars! and Sean "Maggie" Wagner. An up-to-date list of participants can be found at www.maryarrchie.com.

Special events at Abbie Fest XXVI include Mary-Arrchie's summer production of HELLISH HALF-LIGHT: Shorter Plays of Samuel Beckett, playing Saturday, August 16 at 8 pm.

Tickets for Abbie Fest XXVI are $10 for a one-day pass, which allows patrons to come and go all day and all night and $25 for a weekend pass, which allows patrons to come and go all weekend. Patrons will be provided with a wristband and will be expected to wear it for every entrance. Passes can be purchased at www.ticketweb.com or in person at the box office.

Photo by Emily Schwartz