THE PLAGIARISTS PRESENT “SEASON PASS” Running September 12th – 28th, 2014

THE PLAGIARISTS PRESENT “SEASON PASS” Running September 12th - 28th, 2014 1 WHAT:   Think Be Kind Rewind crossed with Star Tours crossed with Choose Your Own Adventure crossed with a childhood spent watching too many cartoons and an adulthood ingesting too many mind-altering substances. A twisted theme park created by a mysterious artist on the run from the law, Season Pass is a set of four interactive story-rides where the audience chooses the course of the story. From the depths of the ocean, to all of time and space itself… and beyond, Season Pass will take you on a one-of-kind adventure every time you strap in! 

408357-250WHAT:   Think Be Kind Rewind crossed with Star Tours crossed with Choose Your Own Adventure crossed with a childhood spent watching too many cartoons and an adulthood ingesting too many mind-altering substances. A twisted theme park created by a mysterious artist on the run from the law, Season Pass is a set of four interactive story-rides where the audience chooses the course of the story. From the depths of the ocean, to all of time and space itself… and beyond, Season Pass will take you on a one-of-kind adventure every time you strap in! 

WHO:  Formed in 2007, The Plagiarists steal from literature, visual art, history, and the culture at large to create new theatre that finds the familiar in the strange, the unique in the commonplace and ultimately enlarges the world. This project is supported by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.

WHERE:  The Frontier Storefront, 1106 Thorndale, Chicago, IL 60660

Accessible by CTA Bus # 36; just steps from the Thorndale Red Line stop. Street parking available on Broadway.

WHEN:      Opens on Friday, September 12th, 2014 @ 7:30 p.m.,  Runs Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Closes on Sunday, September 28th, 2014 @ 3 p.m.

TICKETS:    Visit www.brownpapertickets.com or call 1-800-838-3006. Direct link: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/816037 Ticketing questions email: reservations@theplagiarists.org $20 regular, $15 students & seniors

CAST:

Guest artists Alexandria Frenkel, Nick Freed,, Ken Miller, Wes Needham, Charlesanne Rabensburg and Plagiarists Sara Jean McCarthy and Jessica Saxvik.

PRODUCTION TEAM:      Mary Rose O’Connor and Plagiarist Paul Kastner(Directors), John Jacobson (Lighting), and Plagiarists Emma Cullimore(Costumes) and Melissa Schlesinger (Set, Props and Sound).

BIOS:

Paul Kastner (Director) Paul Kastner writes, directs, and serves as technical director for The Plagiarists. He most recently co-directed the collaboratively-written I Am Saying This Right Now.  As a carpenter and stagehand he has worked for Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, Million Dollar Quartet, and dozens of storefront theaters in Chicago. He served as technical director of the Drury Lane Water Tower Theater for two years and did a stint with the first national tour of Xanadu.

Mary Rose O’Connor (Director) Mary Rose O’Connor is so thrilled to work with The Plagiarists! Mary Rose is the Director of Education & Special Events at the Greenhouse Theater Center, where she founded the Trellis Bookstore. She is also a co-producer of The Gogo Show. Mary Rose is a Baltimore transplant, and Season Pass marks her 43rd show since moving to Chicago! Recent directing credits include To the NSA Listening In On This Play as part of Sketchbook 14 (Collaboraction), One Night Stand and Song For a Future Generation (Lights Out Theatre Company), The Day that Michael Jackson Died in Strawdog’s Hugen Hall, Johnny Theatre with Chemically Imbalanced Comedy and Ali Clayton’s solo show I’m Different, Not Dumb which has been seen at Chicago Sketch Fest, Chicago Women’s Funny Fest and North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival. She assistant-directed Pornography, Moment andMotortown at Steep Theatre. Upcoming, she will be directing Christopher L. Moore’s solo show Hunger Pains and the remount of I’m Different, Not Dumb at the Greenhouse Theater Center.

Melissa Schlesinger (Sound, Set, & Props Designer) is a multidisciplinary designer working in and around Chicago. She specializes in MacGyvering and magic. She is proud to be a part of another Plagiarist endeavor, and is excited to see Season Pass come to life. Other companies Melissa has had the pleasure to work with include Babes With Blades, The Den, Filament (Artistic Associate), Nothing Special Productions, Vaudezilla, and Zombie Army Productions. Check her out at www.melissaschlesinger.com.

John Jacobsen (Lighting Designer) is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University’s BFA Theatre Design & Technology program. Prior to Penn State, John spent two years at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Credits in Chicago include the lighting designs for Matryoshka, The Feast of St. McGonagall, Figments, I Am Saying This Right Now, Caesura: A Butchery, The Alchemist, and The Armageddon Dance Party. Other notable theatre credits include assistant lighting designer for the Unto These Hills outdoor drama in Cherokee, NC and associate lighting designer for String of Pearls and Rounding Third at the Asolo Theatre Company of Sarasota, FL. Awards include USITT’s 2007 Lighting Design Award for Young Designers & Technicians. John is also an architectural lighting designer with the Chicago office of Schuler Shook, where his recent projects include the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, CA and the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York, NY.

Emma Cullimore (Costume Designer) joins The Plagiarists for this production, having previously worked with Pavement Group, Studio BE, Rare Terra, The Saint Sebastian Players, and The National Pastime Theatre. She is proud to be part of this team, and couldn’t be happier to bring this story to life. Emma holds an MFA from the University of Alabama–Tuscaloosa. emmacullimore.com

Alexandria Frenkel (Ensemble) graduated from NIU’s BFA Acting program in 2009, studying under Kathryn Gately. Favorite roles include Melinda in Toast of the Town (dir. Nick Digilio), Cathi in Johnny Theatre (dir. Mary O’Connor), and Izzy in Rabbit Hole (dir. Patricia Ridge). Alex is also a recent graduate of the iO Improv Training Program, and performed on an international team in the Barcelona Improv Fest 2013. She can be seen about town with her independent improv team, The Spotty Truth.

Nick Freed (Ensemble) Nick Freed is very excited to be reunited with The Plagiarists after working on King Ubu. Chicago credits include Hesperia and Titus Andronicus (Right Brain Project), Dracula(Building Stage), Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Filament Theatre Ensemble), Ithaka(Infusion Theatre), Macbeth (Polarity Ensemble), and Five Flights (Immediate Theatre). Nick is also Artistic Director of Chicago dell’Arte, and holds a BA in Theatre from Truman State University. He wants to thank his friends, and, most importantly, his family for their undying love and support of his vast dreams.

Sara Jean McCarthy (Ensemble) Sara Jean McCarthy is a proud Plagiarist and is super thrilled to take this ride with such a great group of artists. A graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University, Sara has worked with such delightful companies as Griffin Theatre, The Hypocrites, Caffeine Theatre, House Theatre of Chicago and The Factory, among others. She has also dabbled in some TV/Film, Plagiarist writing projects, salon curation and all sorts of other things that make her grateful to be part of the vibrant Chicago Theatre community. Hang on tight and enjoy the ride!

Ken Miller (Ensemble) Ken Miller is thrilled to be back with the Plagiarists after having worked with them previously on I Am Saying This Right Now and The Feast of Saint McGonagall. Ken has also worked with Nothing Special Productions, Redtwist, Strangeloop, and Oak Park Festival Theatre as well as being a company member of Stone Soup Shakespeare.

Wes Needham (Ensemble) Wes Needham is stoked to get to play with The Plagiarists. As a company member of The New Colony Theater, you may have caught him in B Side Studio, The Warriors, 11:11, Frat, Sordid Little Story, orreWilding Genius, which went up as part of Steppenwolf’s Garage Co. Series. Wes also enjoys performing at various improv and sketch comedy venues throughout Chicago. If you didn’t catch those, that’s ok too. You were busy, he gets it. He’s also proud to be represented by the folks at BMG Talent. You can keep up with his goings-ons at

www.wesneedham.com. There you’ll find future performances and film content for your enjoyment. Hi Hannah!

Charlesanne Rabensburg (Ensemble) Charlesanne received her BA from the University of Houston and her MFA from The Ohio State University, and spent three years as a teaching artist with The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Stand Up For Shakespeare program. Since moving to Chicago she has worked with The Right Brain Project, Griffin Theatre, Wayward Productions, New American Folk Theatre and is now completely delighted to add The Plagiarists to that list. Recent performances include Salome (The Right Brain Project), Richard III(Wayward Productions), Rachel’s House (a project devised with past and present inmates at the Ohio Reformatory for Women at Marysville). Recent projects include movement direction/choreography for The Right Brain Project and movement/choreography for Wayward Productions.

Jessica Saxvik (Ensemble) Jessica is a happy member of The Plagiarists. Past credits with the company include King Ubu, Matryoshka, American Stage Sessions, and I Am Saying This Right Now. She has also worked with Joyce Piven and the Piven Workshop Theatre in What Dreams May Come: American Visions through Jewish Eyes and has appeared in the films Concrete andRavenswood with Eyesprocket Productions. Additionally, she works part-time as a singer for the Jack Higgins Band. Jessica graduated from Illinois State University and hails from Libertyville, Il. She would like to thank her family and friends for their total acceptance and loving hearts. Enjoy the ride!