Production History, 1998-2011 Archive
HAMLET
May, 2011
THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES
March, 2011 (Young Actors’ Program)
December, 2010
May, 2010
February, 2010 (Young Actors’ Program)
December, 2009 (Young Actors’ Program)
November - December, 2009
MARTIN PIPPIN IN THE APPLE ORCHARD
April, 2009 (Young Actors’ Program)
June, 2009
December, 2008
November, 2008 (Young Actors’ Program)
May-June, 2008 (Young Actors’ Program)
Apr-May, 2008
March, 2008 (Young Actors’ Program)
Nov-Dec, 2007
Dec, 2007 (Young Actors’ Program)
Spring 2007
May, 2007 (Young Actors’ Program)
Fall 2006
Spring 2006
Fall 2005
Spring 2005
Fall 2004
LIFE IS A DREAM
Spring 2003
HAMLET
Spring 2002
Fall 2001
THE TEMPEST
Spring 2001
THE MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT
Fall 2000
ROMEO AND JULIET
Spring 2000
ODDKINS
Fall 1999
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Spring 1999
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Fall 1998
ANCIENT HISTORY:
When Karen Fort became director, in late 1998, Chase Park Theater began to hold open auditions, with audition notices listed in the trade papers. The high caliber of trained actors drew other experienced theater artists. Chase Park Theater has helped boost individual careers and spawn new theater companies. At the same time, teenagers off the street, seniors from the neighborhood, and children from the afternoon classes have participated in our productions. Ms. Fort departed this engagement in September, 2011 and is no longer affiliated with the Chicago Park District.
Prior to Karen’s arrival, James Lynch directed Our Town and Twelve Angry Men. Before that, under Wayne Worley and others, Chase Park Theater subscribers enjoyed comedies and musicals, which were sometimes transferred to Theater On the Lake. Instructors at Chase include Howard Witt, a veteran successful Chicago actor.
Arts partners at this site have included Babes with Blades and Plasticene Theatre Company: Dexter Bullard, artistic director.
This program has been in operation for over 30 years, serving our neighborhood and Chicago with drama instruction and fully staged, semi-professional productions. The origins of the program are lost in time, but the existence of a theatrical space is clearly documented.
The current field house was built in 1976, with a purpose-built theatrical space on the second floor. Before then, Chase Park hosted theatrical presentations, dating back to the construction of the first field house in 1922. In the old building, the theater was in the basement, under the gym. Click HERE to read the full history of Chase Park.
The cast of Life Is A Dream (Spring 2003)
King Lear (Fred Wellisch) and the Fool (Tim Tsuratani) in the Storm, from King Lear (Fall 2005). (quicktime, no audio). We got a nice writeup in Entertainment Design magazine for this production!
Macbeth (Christopher Prentice) and Lady Macbeth (Cyndi Rhoads) deal with the blood on their hands, each in their own way, from Macbeth (Fall 2006)
Orlando (Bradford Stevens) and Ganymede (aka Rosalind,
Amanda Louise Paules) from
As You Like It (Spring 2006)
Puck (Jude Willis) from
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Spring 2005)
Malvolio (DB Schroeder), cross-gartered, from Twelfth Night
(Fall 2004)
Christopher Prentice as the Melancholy Dane in Hamlet
(Spring 2002)
The cast of The Madwoman of Chaillot (Fall 2000)
Prospero (Tim Goldich), from The Tempest (Spring 2001)
Richard of Gloucester (David Skvarla) courts Lady Anne (Laura Skokan) in Richard III (2007)
Scroll down to learn about the origins of Chase Park Theater...
Othello (Lee Peters) contemplates the murder of Desdemona (Arin Mulvaney) in Othello (2008)
Katherina (Arin Mulvaney) and Petruchio (Luke Hamilton), spar in The Taming of the Shrew (2007).
Jennifer Betancourt as Hermione,
The Winter’s Tale (2008)
Measure for Measure full cast (2009)
The Comedy of Errorrs (2009)
The Princess Academy full cast (2009)
