The Conspirators present a retooling of Commedia Divina: It’s Worse Than That, written by Sid Feldman and directed by Wm. Bullion, at the Otherworld Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St., October 18 - November 10. The production includes one preview performance on Thursday Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. with the press opening Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. The regular performance schedule is Thursdays - Sundays at 7 p.m. Please note: the October 31 and November 1, 2, 8 and 9 performances will be special late night performances held at 10 p.m. In addition there will be an Industry Night Election Special performance on Monday, November 4 at 7 p.m. The running time is 75 minutes. Tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at conspirewithus.org.
Commedia Divina: It’s Worse Than That is back after a COVID-cut-short run in 2023. Buzz Center Stage calls the original 2023 production “Outrageously funny—The Conspirators latest show is an absolute laugh fest, and may just be their funniest so far!” This highly recommended comedy tells the story of a suburban business heiress from northern Georgia (*ahem*) who is escorted through Dante’s (heavily updated) Nine Circles of Hell by holy man, Fr. Virgil. Will she learn the right lessons and mend her ways? Or, more likely, will Washington never be the same? In either case, Hell awaits! The Conspirators employ their firebrand neo-Commedia performance style to bring the audience laughs, tears and gut-punches with the Third Coast Review saying ”The Conspirators create bizarre and brilliant magic—a rollicking good time!” The show is deemed RECOMMENDED by all who reviewed it—the Chicago Reader, Buzz Center Stage and Third Coast Review.
The cast currently includes Christine Watt (she/her) as Malady Traitor Greene and Travis Barnhardt (he/him) in his hilarious turn as Sen. Mitch McConnell.
The complete cast of the retooling of Commedia Divina: It’s Worse Than That will be announced soon.
The production crew includes: Wm. Bullion (he/him, director); Sid Feldman (he/him, playwright, producer and style coach) and Matthew Bonaccorso (he/him, stage manager), Mike McShane (he/him, scenographer and lighting designer) Kit Medic (they/them, costumes), Sebby Woldt (they/them, sound designer), Elena Avila (she/her, assistant director), Libby Beyreis (she/her, violence designer), Meghan Lynham (she/her, choreographer), and others yet to be hired.
ABOUT WM. BULLION (Director, Artistic Director)
Wm. Bullion is a veteran tragicomedian, director and actor on the fringe of the Chicago theater fringe and beyond. Bullion is an emeritus member of The Factory Theater, for whom he directed Prophet$ and Born Ready. He started Sliced Bread Productions in 1988 and put up some solid work before it folded in 2008. He co-founded the Conspirators in 2016 and has proudly directed their oeuvre, including Viva la Mort; Commedia Divina: It’s Worse Than That; The Ineptidemic; Accidental Death of a Black Motorist; The Deckchairs, or Make the Titanic Great Again and The Resistible Rise of Herr Helmut Drumpf—but he was a fool to think starting another theater group in Chicago is a viable, sustainable idea. Yet, here we are, getting grants and making stuff for YOU.
ABOUT SID FELDMAN (Playwright/Style Coach, Producing Director)
Sid Feldman co-founded The Conspirators and has written plays, adaptations, screenplays, reviews and essays. He has produced plays, concerts and events for numerous organizations including New Crime and Sliced Bread Productions (also with Wm. Bullion).
ABOUT THE CONSPIRATORS
The Conspirators are a (still relatively new) theater and performance collective in Chicago dedicated to provoking thought and action through dynamic, immediate theater art. The Conspirators work exclusively in a style of neo-Commedia called “The Style”—a highly theatrical performance mode developed by movie stars Tim Robbins and John Cusack from the techniques of Ariane Mnouchkine, Commedia dell’Arte, Bugs Bunny cartoons and punk rock, as historically performed by New Crime Prod. (R.I.P.) and The Actors’ Gang. The company also offers Style workshops to interested performers of all calibers.
The Conspirators present a retooling of Commedia Divina: It’s Worse Than That, written by Sid Feldman and directed by Wm. Bullion, at the Otherworld Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St., October 18 - November 10. The production includes one preview performance on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. with the press opening Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. The regular performance schedule is Thursdays - Sundays at 7 p.m. Please note: the October 31 and November 1, 2, 8 and 9 performances will be special late night performances held at 10 p.m. In addition there will be an Industry Night Election Special performance on Monday, November 4 at 7 p.m. The running time is 75 minutes. Tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at conspirewithus.org.
For more show info, go to www.ConspireWithUs.org and follow The Conspirators on Facebook and Instagram.