Pine Box Presents ElectionFest 2012, 10/22-30

Just in time for the final showdown for the White House, Pine Box Theater patriotically presents ElectionFest 2012, "twelve bold, politically-charged ten-minute plays exploring the issues driving the divide in today’s political landscape and the upcoming election," written by some of the country's most exciting theatrical voices." The four-night festival will be presented October 22-23 & 29-30, 2012 at Theatre Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.theatrewit.org or by calling the Theatre Wit Box Office at (773) 975-8150.

Playwrights already confirmed for ElectionFest 2012 include Pine Box Ensemble Member Joshua Rollins with Rachel Axler, Laura Eason, Andrew Hinderaker and Michael Patrick Thornton. Additional Pine Box Ensemble Members confirmed to participate include: Audrey Francis, Sasha Gioppo, Linsey Page Morton, Josh Odor, Steve Pickering, and Vincent Teninty. The full line-up for ElectionFest 2012 will be announced shortly. For the most current information, visit www.pineboxtheater.org.

Everyone has a different opinion and reaction to the upcoming election and, thanks to social media, it’s all out in the open. It has never been easier to post a link, express your opinion, and unfriend anyone who disagrees. In this era where human interaction is at a premium and people debate each other endlessly with the click of a button, Pine Box asked its favorite playwrights to consider the following: What are the human elements driving the division in today’s political discourse? What happens when the gloves come off and you can no longer ignore other people's beliefs or hide your own?

It’s time to trash the old advice to “never discuss religion or politics in polite company.” Screw polite, we say. We want dialogue, however messy, hilarious or maddening it gets. In ten minutes or less. The result: ElectionFest 2012.

Pine Box Theater’s ensemble seeks to inhabit complex characters that thrive on the knife’s edge of moral ambiguity. We pursue the story of the sinner, the bastard, and the lost, leaving everything raw and bare and pulsing with the beauty and ugliness of our shared humanity. What better arena to do this than the upcoming presidential election? For four nights in October, Theatre Wit will become our debate stage, our pulpit, our boxing ring. It will be our street corner and our high-rise apartment. Most importantly, it will be up close and face-to-face.

Title: ElectionFest 2012
Location: Theatre Wit
1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago
Dates: Regular Run: Monday, October 22, Tuesday, October 23, Monday, October 29 & Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Curtain Times: 7:30 pm
Tickets: $13. Available at www.theatrewit.org or by calling the Theatre Wit Box Office at (773) 975-8150.

Pine Box Theater Company (Vincent Teninty, Artistic Director; Greg Rothman, Managing Director) has its genesis in a group of actors who all met and graduated from the School at Steppenwolf in 2004. Wanting to build upon this common experience and strengthen the relationships they had forged there, these actors agreed to form a company with a commitment to producing challenging theatre with a focus on intense character and relationship-driven stories. Seminal productions include: Life and Limb by Keith Reddin, This is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan, Hot 'N' Throbbing by Paula Vogel and Pine Box Ensemble Member Joshua Rollins’ A Girl With Sun In Her Eyes in the summer of 2011.