tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41513235525567091322024-02-07T01:37:02.666-06:00Signal EnsemBlogThe official Weblog of Signal Ensemble Theatre in Chicago.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00985318935906235488noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-5359118017177081062010-06-04T16:32:00.002-05:002010-06-04T16:34:45.680-05:00Rolling Stones Stories, part 3.Hello, dear readers. Here's a great one from the early days. Enjoy!Rock on,Aaron SnookDramaturg-------------My wife Judy tells the story of seeing the Stones in early 1964 (we grew up in the UK).They were playing at the Birkenhead Ballroom across from Liverpool. It was a SRO event, no seats. She and her niece charged the stage and were one of these "hug the band" types. Our niece ended up with snookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01015524703434149321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-86046351748130442562010-05-28T17:37:00.002-05:002010-05-28T17:45:10.099-05:00Rolling Stone Stories, part 2Hello again. This one just came through the pipeline. We'll call this one a younger generation's take on the Stones. Keep em coming!Rock on,Aaron SnookDramaturg-------I saw the Rolling Stones on October 11, 2006 at Soldier Field. It was 30 degrees and windy. Really that should be all I have to say about this particular concert.But they were great! I've seen them three times now and although snookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01015524703434149321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-46418072570484501912010-05-26T16:20:00.004-05:002010-05-27T16:02:04.515-05:00Rolling Stones StoriesHello there, dear reader. If you've been to our current show, Aftermath, you may have noticed a sign at the box office asking our audience for their favorite Rolling Stones stories. Simone Roos, our Guest Liaison, had the idea after listening to many priceless anecdotes from our ticket buyers while working box office. These ranged from a woman who actually had lunch with Mick and Brian back insnookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01015524703434149321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-73998187818062436662010-03-18T11:34:00.010-05:002010-03-18T12:56:37.975-05:00Five Questions with Simone Roos"Five Questions" is a SignalEnsemBlog project that will post short interviews of our ensemble members and artistic associates. General or artist-specific questions are submitted by members or friends of the company, and will be posted every few weeks. In addition, if you the reader have anything you'd like to know about a member of Signal Ensemble, or about the company in general, please leave Signal Ensemblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05645352790034835435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-87032679024532260432009-12-04T10:53:00.004-06:002009-12-04T11:35:28.114-06:00Five Questions with Vincent Lonergan
<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Signal Ensemblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05645352790034835435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-54740917241517885052009-09-11T12:47:00.011-05:002009-12-04T10:39:24.378-06:00Five Questions with Melania Lancy"Five Questions" is a new SignalEnsemBlog project that will post brief interviews of our ensemble members and artistic associates. General or artist-specific questions are submitted by members or friends of the company, and will be posted every couple of weeks. In addition, if you the reader have anything you'd like to know about a member of Signal Ensemble, or about the company in general, Signal Ensemblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05645352790034835435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-4988720836101762262009-09-01T18:15:00.004-05:002009-09-01T18:23:40.341-05:00Lobby Display MaterialHello, dear readers. I've had quite a few requests for the material in the lobby display for "Ballad." So, I figured I'd just post it here and make it easier for everyone (re: me). For those that haven't dropped by to see our little show, perhaps this will inspire you to the box office. Buy your tickets now, folks, before it's too late!Your humble dramaturg,Snook.ALBEE ON BALLADI have stayed snookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01015524703434149321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-7044705424465663382009-08-12T15:51:00.002-05:002009-08-12T16:05:34.157-05:00What's Next?Our “Ballad” is open, the reviews are coming in (a couple of our faves are here and here) and we are primed and ready for a great run (get your tickets here). The show runs through September 12th.So what else is going on?This is an unusual season for us, as we are only doing two shows as opposed to our standard three. There is a very good and very exciting reason for this that will be made Ronanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07688441294694299473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-50533056864764333252009-08-05T15:12:00.002-05:002009-08-05T15:16:40.391-05:00Why Writers WriteOne more time into the dramaturgical pool we go, dear readers. My services will no longer be needed at this fair blog as the show is opening on Sunday (get your tickets now!). For this last entry, I want to return to our two authors and pose them each the question: “Why do you write?”We’ll start with Carson McCullers since this journey began with her. Like many writers, her first passion was snookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01015524703434149321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-34112526572994799282009-07-30T12:16:00.000-05:002009-07-30T12:17:33.264-05:00The World Around UsHello, dear readers. So, we’ve talked about Georgia during the Great Depression, but there’s a whole world out there that we haven’t discussed. Now, this is an isolated town and a great many of the residents probably don’t even know there is a world around them (I’m looking at you, Merlie Ryan). However, when you see our show and if you listen real closely to the cafe chatter, you might hear snookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01015524703434149321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-76920369148993624102009-07-21T23:35:00.001-05:002009-07-21T23:41:03.321-05:00A Sense of SettingThe stock market takes a nosedive. The banks are collapsing. Loans are near impossible to get for the lower class and small businesses are dying off. Sound familiar? I’d be willing to bet that most folks would assume I’m talking about our current economic crises, but as you’re sitting there reading a dramaturgical blog (nerd), you know I must be talking about something else. Yes, dear readersnookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01015524703434149321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-30578992823202846512009-07-14T23:54:00.005-05:002009-07-15T17:59:18.785-05:00"The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," Directed by George C. Scott?Here’s an example of a great story that, in no way, will help us put up the play…but it’s just too damn good to not share. This is the story of “Ballad’s” Broadway premiere.On the first day of rehearsal, Albee addressed the actors: “You’re good actors. Alan’s a good director. Ben’s built a nice set. So if the play’s lousy, it’s my fault. And that’s why the first day of rehearsal is depressingsnookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01015524703434149321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-83034858618212574752009-07-08T00:27:00.003-05:002009-07-09T19:00:50.511-05:00What We Drinking?“The whiskey they drank that evening is important. Otherwise, it would be hard to account for what followed. Perhaps without it there would never have been a cafe. For the liquor of Miss Amelia has a special quality of its own. It is clean and sharp on the tongue, but once down a man, it glows inside him for a long time afterward. And that is not all. Things that have gone unnoticed, snookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01015524703434149321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-35817750539347112082009-06-30T22:27:00.005-05:002009-07-09T19:00:04.181-05:00The Real Love TriangleOkay, here’s a real good one. The more I find out about Carson McCullers (author of the novella), the more I am extremely curious about her…because, after all, I am a curious person. As it turns out, this little love triangle between the woman, the criminal and the hunchback is a bit of a mirror held up to the life of the author. In the spring of 1941, Carson was temporarily reconciled with snookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01015524703434149321noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-87981832166681332402009-06-24T00:07:00.004-05:002009-07-02T14:59:19.158-05:00The Ballad of the What?Despite and maybe because it was Edward Albee’s follow up to ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’, ‘The Ballad of the Sad Cafe’ usually elicits a blank stare from even theatre folk. In short, it was originally a novella written by Carson McCullers that was then adapted into a play by Edward Albee. Set in a small southern town, it tells the story of a love triangle between a woman, a convict and a snookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01015524703434149321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-65796402201847531662009-05-22T10:25:00.015-05:002009-12-04T13:56:35.167-06:002009/2010 Season<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Ronanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07688441294694299473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-17684929838216679342009-05-04T16:00:00.014-05:002009-05-04T16:55:35.144-05:00AnniversarySo yeah... this is just about the one-year anniversary of our last blog post. Clearly, we haven't made it much of a priority. In fact, up until last week we had been meaning to delete it.We've changed our minds, however, as everyone at Signal has agreed to put a new (and necessary) emphasis on our online presence. That will entail a lot of new ventures for the company as a whole, but to start Ronanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07688441294694299473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-37658341881590216952008-05-15T13:08:00.005-05:002008-05-15T13:33:20.355-05:00Signal Nominated for 7 Jeff AwardsThe Non-Equity Jeff Award nominations came out earlier this month and we're so pleased to report that Signal's 1776 and Old Wicked Songs were nominated in the following categories:1776Production - MusicalDirector - Musical (ensemble member Ronan Marra)Actor in a Leading Role - Musical (ensemble member Philip Winston)Actor in a Supporting Role - Musical (ensemble member Vincent L. Lonergan)CostumeChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00985318935906235488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-64351806657100947762008-01-05T15:45:00.000-06:002008-01-05T16:13:05.995-06:00Signal's 'Fool' gets 2 Top 5 of Everything mentions in NewCityCongrats to Simone Roos and Melania Lancy for their mentions in NewCity's "Top 5 of Everything" year-end review! Both ladies worked on Signal's season-opening "knockout staging" (Metz, Tribune) of Fool for Love. Simone gets her props for her performance as May and Mel is recognized for her "ratty motel room" set design.Congrats to all the designees! Here's the complete stage list:Top 5 Shows"A Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00985318935906235488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-76866682542878540182007-12-10T12:49:00.000-06:002007-12-10T12:51:51.108-06:00Signal Extends 'Old Wicked Songs'CHICAGO, December 10, 2007 — Signal Ensemble Theatre (Ronan Marra, Christopher Prentice and Joseph Stearns, artistic directors) is pleased to announce the extension of its critically lauded staging of Old Wicked Songs by Jon Marans. The Jeff-recommended production, directed by Christopher Prentice and featuring ensemble member Vincent L. Lonergan and The House Theatre of Chicago's Shawn Pfautsch,Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00985318935906235488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-29060448132345913162007-12-03T20:29:00.001-06:002007-12-03T21:20:46.572-06:00Signal On Air: Vince and Shawn podcast interviewSignal Ensemble member Vincent L. Lonergan and co-founder of The House Theatre Shawn Pfautsch, the guys in Old Wicked Songs, were interviewed for Talk Theatre in Chicago by Tom Williams this week. They chatted prior to a recent performance, on topics ranging from piano playing, to preparation for the show, to acting with other companies in town, to their big five-year plans. It's a great Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00985318935906235488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-91000288871074551082007-11-25T13:44:00.000-06:002007-11-25T15:06:24.265-06:001776 Begins Rehearsals After two weeks of exciting music rehearsals, led by our stellar music director, Andra Velis Simon, 1776 will begin it's 7.5 week process to the stage on Tuesday. Signal's first musical, Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone's 1776 dramatizes the arguments, ambitions and sacrifices of the Second Continental Congress during the "hot as hell" summer of the title year, and how they led to the Ronanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07688441294694299473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-79735975599775218202007-11-23T15:56:00.000-06:002007-11-23T18:09:20.621-06:00Needed: Pinter-rific 'Party' GirlSIGNAL ENSEMBLE THEATRE auditions for Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party. Seeking one woman for the role of Lulu, a girl in her twenties, all ethnicities encouraged. Rehearsals start mid-June, runs July/August. There is pay. Please send H/R to Signal Ensemble Theatre, attn. The Birthday Party, Box 199, 3023 N.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00985318935906235488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4151323552556709132.post-54975877499096057392007-11-23T12:09:00.000-06:002007-11-23T18:11:25.562-06:00Black Friday WelcomeHappy Thanksgiving (belated) and welcome to Signal's brand-new blog! We've been so busy of late (teching Old Wicked Songs, rehearsing 1776, various ensemblers performing at other theaters) that we haven't had time to launch this blog until now. But, as the holiday massacre shopping season gets into high gear today, so do we.Please visit the blog for all Signal news, such as:Old Wicked Songs Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00985318935906235488noreply@blogger.com6