All content by Friends of Holstein Park
Holstein Happenings
July 31, 2010
BUMMER SUMMER . . .
Last weekend's downpour dumped five feet of water into the Holstein Park field house basement. The electrical transformer blew up and pool filter gave out. The park and pool, as a result, were closed for the week.
The good news is that the electricity was restored Friday and the field house is now open. Electricians installed a new pool filter and THE HOLSTEIN PARK POOL RE-OPENED TODAY, Saturday, July 31.
The bad news is better sewer, water and electrical connections were top priorities in a $1 million renovation Friends of Holstein Park has been advocating for seven years. The park district was on the verge of awarding a contract for the work last month, but top officials yanked it from approval by the July meeting of the Chicago Park District board of commissioners at the last minute.
The next meeting of the park district board is Wednesday, August 11. Anybody want to go?
SUMMER CAMP - FINAL WEEK - Monday, Aug 2
All summer camp groups that moved to Hamlin Park during the power outage will resume at Holstein Park Monday for the final week.
PARK DISTRICT BOARD MEETING - Wed, August 11 at 4 PM
The Board of Commissioners for The Chicago Park District will meet at 4 PM Wednesday, August 11, at 541 N. Fairbanks. Citizens may present testimony during the "People in the Parks" segment. Anyone who wants to speak should register by 3:45 PM.
CIRCUS IN THE PARK - PLANNING MEETING - Wed, Aug 11 at 6:30 PM
The next planning meeting for the Circus in The Park on September 25-26 at Holstein will be at 6:30 PM in the Holstein Park fieldhouse. If you would like to get involved, please stop by.
ONLINE REGISTRATION - Mon, Aug. 16 starts at 9 AM
Registration for all park district programs in the fall - Moms & Tots, After School, sports programs and special events - starts ONLINE at 9 AM. THIS IS A SAVE-THAT-TIME OCCASION. Holstein Park programs often fill up in the first 10 minutes.
Holstein Park this year will add a Winter Break Camp for kids ages 6 - 12 during the public school Christmas vacation - but you have to sign up now!
A sign-up tip: Check out the available programs online at the park district website in advance of registration. Use the pulldown menu box to find Holstein Park. Also, get familiar with the online payment routine, which can be tricky.
FRIENDS OF HOLSTEIN PARK MEETING - Thurs, Aug 19 at 6:30 PM
It's a busy fall ahead with Circus in the Park (September 25-26), The Bucktown Apple Pie Contest (October 10) and fieldhouse renovations on the agenda. Find out how you can get involved.
And please stop by the Friends of Holstein Park booth at the Bucktown Arts Fest to learn more, or better yet, volunteer a few hours of your time to man it. It's a great way to meet your friends and neighbors. No experience necessary!
Contact Michele Pennington at mrwerle@gmail.com to schedule your 2-hour slot on Saturday or Sunday.
BUCKTOWN ARTS FEST - Sat-Sun, Aug 28-28, 11 AM to 7 PM
This granddaddy of neighborhood arts festivals turns 25 this year, just as wild and wacky as ever. Over 170 artists will be displaying their work in and around Senior Citizens Park. Live music, theater, poetry and film programs are also scheduled.
The Kick-Off Party on Thursday, August 26, will be held at the Jackson Junge Gallery, 1389 N. Milwaukee. Meet the artists and mingle with community leaders. In addition to food and libation, artists all contribute a piece that is auctioned off at what are usually spectacularly low prices. Admission is $30 in advance or $40 at the door. Learn more at the Bucktown Arts Fest website.
GOLDEN APPLE RAFFLE - Now thru October 10
The Golden Apple Raffle is a one-in-100 chance to win $1,000. The Bucktown Apple Pie Contest sponors it to raise money for the park. Tickets are $25, but limited to only 100 chances.
You can get your raffle tickets in advance at the new American Eagle Bank at Western Avenue and Belden, anytime before the event, or during it. Stop by today!
AND FINALLY . . .
Many thanks to Rich and Keenan for their above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty work cleaning out the mess in the basement. Anybody want a bunch of water-logged baseball gloves or art supplies?
Holstein Happenings is a monthly newsletter from Friends of Holstein Park to keep you informed of what's happening in our park. We also have a new website about park activities (http://www.friendsofholsteinpark.com.) If you would like to add more names to the Holstein Happenings mailing list, send new addresses to friendsofholsteinpark@yahoo.com.
Friends of Holstein Park
email: friendsofholsteinpark@yahoo.com
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Events Happening Today in Addition to Wicker Park Fest
Habit, 1951 W. Division, is holding a last day sale, with 40% off everything. All sales final. Cash only. Not sure about hours.
Colori Eco Paint Boutique, 2243 W. North, is hosting a free workshop from 10AM to 5 PM on Creating Eco Friendly Play Spaces
Cat & Mouse, 2212 W Armitage, is offering up huge savings on clearance items. Today's deal: Purchase $40 of clearance items and get 10% off of regularly priced items. 10AM to 7 PM.
There is a vintage garage sale at Potomac and Damen, just spotted on Twitter: @explorechicago @redeyechicago @chireaderpromo Vintage #GarageSale at Potomac and Damen, if you need a break of Wicker Park Fest!
Joe's Bucktown, 1715 N. Damen, is offering 50% of w's denim.
"Aly De Luca" will be at caffe de luca, 1721 N. Damen, offering FREE TAROT CARD readings from 5 to 7 PM, in conjunction with Ashley's going away party. Ashley aka 'acegirl' compiled the pipeline e-newsletter's weekly listings and she will be missed!
And of course, Wicker Park Fest from Noon to 10PM!! We will cover it as much as possible along with lots of other local news, though encourage others to send their favorite pictures and stories from the fest to streetsofwicker@hotmail by Monday night! You'll receive byline and photo credit and our thanks.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tee-Ball League Details
An introductory tee ball class for 3-5 yr olds. Sign up will be at Silver Room, beginning Saturday, July 24th starting at 10:30 a.m
Your child can learn and enjoy the fundamentals of the game without the competitiveness of a league, while still enjoying playing on a team.
We are pleased to announce that this class will again be held locally at Dean Park
(located on Dean St. just North of Milwaukee Ave/just west of Paulina St)
This is a 8 week program and is scheduled for Sunday mornings from 10-11 a.m. classes fill up quickly so PLEASE SIGN UP NOW!!
Cost for the program is $50.00
Email djdouglasjohn@gmail.com
Note: I have pics on file for tee-ball and will try to add later on
Your child can learn and enjoy the fundamentals of the game without the competitiveness of a league, while still enjoying playing on a team.
We are pleased to announce that this class will again be held locally at Dean Park
(located on Dean St. just North of Milwaukee Ave/just west of Paulina St)
This is a 8 week program and is scheduled for Sunday mornings from 10-11 a.m. classes fill up quickly so PLEASE SIGN UP NOW!!
Cost for the program is $50.00
Email djdouglasjohn@gmail.com
Note: I have pics on file for tee-ball and will try to add later on
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
DJ Hero Tournament: July 31st at 11 PM
Now this looks like fun...
DJ HERO TOURNAMENT!
The prize for winning the tournament is a
DJ Hero® bundle
(includes two games and TWO DJ Hero® TURNTABLES)!
at GTT on Saturday, July 31st at 11pm
GTT will be hosting a DJ Hero® Tournament at Gorilla Tango as part of a promotion with Houseparty.com. We're getting all our friends together and you’re invited! On July 31st at 11pm, we’ll all have a blast mashing beats thanks to DJ Hero®. DJ Hero® features 93 genre-bending mixes with songs from the best hip-hop, electronica, R&B, Motown, pop, and rock artists — we’ll be spinning them as we fire up two turntables all in the name of a good time!
THIS IS A FREE EVENT! Beer and wine available for purchase at the door.
The first 25 people to sign up will get to compete in the tournament. Competitor names will be taken at the door starting at 9pm on Saturday, July 31st. Doors to the event open at 11pm and the event will kickoff immediately after!
Come out to show off your DJ Hero® skills and tell everyone you know to come by and cheer you on...
Questions? Email info@gorillatango.com
DJ HERO TOURNAMENT!
The prize for winning the tournament is a
DJ Hero® bundle
(includes two games and TWO DJ Hero® TURNTABLES)!
at GTT on Saturday, July 31st at 11pm
GTT will be hosting a DJ Hero® Tournament at Gorilla Tango as part of a promotion with Houseparty.com. We're getting all our friends together and you’re invited! On July 31st at 11pm, we’ll all have a blast mashing beats thanks to DJ Hero®. DJ Hero® features 93 genre-bending mixes with songs from the best hip-hop, electronica, R&B, Motown, pop, and rock artists — we’ll be spinning them as we fire up two turntables all in the name of a good time!
THIS IS A FREE EVENT! Beer and wine available for purchase at the door.
The first 25 people to sign up will get to compete in the tournament. Competitor names will be taken at the door starting at 9pm on Saturday, July 31st. Doors to the event open at 11pm and the event will kickoff immediately after!
Come out to show off your DJ Hero® skills and tell everyone you know to come by and cheer you on...
Questions? Email info@gorillatango.com
Movies in the Park, Pre-Movie Open Mic this Wed.
Open Mic & Movie in the Park
Wednesday – July 28 – Free
Wicker Park Ball Field – 1425 N. Damen
Open Mic – 6pm - Dark - Movie – Planet 51 – at Dark
5pm – Sign Ups for Open Mike or
Early Sign Up at wickermic@gmail.com
Come out and PERFORM your Songs or Poetry, or Just ENJOY Listening!
Sponsored by www.ourwickerpark.org www.churchinthecity.us
www.parkways.org www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
movieusethis.jpg
Wednesday – July 28 – Free
Wicker Park Ball Field – 1425 N. Damen
Open Mic – 6pm - Dark - Movie – Planet 51 – at Dark
5pm – Sign Ups for Open Mike or
Early Sign Up at wickermic@gmail.com
Come out and PERFORM your Songs or Poetry, or Just ENJOY Listening!
Sponsored by www.ourwickerpark.org www.churchinthecity.us
www.parkways.org www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
movieusethis.jpg
Call for news: Do you have an event taking place next weekend?
There are a variety of events and sales taking place in conjunction with next weekend's Wicker Park Fest, which we will be covering in The Pipeline. Proceeds from the festival benefit the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce.
The WPB chamber played an instrumental role in the pipeline e-newsletter's inception and its first 14 months. The advertising support from the chamber ended with our June 8th issue. We are currently not aware of the status of re-engagement, but hope that the many positive testimonials and words written by chamber members in support of The Pipeline will aid us in receiving future support. In the meanwhile, we're having fun and grateful to the small businesses that have become advertising sponsors to keep the information pipeline going.
As I continue to receive emails from chamber merchant members who are not aware that we no longer receive support from their chamber, I did want anyone who happens to visit this blog to be aware of the status of our relationship to the chamber. A few people asked me why I did not mention this weekend's sidewalk sale in our last issue, and the truth is that I'd only read the chamber e-newsletter from mid-July, and the sale was not mentioned and I'd forgotten about it. Had the chamber still been an advertiser in The Pipeline I would regularly be visiting its web site or asking my point of contact what should be featured. Regardless of sponsorship, the sidewalk sale is a community wide event and I would have included it if I'd known about it.
We hope the advertising support will be re-engaged very soon for the benefit of promoting the overall business community and its various sales and happenings. In the interim, we are still as committed as ever to promoting awareness of area businesses and participation in the local economy. If you are holding an event in conjunction with the upcoming WP festival, please let me know via email, streetsofwicker@hotmail.com, and I will be happy to try to add your news to our next e-newsletter.
Over the break, new readers self-added themselves to our list and other emails were received about the neighborhood. Shortly before I left for a few days away, and after a few re-schedulings due to non pipeline commitments, I finally got a spare moment to head downtown and retrieve a 'press ID' for reporting on crime.
While it's nice to have official credentials, and I'm grateful to the 14th District for having suggested that I apply for them, if we don't have a sustainable platform for keeping the Pipeline going it will not matter that we have credentials because there will be no Pipeline. The little voice in my head says that if I can't make the pipeline sustainable I am doing something wrong. Another voice, from Sir Winston Churchill, reminds me that failure is okay as long as you're enthusiastic about getting back up off the ground and focusing on something else. Churchill observed, "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
Each week there are new reasons or concrete 'signs' to 'keep on keeping on,' sometimes with genuine enthusiasm and other times manufactured because there's too much unknown and nothing certain except that I love what I'm doing and will have to figure out a way to keep on doing it-- not just for my benefit, but for readers too, because if I wanted to write for myself I'd be focusing on poetry and plays and working at a corporate job. For better or worse, I have the journalism bug.
This week the reasons to keep going were the new people added to the email list, and the fact that we are now a credentialed and viable outlet for reporting on crime. The week before that, the reason was all the cool people I met at the Local First meeting! I have no idea what reasons I will find to keep the pipeline going next week, but I am sure there will be some. And if there's not I'll go walking on the street and find them.
The WPB chamber played an instrumental role in the pipeline e-newsletter's inception and its first 14 months. The advertising support from the chamber ended with our June 8th issue. We are currently not aware of the status of re-engagement, but hope that the many positive testimonials and words written by chamber members in support of The Pipeline will aid us in receiving future support. In the meanwhile, we're having fun and grateful to the small businesses that have become advertising sponsors to keep the information pipeline going.
As I continue to receive emails from chamber merchant members who are not aware that we no longer receive support from their chamber, I did want anyone who happens to visit this blog to be aware of the status of our relationship to the chamber. A few people asked me why I did not mention this weekend's sidewalk sale in our last issue, and the truth is that I'd only read the chamber e-newsletter from mid-July, and the sale was not mentioned and I'd forgotten about it. Had the chamber still been an advertiser in The Pipeline I would regularly be visiting its web site or asking my point of contact what should be featured. Regardless of sponsorship, the sidewalk sale is a community wide event and I would have included it if I'd known about it.
We hope the advertising support will be re-engaged very soon for the benefit of promoting the overall business community and its various sales and happenings. In the interim, we are still as committed as ever to promoting awareness of area businesses and participation in the local economy. If you are holding an event in conjunction with the upcoming WP festival, please let me know via email, streetsofwicker@hotmail.com, and I will be happy to try to add your news to our next e-newsletter.
Over the break, new readers self-added themselves to our list and other emails were received about the neighborhood. Shortly before I left for a few days away, and after a few re-schedulings due to non pipeline commitments, I finally got a spare moment to head downtown and retrieve a 'press ID' for reporting on crime.
While it's nice to have official credentials, and I'm grateful to the 14th District for having suggested that I apply for them, if we don't have a sustainable platform for keeping the Pipeline going it will not matter that we have credentials because there will be no Pipeline. The little voice in my head says that if I can't make the pipeline sustainable I am doing something wrong. Another voice, from Sir Winston Churchill, reminds me that failure is okay as long as you're enthusiastic about getting back up off the ground and focusing on something else. Churchill observed, "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
Each week there are new reasons or concrete 'signs' to 'keep on keeping on,' sometimes with genuine enthusiasm and other times manufactured because there's too much unknown and nothing certain except that I love what I'm doing and will have to figure out a way to keep on doing it-- not just for my benefit, but for readers too, because if I wanted to write for myself I'd be focusing on poetry and plays and working at a corporate job. For better or worse, I have the journalism bug.
This week the reasons to keep going were the new people added to the email list, and the fact that we are now a credentialed and viable outlet for reporting on crime. The week before that, the reason was all the cool people I met at the Local First meeting! I have no idea what reasons I will find to keep the pipeline going next week, but I am sure there will be some. And if there's not I'll go walking on the street and find them.
Friday Aug. 6th: 17th Annual All Kids & Family Health Fair
I'm hosting this poster here for the purpose of linking to it in the next pipeline. Click on image to enlarge the poster.
Video Clip: Miss Lolita
The following images and clip of Miss Lolita are from the talent portion of the Miss Wicker Park Pageant, July 12.
Due to a commitment early the next morning, I left half way through the (Monday night!) pageant and was not able to capture a video clip of the winner, Miss Jill Hopkins.
The talents was my favorite part of the event.... based on the favorable crowd and judge's reactions to the talent, I was not the only one that felt this way.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Vaudeville Burlesque at Miss Wicker Park Pageant
Miss ErinRembert gave me permission to post these photos and video clip that I snapped at the pageant Monday night.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Sidewalk sale: Cat & Mouse, July 31-Aug 1
Cat & Mouse is having a sidewalk sale at its flagship and I think only ship of a store at 2212 W. Armitage. Lots of games and puzzles will be marked way way down Charlie Brown!
August 2010 Shows at Gorilla Tango
It looks like there are a lot of fun and downright quirky shows in Gorilla Tango Theatre's pipeline for next month!
If anybody would like to review any of these, let me know. I've bolded the ones that I will try to try to review, with emphasis on try.
August 2010 Calendar Listing
The Sweet Stuff (CONTINUING)
A world premiere, two act drama by Jayme McGhan! Blue-collar Jerry Ward finds himself and his daughter caught in a high stakes game of cat and mouse after the sudden death of his wife. Jerry's singularly rare blood type is the only thing keeping the son of the powerful, white-collar Walter Joyce alive. The tension swells as Jerry's daughter becomes a pawn in this suspense story that confronts the issues of medical ethics, the real commodities that rule our lives, and begs the question: what are the acceptable moral boundaries a parent can overlook to save their only child?
Produced by Chased by an Elephant Theatre Company.
Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 6pm, July 22 – 31, 2010, and Sunday July 25 (2pm) and August 1 (5pm). Tickets are $20; Rated R.
Christophe The Insultor (CONTINUING)
Christophe The Insultor insults your friends for money!
Christophe The Insultor has been traveling the country insulting people for money for nearly twenty years, mostly at renaissance festivals (you may have seen him at the Bristol Faire), but also at taverns, comedy clubs and casinos. He has written perhaps the largest and funniest collection of original insult comedy in the world, and is bringing his well-honed mercenary mental machinery to bear in an hour-long show right here in Chicago.
Admission price gets you in the door, and $10, $20 or more will get the victim of your choice beautifully shredded by Christophe.
And if your friend is really an a**hole, the crowd just might pick him/her to be the Grand Finale victim, receiving a merciless drubbing financed by all in the crowd who wish to kick in.
This is smart, wicked, pee-laugh funny.
Not for children or nervous persons.
Produced by Shaw Entertainment Group.
Fridays at 11pm, July 23 – September 3, 2010. Tickets are $10; Rated R.
Best Laid Plans: One-Acts by Sheppard and Inge
Brevity Theater - a new company of University of Chicago students and alumni - debuts with two rarely performed one-acts by two of America's most celebrated playwrights. Amanda Fink (BA '12) is directing William Inge's "Margaret's Bed," a brutally honest dialogue concerning a woman's pathological fear of sleeping alone and the misconceptions that surround her situation. In Sam Sheppard's "Icarus' Mother," directed by Will Bishop (BA '12), a group of five friends gather for an Independence Day picnic, but things start to go wrong as the friends begin to vie for power. As the fireworks begin, the group starts to fall apart, asking us what it means to be part of a community in America.
Produced by Brevity Theater.
Sunday, August 1 & 8, 2010 at 8pm, Monday August 2 & Wednesday, August 4, 2010 at 9:30pm. Tickets are $10.
Armageddon Dance Party
Apparently the world is ending. Not to be defeated, New York couple John and Michelle face destruction boldly with a dance party--better to actually live while you're dying, right? With more and more of their friends seeking refuge from the coming doom in a full house teetering on the edge of the abyss, the characters of The Armageddon Dance Party find they must confront their lives, their relationships and their fears. Not all of them will make it through the night. But the rest discover that the best way to deal with living on the edge of a volcano is to just dance.
Produced by Jack Dugan Carpenter.
Mondays at 7:30pm, August 2 – 23, 2010. Tickets are $15.
Subdivision
By Rubin Carbajal
A single mother and her two young sons invent fantasies and fabricate lies to cope with the absence of their hardworking, hard-drinking father. When he unexpectedly returns, dreams, deceptions, truth and reality violently collide.
Produced by Kara Karstedt.
Wednesdays at 7:30pm, August 4 – 25, 2010. Tickets are $12.
Edd Fairman, Wizard of Sorts: Magic, Comedy, Mayhem
Edd Fairman, the Wizard of Sorts, is hitting the Gorilla Tango Stage for five nights of magic, comedy and mayhem! A nationally touring magician and an illusionist since the ripe old age of 6, Edd has brought his act home to Chicago and has planned an hour of interactive trickery, mindblowing mischief and new spins on classic illusions that could only come from the man the Chicago Wizard's Club named "Magician of the Year." You might not believe that a show this big can fit into Edd's single, trademark briefcase, but you will. You might even get a chance to peek inside it yourself! And be warned; this show is for audiences 13 and up due to moderate amounts of highly professional immaturity. To find out more about Edd and his magic, visit www.WizardofSorts.com.
Produced by Edd Fairman.
Thursdays at 8pm, August 5 – September 2, 2010. Tickets are $10.
Death and Sex
Death and Sex is a dark, experimental sketch revue that features stand-up comics, musicians, and local celebrities.
Produced by David Elliot.
Thursdays at 9:30pm, August 5 – 26, 2010. Tickets are $12.
W.A.R. (Wake-up. Attack. Repeat.)
Since humans...and puppets began roaming the earth, the world has been sort of, well, disastrous. From yummy land domination to hilarious religious persecution to jovial jabs at discrimination, life truly is a vicious cycle we’ll just never get right. Enjoy! WARNING: Puppets are in the show. Just saying, in case you are prejudice.
Produced by Judd Wachstein.
Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, August 6 – 21, 2010. Tickets are $10.
Low Toner Presents: Managing Vision and Purpose
Description: 50% Office Meeting, 50% Sketch Comedy, 50% Slideshow, 100% Staggeringly Funny. Every few months the folks at the Low Toner assemble "meetings" where they lampoon Six Sigma Business, mock Lominger, hate on the Corporate Office and turn what could be the most boring office meeting into 60 minutes of hysterical workplace and not-so-workplace sketch comedy.
Produced by Low Toner.
Fridays at 9:30pm, August 6 – 27, 2010. Tickets are $10.
The Dionysia
Come and witness the talent of the Dionysus Theatre Society in the seasonal showcase known as The Dionysia. We have selected a series of shows from up and coming playwrights to showcase the range of talent that our members have. Regale in tales of pure love, fear, discovery and desire. Featuring works by Anthony Green, Terry McFadden, Brett Hursey, and Shannon Murdoch. This is one production you shouldn't miss!
Produced by Anthony Green.
Saturdays at 4pm and Sundays at 6pm, August 7 – 15, 2010. Tickets are $10.
The Brand New Shoes
The Brand New Shoes' New Show has begun! If you think we can't make you laugh... Think again. You don't even have to be in the audience. Our hilarity ripples through the earth like a mega earthquake sent from God. But if you want to be hit hard with comedy till your ass falls off get front row seats quick. Be There or your Mama will.
Produced by Shane Murphy.
Saturdays at 6pm, August 7 – 21, 2010. Tickets are $10.
$500 GTT Stand-Up Thing
Do you love voting for things but have no idea what to do with yourself since American Idol is over for the season? Well, you are certainly in luck because Gorilla Tango promises to satisfy your addiction. Stop by Gorilla Tango Theatre every Saturday in August at 9:30 PM to watch stand-up comedians show what they’re made of in 3 exciting rounds of competition. Your votes determine who moves on to the next round! In the Final round you will determine the grand prize winner who gets $500 in cash, three 7Lb 16" long hot dogs from BigHotDog.com and a headlining show at GTT in the fall!
Produced by Katie Johnston-Smith.
Saturdays at 9:30pm, August 7 – 28, 2010. Tickets are $10
America’s Next Top Actor
Love reality show competitions? Then turn off the T.V. and get to Gorilla Tango, where five live contestants will compete for the ultimate title of America's Next Top Actor, and the audience votes the contestants out of the show! New celebrity judges each night and YOU get to decide various elements of the competition!
Produced and Directed by Danielle Holtz.
Produced and Directed by Danielle Holtz.
Saturdays at 11:30pm, August 7 – 28, 2010. Tickets are $12.
Betty Sue’s Hula Hoop Dance Number
The inhabitants of a poor village try to solicit foreign aid by marketing their most valuable natural resource: hot women. This darkly comic satire incorporates puppetry, musical elements, Commedia dell Arte, Theatre of the Oppressed, and a pinata.
Produced by Blunt Objects Theatre.
Sunday, August 8, 2010 at 4:30pm. Tickets are $10.
Sharks On Wheels
Sharks On Wheels! The most bone snapping, neck shattering, blood filled event ever to horrify an audience will be at the Gorilla Tango Theatre beginning August 9th 2010. Murder, Intrigue, Zombies, mischievously cheap costumes and the dark and Satanic powers of VooDoo all await you in this twisted mockery of all that is Holy. Are you ready to have your brain scared out of your head? Are you ready to cry like a little school baby? Are you ready to face what you've most feared since that clown incident in the early 80's?? Then man-up and buy tickets to join our hero Ralph Mutton (pronounced Mut-tahn) face the spine cracking force of the Sharks On Wheels and save the world... well, maybe, maybe save the world. No guarantees.
Written/Directed/Produced by Jason Martin Jablonski
Mondays at 9:30pm, August 9 – 23, 2010. Tickets are $10.
High Five and The Feel Goods
“High Five and the Feel Goods” is a long form improv group. They used to just meet and talk, ya know tell each other stories...for hours. Then they decided they should perform improv together. Words can't describe the chemistry these people have, it's like trying to bottle up the ocean...or tame a pack of wild mustangs in an afternoon - impossible. You'll just have to watch the show.
Produced by High Five and the Feel Goods.
Saturday, August 21, 2010 at 4:30pm. Tickets are $10.
Republic County
by Joe Musso
Directed by: Lauren Hallie Muellner
The unemployment rate for Republic County is at an all-time high, and the poets are to blame. The only solution is to kill them. With a wink and a nod to Plato's Republic, this dark comedy—set in a government employment office—features Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry David Thoreau in their quest to obtain free government cheese.
Produced by Lauren Muellner.
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 7:30pm and Saturday, August 28, 2010 at 5:30pm. Tickets are $12.
Puck Heads
The local dive sports bar is threatened with closing its doors for good when a high-end restaurant opens down the street, and a feud is about to break out between the two owners. Add on top of that the sole employee of the bar is secretly in love with the restaurant proprietor's daughter! Seeking a solution to save themselves, the patrons of the bar turn to two unlikely advisers - Chino and Scapino, two freeloaders who although they aren't the brightest crayons in the box, always have a plan! Done in the style of the Commedia dell'Arte.
Produced by TJ Corbett
Saturday, August 28, 2010 at 4pm and Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 5pm. Tickets are $10.
Midlife Joyride
Don’t call it a Midlife Crisis. Crisis? What Crisis?! "Midlife Joyride" takes a skewed, hilarious look at the crap that arises when men and women move into the second half of life: bald spots, hot flashes, daydream stares, big guts, fast cars, sex drives on life support and “cougar” attacks. This part sketch show, part stand-up performance doesn’t take itself seriously. Instead it embraces the changes and puts a funny, whacked-out spin on what really should be called Adolescence the Sequel.
Produced by Eric Cowgill.
Saturdays at 7:30pm, August 28 – September 18, 2010. Tickets are $15
All performances take place at:
Gorilla Tango Theatre
1919 N. Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647
www.gorillatango.com
Visit www.gorillatango.com or call 773-598-4549 for tickets and more information.
Audience contact: 773-598-4549, info@gorillatango.com
Gorilla Tango Theatre Chicago is conveniently located at the intersection of Western and Milwaukee in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood. Easily accessible by public transportation, GTT is steps away from the Western stop on the O’Hare Blue Line and the #49 Western, #73 Armitage and #56 Milwaukee buses. Street parking is readily available. GTT offers a variety of affordable ($3-$8) beer and wine for purchase.
If anybody would like to review any of these, let me know. I've bolded the ones that I will try to try to review, with emphasis on try.
August 2010 Calendar Listing
The Sweet Stuff (CONTINUING)
A world premiere, two act drama by Jayme McGhan! Blue-collar Jerry Ward finds himself and his daughter caught in a high stakes game of cat and mouse after the sudden death of his wife. Jerry's singularly rare blood type is the only thing keeping the son of the powerful, white-collar Walter Joyce alive. The tension swells as Jerry's daughter becomes a pawn in this suspense story that confronts the issues of medical ethics, the real commodities that rule our lives, and begs the question: what are the acceptable moral boundaries a parent can overlook to save their only child?
Produced by Chased by an Elephant Theatre Company.
Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 6pm, July 22 – 31, 2010, and Sunday July 25 (2pm) and August 1 (5pm). Tickets are $20; Rated R.
Christophe The Insultor (CONTINUING)
Christophe The Insultor insults your friends for money!
Christophe The Insultor has been traveling the country insulting people for money for nearly twenty years, mostly at renaissance festivals (you may have seen him at the Bristol Faire), but also at taverns, comedy clubs and casinos. He has written perhaps the largest and funniest collection of original insult comedy in the world, and is bringing his well-honed mercenary mental machinery to bear in an hour-long show right here in Chicago.
Admission price gets you in the door, and $10, $20 or more will get the victim of your choice beautifully shredded by Christophe.
And if your friend is really an a**hole, the crowd just might pick him/her to be the Grand Finale victim, receiving a merciless drubbing financed by all in the crowd who wish to kick in.
This is smart, wicked, pee-laugh funny.
Not for children or nervous persons.
Produced by Shaw Entertainment Group.
Fridays at 11pm, July 23 – September 3, 2010. Tickets are $10; Rated R.
Best Laid Plans: One-Acts by Sheppard and Inge
Brevity Theater - a new company of University of Chicago students and alumni - debuts with two rarely performed one-acts by two of America's most celebrated playwrights. Amanda Fink (BA '12) is directing William Inge's "Margaret's Bed," a brutally honest dialogue concerning a woman's pathological fear of sleeping alone and the misconceptions that surround her situation. In Sam Sheppard's "Icarus' Mother," directed by Will Bishop (BA '12), a group of five friends gather for an Independence Day picnic, but things start to go wrong as the friends begin to vie for power. As the fireworks begin, the group starts to fall apart, asking us what it means to be part of a community in America.
Produced by Brevity Theater.
Sunday, August 1 & 8, 2010 at 8pm, Monday August 2 & Wednesday, August 4, 2010 at 9:30pm. Tickets are $10.
Armageddon Dance Party
Apparently the world is ending. Not to be defeated, New York couple John and Michelle face destruction boldly with a dance party--better to actually live while you're dying, right? With more and more of their friends seeking refuge from the coming doom in a full house teetering on the edge of the abyss, the characters of The Armageddon Dance Party find they must confront their lives, their relationships and their fears. Not all of them will make it through the night. But the rest discover that the best way to deal with living on the edge of a volcano is to just dance.
Produced by Jack Dugan Carpenter.
Mondays at 7:30pm, August 2 – 23, 2010. Tickets are $15.
Subdivision
By Rubin Carbajal
A single mother and her two young sons invent fantasies and fabricate lies to cope with the absence of their hardworking, hard-drinking father. When he unexpectedly returns, dreams, deceptions, truth and reality violently collide.
Produced by Kara Karstedt.
Wednesdays at 7:30pm, August 4 – 25, 2010. Tickets are $12.
Edd Fairman, Wizard of Sorts: Magic, Comedy, Mayhem
Edd Fairman, the Wizard of Sorts, is hitting the Gorilla Tango Stage for five nights of magic, comedy and mayhem! A nationally touring magician and an illusionist since the ripe old age of 6, Edd has brought his act home to Chicago and has planned an hour of interactive trickery, mindblowing mischief and new spins on classic illusions that could only come from the man the Chicago Wizard's Club named "Magician of the Year." You might not believe that a show this big can fit into Edd's single, trademark briefcase, but you will. You might even get a chance to peek inside it yourself! And be warned; this show is for audiences 13 and up due to moderate amounts of highly professional immaturity. To find out more about Edd and his magic, visit www.WizardofSorts.com.
Produced by Edd Fairman.
Thursdays at 8pm, August 5 – September 2, 2010. Tickets are $10.
Death and Sex
Death and Sex is a dark, experimental sketch revue that features stand-up comics, musicians, and local celebrities.
Produced by David Elliot.
Thursdays at 9:30pm, August 5 – 26, 2010. Tickets are $12.
W.A.R. (Wake-up. Attack. Repeat.)
Since humans...and puppets began roaming the earth, the world has been sort of, well, disastrous. From yummy land domination to hilarious religious persecution to jovial jabs at discrimination, life truly is a vicious cycle we’ll just never get right. Enjoy! WARNING: Puppets are in the show. Just saying, in case you are prejudice.
Produced by Judd Wachstein.
Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, August 6 – 21, 2010. Tickets are $10.
Low Toner Presents: Managing Vision and Purpose
Description: 50% Office Meeting, 50% Sketch Comedy, 50% Slideshow, 100% Staggeringly Funny. Every few months the folks at the Low Toner assemble "meetings" where they lampoon Six Sigma Business, mock Lominger, hate on the Corporate Office and turn what could be the most boring office meeting into 60 minutes of hysterical workplace and not-so-workplace sketch comedy.
Produced by Low Toner.
Fridays at 9:30pm, August 6 – 27, 2010. Tickets are $10.
The Dionysia
Come and witness the talent of the Dionysus Theatre Society in the seasonal showcase known as The Dionysia. We have selected a series of shows from up and coming playwrights to showcase the range of talent that our members have. Regale in tales of pure love, fear, discovery and desire. Featuring works by Anthony Green, Terry McFadden, Brett Hursey, and Shannon Murdoch. This is one production you shouldn't miss!
Produced by Anthony Green.
Saturdays at 4pm and Sundays at 6pm, August 7 – 15, 2010. Tickets are $10.
The Brand New Shoes
The Brand New Shoes' New Show has begun! If you think we can't make you laugh... Think again. You don't even have to be in the audience. Our hilarity ripples through the earth like a mega earthquake sent from God. But if you want to be hit hard with comedy till your ass falls off get front row seats quick. Be There or your Mama will.
Produced by Shane Murphy.
Saturdays at 6pm, August 7 – 21, 2010. Tickets are $10.
$500 GTT Stand-Up Thing
Do you love voting for things but have no idea what to do with yourself since American Idol is over for the season? Well, you are certainly in luck because Gorilla Tango promises to satisfy your addiction. Stop by Gorilla Tango Theatre every Saturday in August at 9:30 PM to watch stand-up comedians show what they’re made of in 3 exciting rounds of competition. Your votes determine who moves on to the next round! In the Final round you will determine the grand prize winner who gets $500 in cash, three 7Lb 16" long hot dogs from BigHotDog.com and a headlining show at GTT in the fall!
Produced by Katie Johnston-Smith.
Saturdays at 9:30pm, August 7 – 28, 2010. Tickets are $10
America’s Next Top Actor
Love reality show competitions? Then turn off the T.V. and get to Gorilla Tango, where five live contestants will compete for the ultimate title of America's Next Top Actor, and the audience votes the contestants out of the show! New celebrity judges each night and YOU get to decide various elements of the competition!
Produced and Directed by Danielle Holtz.
Produced and Directed by Danielle Holtz.
Saturdays at 11:30pm, August 7 – 28, 2010. Tickets are $12.
Betty Sue’s Hula Hoop Dance Number
The inhabitants of a poor village try to solicit foreign aid by marketing their most valuable natural resource: hot women. This darkly comic satire incorporates puppetry, musical elements, Commedia dell Arte, Theatre of the Oppressed, and a pinata.
Produced by Blunt Objects Theatre.
Sunday, August 8, 2010 at 4:30pm. Tickets are $10.
Sharks On Wheels
Sharks On Wheels! The most bone snapping, neck shattering, blood filled event ever to horrify an audience will be at the Gorilla Tango Theatre beginning August 9th 2010. Murder, Intrigue, Zombies, mischievously cheap costumes and the dark and Satanic powers of VooDoo all await you in this twisted mockery of all that is Holy. Are you ready to have your brain scared out of your head? Are you ready to cry like a little school baby? Are you ready to face what you've most feared since that clown incident in the early 80's?? Then man-up and buy tickets to join our hero Ralph Mutton (pronounced Mut-tahn) face the spine cracking force of the Sharks On Wheels and save the world... well, maybe, maybe save the world. No guarantees.
Written/Directed/Produced by Jason Martin Jablonski
Mondays at 9:30pm, August 9 – 23, 2010. Tickets are $10.
High Five and The Feel Goods
“High Five and the Feel Goods” is a long form improv group. They used to just meet and talk, ya know tell each other stories...for hours. Then they decided they should perform improv together. Words can't describe the chemistry these people have, it's like trying to bottle up the ocean...or tame a pack of wild mustangs in an afternoon - impossible. You'll just have to watch the show.
Produced by High Five and the Feel Goods.
Saturday, August 21, 2010 at 4:30pm. Tickets are $10.
Republic County
by Joe Musso
Directed by: Lauren Hallie Muellner
The unemployment rate for Republic County is at an all-time high, and the poets are to blame. The only solution is to kill them. With a wink and a nod to Plato's Republic, this dark comedy—set in a government employment office—features Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry David Thoreau in their quest to obtain free government cheese.
Produced by Lauren Muellner.
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 7:30pm and Saturday, August 28, 2010 at 5:30pm. Tickets are $12.
Puck Heads
The local dive sports bar is threatened with closing its doors for good when a high-end restaurant opens down the street, and a feud is about to break out between the two owners. Add on top of that the sole employee of the bar is secretly in love with the restaurant proprietor's daughter! Seeking a solution to save themselves, the patrons of the bar turn to two unlikely advisers - Chino and Scapino, two freeloaders who although they aren't the brightest crayons in the box, always have a plan! Done in the style of the Commedia dell'Arte.
Produced by TJ Corbett
Saturday, August 28, 2010 at 4pm and Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 5pm. Tickets are $10.
Midlife Joyride
Don’t call it a Midlife Crisis. Crisis? What Crisis?! "Midlife Joyride" takes a skewed, hilarious look at the crap that arises when men and women move into the second half of life: bald spots, hot flashes, daydream stares, big guts, fast cars, sex drives on life support and “cougar” attacks. This part sketch show, part stand-up performance doesn’t take itself seriously. Instead it embraces the changes and puts a funny, whacked-out spin on what really should be called Adolescence the Sequel.
Produced by Eric Cowgill.
Saturdays at 7:30pm, August 28 – September 18, 2010. Tickets are $15
All performances take place at:
Gorilla Tango Theatre
1919 N. Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647
www.gorillatango.com
Visit www.gorillatango.com or call 773-598-4549 for tickets and more information.
Audience contact: 773-598-4549, info@gorillatango.com
Gorilla Tango Theatre Chicago is conveniently located at the intersection of Western and Milwaukee in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood. Easily accessible by public transportation, GTT is steps away from the Western stop on the O’Hare Blue Line and the #49 Western, #73 Armitage and #56 Milwaukee buses. Street parking is readily available. GTT offers a variety of affordable ($3-$8) beer and wine for purchase.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Images from Miss Wicker Park Warmup at Debonair Social Club
A fun time was had by all at last night's Miss Wicker Park pageant warm up party at the Debonair Social Club.
Eight of the 10 finalists were able to come out to the party. Miss Erin Rembert made the Top 10 (yay!!) but was not able to come out to the warm up, which included mingling, drinks courtesy of pageant founder Rich Seng, and some practice Q&A on the debonair club's dance stage.
Of particular note is Miss Chainsaw Cathy, a Roller Derby Girl who was added to the Top 10 at the last minute due to another contestant backing out. The thing I found interesting about Chainsaw Cathy is that as of last night she has no idea what her talent will be for the talent portion of the pageant, which is happening this Monday night at the Double Door.
In addition to Miss CC who doesn't know yet what she'll be doing, Miss Neotoma will be doing circus tricks... Miss Sassy Pants will crack jokes in a few minutes of Stand Up Comedy.... Miss Erin Rembert will showcase a vaudeville burlesque routine....
In Tuesday's Pipeline we'll include coverage of the pageant as well as lots of other neighborhood news as is the usual drill. The fact I have a an early and daylong professional commitment unrelated to The Pipeline on Tuesday post pageant should mean that the coverage will be brief. I'm getting too old for all nighters.
This Tuesday is The Pipeline's One Year Anniversary, which I'm actually kind of excited about when I take a pause to think how fast this past year flew by! Maybe there's no better way to welcome in the year milestone than working hard on the next issue. This is the first issue from July 13 2009 after changing names from Street Scene, and this is the most recent issue from last week, or July 7 2010. Yikes, running late, now off to the garden walk!
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