Under The Tree will feature ensemble members Caitlin Chuckta* and Michael Peters* with Travis Barnhart, Kim Boler, Michelle Courvais, Cynthia Hines, Rasell Holt, Julie Mitre and Lynda Shadrake.
Other Rockpools will feature ensemble members Will Cavedo* and Shariba Rivers* with Emilie Modaff, Taylor Raye and Allyce Torres.
Both productions will be staged at TNC’s resident home, The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets for Under the Tree go on sale Monday, February 17, 2020 at www.thenewcolony.org. Tickets for Other Rockpools will go on sale at a later date.
About Under The Tree
When her husband dies while out of town on a business trip, Delphi Rabbitt calls upon her children and sister to assist in planning the funeral arrangements in their town of Altoga, Texas. That is, until she discovers his body is traveling from Houston accompanied by another family… another wife, another son, another life that no one knew about. When both Rabbitt families find themselves under one roof, they’re forced to decide: is it possible to bury our grievances before we bury the man who deceived us all?
The production team for Under The Tree includes: Therese Ritchie (scenic design), Rachel Sypniewski (costume design), David Goodman-Edberg (lighting design), Erik Siegling (sound design), Devon Green (props design), Zack Meyer (violence design), Lila Gilbert* (production manager), Evan Sposato* (technical director) and Cedar Larson* (stage manager).
About Under Rockpools
In the summer of 2001, a renowned physicist invites three strangers to her family’s cabin. Horrified by the results of the recent Presidential election, the team of scientists set to work building an experimental machine with a wild and irresistible purpose: to get them the hell out of their awful timeline. Political differences, personality conflicts, and a disruptive drug-dealing pizza driver ratchet up the tension; as the machine grows closer to completion, the team must reckon with what they will do when it’s finally time to turn it on.
The production team for Under Rockpools includes Jeremy Hollis (scenic design), Lily Grace Walls (costume design), Eric Backus (sound design), Jillian Leff (violence design), Lila Gilbert* (production manager) and Cedar Larson* (stage manager).
*Denotes The New Colony Ensemble Member.
About the Playwrights and Directors
K.L. Parker (Playwright, Under The Tree) couldn’t be more excited for The New Colony to be producing her first full-length family drama! She began developing Under The Tree in TNC’s Writer’s Room in 2017, and has been workshopping it with TNC since early 2018. K.L. has written short comedic plays with the likes of Hobo Junction, Li’l Buds Theatre Company and has been part of The One Minute Play Festival since 2016. She was proud to have her short play, Porch Problems as part Broken Nose’s Bechtel Fest in 2018. K.L. is an ensemble member with The New Colony and had roles in Merge in 2016 and Down and Derby in 2013. Currently residing in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, KL is continuing her education and writing her next two full-length plays Searching For Us, a genderless love story about a ghost and Planting Roots, a prequel to Under The Tree.
Spenser Davis (Director, Under The Tree) is thrilled to be back with The New Colony, after his debut play Merge – about the rise and fall of the video game company Atari – closed out their 2016 season. A Chicago-based writer-director, he currently serves as Director of Programming for Broken Nose Theatre and an ensemble member of The Factory Theater. Previous directing credits include At The Table (Jeff Awards for Best Director, Production and Ensemble), Plainclothes (Jeff Award for Best Ensemble), A Phase, From White Plains and the upcoming Labyrinth (Broken Nose Theatre); Blue Stockings (Promethean Theatre); May The Road Rise Up and Adventures of Spirit Force Five (The Factory); Every Other Tuesday (Steppenwolf 1700); Bachelorette (Level 11); as well as readings, workshops and festivals with A Red Orchid, American Blues Theatre, Hell in a Handbag, Strawdog, First Floor Theater and Pride Films and Plays, to name a few. As a playwright, his second play Plainclothes won the 2019 M. Elizabeth Osborn Award from the American Theatre Critics Association and was named a finalist for the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award. He recently received the Elizabeth George Commission from South Coast Rep. He's series writer-director on Squid, a short-form comedy series on Amazon Prime. He's represented by William Morris Endeavor.
Fin Coe (Playwright, Other Rockpools) is a Chicago-based theatre artist and Co-Artistic Director of The New Colony. He has previously worked with Halcyon Theatre, A-Squared Theatre and Silk Road Rising, among others. His most recent production at The New Colony was Fun Harmless Warmachine.
Elyse Dolan (Director, Other Rockpools) is thrilled to be working with The New Colony, where she is also the Director of New Work. Recent credits include If/Then at Brown Paper Box Co. and Blackbird at Blank Theatre Company. Elyse is the Associate Producer at American Blues Theater, where she is also an Ensemble member. Her directing work has been seen across Chicago at American Blues Theater, Broken Nose Theatre, Prop Thtr, Babes with Blades, Commission Theatre, 20% Theatre Company, Pride Films & Plays, and more. Elyse holds a B.A. from Denison University.
About The New Colony
The New Colony develops New Art and New Artists in order to educate and build New Audiences.
Now in its 11th Season, The New Colony has established itself as “one of Chicago’s essential off-Loop companies” (Chicago Tribune). Through the world premiere of now 32 new plays and musicals, The New Colony has cultivated a diverse audience of theatergoers eager to have a voice in the storytelling. Conversation, collaboration and innovation remain at the heart of everything they produce. The New Colony’s work has been honored with five non-Equity Jeff Awards, Broadway In Chicago’s 2011 Emerging Theatre Award and Best Overall Production at the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival. thenewcolony.org