16th Street Announces MENORCA 9/9-10/16

16th Street Theater, a part of the North Berwyn Park District, is proud to announce the world premiere of Robert Koon's MENORCA directed by Ann Filmer performing September 9 - October 16, 2010 at the Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16th Street in Berwyn, with a press opening of Thursday, September 16 at 7:30 PM. This is the final play in 16th Street's Season 2010: What is Home? MENORCA follows their hit THIS TRAIN by Tony Fitzpatrick which closes this week at Steppenwolf Garage.

"Everyone thinks of time as a line. To them, it moves from here to here. In archeology, though, we must think of time like a cake. Layers, the oldest on the bottom and the newest on the top."

On the island of Menorca, an archeological dig reveals human remains. Ollie (Alesandese), a woman of Basque origin born in San Sebastain, is there. She is with her students and James, her boss who is also her lover. In the Southern California desert, a border is being watched and guarded. Ollie is there too, with George, a Mexican- American border patrol agent, when more human bones are discovered. The present intrudes on the past as boundaries are set, crossed, and broken. All in the search for the identity of a woman misplaced. Script draft available for perusal and interviews with playwright and the three leads can be arranged by calling Ann at (773) 307-1563.

Kirsten D'Aurelio (just seen in People We Know at the side project and in Fires in the Mirror at 16th Street) will take on the lead role of Ollie. In preparation for the part, she just returned from Spain where she visited Menorca, Ciutadella, explored the Basque country of San Sebastian, and experienced Barcelona. She kept a daily blog of her travels here.

Robert Koon's plays include the critically-acclaimed Vintage Red and the Dust of the Road (Jeff Award for New Work), St. Colm's Inch and Odin's Horse. Menorca was developed at the William Inge Theatre Festival (with Ann Filmer as its director). This is its world premiere.

Cast: Kirsten D'Aurelio (Fires in the Mirror at 16th Street, People we Know at the side project) as Ollie, Doug MacKechnie (Lucinda's Bed at Chicago Dramatists as James, Juan Gabriel Ruiz (Our Lady of the Underpass with Teatro Vista and 16th Street) as George. The rest of the ensemble are: Teddy Boone, Melissa Kong, Mallory Nees, Ben Osbun, Rachel Rizzuto and Angela Sprinkle. The production is directed by Ann Filmer.

Robert Koon BIO

"There is a Latin term, genius loci, that refers to the pervading spirit that is contained in a place, a spirit that is revealed not only through our physical perceptions of the place but also (more meaningfully) through our emotional perceptions. These emotional perceptions are deepened by the personal connections we have with a place-the more our past is present there, the more profoundly we feel that spirit of place, and in that recognition we find a way to discover ourselves again.

I have always found the sense of place inspiring, that physically and emotionally tangible connection to a larger world, that sense of the past and the present existing together. Whether it is encountered in the cooperage of a winery, an emptied house, a grove of redwoods, or a dusty patch of ground, the genius loci reminds me that the past is present, that we are who we have been, and that the simple events of the everyday world are larger and more mysterious than we can imagine."

Robert Koon is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists, where he also serves an the theatre's Staff Dramaturg. Chicago Dramatists produced his play St. Colm's Inch in 2005, and published his play Vintage Red and the Dust of the Road in their anthology New Plays from Chicago. Robert's other work includes Odin's Horse, The Point of Honor, Inpainting, Changing Attire, Solstice, and Looking West from Firá. In addition to Chicago Dramatists, his work has been featured at Visions and Voices, Infamous Commonwealth Theatre, Stage Left Theatre, the Ashland New Plays Festival (Oregon), The Lark Theatre (New York), the Dayton Playhouse, and Mirror Stage (Seattle).

Vintage Red and the Dust of the Road received a Joseph Jefferson Awards Citation for New Work in 2003, and Odin's Horse was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award in 2009. Robert has also received the national award for new work from the EcoDrama Playwrights Festival in 2004, and has been nominated for the American Theatre Critics Association Steinberg Award.

He has been awarded creative residencies at the Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, Illinois, and the William Inge Center for the Arts in Independence, Kansas. Robert teaches regularly in the Playwrights Studio at Chicago Dramatists, and has also taught at The Theatre School at DePaul University, Aurora University, Independence (Kansas) Community College, Timber Lake Playhouse, and the Ashland (Oregon) New Plays Festival. Dramaturgical credits include Stageworks Theatre in Tampa, Florida and Indiana Theatre Works. He is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America.

16TH STREET THEATER

Recognized by the Chicago Reader as Chicago's Best Emerging Theater 2009, 16th Street Theater is located 17 minutes from downtown Chicago at the Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16th Street, Berwyn, IL 60402. Just west of Ridgeland, the theater is one mile southwest of the Austin exit off the Eisenhower Expressway/290 and the Austin Blue line. There is free parking in the lot one block west at 16th and Gunderson. Go to www.16thstreettheater.org to subscribe to Season Three, purchase tickets or for more information.

RUNNING TIME:
2 hours. One intermission.

WHEN:
September 9 - October 16, 2010
Previews: Sept 9, 10 at 7:30 PM, Sept 12 8:30 PM
Press Opening: Thursday, September 16, 2010 @ 7:30 PM
No Show: Friday, September 17 in observation of Yom Kippur
Regular Run: Thursdays & Fridays @ 7:30 PM, Saturdays @ 5:00 & 8:30 PM
Closing: October 16, 2010

WHERE:
Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16th Street, Berwyn

WHO:
CAST: Kirsten D'Aurelio, Doug MacKechnie, Juan Gabriel Ruiz, Teddy Boone, Melissa Kong, Mallory Nees, Ben Osbun, Rachel Rizzuto and Angela Sprinkle.

TO PURCHASE TICKETS:
$16 Tickets
Online - www.16thstreettheater.org
In Person - at North Berwyn Park District, 1619 Wesley Ave., Berwyn
Ticket and Information Hotline - (708) 795-6704

HOW MUCH:
General Admission: $16

16th STREET THEATER is Berwyn's professional equity theater under the artistic direction of Ann Filmer. Season Three 2010: "What is Home?" features 6 plays by 6 great, diverse, Chicago writers and is supported in part by The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. The BERWYN CULTURAL CENTER, a North Berwyn Park District managed facility, is dedicated to providing the highest quality and range of cultural arts programs, classes, workshops, events, and exhibitions providing opportunities for Berwyn residents and area artists. The center provides year-round programs engaging participants of all ages in visual, performing, literary, martial and media arts and 16th Street Theater's professional productions. The BCC also serves as an incubator for emerging artists, artisans, writers, performers and musicians to develop and present new works. The center is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life and sustainability of our local communities by advancing appreciation for the beauty of cultural diversity.