Photo Flash: New Production Shots from Sideshow Theatre's THE BURDEN OF NOT HAVING A TAIL

Sideshow Theatre Company concludes its 2012/13 season with the world premiere of THE BURDEN OF NOT HAVING A TAIL, by Carrie Barrett, directed by ensemble member Megan A. Smith, playing now through August 4, 2013 at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago. This darkly comical, one-woman tour-de-force features ensemble member Karie Miller in an interactive experience with the audience. Scroll down for new production photos!

The end of the world is coming and Sideshow wants you to be ready. Join ensemble member Karie Miller in her cozy, fully-equipped and completely secure underground bunker as she walks you through how to survive the inevitable apocalypse. From rice appreciation to the dangers of scented shampoos, you'll get a complete and thorough primer on the ins-and-outs of being prepared for the all worst-case scenarios, from an undisputed expert in the field. But what exactly brought her down here in the first place, and what's the price of complete safety? The answers are revealed in the world premiere of Carrie Barrett's hilarious, surprising and joyfully morbid new play.

"Burden physically and vocally asks the audience to explore the story with us, which is exciting and refreshing-but also nerve-wracking in its unpredictability," comments director Megan A. Smith. "This is a play where each evening's audience will uniquely inform the performance."

The production team for THE BURDEN OF NOT HAVING A TAIL includes: Eleanor Kahn (set designer), Kristin DeiTos (costume designer), Jordan Kardasz (lighting designer), Christopher M. LaPorte and Michael Huey (sound designers), Arianna Soloway (props coordinator), Gina Di Salvo and Jeff Tinley (dramaturgs), Ben Dawson (production manager), Ellie Wasserman (assistant director), Shelby Glasgow (stage manager) and Kelley Benes and Alison McLeod (assistant stage managers).

Carrie Barrett's plays have been produced, workshopped or developed at The National Playwrights Conference at The Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center, Katselas Theatre Company (Los Angeles), Gotham Stage Company (New York), Steep Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, American Theatre Company, Northwestern University and through Remy Bumppo Theatre Company. Her improv and sketch comedy has been produced at i.O Theatres (Chicago & Los Angeles), Second City Unhinged and various festivals such as Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Piccolo Spoletto Fringe, Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival, Chicago Improv Festival and Los Angeles Improv Festival. She is a graduate of Northwestern's MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage program where she studied under playwrights Rebecca Gilman and Laura Schellhardt. She currently lives in Los Angeles where she is a member of The Playwrights Union.

Development of THE BURDEN OF NOT HAVING A TAIL was supported by the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center during a residency at the National Playwrights Conference of 2010. Preston Whitway, Executive Director; Wendy C. Goldberg, Artistic Director.

It is the mission of Sideshow Theatre Company to mine The Collective Unconscious of the world we live in with limitless curiosity, drawing inspiration from the familiar stories, memories and images we all share to spark new conversation and bring our audiences together as adventurers in a communal experience of exploration. From its first production, 2008's Dante Dies!! (and then things get weird), to its Jeff Award-winning productions of Roland Schimmelpfennig's Idomeneus (named one of the best plays of 2012 by Time Out Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times) and Elizabeth Meriwether's runaway robotic hit Heddatron (part of Steppenwolf's second annual GARAGE REP), Sideshow has consistently produced engaging, transcendent works across Chicago. In 2014, Sideshow will begin a multi-year residency at Victory Gardens in the historic Biograph Theatre.

Tickets: Previews: $15, or pay-what-you-can at the door. Regular run: $20; $15 student, senior and industry tickets available for selectThursday and Sunday performances. Tickets are available at www.sideshowtheatre.org. Group tickets are available for $15 for groups of 10 or more, and can be reserved by emailing tickets@sideshowtheatre.org.

Photo Credit: Jonathan L. Green