CHICAGO ( November 1, 2016 ) About Face Theatre is pleased to host A Conversation with Doug Wright, celebrated playwright of the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play I Am My Own Wife and the Broadway-bound musical War Paint. Moderated the Chicago Tribune's chief theater critic Chris Jones, this intimate Q&A will be held Saturday, November 19 at 12:30 pm at The Eldis Neeson Theatre at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at aboutfacetheatre.com ( suggested donation of $15 ).
Doug Wright's groundbreaking play I AM MY OWN WIFE was originally developed at About Face Theatre in 2003 in association with the Museum of Contemporary Art. With a new production from About Face set to begin performance on November 4, 2016, Wright returns to Chicago to talk about his seminal work and the craft of making plays and musicals. Don't miss this up close and personal event with one of the century's most prolific playwrights! This program is made possible through the generous support of the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Traditionally staged as a one-person play performed by a male actor, Artistic Director Andrew Volkoff's reimagining of I AM MY OWN WIFE features transgender actress Delia Kropp with three additional actors — AFT Artistic Associate Scott Duff and Ninos Baba and Matt Holzfeind.
I Am My Own Wife is based on the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf ( born Lothar Berfelde ) who, against all odds, hid from the Nazi and Communist regimes in East Berlin in plain sight dressed a woman. About Face's new production will frame Charlotte's story through a transgender lens, celebrating transvisibility through the life story of one of the most fascinating transgender women in history.
I Am My Own Wife will play November 4 — December 10, 2016 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at aboutfacetheatre.com, by calling ( 773 ) 975-8150 or in person at Theater Wit Box Office.
Doug Wright earned the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for I Am My Own Wife. Other stage works include the Broadway-bound War Paint ( which received its world this summer at Chicago's Goodman Theatre ), Grey Gardens ( Tony Award nomination ), The Little Mermaid and Hands on a Hardbody. Film credits include Quills, based on his Obie Award-winning play, nominated for three Academy Awards. Television credits include Tony Bennett: An American Classic, directed by Rob Marshall. Honors include the Benjamin H. Dank Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Tolerance Prize from Kulturforum Europa and the Paul Selvin Award from Writers Guild of America. He is the president of the Dramatists Guild, a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and on the board of the New York Theatre Workshop. Mr. Wright is married to singer/songwriter David Clement.
About Face Theatre ( Andrew Volkoff, Artistic Director ) creates exceptional, innovative, and adventurous theatre and educational programming that advances the national dialogue on sexual and gender identity, and challenges and entertains audiences in Chicago and beyond.
