American Blues Theater

Winner of American Theatre Wing's prestigious National Theatre Company Award, American Blues Theater is a premier arts organization with an intimate environment that patrons, artists, and all Chicagoans call home. American Blues Theater explores the American identity through the plays it produces and communities it serves.

American Blues Theater
Formation1985
TypeTheatre group
Location
  • Chicago
Artistic director(s)
Gwendolyn Whiteside
Websitehttp://www.americanbluestheater.com/

American Blues Theater is an American theater.

American Blues provides community service for many not-for-profits, such as the Lynn Sage Foundation, Chicago Public Schools, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Illinois Farm Bureau, Misericordia, PAWS Chicago, and the USO. Since 2009, they've held food & book drives, distributed promotional tickets, and raised awareness for children's surgeries and health needs. American Blues also donate proceeds from "Pediatric Previews" to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

American Blues Theater's diverse and multi-generational 31-member Ensemble has nearly 600 combined years of collaboration on stage. As of 2020, the theater and artists have 221 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations that celebrate excellence in Chicago theater and 38 Black Theater Alliance Awards.

More than half of the mainstage productions are world and Chicago premieres. Their new play development consists of a variety of programs – including world and Chicago premieres, the nationally recognized Blue Ink Playwriting Award, Blueprint play development, and annual Ripped: the Living Newspaper Festival of new short-plays.[1]

History

1985 - 1997
American Blues Theater was founded in July 1985 by William Payne, Rick Cleveland, Edward Blatchford, and James Leaming. The company dedicated itself to new and classic American plays. Richard Christiansen of the Chicago Tribune cited American Blues as one of three companies in his editorial "Chicago Theater Forges New Standards of Glory."[2] In August 1993, the company leased a warehouse on Byron and Lincoln. In 38 days, James Leaming led a community-based 90+ volunteer crew to transform the space into an intimate 134-seat theater.

1997 - 2009
From 1997-2009, the company was led by Artistic Directors from outside of the Ensemble. Under the leadership of Brian Russell and Damon Kiely ('97-'07), the theater's name changed to American Theater Company (ATC),[3] the mission statement was revised, and the business expanded greatly. In 2008, under new management, the Ensemble theater practice was dismantled. After 18 months of talks with new management, all four Founders and every Ensemble member prior to 2008 chose to leave the ATC organization in March 2009 citing "major administrative and artistic differences."[4]

2009 - Present
The Ensemble immediately reformed under its original name American Blues Theater. Founding Board members reconstituted the Board, giving tremendous support and guidance. Ensemble member Gwendolyn Whiteside became the Artistic Director. Under her leadership, American Blues has expanded the Ensemble and diversified its base of artists. She created the nationally recognized annual Blue Ink Playwriting Award, implemented community service into the company's mission, and adapted the arts education program The Lincoln Project for Chicago Public Schools serving nearly 3,000 students annually.

Current season

Season 35 (2020-21): Breaking Boundaries[5]

  • Fences by August Wilson (postponed to fall 2021 due to COVID-19)[6]
  • It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
  • Alma by Benjamin Benne +
  • Green Day's American Idiot by Billie Joe Armstrong & Michael Mayer (rescheduled from summer 2020 due to COVID-19)[7]

Production History [8]

+ indicates World Premiere production

Season 1 (1985)

Season 2 (1986)

Season 3 (1987)

Season 4 (1988)

Season 5 (1989-1990)

Season 6 (1991)

  • Monsters: Glimpses of Urban Lunacy +

Season 7 (1992)

  • Monsters II: Visiting Hours +

Season 8 (1993)

  • Food From Trash by Gary Leon Hill[16]

Season 9 (1994)

Season 10 (1995-1996)

Season 11 (1996-1997)

Season 12 (1997-1998)[25]

Season 13 (1998-1999)[26]

  • The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill
  • One Day Only by Edward Mast +
  • Pledge of Allegiance by Mark R. Giesser
  • Below the Belt by Richard Dresser
  • La Tectonica de las Nubes/Cloud Tectonics by Jose Rivera (co-production with Centro Cultural Helenico, Mexico City) +

Season 14 (1999-2000)[27]

Season 15 (2000-2001)

Season 16 (2001-2002)

Season 17 (2002-2003)[35]

Season 18 (2003-2004)[36]

Season 19 (2004-2005)

Season 20 (2005-2006)

  • Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams[40]
  • It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
  • St. Scarlet by Julia Jordan[41]
  • Heritage by Brett Neveu[42] +

Season 21 (2006-2007)

Season 22 (2007-2008)[46]

  • I Do! I Do! by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt
  • It's a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
  • Augusta by Richard Dresser
  • Speech & Debate by Stephen Karam

Season 23 (2008-2009)

Season 24 (2009-2010)[51]

  • It's a Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph! by the American Blues Theater Ensemble +
  • Tobacco Road by Jack Kirkland

Season 25 (2010-2011)[52]

  • It's a Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph! by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
  • Rantoul and Die by Mark Roberts

Season 26 (2011-2012)[53]

Season 27 (2012-2013)[54]

  • Illegal Use of Hands by James Still +
  • It's a Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph! by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
  • Collected Stories by Donald Margulies

Season 28 (2013-2014)[55]

  • Hank Williams: Lost Highway by Randal Myler and Mark Harelik
  • It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! by the American Blues Theater Ensemble +
  • American Myth by Christina Gorman
  • Grounded by George Brant

Season 29 (2014–15)[56]

  • Hank Williams: Lost Highway by Randal Myler and Mark Harelik
  • Native Son adapted by Nambi E. Kelley (co-production with Court Theatre) +
  • It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
  • Yankee Tavern by Steven Dietz
  • Side Man by Warren Leight

Season 30 (2015–16)[57]

Season 31 (2016–17)[58]

  • Dutchman by Amiri Baraka & TRANSit by Darren Canady +
  • It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
  • The Columnist by David Auburn

Season 32 (2017–18)[59]

  • Beauty's Daughter by Dael Orlandersmith
  • It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
  • Six Corners by Keith Huff +
  • Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story by Alan James

Season 33 (2018–19)[60]

  • Flyin' West by Pearl Cleage
  • It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
  • On Clover Road by Steven Dietz
  • The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey by James Lecesne
  • The Spitfire Grill by James Valeq & Fred Alley

Season 34 (2019-20)[61]

  • Five Presidents by Rick Cleveland
  • It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
  • Roan @ The Gates by Christina Telesca Gorman
  • Green Day's American Idiot by Billie Joe Armstrong & Michael Mayer (postponed to summer 2021 due to COVID-19)
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gollark: They seem to be going for a "security through obscurity" thing.
gollark: https://foldingathome.org/support/faq/opensource/
gollark: Not open-source I mean.
gollark: No it's not.

References

As of this edit, this article uses content from "Ensemble History", which is licensed in a way that permits reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, but not under the GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.

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