Philip Dawkins and Daniel Kyri to Headline World AIDS Day Reading of LONELY PLANET in Chicago

In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the premiere of Lonely Planet by Steven Dietz, a Staged Reading is planned to coincide with World AIDS Day.

The staged reading, directed by Brian Maschka, will star Philip Dawkins as Jody and Daniel Kyri as Carl. Lighting design is by Eric Watkins and props design is by Ellie Terrell. Kathleen Dickinson will stage manage.

The performances will take place at 7:30pm on November 30 and December 1 in Theatre 2B at The Den Theatre (1331 N Milwaukee Ave). Tickets for Thursday, November 30 ($25) and Friday, December 1 ($40) are available by visiting thedentheatre.com or by purchasing from The Den Theatre Box Office 2 hours before each performance. All proceeds will be given to support Season of Concern.

This compassionate play reveals friendship and fear in the age of AIDS. Jody is in his forties and runs a map store. Not one for the outside world, he stays in his store all the time. His friend, Carl is in his thirties and has been bringing chairs into Jody's store and leaving them there.

Lonely Planet premiered at Northlight Theatre in January of 1993 and has been produced across the country and most recently received it's UK premiere at the Tabard Theatre in West London this past summer.

Tickets may be purchased at The Den Theatre Box Office two hours prior to each performance or anytime online by visiting thedentheatre.com. Purchase tickets directly HERE. All tickets for Thursday, November 30th at 7:30pm are $25. All tickets for Friday, December 1st at 7:30pm are $40.

Steven Dietz (Playwright) Mr. Dietz's thirty-plus plays have been produced at regional theaters across the United States, as well as Off-Broadway. International productions of his work have been seen in England, Japan, Germany, France, Australia, Sweden, Russia, Slovenia, Argentina, Peru, Greece, Singapore, and South Africa. Recent plays include the widely-produced thriller, Yankee Tavern; the Steinberg Award finalist, Becky's New Car; the Pulitzer-nominated Last of the Boys, produced by Steppenwolf Theatre; and the Edgar Award-winning Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure (from William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle). Other plays include Fiction which was produced Off-Broadway by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Shooting Star, Inventing van Gogh, The Nina Variations, Private Eyes, Halcyon Days, God's Country, and Lonely Planet (PEN-USA Award for Drama). Mr. Dietz's work as a director has been seen at many of America's leading regional theaters. He divides his time between Seattle and Austin, where he is a professor at the University of Texas.

Philip Dawkins (Jody) is a Chicago playwright and educator. His plays include Le Switch at About Face Theatre and The Jungle, The Homosexuals at About Face Theater, and Dr.Seuss's The Sneetches, the Musical with composer David Mallamud at Children's Theater Company in Minneapolis, as well as many plays for young audiences and performers. He received the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work for his plays Charm at Northlight Theatre and Miss Marx: Or The Involuntary Side Effect of Living with Strawdog Theatre, as well the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Solo Performance for his play, The Happiest Place on Earth with Side Show Theatre at Greenhouse Theater Center. Charm received its NY premiere at MCC in the fall, 2017 under the direction of Will Davis. Look for his plays, The Burn with Steppenwolf for Young Audiences and The Gentleman Caller with Raven Theater, both this winter. Philip teaches playwriting at Northwest University, Loyola University Chicago, DePaul University and through the Victory Gardens ACCESS Program.

Daniel Kyri (Carl) is a Jeff Award-nominated actor, singer, writer, and curator native to Chicago. He is featured in Stephen Cone's Henry Gamble's Birthday Party, now streaming on Netflix, and has starred in productions at Lookingglass Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Goodman Theatre, and is currently working on Robert O'Hara's Macbeth at Denver Center for Performing Arts. He is the sole lyricist, lead vocalist, and composer of his upcoming debut EP idk to be released in November of 2017. He is also a curator and founder of the Dojo collective--recent recipient of the 2017 Meow Wolf DIY funding grant--partnering with local artists to put on POC, femme, and LGBTQ-centered interdisciplinary events involving galleries, music, and installation/performance art. Their mission, like Daniel's, is "to inspire the re-imagination of art, ideas, and space."

Brian Maschka (Director) As Artistic Director for All Out Arts, he produced Fresh Fruit Festival 2012 at The Wild Project including his direction of the Off-Broadway premiere of "8" The Play. Other New York directing credits include choose. at The Alchemical Theatre Lab, Barely There for Crest Theatre, Walden for Planet Connections Festivity at the Robert Moss Theater, Tallish Tales for Midtown International Theater Festival, Under the Rug at Gallery Players and many shows with Gender Offenders. Regional credits include Santaland Diaries at Florida Repertory, The Life & The Spitfire Grill at The Station in Urbana and Aesop's Funny Fables at Lincoln Amphitheater. Production management experience includes: Chicago Children's Theatre, Barrington Stage, The UIUC Dance Department, The Themantics at the 14th Street Y, and Present Tense at HERE. He has worked extensively as a Stage Manager at Steppenwolf, Playwrights Horizons, The Play Company, Daryl Roth and DR2 Theaters, The Acting Company, The Zipper, The Mint, Barrington Stage, Weston Playhouse, The Museum of the City of New York, Syracuse Stage and the Krannert Center. Education: Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and California Institute of the Arts.

For more information about HIV/AIDS in the theater there are a collection of articles that can be found at www.thebody.com/index/aidsart/theatre.html.

Season of Concern Created nearly 30 years ago by Chicago theater artists to provide care for those in the theater community afflicted with AIDS-related illnesses, Season of Concern has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from generous artists and theater patrons to benefit hundreds of people in the entertainment industry-actors, directors, designers, technicians, playwrights-who are experiencing health-related emergencies and medical issues.

Since 1987, Season of Concern has distributed over 2.5 million dollars to 35 different Chicago-based AIDS service organizations, including AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, Chicago Women's AIDS Project, and The Children's Place. These direct-care grant awards are distributed annually and support a variety of essential programs and services for those in the Chicago community in need.

In addition, Season of Concern's Biscotto-Miller Fund provides financial assistance to individuals in the Chicago theatre community who are experiencing a catastrophic illness or a health-related emergency or event, including but not limited to HIV/AIDS. The fund was created in 1985 to honor the memory of stage manager Tommy Biscotto and actor J. Pat Miller.

Lastly, Season of Concern gives sustaining support to the Chicago office of The Actors Fund, the national human services organization that helps entertainment and performing arts professionals in theatre, film, music, opera, television and dance through a broad spectrum of social, health, employment and housing programs that address their essential and critical needs. Funding provided by Season of Concern goes directly to the Chicago office of The Actors Fund Chicago, which oversees the entertainment community in Chicago and throughout the Midwest.

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