Photo Flash: First Look at LiveWire's THE MISTAKES MADELINE MADE

LiveWire Chicago Theatre kicks off its 2012-13 season with the Chicago premiere of THE MISTAKES MADELINE MADE, a savagely funny story of love and dirty people by Elizabeth Meriwether, creator and writer of the hit FOX sitcom New Girl and Heddatron, and directed by LiveWire Collective member Krista D'Agostino. This quirky dark comedy plays now through November 3, 2012 at the Greenhouse Theater Center Upstairs Studio, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago. The production features LiveWire Artistic Director Joel Ewing and LiveWire Associate Artistic Director Chris Zdenek with Kristin Collins, Fred Geyer and Hilary Williams. For a first look at the production, check out the photos below!

THE MISTAKES MADELINE MADE tells the story of a young woman, Edna, who develops Ablutophobia, the fear of bathing. Struggling with a soul-crushing job as a personal assistant and an unexpected loss, she wages a furious and funny war against all things complacent, pampered and clean. As Edna's smell starts to overwhelm her co-workers and many casual lovers, the play raises the questions: is dirty living a political act? And is clean living even possible in these times of unrest?

"Meriwether has such a witty and wily ability to take the seemingly familiar and crack it wide open – and with that leave many aspects of the piece up for interpretation," comments director Krista D'Agostino. "There also seems to be a cultural draw right now towards the experience of 'the girl.' During last year's television season alone, there were numerous shows that debuted featuring young women 'getting by' and many that laid it right out there in the title, including Meriwether's own New Girl, 2 Broke Girls and Lena Dunham's Girls. While on the surface we see Edna as just another unsatisfied and underutilized newly inducted member of the workforce, what's gradually revealed is that underneath the shell of this good-for-nothing-millennial, is a desperate and passionate young woman on The Edge of a breakdown – and a breakthrough," adds D'Agostino.

The production team for THE MISTAKES MADELINE MADE includes: Inseung Park (scenic design), Noel Huntzinger (costume design), LiveWire Collective member Eric Branson (lighting design), Danielle Stack (sound design), Toni Kendrick (props design), Faith Hurley (fight choreography), Lydia Anderson (dramaturg), Christina Lepri (assistant director), Caitlin O'Rourke (stage manager), Thomas Sebastian Hunt (asst. stage manager), Brandon Moorhead (asst. production manager/technical director) and Missi Davis (production manager).

Elizabeth Meriwether is an American playwright and screenwriter, television producer and writer. Most recent credits include the 2011 romantic comedy film No Strings Attached, the FOX sitcom New Girl starring Zooey Deschanel and the 2010 play Oliver Parker! The Mistakes Madeline Made was originally produced by Naked Angels Theater and was subsequently produced at Yale Rep and by Holland Productions in Boston, MA and published by Dramatists Play Service. Her other plays include Heddatron, an adaptation of Hedda Gabler featuring live robots and Nicky Goes Goth, which was first produced in 2004 in the New York Fringe Festival.

Originally from Boston, Krista D'Agostino is a director, actor and producer. She joined LiveWire in 2011, and spearheads LiveWire Unplugged, the company's new play reading series. She directed "Cause Celebre" as part of LiveWire's VisionFest 4. As an actor, she recently appeared in The Chicago Mammal's production of All Girl Moby Dick. Krista has directed productions at The Williamstown Theatre Festival Workshop, Harvard University, Boston Actors Theater, MosesMogilee in New York and The Boston Theatre Marathon. She is the founder of Holland Productions in Boston, MA where she directed The Mistakes Madeline Made; Hideous Progeny; The Baltimore Waltz; and KID SIMPLE: A Radio Play in the Flesh, among other plays. She received her undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts from Boston College. Krista is the Program Manager for the League of Chicago Theatres.

LiveWire Chicago is a collective of artists who create theatre that reflects the current cultural landscape of our community through productions of original and contemporary works. Previous productions include the Chicago premiere of Oohrah! by Bekah Brunstetter presented as part of Garage Rep 2012 at Steppenwolf Theatre; the Chicago premiere of A Bright New Boise by 2011 Obie Award-winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter; the Chicago premiere of The 13th of Paris by Mat Smart, the world premiere of Emily Dendinger's Hideous Progeny, presented at the Chicago DCA Storefront Theater and the Chicago premiere of Red Angel by Eric Bogosian, among others. LiveWire presents an annual short play festival, VisionFest, which invites the community to be involved in the presentation of new works. For more information, visit www.livewirechicago.com.

Tickets are currently on sale at www.greenhousetheater.com. The press performance is Friday, October 5 at 8 pm.

Photo Credit: Ryan Bourque

Joel Ewing and Hilary Williams


Joel Ewing and Hilary Williams

Hilary Williams and Joel Ewing