Chicago, IL— Rivendell Theatre Ensemble proudly announces the first two shows of its 2019 Season including the Midwest Premieres of I Wanna F**king Tear You Apart by Morgan Gould and directed by Jessica Fisch and Something Clean by Selina Fillinger and directed by Lauren Shouse. Something Clean is a co-production with Sideshow Theatre and will be performed at the Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart and other Rivendell productions will be performed at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago. Casting and a third production will be announced at a later date.
In addition to the season, the 2019 Blue Jean Ball will take place on Thursday, April 4, 2019 at The Flower Firm, 451 N. Wood Street in Chicago. The event will be Co-Chaired by Andrea Herrera and Lisa Johnson. Ticket information and additional details to be announced.
The Rivendell 2019 Season is as follows:
The Midwest Premiere of I Wanna F**king Tear You Apart
Written by Morgan Gould
Directed by Jessica Fisch
February 14 — March 23, 2019
Gala Openings: Sunday, February 24 at 6pm
Press Opening: Tuesday, February 26 at 7PM
Samantha and Leo are a team—best friends and roommates, fat girl and gay guy against the world—until a new friend upends their cozy co-dependent diet of mutual self-loathing and Grey's Anatomy marathons. An ode to the complications of friendship in its many fucked-up forms, with a special nod to a kind of love that sometimes looks a lot like rage.
Produced first at D.C.'s Studio Theatre, I Wanna F**king Tear You Apart challenges assumptions around niceness, beauty, and mainstream acceptance as it upends traditional narratives about fat women—Gould herself identifies openly as such—by putting a fat woman at its center. "I'm not chubby or big-boned," says Gould. "I'm fat. That's who I am".
Directed by Jessica Fisch, director of Rivendell's highly successful world premiere production of The Firebirds Take the Field, Gould's play is a wild ride with unforgettable characters that asks probing questions about friendships, fatness, bigotry, ambition, and the cost of living in a world that finds you unacceptable in some way.
The Midwest Premiere of Something Clean
Written by Selina Fillinger
Directed by Lauren Shouse
a co-production with Sideshow Theatre at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater
June 16 - July 21, 2019
Charlotte has been a mother for nineteen years, a wife for three decades and a respectable community member her entire life. But when her son is incarcerated for sexual assault, Charlotte is forced to reckon with a brand new identity, both public and private. Desperate to find a way back to who she was, she seeks out work at a sexual assault crisis center and meets Joey, a volunteer coordinator and a survivor of assault himself, who allows her a glimpse of who she might be able to become. Can she find a new understanding of who she is? Or has someone else's crime defined her forever?
Inspired by today's headlines, Selina Fillinger's breathtaking new drama follows one woman's struggle to make sense of her own grief, intimacy, culpability and consent. Fillinger is an actor and writer as well as a graduate of Northwestern University. Other work Faceless ( Northlight Theatre world premiere, Joseph Jeff Award-nominated, regional productions at Zeitgeist Theatre, St. Louis Repertory Theatre, and Park Theatre in London ) and The Armor Plays: Cinched/Strapped.
Something Clean was commissioned and developed by Sideshow Theatre Company and will open at Sideshow following its upcoming world premiere at Roundabout Theatre Company, New York City, in spring 2019. The production reunites Rivendell with director Lauren Shouse, fresh off directing Rivendell's critically acclaimed production The Cake, for which she received an Equity Wing Jeff nomination for "Best Director" in addition to the production being honored with a Jeff nomination for "Best Production".
Subscription Packages
Subscription packages may be purchased at any time and include one ticket to the next three Rivendell mainstage productions. The Preview Pass is priced at $59 and the Performance Pass is $80. Benefits include: no-fee ticket exchange up to 48 hours prior to the performance, reserved seating, exclusive invites to Rivendell events, and a 10% discount for additional family and friends tickets purchasedthrough the box office.
Single Tickets
General Admission
Previews: $28
Regular Run: $38
Student, Senior, Active Military, Veteran
Preview: $18
Regular Run: $28
Pay What You Can: Five seats ( 10% of the house ) are available for each performance. Reservations are made on a first come, first served basis.
Location: Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago.
Box Office: ( 773 ) 334-7728 or www.RivendellTheatre.org
Parking and Transportation: Free parking is available in the Senn High School parking lot ( located a block and a half from the theatre behind the school off Thorndale Avenue ). There is limited paid and free street parking in the area. The theatre is easily accessible via the Clark ( #22 ) or Broadway ( #36 ) bus, and is a short walk from the Bryn Mawr Red Line El Station.
About Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
Founded in 1994, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble advances the lives of women through theatre. Rivendell cultivates the talents of women artists—writers, actors, directors, designers and technicians—
by seeking out innovative plays that explore unique female experiences and producing them in an intimate, salon environment.
Rivendell fills an important role in the Chicago region as the only Equity theatre dedicated to producing artistically challenging and original plays created by and about women. After years of being an itinerant company, Rivendell moved into its own theater space in 2011 in Edgewater. The company is focused on becoming an integral community partner and serving as a catalyst to engage audiences in a discussion of local social issues.
For more information about Rivendell Theater Ensemble, visit rivendelltheatre.org . Follow Rivendell on Facebook at Facebook.com/rivendelltheatre, on Twitter @RivendellThtr, and on Instagram at rivendelltheatre.
Rivendell Theatre Ensemble is supported by generous grants from: The Alphawood Foundation; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; The Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development; The Chicago Community Trust; The Chicago Foundation for Women; The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; The League of Chicago Theatres and ComEd; The Reva and David Logan Foundation; The Luria Family Foundation; The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust; The Alfred Pick Jr. Fund; Shubert Foundation; SIF Fund at The Chicago Community Trust; Cultural Outreach Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events; and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
—From a press release
