Did you catch our Member Profile on the Northcenter Chamber of Commerce’s website? We were interviewed by DePaul College Prep student Ivy Frater as part of the Chamber’s Member Spotlight program.
Up Next: Cinema Chaos and The Room
March brings a new addition to the Ghostlight Live Movie Reading experience: Cinema Chaos.
Cinema Chaos is a monthly unrehearsed movie reading series that joins our ongoing staged movie reading series bringing audiences two movies a month — one rehearsed and well-acted and the other…complete and utter chaos.
A group of actors who have never seen the movie in question show up unrehearsed and uncast to perform the script with only 5 minutes to prepare. Roles will be cast at the start of the reading. To kick off the series on Thursday, March 14, Ghostlight will present our live, unseen and unrehearsed version of The Room — the greatest worst movie our actors have never seen.
Join us at Black Eagle Club, 1938 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL 60613, for this experiment gone horribly…right? Performance begins at 7 p.m. but come early if you want a good seat and to watch the character selection process (which will happen around 6:45 p.m.) Food and drink available for purchase at Black Eagle as well.
Actors for The Room are: Lilly Apostolou, Bee Argento, Nick Conrad, Marianna Gallegos, Steffen Garcia, Allison McCorkle, Holly Robison, Olivia Sieck and Chad Wise.
Suffrage Takes Center Stage in Ghostlight's Plays For Women! This Wednesday
Rehearsals for Lady Geraldine’s Speech by Beatrice Harraden.
Ghostlight Ensemble returns to the Richard H. Driehaus Museum this week with Plays for Women!: A collection of overlooked suffrage plays.
Though once a vital part of the suffrage movement, these four short works are rarely performed in modern day. Plays for Women! is a co-production with the Driehaus Museum that coincides with March as Women’s History Month and is part of Ghostlight's For Your (Re)Consideration series.
“These little-known American and British suffrage plays are excellent examples of thought-provoking and entertaining plays that are still shockingly relevant to our current environment. Encountering these plays – written in the early 20th century – more than a 100 years later, illuminates the issues we are still fighting for, the barriers that still exist and the arguments still used to justify oppression,” said director Holly Robison.
Suffrage theatre was a form of dramatic literature which emerged during the suffrage movement in the early 20th century, particularly in Great Britain, but here at home organizations such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) also viewed theater as an effective way to highlight women’s issues and spread pro-suffrage sentiment.
Pro-suffrage plays often featured strong female characters who were intelligent and well-informed voters who spent the majority of their time on stage dispelling stereotypes perpetuated by the anti-suffrage movement. The plays themselves were written so as to be more widely performed with no set and few props.
The works which are part of Plays for Women! vary widely in tone, from an incisive social problem play to a farce-like comedy. They are:
Something to Vote For by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: A short play by the famed American feminist author that follows a women’s club meeting whose members must face real-world implications and consequences when women are denied a voice in policy making and government. The play touches on issues of feminism, as well as classism, capitalism and consumerism that are still relevant today. Cast: Maria Burnham as Dr. Strong, Sera Young as Mrs. Carroll, Juliana Zepeda as Mrs. Reedway, Sydney Ray as Mrs. O’Shane, Jessye Mueller as Mr. Arnold, Christine Marie as Mr. Billings and Squeek Rangel as Miss Carrie Turner and Holly Robison as narrator and additional voices.
An Anti-Suffragist, or, The Other Side by H.M. Paull: A humous satirical monologue from a privileged young lady who looks to be active in the anti-suffrage movement. She attempts to persuade the audience to her side but in actuality, makes a deeply comical and revealing argument against herself. Cast: Maria Burnham as Chairwoman and Holly Robison as Miss De Lacey.
The Mother’s Meeting by Mrs. Harlow Phibbs: Another comic monologue, but this one is delivered from a working-class character who pokes holes in the anti-suffrage arguments made by upper and middle-class women of privilege. The woman inadvertently attends an anti-suffrage meeting and recounts how she ultimately makes a resounding speech in favor of suffrage and women’s rights. Cast: Squeek Rangel as Mrs. Puckle.
Lady Geraldine’s Speech by Beatrice Harraden: A comic short play about the troubles of Lady Geraldine, who agrees to give an anti-suffrage speech despite never having contemplated the issue seriously. She seeks out the help of her friend. At the home of this friend Lady Geraldine encounters women of multiple professions that she admires who convince her of the merits of the suffragist movement. Cast: Juliana Zepeda as Lady Geraldine, Jessye Mueller as Dr. Alice, Maria Burnham as Gertrude Silberthwaite, Sydney Ray as Nora Baillie, Christine Marie as Hilda Crowninshield and Sera Young as Nellie Grant.
“These plays are overlooked historical gems that modern audiences will find surprisingly familiar,” Robison said.
Plays for Women!: A collection of overlooked suffrage plays is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 6, at 6:30 p.m. in the Nickerson Ballroom at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum (40 East Erie St., Chicago, IL 60611). Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. The reading runs about 90 minutes with an intermission. A brief talkback will follow. Tickets are available through the Driehaus Museum at https://driehausmuseum.org/programs/detail/plays-for-women. Please note that due to ongoing renovations, there is no elevator available to the Nickerson Ballroom.
Plays for Women! Is part of Ghostlight’s For Your (Re)Consideration series, which explores the works of historically overlooked female writers. Featuring a variety of distinct voices and styles from different historical periods, the readings seek to bring attention to these remarkable women who have been sidelined by history for reasons that had nothing to do with their talent and everything to do with their gender and, in many cases, their race.
Cinema Chaos coming in June
Announcing the newest addition to our live movie reading series: Cinema Chaos! What is Cinema Chaos, you ask?
Eight actors who have never seen the movie in question show up unrehearsed and uncast to perform the script with only 5 minutes to prepare. Roles will be cast at the start of the reading.
Readings take place on Thursdays beginning March 2024 at the Black Eagle Club in Chicago. It joins our rehearsed live reading series to bring you two movies a month. For Cinema Chaos, donations of any amount will be accepted at the door. Seating is first come, first serve. Drinks and food will be available for purchase at Black Eagle.
First up: The Room on Thursday, March 14. Which The Room? Show up and see. (Or join our mailing list, if you haven’t already, by sending your name, email address and zip code to info@ghostlightensemble.com)
Up Next: A Live Reading of The Big Sleep
Ghostlight Ensemble continues its monthly movie reading series in 2024 with Such a Lot of Guns and So Few Brains: A Live Reading of The Big Sleep on Thursday, February 15.
Join us at 7 p.m. at Black Eagle Club (1938 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL 60613), as we raise our glass of brandy with champagne to this headscratcher of a detective story and try to figure out whodunnit.
The Big Sleep is a 1946 American film noir starring Humphrey Bogart as wisecracking private detective Philip Marlowe and Lauren Bacall as Vivian Rutledge in a story that begins with blackmail and through a series of complicated plot twists leads to multiple murders.
Ghostlight welcomes new member to its Ensemble
Theatre practitioner and artist Christine Marie has joined Ghostlight Ensemble.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Marie was last seen as Ada in The Edge of Play, as part of Ghostlight’s Make/Believe festival and as a vendor at the Holiday Cabernet holiday market. In addition to acting and visual arts, Marie is also a writer, director, producer, stage manager and designer. Since moving to Chicago, she has also written, directed and starred in 2 Idiots in a Haunted House for Rhino Fest, as well as working behind the scenes on numerous productions, including staffing box office, stage managing and designing sets.
To learn more about Marie, and all our Ensemble members on the About Us: The Ensemble page of our website.
Ghostlight kicks off its 7th season with return of the Holiday Cabernet
The Holiday Cabernet is back for a fifth year on Sunday, December 17. Enjoy an evening of holiday classics (or not-so-classics) by favorite G.E.T. performers and emerging artists in a cabaret-style setting with a pair of hosts who may or may not be toasted.
In year five, we will once again offer the popular holiday vendor area so you can do some holiday shopping in addition to indulging in the holiday cheer. We’ll have everything from earth-friendly candles and funky and fun jewelry to local authors and sweet treats. While you browse, don’t forget to get your Sloshed Snaps with Santa for all your holiday Insta feed needs (Santa is the sloshed one, though maybe you will be too…no judgement here.)
This year’s hosts will be Ensemble members Justin Broom and Jean E. Mueller-Burr – both fabulous performers in their own right, as well as hilarious guides for this holiday merriment.
Acts that will be performing this year include: Improvised Jane Austen, poet Khloe Janel, stand-up comedian James Fisher Jr., drag performer Degrassi Knoll and singer-songwriters svnflwrchld x malizabeth.
More information about these performers and our vendors, as well as parking and transportation options, is available on the Holiday Cabernet Show Page.
The fifth (not annual, because THANKS COVID) Holiday Cabernet takes place at Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro (3905 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60613) at 6 p.m. on Sunday, December 17. Tickets are $20 and available in advance on our website or via Eventbrite.
G.E.T. into the holiday spirits and join us for a night of song, dance, theatre, good cheer and revelry. G.E.T. yule holiday fun on!