And the world of cinema scholarship also got a little dimmer this month. Miriam Hansen, who founded the cinema and media studies department at the University of Chicago, died on February 5 at age 61. Hansen, particularly known for her 1991 book, “Babel and Babylon: Spectatorship in American Silent Film,” was not only a scholar of film itself (particularly early silents), but also of the cultural significance of the film audience. Our condolences to her family, friends, colleagues, and the many cineastes she has inspired.

We may be having a false spring this week, but the rash of season announcements for 2011-12 prove that the real one will be here soon. Goodman Theatre scores the local premieres of John Logan’s Tony Award-winning portrait of painter Mark Rothko, Red and David Mamet’s Race, and will also present the world premiere of Danai Gurira’s The Convert, about missionaries in 19th century South Africa. The latter received a reading in the Goodman’s recent New Stages festival, and Gurira’s Eclipsed continues through this weekend at Northlight Theatre . Spanish director Calixto Bieito, best known for avant-garde opera stagings, makes his American theatre debut at the Goodman with a new production of Tennessee Williams’ Camino Real, and Regina Taylor’s musical, Crowns, will get a revival. (And of course they’ll be doing A Christmas Carol.)

Logan, a longtime ensemble member of Victory Gardens , will also see his show at the Goodman included as part of the VG subscription series. Also announced for the Biograph stage is the regional premiere of one-time local writer Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room or the vibrator play, which was a Pulitzer finalist and Tony nominee; Theresa Rebeck’s What We’re Up Against, about gender wars in corporate America; and We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Hero of Namibia, Formerly Known as South-West Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915, by Jackie Sibblies Drury, which grew out of VG’s 2010 Ignition Festival. (No word on whether they will be initiating a capital campaign to fund all the extra letters needed on the marquee.)

Smaller companies are also announcing their upcoming line-ups. Mortar Theatre Company kicks off their second season in April with Samuel D. Hunter’s I Am Montana, about the return of a traumatized Israeli Army vet to Big Sky Country. In May, they’ll continue their explorations of the American west with Jamye McGhan’s Mother Bear, in which a union organizer attempts to recruit truckers in Utah. Both shows are at the Athenaeum. Their new-works “Graphite Series” will take place March 21-22 at Steep Theatre with Wendell Etherly’s Mr. Welfare, about a Chicago tavern owner in the 1960s who provides shelter for some local homeless people.

Hubris Productions opens John Pielmeier’s Agnes of God on March 12 at the Greenhouse Theater , followed by Steve Martin’s version of The Underpants, adapted from the 1910 German farce by Carl Sternheim, in June. The season closes with the local premiere of All Childish Things by Joe Zettelmaier, about a group of fans planning a heist of Star Wars memorabilia.

And popular shows are adding performances. Next Theatre runs J.T. Rogers’ Madagascar through February 27. First Folio Theatre has added performances of Blithe Spirit on February 26, February 27, and March 5. American Theater Company keeps serving up The Big Meal, Dan LeFranc’s story of a family across generations and the dinner table, through March 20. The Annoyance Theatre extends the musical-on-the-slopes, Skiing is Believing, through April 9. You can still book Travels with My Aunt at Writers Theatre through April 10. And those great balls of fire at the Apollo Theater aren’t cooling down anytime soon (er, you know what I mean). Million Dollar Quartet is set to go through September at least—and the London production opens on February 28.

Fundraisers are also peeping up through the melting snow banks. Children’s Theatre of Western Springs presents a new stage adaptation of Al Capone Does My Shirts (we “Boardwalk Empire” fans get a little nervous at that prospect) from February 25-March 6. On February 26, the author of the Newberry Honor book, Gennifer Choldenko, who happens to be the granddaughter of TWS founder Mary Cattell, joins the company for a performance and post-show fundraiser. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for kids, and can be reserved at 708/246-3380 or online.

Remy Bumppo honors founding artistic director James Bohnen at the “What’s Past Is Prologue” benefit on Sunday, February 27, noon-3:30 p.m. at the University Club of Chicago, 76 E. Monroe. Raffles, silent auctions, a luncheon, and special tributes to Bohnen will be on hand to honor his 14 seasons of leadership. Tickets range from $135-$200 for individual tickets to $2,000-$3,000 for tables of 10. Call 773/244-8119 or go online for more information.

You can support the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre ’s School of the Performing Arts and enjoy beverages that are illegal for their target demographic at the same time on March 6. A wine tasting with hors d’oeuvres and a raffle begins at 6 p.m. at Peggy Kinnane’s, across the street from Metropolis. Babysitting services are available, tickets are $45 a pop, and reservations can be made online or at 847/577-2121.

American Blues Theater celebrates the centenary of Tennessee Williams on March 8 with a benefit performance of American Blues—Collected One-Acts by Williams. E. Faye Butler performs at a pre-show VIP reception from 5-6 p.m. The four plays are Moony’s Kid Don’t Cry, The Dark Room, The Case of the Crushed Petunias, and The Unsatisfactory Supper. The directors include Dennis Zacek of Victory Gardens , former American Theater Company artistic director Damon Kiely, Steve Scott of the Goodman, and VG’s Andrea J. Dymond. The all-star line-up of ABT ensemble members and vets includes Steve Key, Gwendolyn Whiteside, Cheryl Graeff, Sandra Marquez, James Leaming, Dawn Bach, John Mohrlein, Kevin R. Kelly, Nambi E. Kelley, and Suzanne Petri. VIP tickets are $175, general admission tickets are $125, and both can be reserved at 312/725-4228 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . In other ABT news, they’ve added eight new ensemble members: Sarah Burnham, Brian Claggett, Laura Coover, Jaclyn Holsey, Samantha Jones, Nambi E. Kelley, Steve Key, and Sarah Ross. And they’ve also added six artistic affiliates: Emanueal Buckley, Austin Cook, Kristin DeiTos, Warren Levon, Kelli Marino, and Wandachristine.

“Viva Las Lifeline” raises funds for Lifeline Theatre on March 9. Games of chance and Rat Pack-style crooning, cocktails, and noshes fill the Chicago Cultural Center’s Preston Bradley Hall from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Tix are $125 in advance, $150 at the door, and can be reserved at 773/761-4477 or online.

Redmoon Theatre returns with its annual dining-and-visuals spectacular, “Spectacle Lunatique,” on March 12. Participating chefs include Paul Kahan of Blackbird, Jessica Oloroso of Black Dog Gelato, BOKA’s Giuseppe Tentori, Jimmy Bannos Jr. of The Purple Pig, and many more. It runs 6:30 p.m.-1 a.m. at Redmoon Central, 1463 W. Hubbard. Tickets include various packages of perks, ranging from $175 for individuals to $650 for couples. (Corporate  packages are also available at “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it” prices.) Or the budget-conscious can do the late-night $50 ducat, which will get you in from 10:30 to closing. Call 312/850-8440, ext. 100 or reserve online.

Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus has a big package for you. (Hey, they said it, not me!) On March 26, the group hosts its third annual “Big Package Auction” at Sidetrack 3349 N. Halsted, 5-8 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door. Reserve online.

And speaking of eye candy, “Glee” star Matthew Morrison headlines the Goodman Theatre ’s May 21 gala fundraiser. But getting close to that star power will cost ya—individual tickets start at $500. (See previous note on Redmoon re: corporate table pricing.) The proceeds, appropriately enough, benefit the Goodman’s educational and community education programs. Call 312/443-3811, ext. 586 if you’re willing to drop the coinage.

Playwright Yussef El Guindi, known locally from productions of Back of the Throat and Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith with Silk Road Theatre Project , receives the biennial “Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award,” sponsored by Silk Road, San Francisco’s Golden Thread Productions, and New York’s Lark Play Development Center. The award comes with a $10,000 commission to write a new play on a subject of the author’s choice, artistic development support for two years, and possible productions with Silk Road and Golden Thread.

Adventure Stage Chicago is the first Illinois organization to receive the national EmcARTS Innovation Lab Grant. The Lab provides immersive instruction in new technologies and programming. ASC plans to use its $39,000 purse in grant funding and year-long guided facilitation services in order to create deeper collaborations between ASC artists and the community in addressing issues of cultural heritage and identity.

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble moves closer to the goal of finishing its new home in Edgewater with a $37,500 Performing Arts Venue (PAV) grant from the MacArthur and Richard H. Driehaus Foundations. They plan to open the 50-seat space at 5779 N. Ridge in time for their 2011-12 season. Meantime, their production of Madeleine George’s Precious Little, directed by Julieanne Ehre, opens March 1 at the DCA Storefront Theater.

Gotta Dance! Plenty of new dance performances to watch out for. The Seldoms explore the economic blow-out in “Stupormarket,” running this weekend at Stage 773. The performance on Saturday is followed by a “New York or Bust” after-party to raise money to take the new piece to Joyce SoHo in June.

The Academy Trainees of the Joffrey Ballet show off their chops in the “Creative Force Spring Showcase” on March 6 at the Harris Theater, featuring world premieres by Francisco Avina and Amy E. Hall, winners of the Joffrey’s Choreographers of Color Award. Academy artistic director Alexei Kremnev also choreographs three additional works.

Luna Negra Dance Theater showcases fresh voices in contemporary Latino dance on March 12, also at the Harris, with North American premieres of pieces by Fernando Hernando Magadan and Luis Eduardo Sayago Alonso, as well as a revival of “Flabbergast” by artistic director Gustavo Ramirez Sansano.

“I wanna be a producer/sport a top hat and a cane.” Well, you’re on your own for the accessories, but if you want to get the skinny on producing, the Chicago Producing Intensive Conference, co-presented by the Commercial Theater Institute and the League of Chicago Theatres , returns March 11-13 at the Goodman. Speakers include Martha Lavey of Steppenwolf, Eileen LaCario from Broadway in Chicago, Paul Libin from Jujamcyn Theatres, Kate Lipuma of Writers’ Theatre, Stuart Oken of Elephant Eye Theatrical, Michael Ritchie from Center Theatre Group, Roche Schulfer of Goodman, and many more. Registration rates are $285 per person for League members, $360 for non-members, and you can register online at commercialtheaterinstitute.com.

You can get a quick lesson in “The Alternative History of Chicago Theater (Abridged) at the Chopin Theatre on Wednesday, March 2, 7 p.m. WBEZ is the main force behind this evening, which features “Dueling Critics” Jonathan Abarbanel and Kelly Kleiman and a panel of Chicago theatre practitioners and critics, including Albert “Bill” Williams (longtime theatre editor and critic with the Chicago Reader); Kate Buddeke of American Blues Theater ; and Dennis Zacek of Victory Gardens . It’s $15 general admission, less if you’re a student or a WBEZ member. Get the seedy back-story along with original pieces by BoyGirlBoyGirl, Robot vs. Dinosaur, the Plagiarists, RoShamBo Theatre, and South Side educational troupe, Tofu Chitlin’ Circuit.

Registration is now open for Columbia College Chicago’s international symposium on Chicago theatre, running May 18-22. Registration is $95 through February 27, $125 afterward. You can register online at www.colum.edu/theatresymposium.

Stage 773 hosts the Process Theatre Group’s “21st Century Sideshow” festival of new plays, created by the ensemble and directed by Second City veteran instructor Michael J. Gellman, February 21 and 28. See such creatures as “the Decaying Hedonist,” “The Human Vendor,” and “The Caged Siren” come to life before your eyes! Tickets online or at 773/327-5252.

Museum of Contemporary Art concludes “Fluxfest Chicago” this weekend, with homages to, and re-creations of, classic Fluxus pieces, including films, scores, and solo performances from the movement that gave the world Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, and other highly influential 20th century experimental artists. The complete schedule is at http://do312.com/event/2011/02/15/fluxfest-chicago.

Chicago Fringe Festival announces the results of the 2011 lottery, determining who will participate in this year’s festival, at a party on February 27 at TEMPLE Gallery, 1749 S. Halsted. Doors open at 3:30 p.m., with the lottery beginning at 4. A total of 50 shows will be selected (five more than in last year’s inaugural festival).

Hobo Junction Productions seeks scripts for their third annual “Hobo-Robo New Comedic Works Festival: Robots in Space.” Send a 10-minute (7-10 page) script with a science-fiction theme that is “original, creative, fresh, and above all, ridiculous” by March 7 to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , with “Playwright” in the subject line.

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