Download THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

About the Artists
Paul Crewes
Artistic Director
Rachel Fine
Managing Director
PRESENTS
Theater Unspeakable’s
THE
AMERICAN
REVOLUTION
STARRING
Flora Bare, Lily Emerson, David Goodloe, Rasell Holt, Quenna Lené,
Sarah Liken, Thomas Wynne
ADDITIONAL SET DESIGN
Jacob Watson
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Rachel K. Levy*
STAGE MANAGER
Sara Beaman
COMPANY MANAGER
Zachary Baker Salmon
DIRECTED BY
Marc Frost
SEPTEMBER 27 – OCTOBER 9, 2016
Lovelace Studio Theater
Running Time: 50 minutes with no intermission
There will be a postshow conversation immediately following the performance.
*A member of United Scenic Artists union (local 829)
THEATER UNSPEAKABLE started in 2010
in Chicago as a platform for creating physical,
devised theater. The company has created three
shows in its five years – Superman 2050, Murder
on the Midwest Express and The American
Revolution – and is currently working on a new
piece called Moon Shot. The company works
with improvisation, movement, text and voice
to devise original shows, which then go on to
tour around Chicago and nationally. The work is
based very strongly in the theater teachings of the
Frenchman Jacques Lecoq yet strives to foster a
very American approach to storytelling.
FLORA BARE (Sam Adams)
has lived and performed in
New York and London for
the better part of the last
decade, but has now made
Chicago home. A former USA
National Champion gymnast,
Flora graduated with an MFA in Lecoq-based
physical theater from the London International
School of Performing Arts (LISPA). She has
also received extensive training in: Commedia
dell’Arte from the Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo,
Italy; Viewpoints and Suzuki with Anne Bogart
and the SITI Company and Tango in Montevideo,
Uruguay. Flora has also trained and taught at
The Circus Space in London. When not devising
and performing in theater, Flora spends her time
singing and songwriting.
LILY EMERSON (Abigail
Adams) is a multi faceted
performer, producer,
collaborator, and all-around
creative weirdo. She is the
cocreator of Adventure
Sandwich, a Chicago-based
company that produces DIY, family-friendly
video, music, live performances and events. She
currently serves as the "theatrical eyeball" for
OperaMatic, an interdisciplinary arts organization
that produces moving, participatory art
experiences in the parks. She is also the founder
of Lucid Street Theatre, a performance collective
that created original works from 2007-2011.
Lily has performed throughout the US, Belarus,
the Czech Republic, and France. She has been
recognized with various awards and residencies,
including the Lisa Dershin LinkUP Residency,
the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum's Artist
in Residence, and the Chicago Digital Media
Production Fund. More information about Lily can
be found at creativeweirdo.com .
DAVID GOODLOE
(John Adams) is excited to
be working with Theater
Unspeakable. A Chicago
native, David has been acting
professionally since 2006. At
the University of Chicago, he
began to hone his skills and build a repertoire
which reignited his love of performing. After
college, and also after Peace Corps, David started
doing theater and many on-camera projects; his
theater credits include Cut to the Chase Festival
(Artistic Home of Chicago), for my brothers...
whenever i may find them (Step Up Productions),
An Improv Play (InFusion Theatre), A Fool Such
As I (eta Creative Arts), The Last Saint on Sugar
Hill ( MPAACT Theatre) and Between Legs &
Open Ears (Black Ensemble Theater). He has
worked with various production companies such
as August Jackson Agency, Draft/FCB, Twist, T2
Studios, Back Ally Films, Crossroads Films, One at
Optimus, Mothlight productions, Ferderici Video,
and Elkhorn Entertainment. And his on-camera
IMDB credits include "Chicago PD" (NBC
Studios LLC), D.I.N.K’s (Sole Productions), Thanks
Mom (Breakwall Pictures LLC), Perceptions and
Mourning After Mirabelle (Acestroke Productions).
For more information on his work, please go to
www.davidgoodloe.com.
RASELL HOLT (George
Washington) is a Milwaukee
native who graduated from
the University of WisconsinWhitewater in May 2015
with his B.F.A. in Theatre
(Performance). Since making
his way to Chicago, credits include: The Hairy Ape
(Oracle Productions), HELLCAB (Profile Theatre),
and Ladies Night of the Living Dead (Random
Acts). As an actor and poet, Mr. Holt is looking to
take part in the world of arts.
QUENNA LENÉ (Martha
Washington) is a Chicago
native who received her
BFA in Drama from NYU's
Tisch School of the Arts
and a Masters in Applied
Theatre from the University
of Southern California. Recent performances
and projects include Sketchfest at Stage 773,
5 Shades of Brown at the Playground Theater,
Geppetto at the Chicago Cultural Center and
Just Like Horses in the Chicago Musical Theater
Festival. New York credits include: The Vagina
Monologues, The Wilde Thing, John Jesurun's
Red House and Cabaret. She is grateful for this
opportunity to play, move and devise . KLEO
(Keep Loving Each Other).
SARAH LIKEN (Governor
Dinwiddie) is an actor
and improviser, thrilled to
be working with Theater
Unspeakable. In the past, she
has enjoyed performing with
Let's Pretend Entertainment,
Waltzing Mechanics and Red Theater Chicago,
where she is a company member. She regularly
performs with her improv team, Cute Butt. Sarah
has trained at Second City, iO and holds a BFA
in Theater-Performance from the University of
Nebraska, Omaha.
THOMAS WYNNE (King
George) is a professional
actor and acting/movement
teacher in Chicago. He is a
graduate of the renowned
two-year conservatory program
at The Lecoq School in Paris,
France, where he specialized in movement, mask,
mime and clown. He has been a personal acting/
movement coach in both Paris and Chicago, has
been a guest teacher at the University of Georgia,
and currently teaches acting and clown at The
Second City Training Center in Chicago. Thomas
has been working with Theater Unspeakable for
2 years, on and off stage, and is part of the cast
of TU's next production, The Moon Shot, which is
currently in the devising process.
JACOB C. WATSON (Additional Set Design) is
a professional director and scenic designer, whose
work has been seen at theaters such as Piven
Theatre Workshop, Metropolis Performing Arts
Centre, The Chopin, Profiles Theatre, City Lit, Raven
Theatre, the side project, Adventure Stage Chicago,
and The Music Theatre Company as well as in
nontraditional spaces such as homes, churches,
and schools. Jacob holds a B.A. in Theatre from
Northwestern University, where he was awarded
the Aurand Harris Award for Excellence in
Children’s Theatre.
RACHEL K. LEVY (Lighting Designer) is
thrilled to be working with this wonderfully
creative cast and company, Theater Unspeakable.
Her theatrical and concert design highlights
include: Ecstasy (Cole Theatre), Khecari Dance (The
Dance Centre, Chicago), The Language Archives,
Ivanov (Piven Theatre), Piedra de Sol (Getty Villa,
L.A., CA), LA Grand Ensemble (L.A., CA), and the
House of Blues New Orleans (Resident Lighting
Designer). Her assisting credits include: WarHorse
(Vivian Beaumont, NYC and Royal National
Theatre, London, UK), South Pacific National Tour,
"So You Think You Can Dance" Seasons 7-10,
Marriage of Figaro (Walt Disney Concert Hall,
L.A., CA), and Disneyland Mad Hatter Theme Park
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 13
About the Artists
About the
Production
Q & A with
Theater Unspeakable’s
Artistic Director
Marc Frost
Q: HOW DID YOU GET YOUR
START IN THEATER?
A: I’m from Chicago, but studied at
The London International School
for Performing Arts (LISPA), which
is an off-shoot of the Jacques
Lecoq school in Paris. And it was
there that I got my mind blown
by seeing all of the different ways
in which one can explore the
theatrical space and tell a story.
(California Adventures). Additionally, Rachel has
received two Primetime Emmy Award Certificates
for Best Lighting for a Variety, Music, or Comedy
Show ("So You Think You Can Dance" 2011, 2012),
as well as, holds a MFA in Production and Design
from California Institute of the Arts.
SARA BEAMAN (Stage Manager) is a
freelance stage manager based out of Chicago.
Recent projects include Theater Unspeakable's
Moon Shot, tours of The American Revolution
and Superman 2050; Cymbeline with Muse
of Fire Theatre Company; and The Intuit Plays
with Commedia Beauregard. Sara completed
stage management internships for South Coast
Repertory and the Guthrie Theater. She has
also stage managed for Capitol Shakespeare
(Bismarck, ND), Apollon CoCreation Arts (Omaha,
NE), and Nebraska Repertory Theatre (Lincoln, NE).
Sara is originally from North Dakota and has a B.
A. in Directing and Theatre Management from the
Johnny Carson School of Theatre & Film at the
University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
ZACHARY BAKER SALMON (Company
Manager) is Executive Producer for Theater
Unspeakable. He has also served as company
manager on several Theater Unspeakable tours
(recently New York City and Charleston SC). As an
actor, Zachary has appeared in The Mother (5 Jeff
Awards) and The Jungle (remount, 2 Jeff Awards)
with Oracle Productions. In 2015 he adapted and
directed This House Believes the American Dream
is at the Expense of the American Negro, also
with Oracle Productions. Zachary is a founding
member of Area IV Theatre where he starred
in MARCH, From the Nightshade Family, and
Vacation and directed Bear Claw, all original plays
by Hayes Borkowski. More info coming soon at
bakersalmon.com
MARC FROST (Director) is an actor, deviser,
educator and Chicago native who has performed
and produced work in Brazil, Ireland, Spain, the
USA and the UK. He created Theater Unspeakable
in 2010 as a platform for creating original works
of devised, physical theater. He has also taught
workshops in Lecoq, Viewpoints and Clown in
Brazil, the USA and the UK. Marc graduated with
his MFA in Lecoq-based Actor Created Theater from
Naropa University in cooperation with the London
International School of Performing Arts (LISPA).
He currently teaches at Columbia College Chicago
and the Chicago High School for the Arts.
Show Originally Devised by: Brittany Anderson, Parker Arnold, Zachary Baker Salmon, Patrice Foster, Jeffery Freelon, Marc Frost, Kyle Geissler, Jason Hammond,
Trey Hobbs, Kathleen Hoil, Quenna Lené, Katie Mancuso, Aaron Rustebakke, Lyn Scott, Vanessa Valliere, Ryan Westwood, Thomas Wynne
14 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE
Q: HOW DID THEATER
UNSPEAKABLE COME TO BE?
A: One of the things I learned at
LIPSA, in addition to working hard
and always trying to tinker to make
the work as good as possible, was
this exercise called “platform.”
The platform has become the
mode of performance for Theater
Unspeakable in its short six
year history in Chicago. We tell
stories on a 3x7 platform, raised
two feet off the ground so there
is a sense that you’re telling an
entire world, an entire universe,
in this constrained space.
Q: WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT
CONSTRAINT DOES FOR
YOU AS A DIRECTOR?
A: The best way I have described
it is that it is sort of like a living
green screen. When Lecoq came
up with it in the 50’s he called it a
“living comic book.” You have seven
people standing on this rectangular
platform, your eye can imagine a
comic book frame completed across
the top. I didn’t grow up with comic
books – I grew up with TV and Film.
So I really think of the frame as a
cinematic space. You are able to say
to the audience, “We are going to
show you an essential image from
the story so you can understand
the characters and where we are.”
And then, without changing set or
costume, you move from one frame
to the next, changing everything.
Now the person who was George
Washington can be a tree. The
person who was a tree in the last
frame can now be Abigail Adams,
or a desk. The speed is what is so
exciting about the platform – you
really have a lot of freedom.
Q: WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES
OF THIS AESTHETIC?
A: You have to be very specific about
what are the essential ingredients
that are telling us what we are
seeing. There is also the “engine” of
the platform, which is how you have
to get it going, how you keep the
engine running. The platform only
works if you move very quickly from
one image to the next, which is very
much like cinema. If you watch each
frame of a 16millimeter film slowly,
it would get pretty boring after a
while. You want that sense of motion.
Q: HOW DO YOU FIND
YOUR PERFORMERS?
A: We get everyone in the room, we
play around. Then we say, “Now
we’d like everyone to work closely
with another individual.” Then we do
it in small groups, and ask them to
tell the entire story of, in this case,
the American Revolution. Before
it was Superman, and now we are
working on a moonlanding piece. But
to tell the whole story in one minute,
with no words – go! The traditional
talent that a theatre company
might be looking for in terms of the
ability to change into a character
and transport us to another time
and place – we need someone who
can do that times a million. There
is a great sense of play and that,
even more than the platform, is
the hallmark of the company.
Q: FINALLY, WHY THE
AMERICAN REVOLUTION?
A: We had done Superman and
a murder mystery, which were
both genre pieces, and decided
to focus on American history. It’s
been exciting to watch how the
musical Hamilton also goes back
to the origin story of our country,
looking at that moment when we
were united. I was really drawn to
the American Revolution because
I wanted to, in this moment of
partisanship and lack of “reaching
across the aisle,” go back and see
how people of different stripes,
from North and South, from
different political approaches, came
together and created something
that is still with us today. And
that we are still figuring out.
- William Nedved.
Interview has been
condensed and edited.
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 15