Displaying items by tag: Eric Slater

[producingbody] is pleased to announce the Chicago premiere of Spaceman, by Leegrid Stevens and directed by Eric Slater, May 19 - June 13, at The Edge Off-Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. The running time is 100 minutes with no intermission. Previews are Tuesday, May 19 and Wednesday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m., performance schedule is Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. Ticket prices are $15-45. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 3 at 12 p.m. at producingbody.com.

In Spaceman, the difficulties of interplanetary space travel are explored in exacting detail throughout this one-woman, sci-fi odyssey. Radiation exposure, long term weightlessness, low light, extensive communication delays and poor hygiene are just a few of the challenges astronaut Molly Jennis must face as the first human to visit Mars. But she soon finds nothing compares to the psychological effects of having so much time alone. Time spent mulling over the decisions she has made and what might be waiting for her when she finally reaches her destination.

The cast of Spaceman includes Ashley Neal (she/her, Molly Jennis); Allyce Torres (she/her, ensemble puppeteer/Ares) and Amy Carpenter (she/her, Molly Jennis U/S).

The production team includes Leegrid Stevens (he/him, playwright); Eric Slater (he/him, director); Amy Carpenter (she/her, executive producer); Taylor Dalton (she/her, executive producer/set design/costume design); Angela Joy Baldasare (she/her, sound designer) and Garrett Bell (he/him, lighting designer).  

ABOUT LEEGRID STEVENS, playwright

Leegrid Stevens is a Texas raised, Brooklyn based playwright, composer and sound designer. Leegrid’s recent productions include The Trojans (2025 @thecell), War Dreamer (2023 @wild project), A Peregrine Falls (2020 @wild project), Spaceman (2019 @wild project), The Dudleys! (2018 @herearts), Mesquite, NV (2017 @workshop theater) and The Twelfth Labor. Leegrid is the co-founder with Erin Treadway of Loading Dock Theatre which has received multiple awards over their history including two Drama Desk nominations for their production of Spaceman and 6x Henry Hewes design nominations for their most recent production, The Trojans. Leegrid is also an award-winning sound designer (B. Iden Payne Award & NYIT Award for The Dudleys, NYIT sound design for Spaceman). Hailed as “hugely gifted” by the New Yorker’s Helen Shaw, Leegrid is also the co-author of a fantasy novel series, “Fall”, with Craig Bridger.

ABOUT ERIC SLATER, Director

Eric Slater (Director/ Houston) is an actor, writer and director based in Chicago, and is truly honored to return to Spaceman for its Chicago Premiere. He was the voice of Houston in the play's inaugural production at The Martha Graham Studio in NYC. Chicago credits include: Inherit the Wind, The Cherry Orchard, This Happened Once At The Romance Depot Off i-87 in Westchester, Support Group For Men, Smokefall, Feathers And Teeth (Goodman); The Doppelganger (an international farce) (Steppenwolf); Tiny Beautiful Things, Hand To God (Victory Gardens); Small Jokes About Monsters (16th Street). Slater has been a member of the Rivendell Theatre Ensemble since 2005 and has worked on more than fifteen projects in that time including The Tasters, Cal In Camo, Alias Grace and Rasheeda Speaking. Off-Broadway: Juvenal Players (The Kitchen); The Dudley's: A Family Game! (Theatre for a New City); Our Greatest Year (Kraine & The Brick); Original cast of Gloryana (Workshop Production, The Public Theatre & The York Theater). Film: “Regret Like That”, “In The Flood”, “You Don’t Belong Here”, “Widows”, “The Try Out”. TV: ”Monster: The Ed Gein Story”, "Emperor of Ocean Park”, “Fargo”, “Chicago Fire”. He is a contributing member of the North Carolina based writing project; “The Nugents”. He has also written and directed his first film, “She Brought Us The Moon,” which is currently in post-production.

ABOUT ASHLEY NEAL, “Molly Jennis”

Ashley is thrilled to be working with [producingbody] for the first time! She was recently seen in Pivot at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble where she is a long time ensemble member. Ashley is also an ensemble member with First Floor Theater where she appeared in Evanston Salt Costs Climbing and Plano. Other stage credits include: The Cave (A Red Orchid), Evil Perfect (Bramble Theatre Company) and The Singularity Play (Jackalope Theatre). At Rivendell, she has done numerous shows including Scientific Method, Cal in Camo, Alias Grace, Wrens, These Shining Lives and more. Other theater credits include Killing Game, The Nether and A Red Handed Otter (A Red Orchid Theatre); Eric Argyle (Steep Theatre); Men Should Weep, London Wall and Stage Door (Griffin Theatre) as well as many more. She has appeared in many films and TV episodes including “Stuck”, “The Chi”, “Chicago Fire”, and more. She is represented by Big Mouth Talent and is a member of SAG. All my thanks to Lloyd and Ida Mae.

ABOUT ALLYCE TORRES, ensemble puppeteer/“Ares” 

Allie is an actor and puppeteer from San Diego, CA. She has worked with companies such as Steep, Chicago Children’s Theatre, 16th Street Theatre, Cabinet of Curiosity, Teatro Vista, The Passage, Lookingglass, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre and Red. She is thrilled to be returning to [producingbody] and is proudly represented by Big Mouth Talent.

ABOUT [producingbody]

Established in 2021, [producingbody] is a for-profit theatre company co-founded by Amy Carpenter and Taylor Dalton here in Chicago. [producingbody]’s first and foremost goal is to assert that artists and the work we make are necessary and inherently valuable, which is why any profit made on our productions is re-invested into the next process. We are acutely interested in negotiating discomfort; in challenging our limits, our artists and our audiences in the work we produce. We are motivated by artistic impossibility, in responsibility, in creative risk and collective reward.

Theatre at the Center brings back ‘Over the Tavern’ fourteen years after the 1950’s comedy brought audiences to their feet. Finely directed by Ericka Mac, ‘Over the Tavern’ is set in 1959 and is a comedy centered around the Pazinski family. Devout Catholics, young Rudy (Logan Baffico) is a precocious twelve-year-old who spends much time in detention where he repeatedly challenges the teachings of Sister Clarissa (Janet Ulrich Brooks). Rudy is not trying to be confrontational or funny, he is genuine when asking why he shouldn’t shop around for a more fun religion. Of course, Sister Clarissa and her ruler doesn’t see it that way and finds Rudy to be a troublesome kid with attitude. 

We often get to experience Rudy under the Sister’s guidance and the banter between the two is quite riveting, and humorous, at times, though it is in the home amongst his family that we really get an inside look at Rudy. Rudy’s father, Chet (Eric Slater), is tough, no-nonsense and, though he can show his temper on occasions, can also be warm and loving. He runs the bar below the family’s upstairs apartment and sometimes forgets to pick up dinner from the nearby Italian restaurant, much to the irritation of his patient and sensible wife Ellen (Corey Goodrich). Eddie (Seth Steinberg) is the older brother and is exactly that, the conventional older brother. He may tease his younger siblings but will also protect them without a second thought. Isabelle Roberts plays Annie, the middle child. 

The play does a great job of creating a late 1950’s setting and gives us a stereotypical Catholic family of that time period – the stay at home mother, the breadwinning, hardworking, middle-class father and their three children who find safety with their mom while distant and fearful of their dad. The play also hits home for many of us that attended Christian or Catholic schools when it was okay, and even expected, for faculty to physical punish heir students. 

Tom Dudzick’s semi-autobiographical play not only has a strong script, but Theatre at the Center gives this production some extra oomph by putting forth an all-around excellent cast. 

Janet Ulrich Brooks is nothing short of sensational as hard-nosed Sister Clarissa and is enjoyable to watch in each of her scenes. Logan Baffico makes a fine impression in his TATC debut as Rudy as does Eric Slater as Chet. Both steals scenes at moments and are thoroughly engaging. Most who follow this terrific theatre in Musnster, Indiana are already aware of Corey Goodrich’s talents, and she delivers once again in this, her 14th Theatre of the Center production. It is always a pleasure watching such talent grace the stage.

Loaded with laughs and touching moments and a few life lessons, ‘Over the Tavern’ is just as fresh and relevant today as it always has been. Kudos to such a gifted cast, the show’s flawless direction and a set that takes us back to middle-America 1959.

Recommended.

‘Over the Tavern’ is being performed at Theatre at the Center through August 11th. For more information, visit www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com.

Some people can only see what's right in front of them. Abe Koogler explores this theme in his play "Kill Floor" making its Midwestern debut at American Theater Company. The slaughterhouse is a setting once familiarized by Upton Sinclair in his novel "The Jungle." Koogler is updating this disturbing classic for our modern era. While we'd like to think we've evolved since 1906, perhaps we haven't. Maybe because we can't see the inside of a slaughterhouse, we don't think about how horrible factory farming really is. 

"Kill Floor" tells the story of Andy (Audrey Francis) who has been recently released from prison. Rick (Eric Slater) is a foreman at the slaughterhouse and gives Andy a job after taking pity on her. A flirtation develops despite that Eric is married, and it's suggested that Andy won't be promoted off the kill floor unless she sleeps with him. B, or Brendan (Sol Patches) is Andy's fifteen year old son who lives with foster parents. B struggles with a closeted homosexual crush, and the reality that most people ignore what makes them uncomfortable. B is also a vegan, making even it harder for Andy to reconnect with him. 

Under the direction of Jonathan Berry, this ensemble cast is killing it. Audrey Francis delivers a heartbreaking performance as a woman trying to reclaim her life. She falters naturally between assertiveness and crushing trauma. There's an emotional honesty in her performance that makes for a rare theater experience. Eric Slater and Sol Patches make for an excellent supporting cast. 

Koogler's play makes some intriguing points without browbeating the audience with his message. Particularly the comparison between mass incarceration and meat processing. In a way, we're all like the cattle - blindly following one another through winding tunnels, unsure of what's ahead. There's a certain degree of understanding he expects from his viewers. The script strays away from melodrama, leaving some stories untold and ideas unfinished. What's more human than that? 

Through May 1st at American Theater Company. 1909 W Byron Street. 773-409-4125