Sideshow Theatre & Rivendell Theatre Present SOMETHING CLEAN

Sideshow Theatre Company and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble present the Midwest premiere of Selina Fillinger’s breathtaking new drama SOMETHING CLEAN, directed by Lauren Shouse, playing June 16 – July 21, 2019 at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.victorygardens.org, by calling (773) 871-3000 or in person at the Victory Gardens Box Office.

SOMETHING CLEAN will feature Patrick Agada, Mary Cross and Guy Massey.

Charlotte has been a mother for nineteen years, a wife for three decades and a respectable community member her entire life. But when her son is incarcerated for sexual assault, Charlotte is forced to reckon with a brand new identity, both public and private. Desperate to find a way back to who she was, she seeks out work at a sexual assault crisis center and meets Joey, a volunteer coordinator and a survivor of assault himself, who allows her a glimpse of who she might be able to become. Can she find a new understanding of who she is? Or has someone else’s crime defined her forever? Inspired by today’s headlines, Selina Fillinger’s breathtaking new drama follows one woman’s struggle to make sense of her own grief, intimacy, culpability and consent.

Comments Sideshow artistic director Jonathan L. Green, "Selina's exquisite play is the fifth premiere to come out of our commissioning program, The Freshness Initiative, and we're so happy to be collaborating with our friends at Rivendell, whose mission aligns with our own so well in this case, to bring it to life in Chicago."

Rivendell Artistic Director Tara Mallen adds, “This new play unflinchingly exposes the complexities of a mother struggling to reconcile her guilt and rebuild her family after her son’s horrific act. Selina’s profoundly resonant voice offers our audiences a new perspective on what it is to bear your children’s sins and Rivendell is excited to be a part of sharing this provocative new work with Chicago audiences.”

The production team includes: Arnel Sancianco (scenic design), Noël Huntzinger (costume design), Diane Fairchild (lighting design), Eric Backus(sound design), Jonathan Berg-Einhorn (props design), Gina M. Di Salvo (dramaturg), Jennifer Aparicio (production manager) and Casie Morell (stage manager).

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: SOMETHING CLEAN

Playwright: Selina Fillinger

Director: Lauren Shouse

Cast (in alphabetical order): Patrick Agada (Joey), Mary Cross (Charlotte) and Guy Massey (Doug).

Location: Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago

Dates: Previews:Sunday, June 16 at 2:30 pm and Wednesday, June 19 at 8 pm

Press Performance: Thursday, June 20 at 8 pm

Gala Opening: Friday, June 21 at 8 pm

Regular run: Friday, June 21 – Sunday, July 21, 2019

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 2:30 pm. Please note: there will not be a performance on Thursday, July 4; there will be added performances on Wednesday, July 3 at 8 pm and Saturday, July 13 at 2:30 pm.

Tickets: Previews: Pay-what-you-can (online or at the door). Regular run: $20 – $30. Students/seniors/industry: $15 for all performances (excluding opening). Tickets are currently available at www.victorygardens.org, by calling (773) 871-3000 or in person at the Victory Gardens Box Office.

About the Creative Team:

Selina Fillinger (Playwright) is an LA-based actress and writer. She is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, where she studied playwriting under the instruction of Laura Schellhardt. Something Clean was commissioned for Sideshow Theatre’s Freshness Initiative and workshopped in Roundabout’s Underground Reading Series. Other work includes Faceless (Northlight Theatre premiere, Joseph Jeff Award-nominated, regional productions at Zeitgeist Theatre, St. Louis Repertory Theatre and Park Theatre in London) and The Armor Plays: Cinched/Strapped (Available Light’s Next Stage Initiative, Alley All New, upcoming production at Theatre Three.) Selina is a 2018 recipient of South Coast Repertory’s Elizabeth George Commission and Manhattan Theatre Club’s Sloan Commission.

Lauren Shouse (Director) is thrilled to return to Rivendell after directing The Cake and Sideshow after the Freshness Initiative reading of Something Clean. Lauren is the Associate Artistic director at Northlight Theatre and a Jeff nominated director. Her recent directing credits include: What We're Up Against with Compass Theatre, The Legend of Georgia McBride at Northlight Theatre, Nice Girl and Betrayal at Raven Theatre; Avenue Q, Rapture, Blister, Burn, Superior Donuts, and A Christmas Story at Nashville Repertory Theatre, Long Way Down with 3Ps productions; Religion and Rubber Ducks with Ovvio Arte; Parallel Lives, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Last Five Years and Chess in Concert with Street Theatre Company; Rear Widow at Chaffin's Barn Theatre, and Sylvia Plath’s 3 Women. She received her MFA in theatre directing at Northwestern University where she directed Stop Kiss, Eurydice and In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play. In Chicago, Lauren has also worked with Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Route 66, The Gift, Chicago Dramatists, and Stage Left Theatre. www.laurenshousedirects.com

About Sideshow Theatre Company:

Sideshow Theatre Company: Theatre for the Curious. It is the mission of Sideshow Theatre Company to mine the collective unconscious of the world we live in with limitless curiosity, drawing inspiration from the familiar stories, memories and images we all share to spark new conversation and bring our audiences together as adventurers in a communal experience of exploration.

Over its 10+ year history, Sideshow is proud to have distinguished itself as a vital member of the Chicago theatre community. Sideshow was awarded the 2016 Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award by the League of Chicago Theatres. Sideshow is a multiple Jeff Award-winning theatre and has been listed on the “Best of” lists in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018 by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, Time Out Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times. Sideshow continues its multi-year residency at Victory Gardens in the historic Biograph Theater in the 2018/19 season.

Sideshow is also the producer of Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLLAW), a wildly popular fundraiser held in benefit of Sideshow Theatre Company and other local community organizations. CLLAW has been featured in local and national press, including The Washington Post, Reuters and the Chicago Sun-Times and on WGN Morning News, ABC 7’s Windy City Live and CBS 2. The next CLLAW match will be held Saturday, July 27, 2019. For more information about CLLAW, visit cllaw.org.

For additional information on Sideshow Theatre Company, visit sideshowtheatre.org.

About Rivendell Theatre Ensemble

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble is a professional company dedicated to advancing the lives of women through theatre.

Rivendell was born out of a specific need: women theatre artists are vastly underrepresented in American theatre, a situation which limits the range of stories produced for audiences. This situation skews our perception of the American experience toward a predominantly male perspective presented by men and it limits career opportunities for women artists - which helps perpetuate the disparity. Rivendell’s mission counteracts these circumstances by providing women theatre artists a creative home where they can nurture, develop, and produce their craft and by producing plays where audience see new voices and stories, including, in many cases, their own.

Since our first production in 1994, Rivendell has staged 48 plays and been honored with 30 Joseph Jefferson nominations and 8 awards. We are a national force in new play development and a home for women theatre artists.

In 2011 Rivendell took up residence in its first permanent home, in Chicago's north side Edgewater neighborhood. This development has enabled significant expansion of the company's programming, from itinerate productions created one at a time to the full three-show seasons, arts education programs, ongoing new play development, and numerous opportunities to provide the audience with more access to the art and artists.

For additional information on Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, rivendelltheatre.org