Yup.

It’s that time, gang.  WNEP is finally getting up offa our collective ass and getting some quality entertainment flung out to your universe.

I hear you.

“What? You guys are still around?”
“Where the hell have you been?”
“Did you just put the word “fucking” in your title?”

Yes.
We were busy having babies, paying bills, living in Portage Park and then not living in Portage Park, ditching our shitty, money-sucking condo, losing jobs, getting jobs, telling stories, having sex, and generally living that thing we consider LIFE.
Yes – you gotta problem with the Music of Obscenity?

After our “sabbatical,” we’re planning some things I think you will be geeked to check out.

First – and indicative of the post title – SKALD13.  Yes, you cannot spit in Chicago and not hit a storytelling event anymore.  Hell, I’m the host of The Moth! Well, SKALD13 is “the longest running annual storytelling competition with a cash prize.”  Chew on that 2nd Story!

Later, look forward to the Home Theater Project – three one-act plays written by Dave Goss, Joe Janes, and Rebecca Langguth explicitly for performance in people’s homes.

Then we have another insane Joe Janes project coming.

We’re 20 years old (which in theater terms is, like, 105 years old).

Get off our lawn and get into a theater.

Tickets for SKALD13 will be posted soon.

To schedule an audition, go here.

And it’s here once again!

The 12th (!!!) Annual SKALD Storytelling Week has arrived.

Monday at 10AM – Amanda Rountree conducts a two-hour storytelling workshop for kids at the Cultural Center (5th Floor, Washington Room)

Tuesday at 6PM – 9PM – Don Hall and Amanda Rountree work with adults to inspire creativity and add structure to your stories and give you a chance to share some with the participants.  We’ll also encourage those that attend to contact and sign up for the various storytelling nights throughout the regular week that have sprouted up throughout the city.

Friday at 7:30PM – DCA Studio Theater – MAELSTROM!  Six improvising SKALDs spin tales based on your suggestions and you vote who walks away with $150.00!

Saturday at 3:00PM – DCA Studio Theater – KidSKALD!!  This one is FREE to the public.

Featuring:

It’s that time again, gang!

SKALD 12: The Twelfth Annual SKALD Storytelling Competition has had our annual auditions and we are ready for the contestants to jump into the ring (actually a stage in the heart of downtown Chicago) and battle it out for bragging rights and cash!

The whole schedule of the week can be found here.

Three contests – 64 stories – it’s on!

FRIDAY, MAY 20 @ 7:30PM
MAELSTROM

Six skalds tell three stories apiece based on the suggestions from the audience.  Then that same audience evaluates the results and crowns one the winner!

Featuring
Regan Davis
Audery Smith
Craig Rennick
Jess Jones
Tom Herman
and
Fuzzy Gerdes

Get Tickets NOW!

SATURDAY, MAY 21 @ 3:00PM
KIDSKALD

Ten young storytellers spin yarns for glory and prizes!

FREE to the Public!

SATURDAY, MAY 21 @ 7:30PM
THE MAIN EVENT – SKALD 12

Ten professional storytellers compete head to head with ten amazing tales!  A panel of expert judges award one the title and $250.00 in cash!

Featuring:
Marsha Harman
Sheri Reda
Scott Whitehair
Robyn Okrant
Brendan Gardiner
Vinnie Lacey
Dave Goss
Peter Athans
Carolyn Hoerdmann
Gabe Garza

Get tickets NOW!

POSTMORTEM

February 11 through March 6, 2011
Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are $15.00 Friday/Saturday, $10 on Sundays

Viaduct Theater Studio
3111 North Western Avenue
(773) 296-6024 for tickets

WNEP Theater is freakin’ proud to present the reprisal of 2000′s hit improvised documentary “Postmortem” at the Viaduct Theater Studio in February and March of 2011.

“Postmortem” is a 75-minute improvised documentary based upon an actual obituary taken from the Chicago Tribune on the day of the show.  The cast of ten then presents scenes and monologues that take us through that person’s life from birth to death.

In 2000, ImprovReview.com said that “Postmortem” was “A startling and well-staged trip to a possible afterlife…moving and emotionally satisfying…” and the Chicago Reader mentioned that “…the talented cast shows off their skills…conveying wit and drama in a truly human manner…a comment on America’s history as wellas that of the individual…”

Since people are asking. . .

Steampunk 585 is incubating – slowly – but sometime next year it will morph into an original piece of theater inspired by Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange. It is slated for production by WNEP Theater AFTER Postmortem and will be developed and executed through a process of collaboration between actors, designers, and me, the director. In true dadaist fashion, we will break the story down and then build it back up, bit by bit, into a minimalist production that will draw upon the central idea of Grotowski’s Poor Theater — that the only ingredient essential to theater is the relationship between actor and audience. In the vein of Artaud’s Theater of Cruelty, one of its goals will be to elicit a visceral reaction from its audience by forcing it to tap into the darker areas of its psyche.

This thing is my brainchild. Anyone who knows or has ever worked closely with me knows that my brain doesn’t exactly function in a way that most people would consider normal. After watching a number of my short films at last month’s Frequency, an audience member approached me and told me they felt like somebody had opened up their head and taken a piss in it. Of course, I took that as a compliment.

The point is, don’t expect Steampunk 585 to give you an evening of wholesome, family entertainment. If you’re looking for such an evening, go see a Neil Simon play.

So. . .

Confused? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. I wish I could hold you and tell you that everything will be o.k., but the truth is I need someone to do that for me. This is kind of a big deal for me.

And with that, I leave you with the following images:

By the way, in case you’re wondering, 585 is the wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum for the color orange.






I love you.
Dave Goss, Managing Director