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Stage Left Theatre Production History
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† - Ensemble Member at time of production
Roll cursur over ensemble members and some titles to learn more
Downstage Left history available soon
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Season 27: Rise Up (2008-09) |
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After Ashley
Gina Gionfriddo
directed by
Greg Werstler †
Chicago Premiere
Downstage Left Graduate
Jeff Nomination: Brian Plocharczyk/ Actor |
The national media's hunger for violence, sex and redemption grabbed hold of the tragedy that struck Justin's family when he was only 14 years old. Three years later, tele-cash-registers still ringing, he fights back with his only weapon: no-holds-barred wit. But when he also discovers the beginnings of love and the capacity for wisdom and understanding, will his battle against the media vultures and amateur celebrities also destroy his own new-found hope? Gina Gionfriddo's razor-sharp wit provides an incisive, satirical reflection on a round-the-clock media culture obsessed with 'reality,' celebrity and sensationalism. |
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The Day of Knowledge
by David Alan Moore †
directed by
Drew Martin †
World Premiere |
Forty days after an unimaginable trauma, survivors and families are still haunted by volatile memories of the three-day standoff. As they struggle to mourn the loved ones they've lost and to rebuild their shattered lives, their paths collide in a single night. An act of charity threatens to divide a husband and wife; a single mother searches obsessively for her lost daughter; and a woman from the provinces claims an as-yet unidentified child who hasn't spoken since the explosive end of the hostage crisis. Above and around them all, something is... watching. The Day of Knowledge explores the human spirit's capacity for healing and hope in the face of overwhelming tragedy. |
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Season 26: Global Voices (2007 - 08) |
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Spare Change
by Mia McCullough †
directed by Ann Filmer
World Premiere
Downstage Left Graduate
Jeff Nomination - New Work |
A young Chicago urbanite is shaken out of his comfortable existence by the urge to help a young woman who is fleeing an abusive relationship. In the face of her apparent mental instability, his attempts upset his life and relationship as he is forced to ask: how can one person truly help another? Mia McCullough is the award-winning author of Echoes of Another Man, Taking Care, Since Africa and Chagrin Falls. Her plays continue to receive productions across the country. |
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Skin in Flames
by Guillem Clua
translated from the Catalan
by DJ Sanders
directed by
David M. Schmitz †
Chicago Premiere
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A young girl looks gently into the camera lens, her clothes and hair aflame, thrown through the air by an exploding bomb. Twenty years later the photojournalist returns to this war-torn country and agrees to an interview with an upstart female reporter who challenges his standing as a national hero. But the hotel room where they meet holds more secrets than either expects. Skin in Flames received the prestigious Barcelona Critics Award for best script of the year in 2005. |
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Omniscience
by Tim Carlson
directed by
Kevin Heckman†
U.S. Premiere |
In this multimedia paranoid thriller, Warren struggles to finish a war documentary while coping with his troubled wife, a military officer who has just returned from the conflict. Under the pressure of constant corporate and government surveillance, he might be cracking up…or is he coming to see the truth of his world? Tim Carlson is a playwright, journalist, and co-founder and co-artistic producer of Theatre Conspiracy in Vancouver, British Columbia. Omniscience is currently in publication in English and German, with Dutch and Portuguese translations to be released in Europe in 2008. |
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LeapFest 5
Annual Festival of New Works
The following five LeapFest plays are not considered world premieres |
Alice in War
by Steven Bogart
directed by Gregory Gerhard
The Fisherman
by Jayme McGhan
directed by Drew Martin†
Here Where It's Safe
by M.E.H. Lewis†
directed by Kevin Heckman†
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Iowa Akhbar
by Aaron Carter
directed by Erica Weiss
Safe House
by Lydia Stryk
directed by Laura Blegen |
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Season 25: The Silver Season (2006 - 07) |
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In Times of War
by David Alan Moore†
directed by Ann Filmer
World Premiere
Downstage Left Graduate
Jeff Citation: New Work
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In 1942, German saboteurs land a U-boat on Long Island and, armed with explosives, blend into American society with the intent to wreak havoc. When their leader voluntarily surrenders to the FBI, President Roosevelt creates a special commission specifically ordered to try and convict the eight men. Their defense rests in the hands of a Jewish lawyer who faces an impossible pursuit of justice. |
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One Fine Day
by David Rush†
directed by
Drew Martin†
World Premiere
Jeff Citation: Lindsay Weisberg/Performance
Jeff Nomination: New Work |
Has Fred Miller gone too far? A popular and tenured professor, he shocks his students by showing up to class dressed up as Adolf Hitler. When a Jewish student voices her displeasure to the campus newspaper, Miller finds himself in a fight for his career. But how far is he willing to go to rattle the institutional cages one last time? Join us for this poignant, funny and very personal story about the limits of free speech. |
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Live Girls
by Victoria Stewart
directed by
Kevin Heckman†
Midwest Premiere |
Live Girls challenges our preconceptions of art, sex and truth by taking a highly critical look at where art ends and exploitation begins. An African American, female performance artist named Sarah Brown is creating a show on injustice. She is gathering personal material in interviews from which she crafts her performances when she encounters Sonia, a porn star. Sonia confounds Sarah's expectations by revealing that she's very much at peace with her line of work. Sarah, believing that any woman working in the sex industry must be somehow damaged or the victim of some personal injustice, presses harder until Sonia relents. |
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LeapFest 4
Annual Festival of New Works
The following five LeapFest plays are not considered world premieres
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The Day of Knowledge
by David Alan Moore†
directed by Kevin Heckman†
Electrocution
by Don Tieri†
directed by Laura Blegen
Endangered
by Darrell Capes
directed by Richard Shavzin
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Grayville
by Keith Tadrowski
directed by Scott Westerman
Whirlybirds
book by Susan Lieberman
lyrics by David Rush†
music by Jeffrey Bouthiette
directed by Elizabeth Margolius |
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Season 24: Glass in the Paint (2005 - 06)
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Echoes of Another Man
by Mia McCullough†
directed by
Kevin Heckman †
Midwest Premiere
Downstage Left Graduate
Jeff Nomination: Demetria Thomas /Performance
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In a startling breakthrough in biotechnology, the brain and nervous system of a famous artist is transplanted into the body of a young, professional golfer. Marguerite Hammersley returns to Stage Left in this poignant and compelling story of medical ethics, identity, and one man’s extraordinary search for who he is, and who he loves. |
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Fellow Travellers
by M.E.H. Lewis†
directed by
David M. Schmitz†
World Premiere
Downstage Left Graduate
Jeff Citation: New Work |
Max and Karl are best friends and students at a prestigious Berlin art academy in the 1930s. As social freedoms erode and the nation becomes increasingly polarized, Karl, a rising star of the avant-garde, is labeled a Degenerate, while Max, the traditionalist, takes advantage of the shifting tides. When the situation between them becomes impossible, one of them escapes Germany in a gut-wrenching, twisted betrayal. Forty years later the survivor, now a world renowned artist, struggles with both his failing health and the ghosts of his past. |
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LeapFest 3
Annual Festival of New Works
LeapFest plays are not considered world premieres |
The Human Capacity
by Jennifer Barclay
directed by Kevin Heckman†
Odin's Horse
by Robert Koon
directed by Anna Bahow
Watching for Wolves
by Joy McCullough-Caranza
directed by Dana Friedman
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The Fair Hope Memorial
by Louise Schwarz
directed by Morgan McCabe
MisAmerica
by Tom Patrick
directed by Greg Kolack |
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Season 23: Reality Check (2004 - 05) |
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The (W)hole Thing
by John Green
directed by
Chad Eric Bergman
World Premiere |
A rude, crude geopolitical farce for the rude, crude times in which we flounder. When the Sandonians attack the Corncopians, bringing their mighty tower to the ground, the men immediately prepare for war while three women notice the divine light emanating from where the tower once stood. |
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The Vow
by Tom Patrick
directed by
Kevin Heckman†
World Premiere
Downstage Left Graduate
Jeff Nomination:
Sarah Walsh/Set Design
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Jihad. Holy War. Crusade. At the end of the last crusade, three men flee a burning city, each sworn to fight the infidel and ascend to the presence of God. Now faced with defeat, each man must decide whether to uphold his vow, or to return to a home barely remembered.
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LeapFest 2
Annual Festival of New Works
LeapFest plays are not considered world premieres |
Hiding Hannah
by Joy McCullough-Carranza
directed by LaRonika Thomas†
In Times of War
by David Alan Moore†
directed by Drew Martin†
Produced in Season 25
Superman is Dead
by Dominic Orlando
directed by Jeremy Wechsler
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Fellow Travellers
by M.E.H. Lewis†
directed by David M. Schmitz†
Produced in Season 24
Home Front
by Greg Owens
directed by Shade Murray |
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Season 22: Tracing the Roots (2003 - 04) |
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Cuttings
by David Rush†
directed by
Jessi D. Hill†
World Premiere |
A former psychologist attempts to rescue a teenage run-away to redeem a lifetime of wrong-doing, but ultimately spins a web of betrayal and destruction. |
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Prairie Lights
book by Susan Lieberman
lyrics by David Rush†
music by Rosalie Gerut
directed by
David M. Schmitz†
Remount
Downstage Left Graduate
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In this holiday musical, two Jewish children take the orphan train west to Nebraska in December of 1905, and are paired with the only Jewish couple in town. This new family struggles to come together as they and the townsfolk rediscover the true essence of the winter holidays. |
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Burying the Bones
by M.E.H. Lewis†
directed by
Kevin Heckman†
World Premiere
Downstage Left Graduate
Jeff Nomination: New Work
Jeff Nomination-John Sanders†/Supporting Actor
Jeff Nomination-Demetria Thomas/Supporting Actress
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One woman faces the secrets of her shattered country as she searches for the truth about her 'disappeared' husband through South Africa's Truth and Reconcilliation Commission. |
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LeapFest 1
Annual Festival of New Works
LeapFest plays are not considered world premieres |
The Lost Sheep
by Joseph Fedorko
directed by Eric Reda
Somebody Foreign
by Douglas Post
directed by Terry McCabe
The Vow
by Tom Patrick
directed by Kevin Heckman†
Produced in Season 23 |
Arrangement for Two Violas
by Susan Lieberman
directed by Ann Filmer
Out Among the Dragons
by Dan Noonan
directed by Sarah Whitney
The (W)hole Thing
by John Green
directed by Chad Eric Bergman
Produced in Season 23 |
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Season 21 (2002 - 03) |
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Empty
by Brett Neveu
directed by Jessi D. Hill †
World Premiere
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Prairie Lights
book by Susan Lieberman
lyrics by David Rush†
music by Rosalie Gerut
directed by Drew Martin†
World Premiere
Downstage Left Graduate
Jeff Nomination - New Work
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Train of Thought...featuring
Suicide
by Mia McCullough†
directed by Jessi Hill†
World Premiere
Tens & Twenties
by Gregory Hardigan
directed by John Sanders†
U.S. Premiere |
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Cyber Serenade
by Mia McCullough†
directed by Jessi Hill†
Midwest Premiere
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Season 20 (2001 - 02) |
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Chagrin Falls
by Mia McCullough†
directed by Kevin Heckman †
World Premiere
Jeff Nomination: Production
Jeff Citation: New Work
After Dark Award: New Work |
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The Sensitive Swashbuckler and Other Dating Myths
by Christian Murphy & Gail Stern
directed by Jessi Hill†
Remount of 2000 Production
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Mrs. Mackenzie's Beginner's Guide to the Blues
by Patty Lynch & Kent Stephens
directed by Jessi Hill†
Jeff Nomination: Jenny McKnight/Performance
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The Good Woman of Setzuan
by Bertolt Brecht
transl. Eric Bentley
directed by David M. Schmitz |
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Season 19 (2000 - 01) |
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Police Deaf Near Far
by David Rush†
directed by Drew Martin†
Remount at the Storefront Theatre
(Season 18)
Jeff Award - New Work |
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Dimly Perceived Threats to the System
by Jon Klein
directed by Jessi Hill† |
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The Memorandum
by Vaclav Havel
transl. Vera Blackwell
directed by
Kevin Heckman†
Jeff Recommended
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Season 18 (1999 - 2000) |
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Private Passage
by Louise Bylicki &
James Serpento
directed by Jessi Hill† |
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Police Deaf Near Far
by David Rush†
directed by Drew Martin†
Jeff Citation:New Work
After Dark Award: New Work
After Dark Award: Robert Schleifer/Performance
Jeff Nomination: Direction
Jeff Nomination: Ensemble
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Tartuffe
by Moliere
transl. Ranjit Bolt
directed by Alice M. Kroman† |
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The Sensitive Swashbuckler and Other Dating Myths
by Christian Murphy & Gail Stern
directed by Jessi Hill†
World Premiere
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Season 17 (1998 - 1999) |
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The Waiting Room
by Lisa Loomer
directed by Robin Stanton
Midwest Premiere |
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Econo-Manic Depression
by Peter Bernstein
directed by Doug Ryan
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Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare
directed by Drew Martin†
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The Secret of the Old Queen
by Paul Boesing & Timothy Cope
directed by Sandra Verthein†
Remount (Season 14) |
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Season 16 (1997 - 1998) |
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Sing for Your Supper
Laurence Arancio, adaptor
directed by Drew Martin†
World Premiere |
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Sincerity Forever
by Mac Wellman
directed by Blake Lawrence†
Midwest Premiere |
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Flow My Tears
the Policeman Said
by Linda Hartinian
adapted from Philip K. Dick
directed by Beatrice Bosco
Midwest Premiere |
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The Wonder: A Woman
Keeps a Secret
by Susanna Centlivre
directed by Mary Booker†
Midwest Premiere |
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Amelia: First to Fly
by Julia Fabris†
directed by Drew Martin†
Tour |
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Season 15 (1996 - 1997) |
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Leander Stillwell
by David Rush†
directed by Drew Martin†
Produced in Los Angeles |
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Out of Spite: Tales of Survival in Sarajevo
by Elma Softic, Damir Andrei & Cynthia Ashperger
directed by Drew Martin†
Midwest Premiere |
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Season 14 (1995 - 1996) |
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Three Ways Home
by Casey Kurtti
directed by Melissa Lindberg† |
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The Secret of the Old Queen
by Paul Boesing & Timothy Cope
directed by Sandra Verthein†
Remount (Season 14) |
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Season 13 (1994 - 1995) |
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Just A Little Bit Harder
by
Jimmie Cumbie
conceived by Beatrice Bosco
directed by Beatrice Bosco |
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Amelia: First to Fly
by Julia Fabris†
directed by Drew Martin†
World Premiere |
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Season 12 (1993 - 1994) |
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Dapples and Grays
by David Rush
directed by Drew Martin†
World Premiere
After Dark Award - New Work |
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Boomtown
by Steven Dietz
directed by Sandra Verthein†
World Premiere |
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Bocon!
by Lisa Loomer
directed by
Sandra Verthein†
Tour |
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Escape from Happiness
by George F. Walker
directed by Drew Martin†
Midwest Premiere |
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Season 11 (1992 - 1993) |
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Leander Stillwell
by David Rush
directed by Drew Martin†
Midwest Premiere
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Kid Dinosaur
by Jim Houle
directed by Drew Martin†
Tour |
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In White America
by Martin Duberman
directed by Drew Martin† |
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Sunken Land
by Martin Duberman
directed by
Michael Troccoli†
World Premiere
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Bocon!
by Lisa Loomer
directed by Sandra Verthein†
Midwest Premiere |
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Clue in the Old Birdbath
by Sandra de Helen & Kate Kasten
directed by Sandra Verthein†
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Season 10 (1991 - 1992) |
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Kid Dinosaur
by Jim Houle
directed by Dennis McCullough†
Midwest Premiere |
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Mad Forest
by Caryl Churchill
directed by Sandra Verthein†
Midwest Premiere |
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We the People
by Tanya White
directed by Dennis McCullough†
Tour |
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Season 9 (1990 - 1991) |
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The Big Bang
by Performing Ensemble
directed by Sandra Verthein†
World Premiere
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Never in My Lifetime
by Shirly Gee
directed by Dennis McCullough†
Midwest Premiere |
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Double Every Minute
The Saliva Milkshake
by Howard Brenton
directed by Melissa Lindberg†
Statements Made After Arrest Under the Immortality Act
by Athol Fugard
directed by
Shawna Flanigan†
Fair Slaughter
by Howard Barker
directed by Chris Mills†
Chopin in Space
by Phil Bosakowski
directed by
Sandra Verthein† |
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Season 8 (1989 - 1990) |
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TEECHERS
by John Godber
directed by Dennis McCullough†
Midwest Premiere |
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¿De Donde?
by Mary Gallagher
directed by
Michael Troccoli†
Midwest Premiere |
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Minnesota
by George Sand
directed by Sandra Verthein† |
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4:45 A.M.
by Jaime Meyer
directed by Sandra Verthein† |
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Season 7 (1988 - 1989) |
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Masterpieces
by Sara Daniels
directed by Christine Sumption |
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Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind
by Performing Ensemble
conceived by Greg Allen
directed by Ensemble & Greg Allen
World Premiere |
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Antigone
by Sophocles
adapted by
Dennis McCullough†
directed by
Dennis McCullough† |
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Season 6 (1987 - 1988) |
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Overruled
by George Bernard Shaw
directed by
Melissa Lindberg† |
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A Bright Room Called Day
by Tony Kushner
directed by Bart DeLorenzo
Midwest Premiere |
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The Return of Pinnochio
by Richard Nelson
directed by Dennis McCullough† |
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Season 5 (1986 - 1987) |
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A Different Moon
by Ara Watson
directed by Ann Fournier† |
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Season 4 (1985 - 1986) |
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Still Under Construction
Pardon Our Dust! |
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