Photo Flash: RED NOSES At Strawdog Theater Co

Strawdog ensemble members John Ferrick (Father Flote), Carmine Grisolia (Rochfort), Kyle Hamman (Brodin), Shannon Hoag (Marguerite), Anderson Lawfer (Le Grue), and Michaela Petro (Scarron), with guest artists Christy Arrington (Flagellant), Paul Fagen (Toulon), Kyle Gibson (Player), Sarah Goeden (Sonnerie), Paige Hoffman (Boutros Brother), Allison Latta (Flagellant), Rob McLean (Archbishop Monselet), Marika Mashburn (Druce), Tom Mondala (Player), John Moran (Player), Chelsea Paice (Player), Eric Pogrelis (Boutros Brother), Eric Roach (Grez), Michael E. Smith (Frapper), Stephen Taylor (Pope/Master Pestilence), Andrew Trygstad (Bembo) and Justine C. Turner (Player).

British screenwriter and playwright Peter Barnes' (1931-2004) work includes the Academy Award-nominated films "The Ruling Class" (1972) and "Enchanted April" (1992). His stage work includes "Leonardo's Last Supper" (1969), "The Bewitched" (1974), "Laughter!" (1978), "Sunsets and Glories" (1990), "Dreaming" (1999), and "Jubilee" (2001).

Strawdog Theatre Company is supported in part by The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Alphawood Foundation, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Illinois Arts Council (a state agency), Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Gerry Brown and Associates, and the annual support of businesses and individuals.

Strawdog Theatre Company is committed to ensemble acting and an immersive design approach, offering Chicago the premiere storefront theatre experience. We develop new work, reimagine classic plays, explore new fusions of music and theatre, ask provocative questions and deliver our audience the unexpected. We provide a home for our celebrated ensemble to work and play with the most sought after artists in Chicago theatre along with the best new talents in the city. Founded in 1988, the Strawdog ensemble has consistently produced shows built on authentic human connections, and our comfortable 70-seat home in Lakeview is perfect for offering our audience a quintessential Chicago storefront theatre experience. "The whole wide world in a little black box." Strawdog is a proud member of the NortHalsted Area Merchant Association, The Chicago Storefront Theatre District and the League of Chicago Theatres.

Strawdog Theatre Company was formed in 1988 by a group of actors who had performed together in a production of Euripides's "Helen" at a (now defunct) theatre on the west side. The group took their name from Sam Peckinpah's movie "Straw Dogs" (Theatresaurus Rex was, thankfully, the runner-up), and they produced their first show, Len Jenkin's "Five of Us" at a (now defunct) space in Bucktown. At the time, the Chicago Reader said "Strawdog Theatre Company's inaugural production brings ... truth home with a vengeance," and Skyline Chicago added "The Strawdog troupe shows us what an ensemble can do." Twenty years later, Strawdog Theatre Company has survived the ups and downs of Chicago theatre, and is still dedicated to bringing the truth to audiences through the committed work of an award-winning ensemble of actors and designers.

Photos by Chris Ocken

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