CHICAGO ( July 17, 2015 ) — Step Up Productions is pleased to announce its full 2015-16 Season, kicking off this fall with Neil Simon's Tony Award-winning romantic comedy BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, directed by Michael Driscoll. Then, Step Up rings in the holidays with its third annual HOLIDAZE, a hilarious and heartfelt collection of original, holiday-themed short works by some of the industry's most talented young playwrights. The season concludes next spring with Noël Coward's comedy of manners PRIVATE LIVES, directed by Ian Frank. Step Up's full 2015-16 Season will be performed at its resident home, The Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago. Season subscriptions ( $60 for all three productions ) are currently available at www.stepupproductions.org or by calling The Athenaeum Box Office at ( 773 ) 935-6875. Single tickets for all productions will go on sale at a later date.
As part of its mission, Step Up Productions will continue to donate a portion of proceeds from the upcoming season to organizations in and around Chicago that support issues often highlighted in its productions. Past recipients include YWCA Chicago, Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness, Imerman Angels, The House of Good Shepherd and others.
Annual Fundraiser
Enjoy a sneak peek of performances from the upcoming season at Step Up Productions' Annual Fundraiser on Saturday, August 29 from 6 — 10 pm at Rock Bottom Brewery, 1 W. Grand Ave. in Chicago. The evening also includes a silent auction, raffle, DJ and more. Tickets ( $40 includes hors d'oeuvres and one drink ticket ) are available at www.stepupproductions.org .
Step Up Productions' 2015-16 Season:
BAREFOOT IN THE PARK
October 2 — November 1, 2015
By Neil Simon, Directed by Michael Driscoll
Paul and Corie Bratter are newlyweds just back from their honeymoon — he's a straight-as-an-arrow lawyer and she's an impulsive romantic always looking for the latest kick. When Corie's loopy, widowed mother drops in for a surprise visit, the couple decides to play matchmaker during a dinner with their upstairs neighbor, Victor. During the meal, everything that can go wrong — does.
The 3rd annual HOLIDAZE
Original works by MT Cozzola, John Green, Robert Koon, Mia McCullough, Steven Simoncic, Steven Peterson, Joshua Rollins and others.
November 20 — December 20, 2015
Back by popular demand, Step Up's holiday round up returns for its third year! This series of touching and comedic short plays celebrates the holiday season and all the chaos, dysfunction, and cheer that comes along with it.
PRIVATE LIVES
By Noël Coward, Directed by Ian Frank
April 8 — May 8, 2016
Elyot and Amanda, once married and now honeymooning with new spouses at the same hotel, meet by chance, reignite the old spark and impulsively elope. After days of being reunited, they again find their fiery romance alternating between bouts of love and anger. When their peeved spouses reappear, chaos ensues and new partnerships and alliances are formed.
About the Directors
Michael Driscoll ( Barefoot in the Park ) directed the Jeff nominated production of Carrie: The Musical ( Bailiwick Chicago ), Desperate Dolls ( Strawdog Theatre ), Blithe Spirit ( GoodLuck Macbeth Theatre Company ), Up For It and For Another ( American Theater Company's Big Shoulders Festival ), A Plank In Reason ( Prologue Theatre ), The Last Five Years ( Illinois State University ) and the staged reading of Penumbra ( Three Cat Productions ). He assistant directed the Jeff Award—winning production of The Original Grease and Rent ( American Theater Company ), Oh Coward! ( Writers' Theatre ), See What I Wanna See ( Bailiwick Chicago/Steppenwolf Garage Rep ), Detective Partner Hero Villain ( Strawdog Theatre ), Sunday in the Park with George ( Porchlight Music Theatre ) and The Complete Works… ( Abridged ) ( Illinois Shakespeare Festival ). Michael is also the Director of Education at Bailiwick Chicago, the Manager of After School Programs at Changing Worlds and a teaching artist. He has taught with American Theater Company, Northlight, Bailiwick Chicago, StageCoach Theatre Arts School, and CCAP. He has presented his work, discussing theatre education's impact on urban school environments, at the National Convention of Teachers of English, Chicago Arts Educators Forum, and the regional Illinois Theatre in Our Schools conference. Michael is a graduate of the Teaching Artist Development Studio in Chicago, a professional development program designed to refine the skills of the teaching artist. He is a graduate of Illinois State University where he studied theatre education and directing.
Ian Frank ( Private Lives ) is a freelance director, teacher and composer in Chicago with a dozen years experience working on new plays. In 2014, he directed Remix 38 which was commissioned by Actors Theatre of Louisville as part of the 38th Humana Festival of New American Plays. Ian has a long history with the Humana Festival, first as an ATL acting apprentice and later directing I am not Batman by Marco Ramirez at the Festival in 2007. He has directed five world premiere 10-minute plays at ATL, as well as assisted former artistic director Marc Masterson on the world premieres of Craig Wright's The Unseen and Eric Coble's
Natural Selection. In Chicago, Ian directed the world premiere of Another Bone and Shipwrecked! An Entertainment at Redtwist Theatre. At Chicago Shakespeare Theater, he assisted Gary Griffin on the Jeff-award-winning Sunday in the Park with George and Penny Metropulos on Cyrano de Bergerac. As a directing intern at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Ian assistant directed Cyrano de Bergerac, Doubt, The Norman Conquests, Enchanted April and Endgame. Ian also assisted on Brave No World by Laurie Brooks at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Ian holds an MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago where he directed The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Moby Dick, Richard III, Private Lives and Broadsword, as well as assisting former Lookingglass Theatre artistic director David Catlin on Monster Under the Bed, as part of Chicago Playworks. Upcoming productions include his own adaptation of Moby Dick for his alma mater, Centre College. A Cincinnati native, Ian is a faculty member at the Kentucky Governor's Scholars Program, where he teaches Film Studies and The Art of the Remix.
About Step Up Productions
Step Up Productions is a non-profit theater company with a mission to communicate stories authentically, inspiring audiences to identify and embrace their own personal truths.
Step Up became a non-profit, in part, to better serve other non-profit organizations in and around Chicago that are committed to helping others become self-sufficient. Step Up donates a portion of its proceeds to organizations that support issues often highlighted in its productions.
For additional information, visit www.stepupproductions.org .