Event
The Art of Adaptation Festival 2009
City Lit Theater will present The Art of Adaptation, its second annual three-day juried festival of world premieres of short pieces of non-dramatic literature adapted for the stage, Friday and Saturday evenings, May 8 and 9, and Sunday afternoon, May 10, in its theatre at 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue. The adaptation judged best in show will receive a $500 cash prize provided by City Lit.
This year's festival consists of world premiere adaptations of five short stories and two poems, of work by authors as diverse as Dante, Ernest Hemingway, cult fantasy writer Ray Winninger, and e. e. cummings. "I was very impressed with both the quality and range of submissions," festival coordinator Beth Wolf said. "We received dozens of entries, mostly from Chicago adaptors but some from as far afield as Los Angeles and Arizona. These seven are the ones we felt were the strongest, but we could have put together at least two alternate festivals of very strong material if we had wanted to."
The seven adaptations to be performed in this year's festival are:
Pnomus by Ray Winninger, adapted and directed by J. Michael Bestul;
The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allen Poe, adapted and directed by Andrew Boyer;
Dante's Inferno, in a commedia dell'Arte adaptation by Ned Record and Derek Jarvis, directed by Record and Austin Oie;
The Blue Hotel by Stephen Crane, adapted by Greg Aldrich, directed by Rachel Edwards Harvith;
in spite of everything by e. e. cummings, adapted by Brooke M. Christensen and Lauren Smith, directed by Christiansen;
Museum of Love by Ralph Lombreglia, adapted by Ivan Faute, directed by Chris Maher; and
Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway, adapted by Adam Pasen, directed by Jim Schneider.
Each adaptation will be performed twice during the festival. On Friday, May 8, at 8:00 PM, Pnomus, The Oval Portrait, and Dante's Inferno will perform without intermission as an 80-minute program. On Saturday, May 9, at 8:00 PM, The Blue Hotel, in spite of everything, Museum of Love, and Hills like White Elephants will perform without intermission as a 90-minute program. On Sunday, May 10, at 3:00 PM, all seven adaptations will be presented, with intermission, in a marathon performance. Three judges, all Joseph Jefferson award-winning adaptors, will view the Sunday performances and vote to choose the adaptation they consider best. That adaptor will then be presented with the $500 cash prize.
The three judges for The Art of Adaptation are Arnold Aprill, City Lit's co-founder and first artistic director; Mark Richard, City Lit's second artistic director; and Paul Edwards, whose adaptation of Jack Finney's novel The Body Snatchers will make its world premiere as part of City Lit's 2009-2010 season.
Ticket prices for The Art of Adaptation are $10 on Friday and Saturday, May 8 and 9, and $15 for the marathon on Sunday, May 10. Tickets can be reserved by going to www.citylit.org or by calling (773) 293-3682.
City Lit receives funding from the Alphawood Foundation, the Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs CityArts program, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Its outreach program is funded in part by A.R.T. League.
City Lit specializes in literate theatre, including stage adaptations of literary material.
City Lit Theater is located in the historic Edgewater Presbyterian Church building at 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue, one block west of Sheridan Road and a block and a half east of the Bryn Mawr Red Line L stop. The 84 Peterson bus, the 147 Lake Shore Express bus and the 151 Sheridan bus all stop within a few steps of City Lit. Valet parking is available for theatre customers for all performances. Discounted self-parking is available for theatre customers with validation from the Edgewater Beach Caf, located in the Edgewater Beach Apartments building one block east of the theatre.
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LocationCity Lit Theater
1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
Chicago, IL 60660
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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