Irish Theatre of Chicago’s SPINNING – May 25 – July 3, 2016 at The Den Theatre – U.S. Premiere

Irish Theatre of Chicago's SPINNING - May 25 - July 3, 2016 at The Den Theatre - U.S. Premiere 1 Irish Theatre of Chicago concludes its 2015-16 Season with the U.S Premiere of Deirdre Kinahan’s probing drama SPINNING, directed by Joanie Schultz, playing May 25 – July 3, 2016 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets go sale Sunday, May 1, 2016 at www.irishtheatreofchicago.org. 

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Irish Theatre of Chicago concludes its 2015-16 Season with the U.S Premiere of Deirdre Kinahan’s probing drama SPINNING, directed by Joanie Schultz, playing May 25 – July 3, 2016 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets go sale Sunday, May 1, 2016 at www.irishtheatreofchicago.org

SPINNING will feature ensemble members Jodi KingsleyCarolyn Kruse and Dan Waller* with guest artist Tyler Meredith.

Conor is fresh from prison, grasping at the threads of his life. Susan is grieving the loss of her teenage daughter. Two lives collide in a seaside cafe, and are forever changed. Deidre Kinahan, playwright of the acclaimed Irish drama Moment, masterfully unspools a gripping contemporary tale over three distinct timelines in this U.S. premiere.

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: SPINNING

Playwright: Deirdre Kinahan

Director: Joanie Schultz

Cast: Ensemble members Jodi Kingsley (Susan), Carolyn Kruse (Jen) and Dan Waller (Conor)* with guest artist Tyler Meredith (Annie).

Location: The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago

Dates: Previews: Wednesday, May 25 at 7:30 pm

Press performanceThursday, May 26 at 7:30 pm

Regular run: Friday, May 27 – Sunday, July 3, 2016

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm.

Tickets: Preview $12. Regular run $26 Thursdays/Fridays, $30 Saturdays/Sundays. Seniors/students $5 off. Tickets go on sale Sunday, May 1, 2016 at www.irishtheatreofchicago.org.

*Denotes ensemble member of Irish Theatre of Chicago

CREATIVE BIOGRAPHIES:

Deirdre Kinahan (Playwright) is a Dublin-based playwright and theatre producer who founded and ran Tall Tales Theatre Company for 15 years and is currently a board member of Theatre Forum Ireland. Deirdre wrote her first play in 1999 when a group of women at Ruhama Women’s Project asked her to write a play about their lives as prostitutes. Be Carna was widely regarded as a powerful debut. Her play Moment played at the Bush to critical acclaim and sell out audiences in 2011, and had its Chicago debut in 2012 in Steep Theatre’s hit production. Her latest play These Halcyon Days won a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival 2013. Her latest play Spinning opened at the Dublin Theatre Festival in 2014. Deirdre has also been part of the Open Court season at the Royal Court with a play about the Irish economic crisis.

Joanie Schultz (Director) After receiving her B.A. in theater directing from Columbia College, where she studied with David Cromer, Sheldon Patinkin and Henry Godinez, among other artists, Joanie arrived on the Chicago theater scene as Artistic Director and co-founder of Flush Puppy Productions, where she directed their first full-length play, Acts of Mercy. Schultz continued her work as Artistic Director of Flush Puppy Productions while working, among other things, as the assistant to the Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre, where she found mentorship among world-class theater artists and the opportunity to learn from the Steppenwolf ensemble’s creative process by observing rehearsals and assistant directing. She received her MFA from Northwestern University in 2007, where she was mentored by Anna D. Shapiro, and also studied with great directors such as Frank Galati, Mary Zimmerman, Amy Morton and Jessica Thebus. In the fall of 2006, Schultz had the unique opportunity to observe the creation process of world-famous director Robert Lepage’s work with Ex Machina in Quebec City. When she returned, she had developed an expanded view of international theater, creation, and a desire to direct opera. She began what has been an ongoing relationship with Chicago Opera Theater as an assistant director that spring. Since 2007, Ms. Schultz has been busy in both theater and opera as a freelance director, assistant director and directing teacher. She has worked in Chicago, nationally and abroad. In the fall of 2007, she was awarded a directing fellowship with the Drama League in New York, which allowed her to direct her off-Broadway debut. She was awarded The Goodman Theatre’s Michael Maggio Directing Fellowship for 2009-2010, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation’s Denham Fellowship for 2009-2010, and was a 2008 member of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab. She is currently on faculty at Columbia College Chicago and University of Chicago, and is an artistic associate with Steep Theatre and Victory Gardens. Joanie Schultz is a participant in the Leadership U: One-on-One program, funded by The Andrew W. Mellow Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group, and is excited to be working under the mentorship of Victory Gardens Theater’s Chay Yew through January 2016.

Irish Theatre of Chicago (formerly Seanachaí Theatre Company) is supported in part by The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council and The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs: City Arts Program.