Closing Weekend

It's always sad for us to close a show at Dream Theatre. The ensemble has formed bonds, and we don't know when we'll get to work together again. We've grown to love and admire our characters, even if their stories are scary or sad, and it's difficult to say goodbye to them. I am extremely proud of this production and sincerely hope everyone gets to see these amazing and unique performances.

 

The cast of The Samaritan Syndrome

Meet the cast backstage. 

This is Adam M. Overberg who plays Mr. Suit, the lead role in The Samaritan Syndrome. He wants to be the next Dr. Who, but right now will settle for touring the Chicago Storefront & Fringe theatre scene performing in back to back shows in 2013.

This is Megan Merrill. She plays Night Nurse and costume designed the show. She continuously graciously smiles every time someone says to her "hello nurse" even when it gets old, because, let's face it, she looks FANTASTIC in her nurse costume. She will also melt your heart through a sensitive hardness with this character. Megan is also a writer, dancer, freelance Russian/English translator, model, and a member of Dream Theatre Company. She would love to be a lingerie designer. (She's also an amazing mom and cook!)

 This is Hasket Morris who plays Charming. He is also the only person who has been in all three of Dream Theatre's plays in 2013, first as the character based on H.H. Holmes in LIGHTS OUT, EVERYBODY, then as the Dogmaster in AMLETH. He's a great character actor and also consistently the funniest person in the dressing room. And when working on THE SAMARITAN SYNDROME, we all can use a few laughs. 

This is the vivacious Kristi Parker-Barnhart. She is one of the three in the rotating cast of Patients that play Saint, Ada and Grace. Here she is made up and ready to play Grace. She hails from Oklahoma and meets and exceeds the stereotype of southern charm. Her enthusiasm and character have made her a wonderful addition to this ensemble.

Meet Hisako Sugeta. She is another of the Patient rotating cast members, here she is as Saint. Hisako has travelled all over the world and is from Japan. She is our youngest cast member. She is incredibly captivating on stage. You can't look away! She works with Redmoon down the street. She's always willing to try anything and participates with eagerness and skill. She brings a special uniqueness to each of the roles.

Here is our third ensemble Patient, Ophelia Thorne. We also call her Megan Norman. Here she is getting ready to play Ada, and she also understudied NightNurse. She hasn't been around on stage in Chicago recently, however she has been all over the modeling scene. She is intensely creative and does a lot of  her own styling and makeup on photo shoots. She may tower over all of us in her giant platform shoes, but her Gothic fashion can't conceal her compelling natural style of acting as well as her joyous, whimsical sparkle.

This is Dana Von. She helped with pretty much everything in this production including making some props and even understudying the role of Saint. She always helps us see when we are all taking ourselves too seriously and also helps us all bring out the inner children within us.

And that's me - Anna. I play Pepper in the play and I also directed this ensemble. 

Glad you could meet us backstage, now see the show onstage now through June 30!

Reviews of LITTLE DUCK & SAMARITAN SYNDROME

“It takes the form of a confessional, his story jumping from trigger to trigger, forming a patchwork of childhood trauma and emotional abuse and culminating in a recount of the moment that seals his fate. As a writer, specificity is one of Menekseoglu’s greatest strengths. Little Duck is a remarkably vivid character, and each detail of his life feels credible. Menekseoglu takes on the role himself, and he commands your attention and sympathy throughout” -Aeneas Sagar Hemphill, TimeOut Chicago

“a relentless vision of a paranoid, deranged man, contains moments of inspiration” —Suzanne Scanlon, Chicago Reader

“Overberg’s enigmatic Suit skulks from horrifically-damaged girl to horrifically-damaged girl, the play becoming a funhouse of pain and trauma, impressively brutal”, “The actors all give wonderful performances, and the design—the bright sterile lighting, the white and gray palette—perfectly captures a sleek institutional horror.”  -Aeneas Sagar Hemphill, TimeOut Chicago

“In The Samaritan Syndrome, Menekseoglu takes on the parasitic relationship between patient and doctor, illness and health, pathology and caretaking. It's intriguing”, “Are we meant to sympathize with these traumatized young women?” —Suzanne Scanlon, Chicago Reader

Dream Theatre 

Double Feature at Dream Theatre - rhyme of the day

A blogger and frequent audience member saw opening night performance of THE BALLAD OF LITTLE DUCK & THE SAMARITAN SYNDROME last night. He had some great things to say:

The Ballad Of Little Duck is a one-man show about a broken man. The basement space has been convincingly transformed into an outdoor spot in a railroad yard, complete with steadily dripping water. It's a tale of a man driven mad, told in an apparently rambling stream-of-consciousness style, but with a clear story that is revealed bit by bit until the chilling conclusion is reached. It's got a bit of that Southern Gothic quality of a gritty based-in-reality horror tale. Jeremy Menekseoglu always compels attention, riding a roller coaster of emotion, funny and then pitiable, stupid and then cunning. He has created a character that stays with you. Rachel Martindale directed, evidently with a sure touch, because I felt no false notes.

Read his blog here:

http://johnjenright.blogspot.com/2013/06/drama-on-two-levels.html?m=0

OPENING THIS THURSDAY

Dream Theatre presents two plays by Jeremy Menekseoglu dealing with the perilous quest for redemption. In THE BALLAD OF LITTLE DUCK, a beaten and broken man is forced to relive his conscience-stricken past after his baby is taken away and his girlfriend abandons him. In THE SAMARITAN SYNDROME, a man visits the women's ward of a mental hospital (which nightly converts into a brothel catering to client's perverse need to "save" the un-savable) in order to rescue a girl who he believes can rescue him from his childhood demons. Due to the adult nature of these plays, they are intended for mature audiences only.

opens this Thursday, June 6
Dream Theatre Company