Joseph Stearns News

Signal Ensemble Theatre presents the first show of its eighth season, Tom Stoppard's comedy 'The Real Inspector Hound,' the ensemble's inaugural presentation in their permanent theater space at 1802 W. Berenice Ave., a 50-seat venue in Chicago's North Center neighborhood. Theatre critics Moon and Birdboot attend the premiere of a new murder mystery and are swept into the whodunit they are viewing. As Moon laments his status as a second-string reviewer, and Birdboot considers adultery with one of the shows actresses, they soon find themselves inside the play-within-a-play, implicated in the lethal activities of an escaped madman. In a hilarious send-up of Agatha Christie-style melodrama, Stoppard's 1968 work is just as rooted in absurdism as it is in satire. Kicking off Signal's 'Season of Comedy,' this play set in the theater will appropriately open Signal's new performance space. The show will run about 65 minutes with no intermission.

Signal Ensemble Theatre presents the first show of its eighth season, Tom Stoppard's comedy 'The Real Inspector Hound,' the ensemble's inaugural presentation in their permanent theater space at 1802 W. Berenice Ave., a 50-seat venue in Chicago's North Center neighborhood. Theatre critics Moon and Birdboot attend the premiere of a new murder mystery and are swept into the whodunit they are viewing. As Moon laments his status as a second-string reviewer, and Birdboot considers adultery with one of the shows actresses, they soon find themselves inside the play-within-a-play, implicated in the lethal activities of an escaped madman. In a hilarious send-up of Agatha Christie-style melodrama, Stoppard's 1968 work is just as rooted in absurdism as it is in satire. Kicking off Signal's 'Season of Comedy,' this play set in the theater will appropriately open Signal's new performance space. The show will run about 65 minutes with no intermission.

Signal Ensemble Theatre presents the final show of its seventh season, the world premiere of 'Aftermath,' written and directed by co-artistic director Ronan Marra. Brian Jones, founder and original leader of The Rolling Stones, was perhaps most famous for his mysterious death at age 27.

Signal Ensemble Theatre presents the final show of its seventh season, the world premiere of 'Aftermath,' written and directed by co-artistic director Ronan Marra. Brian Jones, founder and original leader of The Rolling Stones, was perhaps most famous for his mysterious death at age 27.

Signal Ensemble Theatre presents the final show of its seventh season, the world premiere of 'Aftermath,' written and directed by co-artistic director Ronan Marra. Brian Jones, founder and original leader of The Rolling Stones, was perhaps most famous for his mysterious death at age 27. Jones's lasting impact on rock ‘n roll was masked behind his sexual escapades, high profile relationships and drug induced arrests. Spanning the years 1966-1969, 'Aftermath,' a drama with the actors playing live music, maps the rise and fall of a troubled genius whose legacy was overshadowed by the very band he created. The show runs about 90 minutes with no intermission. Marra received a Jeff nomination for Best New Work for his last new play 'Landslide' (produced by Signal in 2005).

Signal Ensemble Theatre presents the final show of its seventh season, the world premiere of 'Aftermath,' written and directed by co-artistic director Ronan Marra. Brian Jones, founder and original leader of The Rolling Stones, was perhaps most famous for his mysterious death at age 27.

Signal Ensemble Theatre presents the final show of its seventh season, the world premiere of 'Aftermath,' written and directed by co-artistic director Ronan Marra. Brian Jones, founder and original leader of The Rolling Stones, was perhaps most famous for his mysterious death at age 27.

Signal Ensemble Theatre, a Chicago company, announces the addition of three new ensemble members, starting in the 2009-2010 season, including scenic designer Melania Lancy, playwright/actor Jon Steinhagen and actor/director Bries Vannon.

Signal Ensemble Theatre opens its seventh season with Edward Albee's take on the Carson McCullers novella 'The Ballad of the Sad Café,' directed by Co-Artistic Director Ronan Marra. Albee's signature piercing dialogue propels this 1963 dramatic adaptation that centers on the question: is it better to be the loved, or the beloved?

Signal Ensemble Theatre opens its seventh season with Edward Albee's take on the Carson McCullers novella 'The Ballad of the Sad Café,' directed by Co-Artistic Director Ronan Marra. Albee's signature piercing dialogue propels this 1963 dramatic adaptation that centers on the question: is it better to be the loved, or the beloved?

Signal Ensemble Theatre opens its seventh season with Edward Albee's take on the Carson McCullers novella 'The Ballad of the Sad Café,' directed by Co-Artistic Director Ronan Marra. Albee's signature piercing dialogue propels this 1963 dramatic adaptation that centers on the question: is it better to be the loved, or the beloved?

Signal Ensemble Theatre opens its seventh season with Edward Albee's take on the Carson McCullers novella 'The Ballad of the Sad Café,' directed by Co-Artistic Director Ronan Marra. Albee's signature piercing dialogue propels this 1963 dramatic adaptation that centers on the question: is it better to be the loved, or the beloved?

Signal Ensemble Theatre opens its seventh season with Edward Albee's take on the Carson McCullers novella 'The Ballad of the Sad Café,' directed by Co-Artistic Director Ronan Marra. Albee's signature piercing dialogue propels this 1963 dramatic adaptation that centers on the question: is it better to be the loved, or the beloved?

Signal Ensemble Theatre continues its sixth season with the Scottish drama 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' by Jay Presson Allen, based on the novel by Muriel Spark, directed by Co-Artistic Director Ronan Marra. Jean Brodie is in the business of putting old heads on young shoulders, and all of her pupils are the crème de le crème.

Signal Ensemble Theatre continues its sixth season with the Scottish drama 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' by Jay Presson Allen, based on the novel by Muriel Spark, directed by Co-Artistic Director Ronan Marra. Jean Brodie is in the business of putting old heads on young shoulders, and all of her pupils are the crème de le crème.

Signal Ensemble Theatre continues its sixth season with the Scottish drama 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' by Jay Presson Allen, based on the novel by Muriel Spark, directed by Co-Artistic Director Ronan Marra. Jean Brodie is in the business of putting old heads on young shoulders, and all of her pupils are the cr?me de le cr?me. The Brodie Set, as her students at the Marcia Blaine School for Girls are famously known, hang on Miss Brodie's every word as she - with reckless abandon - dismisses the standard curriculum in favor of lessons in subjects as wide-ranging as Giotto to Hitler to her own romances. When Miss Brodie begins an affair with one teacher to distract from her affair with another, and a false love letter falls into the wrong hands, the headmistress puts Brodie under review. Her considerable bombast is the only thing that saves her job, until a fatal error in guidance, and the betrayal of her favorite student become more than Miss Jean Brodie can overcome - even in her prime. The show runs about two hours with one intermission.

Signal Ensemble Theatre continues its sixth season with the Scottish drama 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' by Jay Presson Allen, based on the novel by Muriel Spark, directed by Co-Artistic Director Ronan Marra. Jean Brodie is in the business of putting old heads on young shoulders, and all of her pupils are the cr?me de le cr?me. The Brodie Set, as her students at the Marcia Blaine School for Girls are famously known, hang on Miss Brodie's every word as she - with reckless abandon - dismisses the standard curriculum in favor of lessons in subjects as wide-ranging as Giotto to Hitler to her own romances. When Miss Brodie begins an affair with one teacher to distract from her affair with another, and a false love letter falls into the wrong hands, the headmistress puts Brodie under review. Her considerable bombast is the only thing that saves her job, until a fatal error in guidance, and the betrayal of her favorite student become more than Miss Jean Brodie can overcome - even in her prime. The show runs about two hours with one intermission.

Signal Ensemble Theatre continues its sixth season with John Guare's 'Six Degrees of Separation,' directed by co-artistic director Ronan Marra. Ouisa Kittredge read somewhere that 'everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people.' When Paul, a young victim of a knife attack, seeks assistance at her family's upper-class New York home, she discovers how true that statement really is.

Signal Ensemble Theatre continues its sixth season with John Guare's 'Six Degrees of Separation,' directed by co-artistic director Ronan Marra. Ouisa Kittredge read somewhere that 'everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people.' When Paul, a young victim of a knife attack, seeks assistance at her family's upper-class New York home, she discovers how true that statement really is.

On Monday, November 7th at 7pm at Chopin Theatre, the Signal Ensemble Theatre continues its sixth season with John Guare's 'Six Degrees of Separation,' directed by co-artistic director Ronan Marra. Ouisa Kittredge read somewhere that 'everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people.' When Paul, a young victim of a knife attack, seeks assistance at her family's upper-class New York home, she discovers how true that statement really is.