Chicago, IL—Victory Gardens Theater and Bodies of Work present Breakdown Services (Tales of a Reluctant Superstar), a one-night only solo performance written and performed by Ann Colby Stocking as part of Crip Slam, a component of Victory Gardens Access Project. The performance is Sunday, October 7, 2012 at 7:30PM in the Richard Christiansen Theater at the Victory Gardens Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park.
When film and television producers want the hottest women in town, what's a 4'10" actress with a disability to do? In the small town of Hollywood, California, Ann Colby Stocking navigates her way through auditions, the studios, star-sightings, Hollywood Men and the elusive meaning of "making it" on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams.
Breakdown Services (Tales of a Reluctant Superstar), will take place at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. For tickets and information, call the Victory Gardens Box Office, 773.871.3000 (tty: 773.871.0682), email tickets@victorygardens.org, or visit www.victorygardens.org . Tickets are $10.
Bodies of Work is a network of disability arts and culture. Breakdown Services is an ACCESS PERFORMANCE and will feature audio description for patrons who are blind or have low vision, and sign language interpretation for patrons who are deaf or hearing impaired.
Victory Gardens is the winner of "Best Accessible Theater" Deaf Illinois Awards 2009. Visit www.victorygardens.org and click on "Enhance Your visit" for information and other Access services including large print and Braille programs, assisted listening devices, and artist development workshops.
Breakdown Services is supported by the Chicago Community Trust.
Logistics and Amenities
Parking
$11 valet parking is available for all performances. Metered and street parking is available, but mind the neighborhood parking restrictions.
Public transit
By CTA train, take the Red, Purple or Brown lines to the Fullerton stop. Walk east on Fullerton to Lincoln, then north 1/2 block to the theater. The #8 Halsted, #11 Lincoln, #37 Sedgwick/Ogden, and #74 Fullerton CTA buses all stop at the corner of Fullerton and Halsted, 1/2 block south of the theater. See transitchicago.com for times and routes.
Pre- and post-show dining
See www.victorygardens.org for a list of Victory Gardens' neighborhood dining partners. Each is within walking distance of the Biograph, and all offer a special discount to patrons who present a Victory Gardens ticket stub.
Access Project Mission
Now in its 19th year, the Access Project is a nationally recognized model outreach effort designed to involve people with disabilities in all aspects of theater, both on and off the stage. Part of the Victory Gardens Access Project, Crip Slam is a series of performances, readings, movies and other events that promote, explore and celebrate disability culture.
About Victory Gardens Theater
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Executive Director Jan Kallish, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals. Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theatre work and cultivating an inclusive theater community. Victory Gardens' core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city's and nation's culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city's active student population.
Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Our commitment to developing, supporting and producing new theatre work makes Victory Gardens an American Center for New Plays.
In 2006, Victory Gardens successfully completed an $11.8 million renovation of Chicago's famed Biograph Theater, and moved two blocks north from its longtime venue at 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue, to its beautiful new home in one of Chicago's most celebrated historic landmarks. Renamed Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, the new venue is a state-of-the-art 299-seat mainstage which has greatly expanded the company's artistic flexibility.
In 2009, Victory Gardens completed the second phase of renovation at the Biograph, building an intimate, new, 109-seat studio theater on the second floor. On March 1, 2010, at a special launch event for Victory Gardens $1 million Campaign for Growth, the theater's new studio was officially named the Richard Christiansen Theater, in honor of the Chicago Tribune chief critic emeritus and longtime champion of Chicago's live theater scene. Visit www.victorygardens.org for more details.
Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Alphawood Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Allstate Insurance, The Boeing Company, Crown Family Philanthropies, Leo S. Guthman Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, Polk Bros. Foundation, and REAM Foundation. Additional funding is provided by: Illinois Arts Council (a state agency), The Edgerton Foundation, The James S. Kemper Foundation, Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Sara Lee Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund, McVay Foundation, The Seabury Foundation, Wrightwood Neighbors Conservation Association, The Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Illinois Tool Works, Motorola Mobility Foundation, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, a City Arts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, The Irving Harris Foundation, PNC Foundation, and The Saints.
