 Aline Lathrop ...And Eat It Too |
 Gail Parrish Leavings |
 Barbara Lhota Girl Found |
 Mary Beth Hoerner The Charisma of Flying Saucers |
 Our Sponsor/Partner The Greenhouse Theater Center |
Aline Lathrop ...And Eat It Too |
Gail Parrish Leavings |
Barbara Lhota Girl Found |
Mary Beth Hoerner The Charisma of Flying Saucers |
Our Sponsor/Partner The Greenhouse Theater Center |
 All performances were held at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago 60614. |
We have a tie for the winner of our annual Dionysos Cup Festival of New Plays! Leavings by Gail Parrish and Girl Found by Barbara Lhota! The plays in the festival were ...And Eat It Too by Aline Lathrop, directed by Hutch Pimentel, Josh Altman, Dramaturg; Leavings by Gail Parrish, directed by Helen Young, Maggie Carlin, Dramaturg; Girl Found by Barbara Lhota, directed by Dan Foss, Sarah Laeuchli, Dramaturg; and The Charisma of Flying Saucers by Mary Beth Hoerner, directed by Rachel Ramirez, JD Caudill, Dramaturg. Rachel Ramirez is also the Festival Producer. Aaron Arbiter, Festival Assistant. Artistic Director: Richard Engling About the plays. The Schedule: Thursday, July 9 @ 7:30pm: ...And Eat It Too Friday, July 10 @ 7:30pm: Leavings Saturday, July 11 @ 7:30pm: Girl Found Sunday, July 12 @ 2:30pm: The Charisma of Flying Saucers Thursday, July 16 @ 7:30pm: Girl Found Friday, July 17 @ 7:30pm: ...And Eat It Too Saturday, July 18 @ 7:30pm: The Charisma of Flying Saucers Sunday, July 19 @ 2:30pm: Leavings Tickets were $10 per individual play or $15 for a full festival pass. |
| The four scripts were performed twice over two weekends. The selected playwrights received two initial critiques in February/March followed by time and support in revising their scripts before rehearsals began for the workshop readings. The performances were then followed by open discussions that provided the playwrights with feedback from the cast, crew and a live audience. Past participating playwrights have hailed the Dionysos Cup as one of the most valuable script development processes of its kind. |
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We model the festival after the City Dionysia, the ancient Greek festival that honored the god Dionysos with new drama. Like the original, this festival will be a competition, with the audience deciding who will receive the Dionysos Cup. Accompanied by a bottle of wine, the Dionysos Cup itself is a one-of-a-kind blown glass artwork created for the occasion by local artist and Polarity patron, James Hobart. Polarity regularly takes Dionysos Cup scripts to full production, including the 2015 production of Anna in the Afterlife by Richard Engling, Miracles in the Fall by Chuck O'Connor in 2014, the Jeff-winning Never the Bridesmaid by Bill Jepsen in 2013, Ephemera by Bryce Wissel and Kabulitis by Keith Anwar, both in 2011, The Good Harvest by Lisa Rosenthal in 2010, and The White Airplane by Darren Callahan in 2009. Other Dionysos Cup scripts to reach world premiere productions include Savage Land by Josh Nordmark (titled Liars of Us All in the Dionysos Cup) produced by Nothing Special Productions in 2008 and Ghost Gardens by Steven Simoncic (titled Once Upon a Time in Detroit in the Dionysos Cup) produced by Pegasus Theatre in 2015. Octagon by Kristiana Colón (the 2014 Dionysos Cup winner) is scheduled for a September/October 2015 production at London's Arcola Theatre produced by Supporting Wall in association with Tabula Rasa Theatre. How to Vote Voting took place after the final performance on Sunday, July 19th. 
About the Plays ...And Eat It Too by Aline Lathrop Sheila and Naomi are two young HIV research scientists who make opposite professional choices when they become mothers. But each must face new challenges to her marriage and to her sense of worth, as she tries to find her own way in this world of antiquated maternal expectations and modern opportunities that come with a price. The play asks how a mother, or anyone else today, may define important, meaningful work. Cast: Sheila - Shelley Nixon, Naomi - Brennan Stacker, Doug - John Luzar, Mark - Julian Hester. Leavings by Gail Parrish FESTIVAL WINNER! On her 111th birthday, the oldest woman from Mississippi is scheduled to speak to the governor, a descendent of her family's slaveholders. Believing that her family's many problems are caused by the unsettled and meddling ghosts of the past, Miss Bea sets out to convince the conservative governor to travel with her to the old homestead to settle the spirits before its too late. Cast: Thersa - Marisa Baldwin-Woodhouse, Mis Bea - Regina Whitehead-Mays, Benny/Rafe - Geno Walker, Chareese/Tempe/Sally - Taylor Raye, Loren/Ellen - Laura Stephenson, Abijah/Stanley Skinner - Ben Veatch, Oseola/Ben/Q/Host - Kevin Patterson, Slave Trader/Arthur/Assistant/Will/Conductor - Jake Baker, Stage Directions - Andrea Hearon. Girl Found by Barbara Lhota FESTIVAL WINNER! A seventeen year-old girl who mysteriously went missing four years ago turns up in a youth shelter in Canada, with no memory of where she's been. Soon she recalls a name, Sophia Sobin, and a life she wants back. Her aunt, Ellie, and troubled mother, Eva, welcome her home, but subtle changes in Sophia's demeanor make others question. Who are you if you cannot remember your past? Sophia revives her damaged family, but chaotic past events bubble beneath the surface. Inspired by true life events, Girl Found explores how perceptions can be distorted in the desperate pursuit of primal love. Cast: Sophia Sobin - Galya Loeb, Ellie Sobin - Lisa Herceg, Eva Sobin - Laura Sturm, Noah Evans - Lionel Gentle, Dr. Martha Cole/Sam Ryan/Jane Frank/Jinx - Stephanie Sullivan, Yasmen/Alex Lee/Charlene Manning - Taylor Raye. The Charisma of Flying Saucers by Mary Beth Hoerner It's 1958, New Mexico, and people are seeing funny things in the sky. The father of modern psychology can't explain it, and neither can the Reverend, the Sheriff, the Crackpot, the Major, or D., a woman who may have fallen from the sky. She can't remember. Join the cast of The Charisma of Flying Saucers as they try to figure out what, if anything, is out there, and how would it affect your life if you knew the answer? Cast: Sheriff - Mike Newquist, D. - Laura Berner Taylor, David - Rich Holton, Major Vale - Rian Jairell, Dr. Speck - Charles Palia, Carl Jung - Richard Engling, Professor Turnbull - Mario Aivazian, Jay Allan - Jake Baker, Patsy - Maria Margaglione. The Dionysos Cup is in keeping with our mission to develop new work. The Polarity in our name refers to the poles of the classic and the brand new as well as the stage and the page. Polarity has published two volumes of plays and two novels to date. Special thanks to The Greenhouse Theater Center for sponsoring The Dionysos Cup Festival of New Plays. Polarity Ensemble Theatre is a member of the League of Chicago Theatres. |
