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Christiansen Takes Center Stage Print E-mail
By Kerry Reid | Theatre   
2:45 PM, March 05, 2010
The Richard Christiansen Theater officially opened on Monday night at Victory Gardens as the theatre critic emeritus for the Chicago Tribune cut a red ribbon on the door of the upstairs studio space at the Biograph, and then took a seat on stage while a host of Chicago theatre luminaries feted—and occasionally gently ribbed—the man widely credited with putting Chicago’s vibrant theatre community on the map.
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Commission: Possible Print E-mail
By Kerry Reid | Theatre   
3:14 PM, February 26, 2010
Getting paid to write is the dream for all writers. But professional playwriting commissions—that seed money that theatres provide to writers in the hope of seeing a new play flower into a full production—carry with them an array of pros and cons, as several playwrights mentioned in the Theatre Development Fund’s much-discussed study “Outrageous Fortune: The Life and Times of the New American Play,” compiled by Todd London and Ben Pesner and released in December of 2009.
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The Ups and Downs of Performing on a Cruise Ship Print E-mail
By Laura Molzahn | Theatre   
2:35 PM, January 29, 2010

Though the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted in 2008 that employment in the performing arts would not grow significantly in the next 10 years, it forecast 15 percent growth in “water transportation services” over the same period, due in part to “increasing tourism” worldwide and the addition of new U.S. cruise lines to Hawaii.

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Special Gifts Theatre Celebrates a Decade of Serving Kids Print E-mail
By Kerry Reid | Theatre   
1:57 PM, January 22, 2010
Susie Field had no bigger goal in mind 10 years ago than getting her quiet college-age sons to communicate a bit more around the dinner table. She made up little cards with questions for each member of the family to answer, and when it was her turn, the question was “What is your secret ambition?” She found herself answering “To run a theatre for special-needs kids.”
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PerformInk's Year in Review Print E-mail
By Carrie L. Kaufman | Theatre   
1:05 PM, December 29, 2009

2009 was a year of shake-ups and shake-outs for Chicago theatre, which burnished its reputation as the best theatre town in America while simultaneously shedding its skin to regenerate. This didn't come without growing pains, as Joan Mazzonelli or Kristine Thatcher or anybody involved with—or who knows someone in—the American Theater Company neé American Blues neé American Theater Company ensemble can attest. But sometimes it's just graceful, as it was when David Zak stepped aside from the company he cofounded and ran for 27 years, leading the way for new ideas and a new Bailiwick.

For us, 2009 was a year of change, too. You are reading this Year in Review issue online, and close to year end; not in a printed paper in the middle of December. Giving up the print edition was hard, but way overdue. And we are working hard to take advantage of the immediacy of online. In the new year, you will see more changes—including searchable listings and audition notices.

In the stories below, four Chicago critics—Kerry Reid, Jonathan Abarbanel, Nina Metz and Kelly Kleiman—will give their takes on the year 2009 in Chicago theatre. I won't take up more space here, except to say we at PerformInk are profoundly grateful to our readers, writers, advertisers and support people. I'd personally like to mention Gonzo Schexnayder and Benton Bullwinkle (yes, their real names) for the work they did on this new site. I'd especially like to thank Kerry Reid, who has shouldered a great deal of the writing work as I've been overseeing this transition. PerformInk Online would not have been a success without her.

Meanwhile, let's look back at 2009. And may 2010 be just as noteworthy for Chicago theatre.

 

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