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For Immediate Release

Stage Left Theatre Company ● 3408 N. Sheffield, Chicago, IL 60657
773.883.8830 phone ● 773.472.1336 fax ● www.stagelefttheatre.com
Press Contact: John Sanders, 312.493.0729, john@stagelefttheatre.com

Stage Left Theatre presents the US Premiere of
Omniscience
by Tim Carlson
April 15 – May 24, 2008

- Omniscience marks Stage Left’s 100 th production -
- Omniscience to feature an all-ensemble cast & director -
- Five for Free ticket program announced -

Chicago , March 25, 2008 – Stage Left Theatre (SLT)’s Season 26: Global Voices continues with the US premiere of Canadian playwright Tim Carlson’s Omniscience, a multi-media, sci-fi thriller. Based on classic dystopian themes, Omniscience is a futuristic mystery, woven from fragments of electronic surveillance and examining privacy, language and media in the twenty-first century. Omniscience marks Stage Left Theatre’s 100 th production and features an all-ensemble cast, directed by SLT producing artistic director Kevin Heckman. Tim Carlson is a playwright, journalist, and co-founder/artistic producer of Theatre Conspiracy in Vancouver, British Columbia. Omniscience has been produced in Canada and Germany, with translations and productions being planned in Portugal and Japan. Opening Night for Stage Left’s U.S. Premiere is Tuesday, April 15 th at 7:30 PM. Mr. Carlson will be on hand at the opening.

THE PLAY

In a dystopian future, Channel One employee Warren struggles to finish editing a war documentary shot by his partner, who disappeared while filming in the battle zone. As he digs deeper into his partner’s footage, Warren and his wife Anna, a military officer suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, struggle to find physical and psychological shelter from constant corporate and government surveillance. Under this increasing pressure, Warren might be cracking up. Or is he coming to see the truth of his world?

Omniscience received its world premiere at Performance Works Granville Island in Vancouver, British Columbia, where it was developed and produced by Theatre Conspiracy. The production was nominated for six Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards in Vancouver (2005), including Best Production. A German translation was presented at Maxim Gorki Theatre, Berlin, in 2006, and produced at Theatre Magdeburg in 2007. A Japanese translation has recently been completed, and a Portuguese translation will be produced by Novo Grupo de Teatro in Lisbon next season.

Omniscience will feature an all-ensemble cast including Stage Left veterans Cat Dean (Spare Change, Fellow Travellers, Echoes of Another Man), Christine Gatto (Live Girls, Fellow Travellers) and Cory Krebsbach (Fellow Travellers, Echoes of Another Man) and introducing new ensemble member Brian Plocharczyk (The Human Capacity - LeapFest 3, Somebody Foreign – LeapFest 1). Ensemble member and SLT producing artistic director Kevin Heckman will direct.

FIVE FOR FREE ANNOUNCED

With Omniscience, Stage Left will launch Five for Free, a new ticketing program that will allow the first five patrons to arrive at the box office for each performance to claim a free ticket by mentioning the Five for Free program. The box office opens 45 minutes prior to the start of each performance, and patrons will be limited to one ticket per person. The program is designed to allow new and underprivileged audiences the chance to experience a Stage Left show without purchasing a full-price ticket or seeking out lower-price options thru other vendors. The program will be targeted at underprivileged community groups, but is open to the general public.

TICKETS, DATES & INFORMATION

Omniscience runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM, Sundays at 3:00 PM from 4/17/08 through 5/24/08. Tickets are $20 on Thursdays, $22 on Fridays and Sundays, and $25 on Saturdays. Opening Night is Tuesday, April 15 th at 7:30 PM and tickets are $25. Previews are 4/10, 4/11, 4/12 and 4/14 at 8:00 PM, and preview tickets are $10. Running time is approximately 120 minutes with one intermission. Student Rush tickets are 50% off any remaining tickets ten minutes before show (if available), and senior and group discounts are also available. $5 tickets for industry professionals are available on the first two Thursdays of the run, 4/17 & 4/24. Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 773.883.8830 or online at www.stagelefttheatre.com. Stage Left Theatre is located at 3408 N. Sheffield Ave. in Chicago. Street, metered and paid lot parking is available. The theatre is handicapped and CTA accessible via the Belmont El (Red & Brown) & Addison El (Red) stops.

Media comps, photos, videos and interviews are available by contacting John Sanders at 773.883.8830 ext. 3 (office), 312.493.0729 (cell) or john@stagelefttheatre.com. Streaming videowill be available at www.stagechannel.com. Hi-res photos, this release and archived releases and photos are available at www.stagelefttheatre.com/press.html.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Stage Left continues its Sunday Symposium program. Every Sunday matinee is followed immediately by a discussion with the artists about the issues in the play. The program furthers Stage Left’s mission of producing plays that raise debate and challenge perspectives on political and social issues. Sunday Symposia are free to the public and, when possible, feature the actors, director and playwright of the production engaging in lively discussion with audience members.

THE PEOPLE

Tim Carlson (playwright) is artistic producer at Theatre Conspiracy in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2008, he is co-creating Live From the Bush of Ghosts with Theatre Conspiracy and is developing the newsroom comedy Liar’s Guide to Non-fiction as an artist-in-residence at the Vancouver Playhouse. The Conspiracy production of Omniscience was nominated for six Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards in Vancouver (2005), including Best Production. A German translation was produced by Theater Magdeburg in 2007. A Portuguese-language translation will be produced by Novo Grupo de Teatro in Lisbon, fall 2008. The play is published by Talonbooks. Carlson’s other plays include Diplomacy (2006), Night Desk (2001) and The Chronicle has Hart (2000). His short comedy The Reinvention of Minister Thorne is included in the Brave New Play Rites anthology (Anvil Press, 2006). Carlson is a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada. He holds an MFA in creative writing from UBC and earned a journalism degree at University of King’s College, Halifax. He can be contacted at www.conspiracy.ca.

Kevin Heckman (director) returns to the director's chair after appearing in Mia McCullough's Spare Change earlier this season. Omniscience will be the eighth production Heckman has directed for Stage Left. Previous projects include Chagrin Falls (Jeff Nominated-Best Production; Jeff Citation - Best New Work), Burying the Bones (Jeff Nominated - Best New Work), Echoes of Another Man, The Vow and last season's Live Girls. He has worked around Chicago as an actor, director, lighting designer and fight choreographer with such companies as Chicago Shakespeare, Apple Tree, Chicago Dramatists (where he is an associate artist), Bailiwick Repertory and Babes with Blades. He has also served in Stage Left's artistic leadership since 2000. Heckman graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, majoring in theatre and mathematics.

The cast includes SLT ensemble members Cat Dean (Anna), Christine Gatto (Beth), Cory Krebsbach ( Warren) and Brian Plocharczyk (George).

The staff includes SLT ensemble member John Kohn III (lighting design), with guest artists Julie Aubry (costume design), Christopher Fuller (sound design), Victor Holstein (video design), Lori Mages (properties design), Ashley Elaine Nelson (production stage management) and Adam Parboosingh (set design).

ABOUT STAGE LEFT

Founded in 1982, Stage Left Theatre is committed to nurturing voices for the American theatre by developing and producing plays that raise debate and challenge perspectives on political and social issues. Through a full subscription season and Downstage Left, one of Chicago’s most prolific new play development programs, Stage Left strives to bring high-quality new work and world premieres to the Chicago stage. Over the last six years, the Joseph Jefferson Committee has honored Stage Left world premieres with six nominations and three awards for Best New Work.

UPCOMING SHOWS

• LeapFest 5 – Fifth Annual Festival of New Plays
  Five new plays “take the leap” in development in this three week festival of politically-minded new work. The plays will be presented in rotating repertory, and performances are followed by a discussion with the playwright and director. LeapFest’s first four years have seen many of the plays go onto successful world premiere productions at Stage Left and elsewhere, with three of the plays receiving Jeff Citations for Best New Work. This year’s installment will again include the theatrical spoof DrekFest, Stage Left’s second annual national contest for the worst ten-minute play, presented in association with ComedySportz Chicago on May 21st at Theatre Building Chicago.
  Runs: June 3 – June 21, 2008
  First Night: Tuesday, June 3 at 7:30 PM
  

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