16th Street Theater Presents 2nd Annual WORDS IN MOTION Fest 4/2 - 4/25

16th Street Theater announces the second annual WORDS IN MOTION festival curated by Artistic Director Ann Filmer at the Berwyn Cultural Center April 2 - 25, 2009. Tekki Lomnicki's Blurred Vision opens Thursday, April 2 at 7:30 PM, followed by two intergenerational takes on mixing the races: mother and daughter team Marilyn Campbell & Maria Merrin with their humorous take on hair and feminism Mixing It Up opens Thursday, April 16 at 7:30 PM, while Martie Sanders' The Me, Mom & Dad Show! (performed with her 80-year old father!) opens Friday, April 17 at 7:30 PM. Yes, you will see Charlie Sanders recreate that tap dance he presented in 1967 to the all-African American student body of Spain Junior High in Detroit where he was assistant principal.

All three shows make up 16th Street Theater's WORDS IN MOTION festival, also a part of Goodman Theatre's Taking the Stage: A Celebration of Women in Theater.

"With Live Bait Theater having closed its doors last year, we hope to continue the rich tradition of the writer-performer with WORDS IN MOTION," says 16th Street Theater Artistic Director Ann Filmer.

WORDS IN MOTION is a part of 16th Street Theater's Season Two at the Berwyn Cultural Center, following Anna Deavere Smith's Fires in the Mirror and Teatro Luna's S-E-X-OH!, then continuing with Rohina's Unveiled beginning April 30.

BLURRED VISION

by Tekki Lomnicki

See it before it's banned by the AMA!

BLURRED VISION
by Tekki Lomnicki
April 2 - 11, 2009

"Charming and sharply funny" --Kerry Reid, Chicago Tribune
"Ruthlessly honest.... alternately harrowing and hilarious."- Catey Sullivan, Windy City Times
"Tekki Lomnicki is a dwarf who's also a great monologuist with a funny, powerful, vivid autobiographical show it would be a bummer to miss." - Tony Adler, Chicago Reader
Tekki Lomnicki, solo performer and self-proclaimed hypochondriac, journeys from doctor to doctor in search of a diagnosis for her blurred vision. On the way, she uncovers memories from her childhood surgeries, picks up a hitchhiking dragon and a magician's assistant portrayed by M.K. Victorson. Blurred Vision explores growing up with a disability, the crap shoot of healthcare and the power of storytelling-with hilarious results. Amy Eaton directs the hour-long show.

Tekki Lomnicki is a solo performer and the co-founder and Artistic Director of Tellin' Tales Theatre, a company dedicated to building community through storytelling. She teaches storytelling and solo performance to both adults and children with disabilities. She most recently completed The Miracle, a film by Jeffrey Jon Smith based on one of her performance pieces and received an Illinois Arts Council Artists Fellowship in New Performance Forms and the prestigious 3Arts Artists Award.

MIXING IT UP

by Marilyn Campbell & Maria Merrin

The mother/daughter saga of race, feminism and hair comes to 16th Street for 4 special shows!

MIXING IT UP
by Marilyn Campbell & Maria Merrin
April 16 - 25, 2009
Real-life mother and daughter comedy team Marilyn Campbell (a Caucasian mother) and Maria Merrin (her mixed race daughter) relate funny and touching personal stories about hair and the difficulties and joys of mixing the races, feminism and single motherhood in our time. First written and performed in a shorter version at the city of Chicago's Storefront Theater for Estrogen Fest 2005, Mixing It Up, has been described by the Chicago Tribune as "a spoken duet of humorous recrimination."

Marilyn Campbell is a published playwright, award winning actress, independent producer, teacher and co-founder and artistic associate of the Writers' Theatre in Glencoe. Playwriting credits include Crime and Punishment w/Curt Columbus (2003 Joseph Jefferson Award winner for "Best New Adaptation" and subsequently published by Dramatic Publishing and TriQuarterly Magazine, Northwestern University Press). Crime and Punishment has been produced across the country including upcoming productions at Berkeley Rep, Intiman Theater in Seattle, Cleveland Playhouse, Indiana Rep and the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theater. Currently Ms. Campbell is under commission from the Writers' Theatre working on a new retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein entitled The Monster's Lullaby. Ms. Campbell has over 25 years of experience as an actress. She has performed on Broadway, off-Broadway, in Europe, Chicago and throughout the United States. Working an writing with her daughter in Mixing It Up has been a dream come true and a highlight of her career.

Maria Merrin first began acting and writing in 2005 for Estrogen Fest when she and her mother, Marilyn Campbell, decided to write Mixing It Up. In 2007, again for Estrogen Fest, they further developed the piece and went on to perform it several times that year including a featured performance for the "Loving Decision Conference" at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts. Ms. Merrin is also a full time student.

THE ME, MOM & DAD SHOW!

by Martie Sanders

An intergenerational performance gem!

THE ME, MOM & DAD SHOW!
by Martie Sanders
Directed by Dorothy Milne
Performed by Martie Sanders with her father Charlie Sanders (and mom on video)
April 16 - 25, 2009

Celebrating the vitality and legacy of senior citizen parents. A Chicago actress and solo monologist, brings her dad (age 79) and her mom (age 77) on stage with her to share wit, wisdom, and tap dance.

A veteran Chicago actress and a founding member of the hilarious storytelling troupe Sweat Girls, Martie invites her senior parents to join her on stage and dish it out at the 16th Street Theater. This show reveals hilarious moments of parental imprinting, along with politics, history, and a powerful tap dance by Charlie that brings racial unity to 1967 Detroit . . . at least for a moment. Don't miss this "dynamic writer and polished performer" (Sun Times) as she shares the limelight with her folks and celebrates parental antics and their legacy.
Written and performed by Martie Sanders, with guest stars Carolyn & Charlie Sanders. Directed by Lifeline Theatre Artistic Director Dorothy Milne, featuring film footage by Joe Winston, and choreography by Greta Nixon.

Martie Sanders has been tapping her own life for entertaining stories since 1993 when she co-founded the solo performance collective Sweat Girls (www.sweatgirls.org). The Sweat Girls autobiographical hits include: I'M SWEATING UNDER MY BREASTS, SWEAT DREAMS, CIRQUE DU SWEAT, and SWEATILY EVER AFTER. Sanders has also produced three solo shows - WILD LIFE (Fillet of Solo 2001- her adventures as single woman camper), WHO DO THE VOODOO (Estrogenfest 2005- how life shifts when Sanders discovers a voodoo doll sealed into the wall of her apartment), and BIG ADVENTURES OF LITTLE WOMEN (Fillet of Solo 2007 - in which Sanders conducts a survey of petite women and performs alongside a film she created). Sanders is also a veteran Chicago actress and recently played Irene in the Johnny Depp movie PUBLIC ENEMIES. (Release July 2009) Her favorite stage roles to date include: Mae West in DIRTY BLONDE; Haley in BAD DATES (Madison Repertory); Lina LaMont in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (Theatre at the Center); Janis Joplin in LOVE JANIS (Royal George); Jenny Diver in THREE PENNY OPERA (ATC); Hero in MUCH ADO (Chicago Shakespeare), and Ata in CRIMINAL HEARTS (Apple Tree).

The design team for WORDS IN MOTION includes Timothy Spencer (scenic design), Mac Vaughey (lighting), Barry Bennett (sound) and Kristin Reeves (projections). The festival is curated by Ann Filmer. Full bios and photos available at www.16thstreettheater.org

FACT SHEET

WHAT:

Presented by 16th Street Theater, Berwyn's professional equity theater, WORDS IN MOTION consists of three shows to be listed separately, if you please:

BLURRED VISION written and performed by Tekki Lomnicki

Directed by Amy Eaton

April 2 - 11, 2009

Thursdays & Fridays @ 7:30 PM, Saturdays @ 5:00 PM & 8:00 PM

Press Opening: Thursday, April 2 at 7:30 PM

MIXING IT UP written and performed by Marilyn Campbell & Maria Merrin

4 shows only!

Thursday, April 16 at 7:30 PM Press Opening
Saturday, April 18 at 5:00 PM
Friday, April 24 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, April 25 at 8:00 PM

THE ME, MOM & DAD SHOW! written and performed by Martie Sanders

Directed by Dorothy Milne

5 shows only!

Wednesday, April 15 at 4:00 PM Free Preview for Seniors only
Friday, April 17 at 7:30 PM Press Opening
Saturday, April 18 at 8:00 PM
Thursday, April 23 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, April 25 at 5:00 PM

WHERE:

Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16th Street, Berwyn

HOW MUCH?

GENERAL: $16 GROUPS OF 8+: $12

TO PURCHASE TICKETS:

Tickets now on sale.

Online at http://www.16thstreettheater.org

In Person at North Berwyn Park District, 1619 Wesley Ave, Berwyn, IL 60402

Ticket and Info Hotline (708) 795-6704

Reservations needed for Free Senior Preview: Call (708) 795-6704 ext 105

Please visit www.16thstreettheater.org

TAKING THE STAGE: A Celebration of Women in Theater April 4-19, 2009

Presented in conjunction with Goodman Theatre's Strong Women, Strong Voices series and the world premieres of Magnolia by ReGina Taylor and Ghostwritten by Naomi Iizuka, Taking the Stage is a celebration of the distinct voices and visions of women theater artists, and the opportunities and obstacles facing women working in the theater today. These events are a collaboration with five of Chicago's most exciting companies focused on presenting and supporting work by women.

16th STREET THEATER is Berwyn's professional equity theater under the artistic direction of Ann Filmer. 2008 marks its first season.

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.