Fight Evil!

New Blog-cation. Bloglocation.

We moved our blog over to a fun new location.  I'm posting this so you can update your feeds.

The new location is here.

You can subscribe to our blog in its new home by clicking this link.

The House (t-shirt) on CBS!!!

From the "send us a picture of yourself in a House T-shirt" file...

Kelly Kerwin (or "K1 The Last American" as she is known around The House) shows off her House style on NATIONAL TELEVISION!!!!

Reminds me of the awesome things our own Molly Brennan has done with House swag to make them DIY-a-riffic.

Watch CBS Videos Online

sorry for the weird paragraph format- our webguy is on it!!!

Allison Daniel's Rat King on the Cover of Puppetry International!

Giant congRats to Allison Daniel!

Our dear friend and puppet designer Allison Daniel was just honored by Puppetry International as one of the 40 under 40 puppet designers in the world!  what's more, her design for The Rat King, from The House's Nutcracker, was put on the cover of Puppetry International Magazine! SWEET!

Check it out here: http://unima-usa.org/publications/index.html

You can see more pictures of her work (including all the puppets from The Nutcracker and Arcturus from Dave DaVinci Saves the Universe) here: http://www.onefleacircus.com/

And keep an eye out...we hope to see her designs on a House stage again very soon!

Hope You Saw It Before April 11th!

Hello, Please.

Chris Mathews here.

I'm just...blogging...about the fact that Saturday, April 11th, I go into the extension run of Rose and the Rime.  As I type this, that's less than 24 hours away, and I won't lie, my stomach flutters a little bit with the nerves.  

So what's the scoop?  

As you've probably heard, thanks to the wonderful support we've had from patrons such as yourself, we've been afforded the opportunity to extend the show.  !  This is great!  We are very fortunate.  Thank you.

We are also very fortunate that our amazing cast has been able to re-jigger some of their other commitments around making the extension possible.  It makes for a bit of a wacky schedule, but there's still plenty of opportunity to see the show through May 9th!

All.

Except.

One.

Mike Smith.

Pivotal.

The Pivotal Mike Smith.

So often this guy is the frickin' buttress of whatever show he's in, holding it up like Atlas on his shoulders. He is a pillar of stability and dependability.  Contributive, supportive, and hard-working, a sigh of relief waves through the cast of every show he is announced into.  He was our number one to play Uncle Roger, and his presence within the ensemble and embodiment of the role has been a blessing.  He makes every project better.  When you cast Mike Smith, you're not just casting a delightful, talented, empathetic actor.  You're casting a Soldier.  Of Love.

But so, he is going on to perform in Red Noses at Strawdog, directed by Matt Hawkins, because Matt Hawkins knows all of these previously-mentioned attributes of Mike Smith.  And he's effin' funny.

And because of schedules and availability, and frankly, shirt-size, the torch is being passed...to me.  

I will now be playing Uncle Roger.

[Oprah voice:] VANITY PROJECT!

I...stutter...alot....

The last time I was on stage was at Theatre on the Lake with The Attempters.  Might be a little rusty....  Our shows are so physically demanding, good thing I been doin' my push-ups.  Luckily, Mike Smith is also getting to be an old man, so he carved out for himself the easiest track in the play, so I haven't had to learn or lift all the hard stuff some of the other kids do.  But still.  Daunting.  Any House show.

Good thing everyone else in it is so good.

And, I'm alright, but, I certainly wouldn't compare myself to a "pillar."  I mean, have you seen my legs?

As a writer on the project, I'll have to curb myself from saying all the lines the way I thought they should have been written, and Jake and Nate were smart enough not to let them be written that way.  (They're always bull-dozing my writer-essence.)  I'll probably say one of the lines that Jake wrote and I cut.  Serves me right...he's always...writing lines....

Well, SPEAKING of Lines that have to be SPOKEN, I should probably go learn a few.  There are only like 3 dialogue-driven scenes in the whole play & I'm like, 2 of 'em or something.  I don't even know.

PLEASE

If you have not seen Rose and the Rime, take this opportunity to come check it out.

If you HAVE seen it, Thank You.  And Now would be a great time to Come Back and bring some friends!

And you can be all "Well, the other guy did this, but he did that, and that was okay, but the other guy was really something--really made the whole play come together!"  

And they'll be all, "Oh, I thought this guy was just fiiiiiiine."

And you'll be all, "Oh, you don't know.  You don't know anything about--plays.  I'm breaking up with you.  Pay for your own cab.  Beatrice."

...

Writer-essence.

See You at The House!

We extended! But you knew that, right?

It's official -- Rose and the Rime has extended until May 9th.  We've added an extra 8 shows to our run, starting this Sunday, April 12th.

Come see it once, or come see it again!

And, um, if you think seeing a play twice because you really like it is a little "over the top," check out the t-shirt House superfan Gaby Labotka made.

Does anyone out there have pictures of themselves wearing House shirts at major landmarks: the Great Wall, the Eiffel Tower, the Calder sculpture in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan?

Send them our way!  We're starting a collection.

And come see Rose and the Rime in its last 8 performances.  The Chopin has a bar now.  But you knew that, right?

I Feel Like I'm 22 Again!!!

Holy Crap.

Holy Holy 

Sweet Mother of Pearl

Crap.

The Chopin Theater, current performance home to The House Theatre of Chicago,

just got 

its liquor license.  

!!!

Thank You.

We're all very excited....

Well, so okay.

I was at The Chopin on Sunday night and they had JUST received the license the day before, so their fridge was stocked with only one kind of beer.  Bless it, but this won't do.

What else would we like to see in the cooler?

We all know what the Official Beer of The House Theatre of Chicago is.  Will we finally see it served at an actual House show? 

Since moving here, I've always been particularly loyal to local favorite Goose Island.  It's brewed right here in Chicago.  And I love that cartoon Goose, and how all the beer taps are just different versions of that Goose; sometimes he wears a hat?  Silly Goose.  Honker's Ale is the first beer I ever actually liked.  It's like, when I drank it, I got it, "Oh, beer tastes gud!"  Late bloomer, hence the title of this post.

And we'd be dishonoring Rose and the Rime's Hope College roots if we didn't serve a selection from the New Holland Brewing Company, which is just starting to break into the Chicago market, hallelujah.  

But what else, kids?  

...born-before-the-date-of-March-31st-1988-kids...

Their license is only for beer and wine, and it's pretty obvious which wine they should serve (upstairs, anyway).  But so let's talk beer!

What's your favorite beer?  (aforementioned.  Cliff Chamberlain = green bottles.)

Did anyone see Beer, by the Neo-Futurists?  (I heard it was pretty better-than-great.)

Do you think John Beer will come back to re-review 'Rose' when I go in for Mike Smith? (wishpower.)

Is a theatre blog a good place to talk about beer?  (my email address is chris@thehousetheatre.com)

Happy Tuesday,

We'll see you at The House!

The Buzz on 'Rose'

Some bunny loves us!

You. Must. See. This. Show.  -- Loyola University Arts blog

"Rose and the Rime delivers. It is Aesopic in its morale, and Tolkien-[esque] in its epic journey."
-- Lauren Stacks, Book Ends

"Infectiously joyous..."  -- Julienne Bilker, Chicagoist

"... happily rekindled the 'event' feeling that was so much a part of the ensemble's performances at its former home, the Viaduct."  -- Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times

"House admirably fulfills its mission of using story to create community."
-- Erika Mikkalo, Feminist Review

"Carolyn Defrin has undeniably staked her claim as one of Chicago’s most affecting rising stars."
-- Alissa Norby, HollywoodChicago

"Spectacular staging. Lovely!" -- Elspeth Murray, via Twitter

"When I walked into the theatre, I saw these men and women dressed from head to toe in white and, quite frankly, it made me think 'Oh geez, this is gonna be lame.'  I couldn’t have been more wrong."
--  Brian, The Director Sector

"I'm not a regular theater goer by any means but I think anyone can appreciate the creativity that goes into a production like this."  -- Chia P., via Yelp

"... charms, teases and thrills audience members with its inventive display of acrobatics, song, dance and musical cacophony..."  -- Anna Pulley, CenterStage Chicago

"... magical, elusive, funny and lovely fable from best young theater company in Chicago. Bring your kids."  -- Peter Sagal, via Twitter

"The House has another hit on their hands.  Carolyn is terrific as Rose."  -- Tom Williams, Chicago Critic

"The cast did a marvelous job of storytelling this moral tale. But it is the total package that makes it work."  -- Al Bresloff, The Epoch Times

"Just had a blast at the House Theatre's Rose and The Rime. Gotta love Chi-City Theatre."
-- John Johnson, via Twitter

Some bunny doesn't!

"I appreciated the effort if not the output."  -- Joe Stead, Steadstyle Chicago

"... pairs the company’s flair for lush spectacle with an aggressively juvenile scenario."
-- John Beer, Time Out Chicago

"It’s difficult to cut through the gloss and whimsy to find a story worthy of the images that support it."
-- Lisa Buscani, NewCity

Theater or Gallagher?

Carolyn Defrin received this note after a performance of Rose and the Rime recently:

"Had a such a good time at the show last night. Got snowed on, crawled on and mustard on my pants. Now, THAT's theater! Loved the show.  The House always makes me happy. Thank you."

-Josh Bell, audience member

A 'Rose'-y Walk by the Lake

by House Company Member Mike Smith

At the House we have lots of opening night rituals.  My personal ritual is to spend some time out by the lake on the day of opening before I head off to the theatre.  This time I took my camera with me and snapped a few pictures inspired by Rose and the Rime.  Enjoy.

On a journey.

"She has these claws."
+
The captain's lighthouse.

Witch's claws.

Spring.

Sunshine.

---
View the Flickr set and add your comments to Mike's photos here.

Tonight! Kevin O'Donnell's March Spectacular!

Hello, Please.

Tonight!  The second installment in Kevin O'Donnell's Martyr's series.

Miss the first one?

Make it up tonight!

Martyr's

3855 N. Lincoln Ave

Lincoln Ave & Byron St

Only 8 bucks!

Band kicks off at 8pm.  Get there early for some effin' victuals yall.

Come throw down with us!

Also, the powerHouse Johnny Arena (cause that's where the power comes from!) is in town and it's his birthday!  He'll be there.  WILL YOU!?!!

See you there!

Can't make it?!  Donate $8 to The House anyway!