BWBTC presents forbidden love in 1930s Hollywood: 180 Degree Rule - 3992 - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News

Chicago, IL…In a world premiere production by Babes With Blades Theatre Company ( BWBTC ), 180 Degree Rule introduces professor Katie Dunham's obsession with long-dead film director Ruth Alice Bennett, shunned by studio heads for her lesbian proclivities and her refusal to conform to industry practices. A love story wrapped in a mystery, 180 Degree Rule previews 4/16 ( 8pm ), 4/17 ( 3pm ), 4/22 ( 8pm ), 4/23 ( 8pm ), and 4/24 ( 3pm ). It opens Monday, 4/25 at 8pm, and runs Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm through 5/21. Two additional Wednesday performances are scheduled for 5/11 ( 8pm ) and 5/18 ( 8pm ). All performances take place at City Lit Theater ( 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. in Chicago ).

A collaboration between local playwrights Barbara Lhota and the late M.E.H. Lewis, 180 Degree Rule explores the conflicting realities that emerge as history is distorted by passage of time and shifting points of view. Shifting from film to live action, flashback to the present, Lewis & Lhota follow Katie's struggle to unpack the truth behind the doomed romance between Ruth and leading lady Margot Faber… 30 years too late.

180 Degree Rule is directed by Rachel Edwards Harvith, Associate Artistic Director of Chicago Dramatists. "This is a murder mystery, but it's also a memory play. It involves characters reaching across time to find each other," says Harvith. "Memory plays tricks on us. Sometimes we remember hard facts, and other times we fill in gaps with assumptions—and then over time those assumptions become rewritten history. In this production there will be a great deal of visual poetry layered in with scenes that weave back and forth between time periods, as characters struggle to find the truth, detect the lies, and express love they have been afraid to show."

The cast features BWBTC ensemble members Amy E. Harmon*, Lisa Herceg*, Kimberly Logan*, and Kelly Yacono*, who are joined by Kate Black-Spence, Chris Cinereski, and Jason Narvy. ( Narvy, who gained early fame as Eugene Skullovich ( Skull ) in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, has also been seen onstage at The Legitimate Theatre of New York, a group that focuses on new and experimental works. )

The staff includes Leigh Barrett* ( Sound Design ), Libby Beyreis* ( Violence Design ), Kurt Brandt ( Props Design ), Jason Fleece ( Dialect Coach ), Adam Greye ( Stage Manager ), Kaitlyn Grissom ( Technical Director ), Amy E. Harmon* ( Production Manager ), Beth Laske-Miller ( Costume Design ), Barbara Lhota* ( Production Manager ), Carter Martin ( Film Director/Editor ), G. Max Maxin IV ( Projection & Scenic Design ), Heather Meyers ( Dramaturg ), Tim Tavano ( Director of Photography ), and Laura Wiley ( Lighting Design ).

*denotes BWBTC ensemble member

Tickets:

$22 general admission

$14 students and seniors

$10 previews

Available at BabesWithBlades.org or 773-904-0391.