Ike Holter News

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosts more than 120 outstanding theater students from colleges and universities across the nation as part of the 50th annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF), which runs April 16-20, 2019 in multiple locations throughout the Center. The Center also announced the national awardees for the KCACTF. Selected awardees and representatives will be brought to Washington, D.C. for an expense-paid trip to participate in the National Festival. These student artists from across the United States have been recognized for their outstanding work from the eight regional festivals that were held January 8 through February 28, 2019.

As the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots approaches, Pandora Productions is proud to present Ike Holter's HIT THE WALL. An homage to the beginning of a movement! The play follows the stories of regular people thrust into extraordinary circumstances. We must never forget that the courage of a few have made a difference for all. Fed up with harassment by the police, the denizens of the Stonewall Inn fight back! It's the early hours of June 28, 1969 when a routine police raid on The Stonewall Inn, a popular underground gay bar in Greenwich Village, sparks a full-scale riot. Violent protests and street demonstrations continued for the next several days in what became known as The Stonewall Riots, thrusting a group of unlikely revolution-aries onto the frontlines of history and igniting one of the most influential social and political movements of the 20th Century. HIT THE WALL focuses on that wild and enigmatic first night of the riots, placing the audience just on the periphery of the conflict. An imaginative blend of history and mythology, it shines a contemporary light on the legacy of Stonewall.

"Not everyone will go home a winner" in Goodman Theatre's world-premiere production of Lottery Day by Ike Holter, which appears through April 28 in the Owen Theatre. Holter concludes his seven-play "Rightlynd Saga"-the first play of which premiered five years ago, and has been hailed as "one of the most significant literary achievements in modern-day Chicago" (Chicago Tribune)-with a raucous theatrical bash, directed by Chicago native Lili-Anne Brown. Commissioned by the Goodman and developed through its New Stages Festival of new plays, Lottery Day takes place in a Rightlynd backyard where new characters and returning characters from the saga come together to create a work about the cost of belonging and the gift of community. Lottery Day appears through April 28 in the Owen Theatre.

Berkeley's acclaimed Aurora Theatre Company(Artistic Director Tom Ross) announces today the six plays that will comprise the theatre's 28th season, beginning with the Bay Area Premiere of Ike Holter's energetic drama, EXIT STRATEGY. The Bay Area premiere of Bryna Turner's BULL IN A CHINA SHOP follows. Lucy Kirkwood's recent Broadway hit THE CHILDREN will kick off the new year as a West Coast Premiere, followed by Joe Orton's classic LOOT in a production honoring the playwright's unseen and uncensored version. Next is the World Premiere of Christopher Chen's thought-provoking Originate + Generate commission, THE RULER. The season closes with the Bay Area premiere of Laura Eason's smart comedy SEX WITH STRANGERS.

Victory Gardens Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Executive Director Erica Daniels, announces the lineup for its 2019-2020 Season. Victory Gardens' 45th Season will include the Chicago premiere of Tiny Beautiful Things by Nia Vardalos; the world premiere of The First Deep Breath by Lee Edward Colston II; the co-world premiere of How to Defend Yourself by Lily Padilla; and the world premiere of Dhaba on Devon Avenue by Madhuri Shekar; and the Chicago premiere of Right to Be Forgotten by Sharyn Rothstein.

The AA Arts Incubator Program of Asian Improv Arts Midwest (AIRMW) is pleased to announce that its historic series, 'Our Perspective: Asian American Play Readings,' continues with its second reading in 2019. The next reading is the comedic full length play Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon by Matthew C. Yee, Monday, May 13, at the Steppenwolf 1700 Theatre, 1700 N Halsted St, at 6:30 p.m. The running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $8 for general admission seating and may be reserved online at steppenwolf.org. Seating is limited. For any additional information about the event, go to Our-Perspective.com or call 773.972.6745.

Due to popular demand, Haven Theatre, in association with About Face Theatre, announces one additional week of performances of is hit Midwest premiere musical THE TOTAL BENT

With the original run and first extension completely sold out, Steep Theatre is extending the run of Ike Holter's Red Rex through March 30. Jack Miggins, who was nominated for a Jeff Award for his work in Steep's 2014 production of The Vandal, will join the cast in the role of Adam beginning on March 13. Tickets are on sale now at steeptheatre.com/redrex, and they're expected to sell very quickly. 

Goodman Theatre proudly announces the casts for its Chicago premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Sweat by Lynn Nottage, directed by Ron OJ Parson, as well as its world premiere of Lottery Day-Ike Holter's final work in his seven-play "The Rightlynd Saga," directed by Lili-Anne Brown. Tickets are now available for both productions at GoodmanTheatre.org, by telephone 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 N. Dearborn).

Haven Theatre, in association with About Face Theatre, presents the Midwest premiere of THE TOTAL BENT, a dynamic new rock show about fathers, sons, social upheaval and the choice between salvation and selling out.

With the original run completely sold out, Steep Theatre is extending the run of Ike Holter's Red Rex through March 16 and adding Wednesday evening performances to the schedule beginning February 6. Tickets are on sale now at steeptheatre.com/redrex, and they're expected to sell very quickly. 

Ike Holter's RED REX, now in its world premiere at Steep Theatre, is a delightfully meta-theatrical experience. The play is the sixth in local playwright Holter's ambitious seven-play cycle about Rightlynd, the fictional 51st ward of Chicago. It is one of the most intriguing, brilliant, and solidly constructed plays in the 'Rightlynd Saga.' RED REX is Chicago theater that is quite literally about Chicago theater. Yet Holter never panders to his theater-loving audience in his writing. Watching RED REX is a simultaneously gratifying and challenging experience, and that's precisely what makes this play so powerful.

In January, Steep Ensemble Member Jonathan Berry returns to Steep to direct the world premiere of Ike Holter's Red Rex, the sixth play in Holter's seven-play "Rightlynd Saga" about Chicago. Since the 2012 production of his Hit the Wall, Holter's work has gained increasing national and international attention. In describing the "Rightlynd Saga," Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune opined that it "might just be one of the most significant literary achievements in modern-day Chicago." Holter's play Rightlynd, part of the seven-play saga, is currently in production at Victory Gardens Theatre, and his Lottery Day, the final play in the saga, premieres in the Spring of 2019 at the Goodman Theatre. Director Jonathan Berry has been at the helm of many of Steep's most memorable shows, including the recent smash-hit production of Simon Stephens' Birdland.

Building on 40 years of producing powerful contemporary theatre, Studio Theatre is pleased to announce a new class of commissioned playwrights and directors to Studio R&D, its incubator to support the creation of new work from inception to first production. Incoming Studio R&D artists are playwrights James Fritz, James Ijames, Steph Del Rosso, and Emily Schwend, as well as directors Carl Cofield, Lila Neugebauer, and Eric Ruffin. These exciting talents from the US and UK will have Studio's full support in creating aesthetically diverse new work to be presented in future seasons and introduced into the international repertoire. As they create Studio-specific works, commissioned artists will visit Studio to get to know its theatres, programming, and audiences in person.

Haven Theatre, in association with About Face Theatre, presents the Midwest premiere of THE TOTAL BENT, a dynamic new rock show about fathers, sons, social upheaval and the choice between salvation and selling out.

With the dust settled from midterm elections and freshman members of Congress learning to navigate the maze of Capitol Hill 2.5 miles away, Studio Theatre presents Kings, part of its Studio X series, written by Alexandria, VA native Sarah Burgess and directed by Marti Lyons. With a deft hand at the fast talk and power dynamics of lawmaking and fundraising, Burgesss play is a swamp tour of the Beltway power-broking that fuels her hometown. A Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist, Burgess quickly rose to notoriety exploring the cutthroat world of finance in her breakout play, Dry Powder, at the Public Theater in New York, which starred Claire Danes, John Krasinski, and Hank Azaria.

Victory Gardens Theater announces Tanuja Jagernauth as the 2019 Marcelle McVay Management Fellow for 2019. Victory Gardens Next Generation Fellowships provide comprehensive mentorship, requisite training, and experience for these future leaders of color, preparing them to helm arts institutions or departments on the national and local level. The 2019 Macelle McVay Management Fellowship is made possible by support from the Weiss Grosshandler Charitable Fund.

Haven Theatre, in association with About Face Theatre, is pleased to announce casting for its Midwest premiere of THE TOTAL BENT, featuring text by Stew and music and lyrics by Stew and Heidi Rodewald (Passing Strange) and directed by Jeff Award-winning director Lili-Anne Brown.

Victory Gardens Theater announces the extension of the critically-acclaimed hit Rightlynd, written by Ike Holter and directed by Lisa Portes with original music by Charlie Coffeen. With six additional performances, the production now runs through December 30, 2018, at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.

 La Jolla Playhouse has announcesd four productions for its 2019/2020 season, including the world premieres of Put Your House in Order by Ike Holter, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, and The Luckiest, byMelissa Ross, directed by former Playhouse Associate Artistic Director Jaime Castañeda, developed as part of the Playhouse's 2018 DNA New Work Series.