The creative team behind Lake Como in Rome, Elisabeth Barnick, Melissa Lorraine, and Kevin V. Smith, first came together as the result of Theatre Y's Exiled Trilogy. The endeavor marked the professional directorial debuts of all three collaborators and garnered the following praise: The Chicago Tribune gave "Exiles" 3 out of 4 stars, and Chicago Stage Review called it "an innovative start towards greatness." Of "The Misunderstanding," Chicago Critic said "Highly Recommended! Must see! Kevin V. Smith directs this deftly, unapologetically and in search of a new paradigm for what is considered acceptable theatre in America. Superbly satisfying." "Vincent River" topped numerous 2011 end of the year best of lists including Time Out Chicago's "Top Twelve Ensembles of 2011," WBEZ's "Best Dressed Shows of 2011," and landed the #2 position out of the top ten shows on Chicago Stage Review's "2011: My Year in the Audience." Chicago Reader called "Vincent River" "100 minutes of probing, harrowing, hallucinogenic truth." Following this success, the three felt their efforts merited a continued collaborative artistic home, and thus Lake Como in Rome, taken from Dostoyevsky's "Notes from Underground," was born to herald the three forward in their collective pursuits.
