TUTA THEATRE CHICAGO
Show title: Brecht's The Wedding
Show Dates: Jan. 14 - Feb. 14 (5 weeks total)
Thurs - Sat at 8pm and Sun at 3pm
Chopin Studio Theatre, 1543 W. Division
Full run time will only be about 75 minutes with no intermission.
Your hours of commitment are to arrive one hour before show time, and stay till the show comes down for a total of roughly 2.5 hours (7-9:30pm Thurs, Fri, Sat and 2-4:30pm on Sun).
Pay is $250 for the run (tax free).
If interested, please contact me (greenjenbyers@gmail.com)
Just a reminder that TUTA is gathering this Sunday and I'd love to get a chance to have a drink with you in support of them.
..........................
We're Engaged! Join Us!
Join us to celebrate “The Wedding” and our entire new season of engaging entertainment.
What: An "Engagement Party" featuring drinks, wedding-themed parlor games, and a chance to meet our actors in an informal setting, all for $20
When: Sunday, November 15, 2009, 7pm. Save the Date!
Where: The Spot, 4437 N. Broadway, Chicago
Why: A portion of the proceeds will benefit TUTA, a theatre company known for marrying cultures, time periods and artistic expressions of all kinds.
Bonus: Get engaged now by donating online. ANY amount is appreciated! Help reach our goal of 100 donations by Nov 15 and we'll unveil a special thank you treat!
More details and RSVP on our blog http://www.tutato.com/blog/were-eng
My post for the TUTA blog went live today. Luckily the brainy roomie was kind enough to play editor so some of my writer's fear was assuaged. I still worry that it's lame but I had FUN writing it...now isn't that good information?
*contemplates clubbing inner critic so that the rest of us can enjoy this moment...hmmmm*
- Mood:
tired
Rules for Good Manners in the Modern World: Photo by Guedrius Suenis.
Hello all ~
Personally, I don't get all that excited about attending benefits, so I understand if you cringe at this post. But bear with me for a moment. If you enjoy hanging with bohemian types. If you like knowing that you make a difference in the world. If you live in the area and want to support local, innovative, subversive art in a way that is fun and painless, this is the benefit for you!
No dressing up. No sycophantic actors trying to fit their heads in your bum. No constant begging for additional donations or auction/raffle bids. This is actually a low-key, lost-cost night of relaxing and playing games with me and the Tutians (who are an amusing group, let me tell you). It's easy and it's all for a worthy cause...helping to pay for my wedding dress!
I'd love to see you there. Details are below. Feel free to contact me with any questions ~
We’re excited to invite you – friends and strangers -- to our upcoming celebration of The Wedding and our whole new season of engaging entertainment. We invite you into the party, whether you are familiar with TUTA already or a first-time visitor into our land. We provide a welcoming and humorous environment for traveling from the familiar into lesser known places, times and genres.
Here is how one audience member put it, “I love that TUTA provides an accessible challenge. In each show, I get most of what’s going on -- enough to thoroughly enjoy the experience -- but honestly there is always some part I am still wondering about days later. It’s a good stretch.”
So, save the date of Sunday, November 15 for the Engagement Party!
The evening will feature drinks, wedding-themed games -- for the married and unmarried alike! -- and the chance to informally meet members of TUTA. The event will entertain you while helping to support us, via a recession-friendly $20 admission at the door. Of course, you can help us out anytime with an online donation.
Below are all the party logistics. Let us know if you have any questions or suggestions.
Don't forget to bring your friends along! Use the button at the bottom of this post to share it with your favorite social media site or good old-fashioned email. While you're at it - make sure you stay up-to-date on TUTA events by joining our Facebook group or following us on Twitter.
What: An "Engagement Party" featuring drinks, wedding-themed parlor games, and a chance to meet our actors in an informal setting, all for $20
When: Sunday, November 15, 2009, 7pm.
Where: The Spot, 4437 N. Broadway, Chicago (easily accessible via Wilson Red Line stop and #78 Montrose, #36 Broadway buses - and since you'll be drinking and the parking can be difficult, you should really consider this option.)
Why: A portion of the proceeds will benefit TUTA, a theatre company known for marrying cultures, time periods and artistic expressions of all kinds.
Bonus: Get engaged now by donating online. ANY amount is appreciated! Help reach our goal of 100 donations by November 15th and we'll unveil a special thank you treat!
RSVP: Facebook Event ~ Direct Message on Twitter
TUTA's first show in Chicago, "The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other" by Peter Handke.
Recently,TUTA did a spiffy website revamp, so we now have a blog. We all know that a blog can't write itself, so a call was sent to all company members for blogunteers. Since I seem to really enjoy doing this, I offered to create an October entry. I got rather excited about it and wrote something a few short hours after agreeing to chip in, even though we'd set a deadline that is over a week away. My exuberance was kinda cute.
Then, during the editing process, my inner critic started rattling bars and using all sorts of fear tactics in the hopes that I'd put on the brakes. While I am working to recognize what of my feelings is just old stories and various other chips, some rational part of me is wondering ~ what kind of blog entry would reflect our mission or would feed/challenge/engage our audience? When I'm blogging here on LJ, I don't really try to consider what folks want to read (erm...no offense!). I'm just rambling because I enjoy it and it forces me to push my edges around writing and poetry. I also stay connected to many folks here and I learn a lot from others.
That feels different from writing as a representative of my theatre company and while we're deliciously anti-commercial (so I feel no need to pander or try to "please the crowd") I'd like to create something of quality. I always try to give TUTA my artistic best.
It's good (and a bit uncomfortable) to be given the chance to expand into a new little challenge. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.
- Mood: sleepy
In new news, I'll be playing "Bride" in TUTA's upcoming show, Brecht's The Wedding (ironically, the second bride I've played in a TUTA show). The show runs January 14 - February 14, 2010 (in case you're all planning that far ahead).
This will be my eighth show with TUTA, and I feel lucky to have done them all. The Wedding should really be interesting because it will be very physical (okay knees, here we go!) and all about the slapstick. I don't consider myself a comedienne, so this will be a chance to find new parts of myself and to push my edges. Timing...it's all about timing. I have rhythm, right? *gulp*
If you've never seen a TUTA show, we now have an Uber-Exciting Promotional Video*!*!* which gives you (kind of) a sense of some of our work...
TUTA’s 2009/2010 Theatre Season ~ “Young and Restless Brecht”
TUTA opens the season with Bertholt Brecht’s 1919 Bavarian folk comedy The Wedding, directed by Artistic Director Zeljko Djukic and featuring original music by Jesse Terrill ~
When nine middle class self-important guests converge on a young bride and groom’s apartment, each one slowly unravels the horrors of living a pretentious life. As the guests’ uptight facades collapse, a slapstick adventure full of extremely truthful physical and verbal humor is unleashed. Featuring live original music performed by the cast, The Wedding takes you through early Germany just after the fall of the Hapsburg Empire and in the face of rising Nazism on their borders.
The Wedding will run January 14 – February 14, 2010, at Chopin Theatre Studio, 1543 W. Division, Chicago. For Tickets call 847-217-0691 or go online to www.tutato.com.
In May, TUTA will present the World premiere of a new adaptation loosely based on Brecht’s Baal, directed by Zeljko Djukic, with music by Josh Schmidt (Adding Machine – A Musical) and libretto/book by Ugljesa Sajtinac (author of the critically acclaimed play Huddersfield). With this production, TUTA strives to musically enlighten the play of young Brecht known for its inaugural form and risky themes of stardom and power. A fusion of serious drama and music, this premiere will have a strong emphasis on the musicality of the words, saturating them with rhythm, harmony, sound and structures. Developed through company workshops, this collaboration brings forward an original score, full of surprises and frequent shifts in perspective that explore the value of the politically charged subject of arts in times of economic crisis.
"In Near Eastern mythology, Baal is a God of rainfall and fertility. In Weimar Germany, Baal was a subversive announcement of the approaching gallop of Nazism. For us today, he is a trickier figure. Like anything that has had social subversive appeal, the character of a drunken, nihilistic poet-musician, has repeatedly been sterilized with the commercialism of popular culture: the Vietnam War protests and Jim Morrison; the Civil rights movement and Bob Dylan. Most aesthetic monstrosities end up in safe hands. They sell. Perhaps theatre can bring a glimpse of the original danger?” ~ Artistic Director, Zeljko Djukic
Baal will run May 20 – June 20, 2010 at Chopin Theatre Studio, 1543 W. Division, Chicago. For Tickets call 847-217-0691 or go online to www.tutato.com.
If you're interested, I'd recommend booking tickets in advance. The last two weekends might fill up quickly.
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"Best Chicago Production in 2009" Chicago Reader more
"Top 10 Productions of 2008." TimeOut Chicago Magazine more
"Striking. . . apt and arresting. . . fascinating." Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune (Critic’s Choice) - more
"Heartbreakingly genuine performances… timeless and universal." K. Vire, Timeout Chicago - more
"Hilarious and harrowing… at once heartbreaking and exhilarating." J. Hayford, Reader (Critic’s Choice) - more
A.P. Chekhov
UNCLE VANYA
Translated by Yasen Peyankov & Peter Christensen
Directed by Zeljko Djukic
Through July 26, 2009
Chopin Studio Theatre
1543 W. Division Street
Chicago, Illinois 60618
For tickets go to: http://www.tutato.com
For more info including reviews, photos, and video clips go to: http://www.tutato.com/production/uncle-v
For discounted tickets:
THURSDAYS AT 8pm and SUNDAYS at 3pm we offer $12 Industry/Student Tickets. Just show your H/R or student I.D. or business card at the door. Also, a limited number of HOT TIX half price tickets are available on-line at www.hottix.org
Cast includes:
Gary Houston (SEREBRYAKOV)
Stacie Beth Green (ELENA)
Jacqueline Stone (SONYA)
Christina Irwin (MARIA)
Trey Maclin (VANYA)
Andy Hager (ASTROV)
Christopher Popio (TELEGIN)
Joan Merlo (MARINA)
- Mood: tired
Birds. Photo by Andy Rothenberg.
Hello dear ones -
TUTA Theatre Chicago is hosting our annual benefit and I'm hoping some of you might be interested in attending. If you follow my blog then you know a bit about TUTA; about the uniqueness and integrity of our work. This really is a special group of folks who are manifesting truly special work and as you can imagine - we are struggling in this economic climate.
If you believe in art and its ability to challenge the human mind, to inspire and to bring change into the world, please support TUTA as you are able. This benefit will be a blast (and I actually mean that - we know how to throw a good party) and/or you can catch our upcoming production of Uncle Vanya by A.P. Chekhov. It's a stunning show that was heralded as the best local production in the last year by the Chicago Reader and was so popular in its first run that we have remounted it.
This ain't your momma's Chekhov and you won't see this anywhere else in town. In fact, you may want to buy your tickets now since last year's run sold out so quickly and 2009 shows are already filling.
If you can't make it to either event but would like to support us (after all, we're very lovable as well as skilled), you can go to our website and make a donation. No donation is too small, every dollar and bit of love can make a difference and because we are a 501(c)(3) your contributions are tax deductible.
And to those of you who are able to make the benefit, I'll be there, whippin up tasty finger foods in a fabulous dress and dancin' shoes. Care to cut a rug with me?
.........
TUTA Theatre Chicago is proud to announce our annual fundraising event, Worldwide TUTA: 2009 Gala, benefiting the 2009–10 season (Young & Restless Brecht) and the continuation of our training center.
Step into an international festival full of desserts, wine, music, prizes, and much more.
Guests will be treated to a non-stop evening featuring: live music by the eclectic Balkan rock band Eyes Manouche, a classical violin performance by members of the Chicago Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, a wine tasting sponsored by House Red Wine, mingling with the cast and crew of Uncle Vanya, a video history of TUTA, an exclusive silent auction, access to Mars Gallery’s collection of artwork, and plenty of dancing.
For full event details, ticket purchase and auction items, please visit us at
www.tutato.com
Worldwide TUTA: 2009 Gala
Sunday, June 7, 2009
6:30 – 10:00pm
at Mars Gallery
1139 W. Fulton Ave (in the West Loop)
Ample free street parking is available.
Yours, A. Chekhov, May 9, 2009
“Let the sons of bitches read and find out about things that happened a long time ago.” -Anton Chekhov
Join TUTA Theatre for an afternoon salon featuring the letters of Anton Chekhov.
Complimentary Russian tea provided by Tea Gschwender
Soviet censors are gone and their Russian counterparts have come to terms. The humorless, decorous, and chaste image of one of the world’s greatest writers is exposed as a fraud. Follow the life and career of this most insightful, funny, and rather decadent man of the world through his own words drawn from letters in his own hand to his friends, family, colleagues, and lovers.
Where: Chopin Theatre lounge, 1543 W. Division St.
When: Saturday, May 9th at 3:00pm
Parking: Complimentary parking ½ block west of the 90/94 Division exit at Division/Noble or paid parking at Division/Bosworth just diagonal to the theater.
- Location:work
- Mood:
creative
MASTER CLASS: Chekhov Monologues
with Zeljko Djukic, Artistic Director of TUTA
Tuesdays, July 21, 28 and August 4 (3 weeks only!)
3 weeks, 6:30-9:30pm at TUTA Theatre Chicago
This 3 week master class will focus on active scene analysis and study of Chekhov’s monologues. Students will work on individually assigned monologues with a focus on structure and movement. Using TUTA's approach to devising a unique process for each project or workshop, this class will help you learn the language of theatrical space and discover how an impulse triggers movement, and a movement expresses emotion and tension.
To Register:
Admittance by instructor approval only
For consideration please submit H/R to jackie@tutato.com
Class Size: Limited to 10 students
Price: $65 for three weeks
MASTER CLASS: Body, Space, and Movement
with Jacqueline Stone, Company Member of TUTA
Mondays, Aug 3 - Sept 28, 2009 (No Class on Sept 7)
8 weeks, 6:30-9:30pm at TUTA Theatre Chicago
This 8 week master class uses TUTA's unique physical approach to explore the power of your own body on stage in relationship to space. Using both improvisational exercises and simple pieces of text, you will learn the power of rhythm, responsiveness, emotion, and trusting your gut. Each student will have the opportunity to work in both groups and pairs, with scripts and without.
To Register:
Admittance by instructor approval only
For consideration please submit H/R to jackie@tutato.com
Class Size: Limited to 12 students
Price: $250 for eight weeks
Psst, refer a friend - get a $25 discount on your own class tuition!
- Location:work
- Mood: tired
Rules was loosely based on a book written by a French Baroness that describes in detail what one must do in order to have a happy, proper life. From those pages Lagarce crafted a rich piece (in the form of a monologue), wherein a somewhat strident matron walks through the correct steps one should take from birth to death. Of course in walking through those steps one finds that what really matters in life is, in fact, life and love itself. Our production found that it makes no difference what color suit life is wearing or what flowers love decides to bring...it's that we had them (life and love) at all ~ that's the gift.
The show met with much critical success and was remounted at a Chicago festival and later in New York at the Castillo Theatre. It was a unique piece and when watching the DVD, it looks to me like something that might show up on TV in Poland at 3 AM when one has insomnia (and even then might feel like an acid trip for the viewer). Still, this odd piece has such grace and heart...such verve. This one really shines as a fair gem in my past - and guess what?
Someone has placed a bit of that gem on YouTube. This is the very end of the show (sorry for the spoiler). It's a lot funnier when you've met the (triple) Baroness in her uptight finery (sort of like velvet/brocade armor)at the top of the play . This is after we've danced, lectured, barked, cried, organismed, stripped and run the gamut of birth to death...each year and life event breaking cracks in our brittle facade(s). So this is the essential bit that is left; the joy of living. And yes...we deserve the smokes...
- Location:work
- Mood:
stressed
TUTA THEATRE CHICAGO
Early Spring Classes 2009
Only 3 Spots left!
MASTER CLASS: CHEKHOV SCENE STUDY with Zeljko Djukic
Mondays, March 2nd - April 20th, 2009
6:30-9:30pm
Eight weeks
This master class is focused on the exploration of an actor's movement. Using TUTA's approach to devising a unique process for each project or workshop, this class will help you learn the language of theatrical space and discover how an impulse triggers movement, and a movement expresses emotion and tension.
To Register:
Admittance by instructor approval only
For consideration please submit H/R to jackie@tutato.com
Class Size: Limited to 12 students
Price: $250 for eight weeks
ZELJKO DJUKIC is Artistic Director of TUTA, where he has staged Heiner Müller's Quartet, Peter Handke's The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other, original adaptations of Caroll's Alice books and Saint-Exupéry's Little Prince, Pushkin's Mozart and Salieri, Jean-Luc Lagarce's Rules for Good Manners in the Modern World, Aristophanes' Birds, Dawkins' Still Life In Color, Markovic's Tracks, Lagarce's It's Only The End of The World, Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, Shakespeare's The Most Excellent Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Often inspired by the aesthetics of the silent film and early American vaudeville, Djukic and his actors invent energetic movement sequences, creating poignant images where gestures and actions enhance or frame the text. Djukic taught acting at Belgrade's Drama Arts School for two years. He also conducted advanced acting classes, workshops and seminars at The Second City, University of Maryland, Missouri State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and JMU Summer Drama Program in London.
- Location:work
- Mood: sick
This view of my current show, from the Chicago Tribune, is less flattering in general but I like to post all the reviews to offer a diverse picture of the works with which I'm involved.
I found the title of the review interesting, since the "real Russians" who have seen the show have said that they loved the piece and have given us glowing feedback, including the playwright himself (the playwright is not a she as Mr. Jones suggests).
I will give Jones this, he is correct that the tone of the show was a directorial choice which the actors committed to. We (the actors) were playing the work as though it were one big tragedy when we first began but then moved into the world of dark, surrealist comedy. I stick by my directors though (particularly after reading some of Bogaev's other works). I think they were/are on target and Bogaev seems to have agreed.
I have pasted the entire text( behind the cut )
- Mood: crappy
I wanted to thank all of you for your support around my current theatrical project Maria's Field. This role was a challenge for me but I feel good about where I am and proud of the work. I am looking forward to seeing how this rich role grows through me over the run.
In case you'd like to see them, I'm posting some reviews (all positive thus far - woo-hoo!) and photos below.
First, the Chicago Reader. Click the link or look ( behind the cut: )
Then TimeOut Chicago, included ( behind this cut: )
Finally there is this article from a Russian paper called Reklama. Though it is in Russian, someone sent us a translation which I found very flattering. In case it's not clear "Dzhenifer Bayers" is me. I have included ( the full text behind this cut:) )
Taken by the very talented John Sisson, here are some ( whacky production photos )
Some wide shots taken by our set designer Brandon Wardell ( are here: )
- Mood: busy
If you'd like to see me blaze the stage for FREE - please stop by and give them the password at the box office (which is "COW").
- Location:work
- Mood:
nervous
TUTA Theatre Chicago Hosts Reading of Russian National Postal Service by Oleg Bogaev
At 12 noon, Saturday, January 24th, TUTA headquarters are getting a whole lot more interesting. To help us celebrate TUTA's Chicago premier of Maria's Field, in association with Chicago DCA Theater, playwright Oleg Bogaev will be coming all the way in from Russia. As an added bonus, TUTA is presenting a staged reading of Bogaev's internationally acclaimed one act play: Russian National Postal Service, a rollicking and heartbreaking story of a lonely pensioner and the historical, popular, and other worldly figures of his imaginary correspondences. The reading, featuring actor Gary Houston, will be followed by a discussion with Oleg Bogaev, the award winning gem of the Russian theater scene, about his work, his experiences, and the state of the art. Coffee and treats will be served up with this delightful event, and admission is FREE.
What: The Russian National Postal Service - Staged reading and discussion with playwright, Oleg Bogaev
When: Saturday, January 24th, 12pm
Where: The TUTA Loft, 2032 W. Fulton, Chicago, IL 60612
(3 blocks south of Grand, Just west of Damen)
How Much: FREE
For any additional information about the reading contact Alice Wedoff at 773.895.3026 or alicewedoff@yahoo.com. For more information on TUTA Theatre Chicago go to www.tutato.com
- Mood: uncomfortable
While in "R&J", I discovered that my fellow Tutian, Alice, has quite a gift for hair design (as well as a love of doing it). Though she was quite busy on stage as Juliet, she would run back between scenes to coif Lady Capulet. At first the hair design was the same, but in the last few weeks she decided to get creative and tried at least 10 different doos.
We didn't take shots of all of them, but if you'd like to see some of my hair adventures you can ( find pix behind the cut )
- Location:work
- Mood:
content
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