"Plays and Playwrights for the New Millennium" available for Kindle

Martin Denton’s anthology, out of print since 2004, has just been re-issued as an e-book, featuring the seven plays in the original print edition along with bonus material that’s never before been available, as follows.

MIDNIGHT BRAINWASH REVIVAL by Kirk Wood Bromley
A revel for the new millennium featuring cross-dressers, mismatched lovers, false prophets and madmen, all involved in a grand, possibly apocalyptic drama in the Utah desert. KIRK WOOD BROMLEY is a playwright, actor, director, theatre writer, musician as well as artistic director of Inverse Theater Company.

WHEN WORDS FAIL… by David Dannenfelser
A tender, innovative comedy about the survival of the human spirit in the information age. DAVID DANNENFELSERhas written, directed, and produced many plays over the years. He is a professor of theatre at Wells College. (listen to a podcast )

MAKING PETER POPE by Edmund De Santis
An epic comedy about a young gay man struggling to gain control of his life after his mother dies and his father quickly remarries. EDMUND DE SANTIS is a playwright with a MA in theatre and film. He lives and works in Manhattan.

CRUNCHING NUMBERS by Lynn Marie Macy
Three pungent, linked one-act plays about the supreme angst and anguish that comes with turning thirty. LYNN MARIE MACYis a a playwright, actor, and director originally from Minneapolis. She is resident playwright at Theater Ten Ten and an avid world traveler. (listen to a podcast )

CAFÉ SOCIETY by Robert Simonson
A cockeyed satire of contemporary urban America in which a young woman goes to hell and back just to get her daily dose of iced de-ca. ROBERT SIMONSON is a playwright, author, and freelance theatre journalist. He is also the author of several published nonfiction books on theatre topics. (listen to a podcast )

“SO, I KILLED A FEW PEOPLE…” by GARY RUDOREN & DAVID SUMMERS
A chillingly comic monologue delivered by a convicted serial killer on death row whose final request is to put on a one-man show. GARY RUDOREN (neé Ruderman) is a writer, director, and actor. He has been a teacher of comedy and is co-author of a book on comedy. DAVID SUMMERS is an actor, writer, computer consultant, and political activist based in San Francisco. He created the role of Archie Nunn in this play. (listen to a podcast )

ARE WE THERE YET? by Garth Wingfield
A bittersweet comic drama about a young woman’s renewal and rebirth following some truly shocking medical news. GARTH WINGFIELD is a playwright who works has been produced frequently. He has also written for prime time television and is a member of the Writers Guild of America East, and the Dramatists Guild.

BONUS MATERIAL

EXCERPT FROM UNTITLED by Kirk Wood Bromley. The first ten minutes of a new play continuing his style of poetic writing.

AN OTHERWISE EMPTY ROOM (MANHATTAN) by David Dannenfelser. A 10-minute play of very few words told all in the action.

SEBRESQUE by Edmund De Santis. A quirky, somewhat darker 10-minute play for three actors.

WRACKED by Lynn Marie Macy. A contemporary 10-minute play that looks on an interesting mother/daughter relationship.

EXCERPT FROM ARCHIE NUNN KILLED A FEW PEOPLE by Gary Rudoren. A screenplay based on his and David Summer’s play.

STORY TIME by Garth Wingfield. An up-to-date 10-minute play with an acerbic wit and a bit of sarcasm.




VICTORY GARDENS TO NAME NEWLY BUILT STUDIO THEATER THE “RICHARD CHRISTIANSEN THEATER”

Special celebration on March 1 to honor former Chicago Tribune chief theater critic, launch Victory Gardens’ $1 million Campaign for Growth

CHICAGO, January 27, 2010 – Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago’s #1 producer of new plays, announced today it will name its new studio theater upstairs at the Victory Gardens Biograph the Richard Christiansen Theater, in honor of the Chicago Tribune chief critic emeritus and longtime champion of Chicago’s live theater scene.

“Richard Christiansen, a dear friend and colleague, is a true advocate for Chicago’s Off-Loop theater scene, from its advent in the mid-1970s, throughout his career, and still today,” said Victory Gardens Artistic Director Dennis Zacek.

“In particular, Richard understands and respects the very fragile nature of Victory Gardens’ singular devotion to developing new plays.  Without his encouragement, advice, and yes, constructive criticism, I am certain Victory Gardens would not be the American Center for New Plays it is today. And I dare say we would not be ensconced in our beautiful new home, the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater.  So it’s fitting that our beautiful jewel box of a new studio theater be named in honor of Richard, the rare human being who still has the capacity to find wonder and amazement each time the curtain is drawn.”

On March 1, Victory Gardens will host a special celebration to honor Christiansen, and officially name its new, 109-seat second floor studio theater the “Richard Christiansen Theater.” The event also launches Victory Gardens Theater’s new, $1 million dollar “Campaign for Growth.”   

Lead support for the Richard Christiansen Theater is generously provided by Polk Bros. Foundation. Co-chairs of the Richard Christiansen Theater tribute are his dear friends Margie Korshak and Jane Nicholl Sahlins. Co-chairs of the Campaign for Growth are Fred Bates and Penny Brown.

Cocktails start at 5 pm at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, followed at 6 pm by a special salute to Christiansen in his new namesake theater.   Invited guests represent a who’s who from Chicago’s theater scene, past and present.   Contact the Victory Gardens development office, 773.549.5788 x 2146, for information on how to contribute in honor of Richard Christiansen, or visit victorygardens.org/campaignforgrowth for more details.

As part of the Campaign for Growth, a special Artists’ Tribute Fund is being created specifically for artists to honor Christiansen’s tireless support of Chicago theater.  Participants in the Artists’ Tribute Fund will be announced shortly, and are pledging to match fellow artists’ donations dollar for dollar.

“We are thrilled and honored that Richard accepted this honor, and can’t imagine a more fitting tribute than naming the new studio theater the Richard Christiansen Theater.  Richard’s role in the rise and success of the Chicago theater community is unparalleled.  We are all indebted to him, and it gives us great pleasure to provide him with a ‘theater of his own’,” said Jan Kallish, Executive Director, Victory Gardens Theater.

Kallish added, “The naming of the Richard Christiansen Theater is the centerpiece of our Campaign for Growth, enabling us to continue and expand our commitment to new work, diverse audiences, access, and education.  Programmatic initiatives such as our hugely successful Ignition Festival and Fresh Squeezed will continue to flourish on both stages through the support of our patrons, donors and sponsors.”

Margie Korshak, co-chair of the Richard Christiansen Theater tribute, added, “No one has done more for Chicago Theater and no one deserves to have a theater named after him than Richard Christiansen.”  Fellow co-chair Jane Nicholl Sahlins concurred, “Naming this theater for Richard is a recognition of his unique and enduring contribution to the most vibrant theatre scene on the planet.”

About Richard Christiansen

Richard Christiansen, chief critic emeritus of the Chicago Tribune, has been an arts journalist for more than 40 years, covering theater, dance, film, and the visual arts in Chicago, the nation, and abroad.  He began his career in 1956 as a reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago and moved to the Chicago Daily News a year later.  In 1978, he joined the Chicago Tribune as its critic at large and then moved on to become the arts and entertainment editor and, subsequently, chief critic and senior writer, a post he held until his retirement in 2002.  Soon after, Christiansen combined his superior research skills with his firsthand experiences to write A Theater of Our Own:  A History and a Memoir of 1,001 Nights in Chicago, published by Northwestern University Press in 2004.  Expertly researched, enthrallingly recalled, and lavishly illustrated, A Theater of Our Own is not only an award-winning journalist’s encyclopedic addition to Chicago’s history but also an eminently readable memoir by a lifelong devotee of theater, drawing upon historical records, exclusive interviews, personal memories, and insights gained over more than 40 years of reviewing the arts in Chicago.

About Victory Gardens Theater

Victory Gardens Theater is home to the bold voices of world premiere theater.  The company features the work of its own 14-member Playwrights Ensemble, as well as that of exciting playwrights who are changing theater in the U.S. and abroad. 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 Regional Theatre.  The company’s dedication to developing, supporting and producing new 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 the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, the new venue opened with one, state-of-the-art 299-seat mainstage, which has greatly expanded the company’s artistic flexibility, while enhancing Victory Gardens’ ability to welcome patrons old and new.    This was best evidenced just last summer, when Victory Gardens’ Chicago premiere of David Harrower’s Blackbird, starring William Petersen and Mattie Hawkinson, directed by Dennis Zacek, became the biggest critical and box office hit in the company’s 36-year history.

Just as Blackbird was breaking all box office records last summer, upstairs, Victory Gardens was embarking on the second phase of renovation at the Biograph, carving an intimate, 109-seat studio theater out of raw, vacant space on the building’s second floor.    Last September, Victory Gardens launched its current, 2009-2010 season with the inaugural production in its new studio, the world premiere of Michael Golamco’s Year Zero, an intimate family drama about a Cambodian family in modern-day California. 

Working with a $3.1 million annual budget in 2009-2010, Victory Gardens continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Artistic Director Dennis Zacek, Executive Director Jan Kallish, Associate Artistic Director Sandy Shinner, and Board President Jeffrey Rappin.

For complete information, visit victorygardens.org.

Press contact:   Jay Kelly, L.C. Williams & Associates,  jkelly@lcwa.com or 312.565.4623