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Interviews

4 Comedians Reveal What It’s Really Like for Women in the Industry & How They’re Having The Last Laugh

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:47:27-05:00March 23rd, 2021|Comedy, Interviews, Latest News|

For Women’s History Month, we asked a few women in comedy for their thoughts on the industry, how it’s been, how to make it better for women, and where they hope it will go from here.  What is the best [...]

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A “Free” Set: José Manuel Díaz-Soto Talks TOO HEAVY FOR YOUR POCKET

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:18:15-05:00May 23rd, 2019|Interviews, Latest News|

From the moment the audience enters TimeLine Theatre to see Jiréh Breon Holder's Too Heavy For Your Pocket, they are in two worlds at once. They walk softly over grass that slopes up a small hill and right into a kitchen. [...]

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Accessibility & Inclusion On Stage and Off – An Interview with Brian Balcom

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:41:14-05:00October 23rd, 2020|Arts Advocacy, Chicago Theater, Interviews, Latest News|

(Brian Balcom photo by Alison Thvedt) October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). BTD spoke with Brian Balcom about his work in accessibility in theater shortly after [...]

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Annoyance’s SPLATTER Brings the Blood for Over 30 years

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:28:33-05:00October 28th, 2019|Interviews, Latest News, Shows|

Splatter is a staple of the Chicago Halloween season. I got the 4-11 from Annoyance's Managing Director Charley Carroll who told me all about the fascinating, messy history of this shocker of a show. BTD: Tell us the history of [...]

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BTD is Back! Theaters Respond to Reopening

Melissa Schmitz2021-10-12T14:05:56-05:00October 12th, 2021|BTD, BTD Theaters, Chicago Theater, Interviews, Latest News|

After more than a year of being closed, the Belmont Theater District is once again doing live performances, with more shows opening each week. Here’s what some of our member theaters had to say about reopening after a pandemic.  To [...]

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Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble Tells You a Wicked Story

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:35:35-05:00June 8th, 2020|BTD Theaters, Interviews, Latest News, Shows|

Chicago Playback Theatre was founded in 2019 and is one of the youngest companies in the Belmont Theater District. In this video, you'll get a taste of their type of performance and how they're still able to perform during the [...]

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Chicago Theater Critics in the Time of COVID – Part 1

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:36:04-05:00June 17th, 2020|Chicago Theater, Interviews, Latest News|

(Pictured L to R: Colin Douglas, Regina Victor, Kerry Reid) (Editor's Note: These interviews were conducted in May 2020, prior to the murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed, so it is not included in the discussion of [...]

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Chicago Theater Critics in the Time of COVID – Part 2

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:36:46-05:00July 1st, 2020|Chicago Theater, Interviews, Latest News|

(Pictured L to R: Colin Douglas, Regina Victor, Kerry Reid) (Editor's Note: These interviews were conducted in May 2020, prior to the murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed, so it is not included in the discussion of [...]

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Director Nick Bowling Talks OSLO, TimeLine Theatre’s Exciting Season

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:27:11-05:00August 30th, 2019|Interviews, Latest News, Shows|

For the first time, TimeLine Theatre takes the stage in the Loop. With a Tony-winning play and a Chicago premiere on the horizon, I asked Associate Artistic Director and director of OSLO Nick Bowling what he's looking forward to this [...]

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Double the Fun: Director Derek Van Barham Talks Multiple BTD Shows

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:24:20-05:00August 2nd, 2019|Interviews, Latest News, Shows|

As anyone working in the industry knows, theater people often juggle more than one show at once. Kokandy's new Producing Artistic Director Derek Van Barham is doing just that. This summer, he split his time between the larger-than-life HEAD OVER [...]

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  • curtains

Final Thoughts on 2020 from the BTD

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:43:46-05:00December 21st, 2020|Interviews, Latest News|

(Some responses have been edited for length and clarity. Bold emphasis is BTD’s.) This year started strong with hit shows in the BTD and a very busy Chicago Theatre Week. But unfortunately by mid-March, all live productions in Chicago had [...]

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Guest Blog Post: 2022 Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble Auditions

Colton Davis2022-01-18T18:25:53-05:00January 18th, 2022|Interviews, Latest News|

The Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble is seeking new ensemble members for our 2022 season! In Playback Theatre, actors guide audience members in sharing their own memories and experiences which are then brought to life on stage by the actors using [...]

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Hannah and Christina: A Conversation with Shattered Globe’s Christina Gorman

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:16:36-05:00May 10th, 2019|Interviews, Latest News, Shows|

Our world moves at an alarming rate in the 21st century. With so much happening every minute, it can be hard to argue for looking back. With its current production of Kate Fodor's Hannah and Martin, Shattered Globe Theatre is doing [...]

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Kids Take Center Stage at Emerald City’s Summer Camp

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:22:21-05:00July 12th, 2019|Interviews, Latest News|

Summer vacation in Chicago means it's time for camp! Emerald City Theatre continues their support of Chicago's young artists through their summer theatre camp program, running now. I caught up with Education Coordinator Jessica Smoot and Summer Camp Coordinator Tyra [...]

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Meet Margaret Kellas, Remy Bumppo’s Wonderstudy in BLOOMSDAY

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:19:48-05:00June 18th, 2019|Interviews, Latest News, Shows|

Behind every great performance on stage, there is a huge team of support. Part of that team for Remy Bumppo's current run of Steven Dietz's Bloomsday is actress Margaret Kellas who took on the challenge of understudying the role of Caithleen. [...]

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Meet Marti Lyons, Remy Bumppo’s New Artistic Director!

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:53:44-05:00July 28th, 2021|Interviews, Latest News|

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company recently announced Marti Lyons would take the helm as their new Artistic Director. BTD interviewed Marti and Executive Director Margaret McCloskey to talk about Marti's new position and the future of Remy Bumppo.   https://youtu.be/8hJf5Qts5YM [...]

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Newport Theater Revamps Chicago Landmark for Fresh New Fringe

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:26:19-05:00August 8th, 2019|Interviews, Latest News|

A theater that once served as a staple in Chicago comedy gets a fresh start, thanks to Program Director Megan Hartmann and the team behind the Newport Theater. This week on the blog, Megan shares her thoughts on working to [...]

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Otherworld Theatre Brings the Chills with COUNTESS DRACULA

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:27:55-05:00October 15th, 2019|Interviews, Latest News, Shows|

We're well into #OctoberMonthOfTheater, and Otherworld Theatre couldn't be more in their element. I caught up with resident playwright Nick Izzo on his adaption Countess Dracula to learn more about how he updated the classic vampire tale for modern audiences. [...]

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Rebecca Jordan Plays a Conflicted Psyche in Shattered Globe’s BE HERE NOW

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:27:30-05:00September 19th, 2019|Interviews, Latest News, Shows|

Can a play show what it feels like to have a medical condition take over your mind? BE HERE NOW, Shattered Globe's season opener, tackles this daunting question. I spoke with lead actress and company member Rebecca Jordan to learn [...]

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Ringing in the New Year with the BTD

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:44:03-05:00January 4th, 2021|Interviews, Latest News|

Happy New Year! We made it out of 2020, where many theater companies learned how to stream shows and pivot to online programming and also reopen with new protocols. We asked the BTD member theaters for their 2021 forecast and what [...]

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Saint Sebastian Players Breathe Fresh Life into OUR TOWN

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:29:35-05:00October 29th, 2019|Interviews, Latest News, Shows|

This fall, Thornton Wilder's classic play OUR TOWN gets a fresh interpretation with the Saint Sebastian Players. Director Jim Masini shared why he felt drawn to retelling this foundational script right now. BTD: What has kept this classic play relevant [...]

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Scheming and Streaming: An Interview with Brian Balcom, Director of Teenage Dick

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:33:56-05:00May 6th, 2020|Interviews, Latest News, Shows, Virtual Theater|

BTD Skyped in with Teenage Dick director Brian Balcom to talk about what it took just to get the play produced, why the story is personal to him, and how streaming options helped give the show a run that almost [...]

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Stefanie M. Senior Builds Worlds with Sound in NON-PLAYER CHARACTER

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:17:10-05:00May 2nd, 2019|Chicago Theater, Interviews, Latest News, Shows|

How do you put the internet on stage? For as long as our emotional lives have existed online, playwrights have answered the call to explore what that means. In Walt McGough's Non-Player Character, directed by Beth Wolf for Red Theater [...]

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The Syndicate’s First Read Amplifies Queer Voices

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:21:07-05:00July 2nd, 2019|Chicago Theater, Interviews, Latest News|

Editor's note: On occasion, BTD shifts their blog's attention to the self produced companies, DIY projects, and emerging artists that make up the next generation of theatre. This month, we focus on The Syndicate, an ensemble theater company that produces [...]

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Two Medusas: Using Myth to Discuss Womanhood on Stage

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:15:55-05:00May 17th, 2019|Interviews, Latest News, Shows|

Classic myths often find their way onto the contemporary stage. Two Chicago companies are in the midst of examining the story of Medusa through new work. Otherworld Theatre closes a double-header of Bella Poynton’s Medusa Undone and Elizabeth Ann Michaela [...]

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Women in Theater & Improving Gender Parity: 4 BTD Leaders Weigh In

Melissa Schmitz2021-08-05T13:47:54-05:00March 29th, 2021|Arts Advocacy, Interviews, Latest News|

We asked women in leadership positions in the BTD about their experiences as a woman in the theater industry and what we can do to support gender parity. Here are their responses.  What do you think of the discussions regarding [...]

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Latest News

  • Halloween Happenings at the Music Box Theatre
  • Playwright Profile: Hallie Palladino
  • Walk the Red Carpet at the ChiFilmFest Block Party!
  • Celebrate Women’s History Month by Seeing Women of Soul
  • A Little More About Music Box Chicago’s Highs & Lows Series

Featured Shows

  • Albert Herring
  • Hot Clown Sex
  • Radial Gradient

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Homepage Photo Credits  /  World Class Theater: Shattered Globe Theatre’s CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. Photo by Michael Brosilow.  /  Chicago Style Comedy: Jordan Wilson, Brittany Flynn, Mary Catherine Curran, Kyle Ryan, Evan Mills and Adam Levin in The Annoyance Theatre & Bar’s BITE SIZE BROADWAY. Photo by Smart Yeti Creative Agency.  /  All in Lakeview: Daniel Desmarais and Sheldon Brown in About Face Theatre’s Chicago premiere of THIS BITTER EARTH, directed by Mikael Burke. Photo by Liz Lauren.

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