Grey Ghost Theatre presents its inaugural production of Sarah Ruhl's Melancholy Play: A Contemporary Farce. Ruhl, a MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient, has delighted audiences in theatres throughout America with her fantastical and singularly off-kilter view of the world. Her plays A Clean House and The Vibrator Play were Pulitzer Prize finalists and have won her international renown.

Melancholy Play is one of her earliest full length works, not seen in Chicago since it premiered at Piven Theater in 2002. Described by Ruhl as a "contemporary farce", Melancholy Play is both a wildly fun and deeply moving look at the mysteries of human happiness and sadness, currents of emotion which prove powerful enough to leave us entirely transformed (and not only in the metaphorical sense).

PERFORMANCES
Melancholy Play: A Contemporary Farce runs Thursdays through Sundays from April 20-May 13, 2012 at The Viaduct Theatre, 3111 N. Western Ave, Chicago, IL. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

The Viaduct is easily accessible via the Belmont and Western buses. The Viaduct has a parking lot across the street at the southwest corner of Belmont and Western. The charge is $5, payable at the box office or bar. Street parking is also available on Clybourn and Barry, with additional metered parking on Belmont.

TICKETS
Tickets are $15. For advance tickets, please visit The Viaduct Theatre's website. Tickets are available for industry on Thursday nights for $10. For more information, please email greyghosttheatre [at] gmail.com or call (773) 828-9710.

Help make this production possible with a tax-deductible donation at our Fractured Atlas page!

Bios

Amber Robinson (Director)
Amber is a founding member of Grey Ghost Theatre, and is immeasurably excited and grateful to see this first project come to fruition. Amber graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2008 with a BFA in theater. Additionally, Amber spent the fall of 2007 studying acting and Russian theatre at the Moscow Art Theatre School, and the Summer of 2008 training with the Siti Company. Since moving to Chicago, Amber has worked with various theatres including Redmoon, Collaboraction, Emerald City, Bohemian Theatre Ensemble, and Big Picture Group. Endless thanks to my parents, grandparents, teachers and mentors, fellow company members, and world's greatest friends for the constant encouragement and support. This could never have happened without you all!

Peter Durkin (Lorenzo)
Peter Durkin is very honored to be a part of Grey Ghost Theatre's first production. You may have seen Peter performing in Chicago at American Theatre Company, Drury Lane-Oak Brook, Light Opera Works and many other theatres around town. He would like to send his love and thanks to Mom and Dad for all their support. Beeka.

Mouzam Makkar (Tilly)
Mouzam Makkar is thrilled to be working with Grey Ghost Theatre on their inaugural production. Recent Chicago credits include The Fever Chart: Four Visions of the Middle East (Eclipse Theatre); the original and remount productions of 1001 (Collaboraction); Here Where It’s Safe (Stage Left Theatre); Twelfth Night (First Folio Theatre); Yoni Ki Baat (Rasaka Theatre); Cut to the Quick: Atom Smashers (the side project); Seven (Silk Road Theatre); The Chicago One-Minute Play Festival (Victory Gardens); Semeneau (Rhinofest); as well as understudy credits for Heartbreak House (Writers’ Theatre) and Diversey Harbour (Theatre Seven). Regional credits include the titular role in Romeo and Juliet (Cardinal Stage, IN). She can be seen next in the independent feature film, Promise Land; in LeapFest 9 with Stage Left Theatre (where she is a proud ensemble member) in May; in Gruesome Playground Injuries with Rasaka Theatre in July; and in Dirty with The Gift Theatre in September. Makkar is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf and the Second City Conservatory and Writing programs. (www.mouzam.com)

Maggie McCally (Frances)
Maggie McCally recently relocated to Chicago after a two-year theatre stint in San Francisco, during which time she performed with Boxcar Theatre, Sleepwalker’s Theatre, Woman’s Will, Crowded Fire, Threshold, and Pianofight, among others. In Chicago, she has understudied for the Victory Gardens, and appeared in two staged readings with Artemisia. She is a graduate of Bates College, where she minored in theatre, and has also completed a semester of training at the London Dramatic Academy. Maggie is psyched to be a part of this show, and proud to be working with this splendid cast and crew.

Mallory Nees (Joan)
Mallory is excited to be a part of Grey Ghost's inaugural production of Melancholy Play! Since graduating from The Theatre School at DePaul, Mallory has worked with several great theater companies: Theatre-Hikes (Sleepy Hollow), Strawdog (The Good Soul of Szechuan), Rivendell (Mercury 13), The (a)Symmetry Cycle (blindsight), 16th Street (Menorca), Theatre Mir (Caucasian Chalk Circle), BoHo Theatre (Striking 12) and Lifeline Theatre (Dooby Dooby Moo, The Last of the Dragons, The Blue Shadow, Mrs. Caliban, Neverwhere, and Click, Clack, Moo.) If you're dying to hear more from Mallory, she accompanies various cabaret acts around town, and can be seen next in The Invention of Falling at Collaboraction's Sketchbook Festival.

Andy Junk (Frank)
Andy Junk is a actor/improvisor and a founding member of Grey Ghost Theatre. You may have seen him improvise with "Bella", "Wolodarski", or with his iO House team, "Birthday Girl." He is also an associate at Collaboraction theatre, and a member of Various Artists film collective, which shoots a short film every month (variousart.org).

Jeremy David Ward (Julian)
Jeremy David Ward is a performer whose musical inspiration and repertoire spans from Renaissance dance music to the post-tonal works of Saariaho and Dutilleux. As a player of early bass instruments, he has enjoyed musicking with The Newberry Consort Violin Band, Baroque Band, Bella Voce, and his newly formed ensemble, Rook. Jeremy has also had the pleasure of performing cello in more contemporary compositions with Chicago new music groups eighth blackbird and ensemble dal niente. Jeremy's only theatre credit until now was as "The Cellist" in Rob Caisley's 22 Day Adagio with Mill Mountain Theatre. A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, he recorded with Oberlin 21 and Yolanda Kondonassis for the album Air featuring music for flute and harp by Debussy and Takamitsu. Also a graduate of Northwestern Unviersity’s Bienen School of Music, Jeremy now lives in in Chicago where he freelances in all eras of music.

Diane Teng (Stage Manager)
Diane Teng graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a B.A. in Theatre Arts and Environmental Studies. She spent the following summer as a Stage Manager at the Lake Dillon Theatre Company in Colorado for You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and A Grand Night for Singing. She also played cello for The Glorious Ones. Her next move took her to Maryland, at Olney Theatre Center where she worked on Night Must Fall, Camelot, Bus Stop, Triumph of Love, and Dinner with Friends.

News

Check out an interview with Grey Ghost's Amber Robinson about the founding of the company at Theatre in Chicago!

About Grey Ghost Theatre

Grey Ghost Theatre is a new storefront theatre company in Chicago, dedicated to productions of contemporary plays, original works, and new adaptations of classic texts.

Our founding members come from various backgrounds in theatre, film, radio, improv, and music. Past projects of our members have included works produced by Redmoon Theater, Collaboraction Theater, WBEZ Chicago, and at the New York Independent Television Festival.

Special Thanks

We'd like to offer tremendous thanks to our generous sponsors: Bob and Joan Hubbell, Steven & Janice Junk, Eric Stolze, Jean Haynes, Stephanie Kleinfelder, Lyudmila Kizer, Katherine Donofrio, Estelle Berger, Renee and Stephen Belak, Rose McEleny, Tom Chung, John and Lisa Junk, Dana Jacobson, Virgetta and Richard Junk, Carol Callaghan, Sean Callaghan, Peter Durkin, Timothy and Marie Winckowski, Marvin and Jane Schlichting, James and Ann Kolar, Jennifer Gibbons, Tomo Lekovic, Daniel Herman, John McCally & Cheryl Carlesimo, AJ Keller, Kelly Ullom, Ali Carney, Nancy Wieting, Loras Heck, Allison Junk, Alex Trepka, Lauren Summers, Megan Hincks, Stuart Seale, Janice Landi, Andrew Smreker, Lauren Teng, William and Susan Womack, Rodney and Colleen Sanborn, Jeanne Tilton, Jinnel Choiniere, Sara Freeman, Greg Hardigan, Andrew Knight, Carol Rose, Nola Richardson, Amber Verbick, Charles Haugland, Linus Gog, Jeanne Oost, David Levari, Joanna Evangelista, Alex Honnet, Charles Bonilla, Simone and Aaron Snook, Rita Crowley, Toritseju Eshedagho, Kate Jakubas, Brian Morrison, Amanda Hentsch, Regina Calabrese, Susan O'Donnell, Bart Pappas, Will Allan, Seth Mayer, Karin Fjellman, Christina Boucher, Zelda and Henry Bean, Lauren Romano, Gwenlyn Robinson, Jessica Herron, Janet Hannaford, Meghan M. Dolan, Emily Harpe, Louis M. Schousboe, Mia Park, Olga Gan, Matthew David Malinowski, Conor Smith Gaffney, Andrew Knox, Sharif Shawki, and Jordan Roth.

Poster design by Ryan Duggan. Banner illustration by Brian Morrison. Additional design work provided by Emerald Gao, Madeleine Hannes, and Andy Junk.

Additional thanks to H.B. Ward, Adam Mohundro, Tim Stafford, Eon Mora, Andrew Parrotte, Dan Brouwer, The Spot, Cole's Bar, Lyuda Kizer, Sara Freeman, John & Piper Robinson, Global Video, Northwest Chicago Film Society, Wolfbait, Music Box Theater, Ciao Napoli, and Unchartered Books.

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Melancholy Play was first produced at the Piven Theater Workshop, directed by Jessica Thebus, produced by Joyce Piven.

Grey Ghost Theatre is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of Grey Ghost Theatre must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.