A Picasso was proposed by the Genesius Guild President, Ed Griffith, who had the work brought to his attention by his long time colleague Deb Johansen. The two wanted to produce the play but felt the intensity of the piece and smaller cast wasn't a good fit for their space in Hammond. CST's Jim Henry brought the show to our Artistic Committee as they were looking at shows for the 58th season. After reading Hatcher's script based on real life events during Nazi occuppied areas of France and destruction of "indecent" art during World War II, the Committee decided it would be the perfect work to open the studio space. 

In 2010, Chicago Street volunteers renovated the upstairs rehearsal studio to create a better space for classes, showcases, auditions, and rehearsals with the intent of one day using it as a performance space. The space is equipped for sound and lights with a small black-box stage at the end of the room. At the time the space was renovated, it was also set up with a rubberized flooring to minimize the noise between the studio and the mainstage area.

For me, the space is reminiscent of the Alley Studio that CTG occupied from 1996 to 1998 while making the transition from the Memorial Opera House to our current Chicago Street home. When we were at the alley, we produced a number of initimate small cast shows like Love Letters, Orphans, and Eleemosynary, as well as brought other area theatre groups in to do small venue theatre that wouldn't fill the seats of their mainstage houses. 

As an actor, I loved the Alley Studio because the stage was so close to the audience that every detail of your performance mattered. It also taught me to focus and "stay in the moment" of the play. Admittedly, I was somewhat jealous watching what Larry and Maggie were getting to do as I saw the play on Saturday night. The minimalized set in the black box space made the focus about two actors just being and inhabiting their characters.

I think Edie would approve of our new space. The new 40 seat venue, named for CST's long time matriarch (read more about Edie Wood here), is perfect for projects like A Picasso. The proximity of the stage to the audience makes you feel as though you are part of the drama, humor, and intensity of Jeffrey Hatcher's play. People should take advantage of wonderful theatre tour de force which has its remaining performances on May 16, 17 and 18 at 8 PM. Tickets are only $10. It's exciting that CST has the environment to co-create this kind of experience.

-Posted by CST member Eric Brant

This large room was called simply the Rehearsal Hall until 2009 when our last remaining charter member, Edith Wood, passed away.  She was one of the committee of 3 who were sent to inspect the Memorial Opera House in 1955 to determine if the new theatre company could work there.  When asked about the experience she said, “You had to watch your step, and you were afraid to put your full weight down anywhere (on the stage).  One whole corner of the floor was missing, damaged scenery was stacked everywhere, And you were wary of the crooked battens hanging on unsafe-looking ropes above your head.”   

A graduate of Northwestern University School of Drama where she had studied and taught technical theatre, her first responsibilities in the newly-formed company were lighting and sets.  The lighting consisted of 3 huge dimmers.  One was either on full or off, the second worked as it should, and the third didn’t work at all.  The picture below shows Edith at the dimmers, and her husband Fred at the ropes.  Flats had to be cut down to size and re-covered for the set.

Her first role was Emeline Randall in Southern Exposure, CTG’s 4^th production.  She was on the Board of Trustees for 20 of the first 27 seasons, and served as it’s chairman twice.  At the same time she continued to design lights and sets, do make-up, make costumes, act, and direct.  One of her most inventive costuming jobs was for CTG’s first musical, Once Upon a Mattress (2/64).  “Actors wore draperies and shower curtains, sported bleach bottles as crowns, and balanced headdresses made from bent coat hangers.”  

In 1986 one of our Board members, Steve Holm, suggested it was time to create an award to honor ‘one of us’ for unselfish service to CTG “beyond the call of duty”.  The first recipients of the Community Theatre Guild Board of Trustees Achievement Award were Edith and Fred Wood.

Fred was drafted – as were other husbands – to perform in Stalag 17 (9/57), which needed a large cast of men. For Little Mary Sunshine (11/64), he was the only one tall enough to wear Chief Brown Bear’s headdress.  He repeated that role in 1982, and performed in a few other productions, as well as helping on various crews. 

However, his greatest contribution to CTG was the slide library he began with the 3^rd production, The Heiress (3/56).  Dress rehearsal for each production found him seated in the front row with his camera.  It wasn’t until the mid to late 80’s that he had to stop for health reasons, and we lost him to cancer in 1990.  Fred’s faithfulness is the main reason we have so many pictures of our early history.

Edith continued to support CTG financially as well as actively.  If someone needed information about a period costume, “Call Edie!”  If they needed help with a special set design – “Call Edie!”  

L-R: Life with Father (1971-Costumes), Eddie (1981), Light up the Sky (1971-Set design)

In 1991 she helped finance our trip to Scotland creating a special costume so she could go with us, and gave moral support as she watched “her kids” perform in international competition….and win!  

When we held our Encores fund raisers, she always attended, cheering us on when we bought Chicago Street Theatre. In 2007 CTG became more serious about classes and hired our first Director of Education.  The ‘rehearsal hall’ became CTG’s classroom.  When Edith passed away in 2010, her children, Cathy and Chris Wood, donated $20,000 in her name to remodel that area ... hence the name Edith B. Wood Studio. Besides classes, we have held staged readings, readings of new plays, and One Night Jam concerts in that room. 

L-R: Stage area, Office/props/kitchenette (March 2010)

There are still a number for things to improve in order to bring the stage area up to par.  We hope the students will be able to use sound and lighting for their showcases as they learn on their own technical equipment.  Edith would approve.  CTG is honored to present this collaborative production of A Picasso as the first fully-staged play in Edie’s space!  

Photo for CTG's 50th Anniversary Season

-Posted by CST Historian Marcia Burbage

We all know that Art is NOT truth

Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth

- Pablo Picasso

This play is not the truth. It is rooted in history, biographical facts, and quotations by its famous subject. But as far as anyone knows, this encounter never actually occurred. That the author weaves so many themes about art, war, guilt, betrayal, responsibility and love in a single room with 2 actors and only 80 minutes is a miracle of economy. When my partner-in-crime, Deb, brought this play to my attention, I immediately wanted to direct it. But I also knew it wasnít exactly appropriate for the Genesius Guild space. So when the opportunity arose to open a new studio theatre at Chicago Street, there was never a second choice in my mind. This was the perfect space for this play.

I hope audiences enjoy the twists and turns that this roller-coaster of a play takes us on. This play should make you think, discuss ideas, and be shocked. But most of all, audiences will be entertained. So I hope you will join us in the new Wood Studio Theatre and enjoy the ride that is A Picasso.

Directors Karl Berner and Justin Treasure have assembled an asolutely stellar cast for this very difficult piece including

• John Larrabee as Eddie Carbone, a longshorman 
• Heather Chaddock as Catherine, the niece of Eddie and Beatrice
• Dona Henry as Beatrice, wife of Eddie and aunt of Catherine
• Timothy Gleason as Marco, cousin of Beatrice
• Josh Eggleston as Rodolpho, Beatrice's cousin from Italy
• Jim Henry as Alfieri, an Italian-American lawyer
• Rodney Thornton as Louis, a longshoreman and friend of Eddie's
• Jim Drader as Tony, a friend of the Carbones, and 1st Immigration Officer 
• T.J. Aubuchon as Mike, a longshoreman and friend of Eddie's, and 2nd Immigration Officer
• Mark McColley as Mr. Lipari, a butcher who lives upstairs from the Carbone's
• Patricia Schulz as Mrs. Lipari, the upstairs neighbor of the Carbone's

They definitely hit a home run when they assembled this group... and they are working their tails off! Between the confrontations, emotional intensity, fight scenes, and Italian accents, these actors have their work cut out for them.  If this rehearsal was any indication, they're up to the task.

The first scene I watched began with actor Jim Henry asking director Justin Treasure if he could "try something a little different."  The rehearsal definetely had a positive tone of collaboration and mutual respect.  I won't give away too much as I saw a couple of scenes at the end of Act II and don't want to spoil it for those who have not had the pleasure of reading or seeing this moving play.  Suffice to say, director Justin Treasure was pleased with their progress by the end of rehearsal.  During their note session, he reminded the actors to keep up their intensity, to find even more emotion, to take their time at some points and to proceed with urgency during others. Justin's directing style is almost like that of a therapist; he asks the actors questions to make them think and arrive at their own character motivation. It was really a pleasure to watch. Perhaps I'll sneak in again later this week and report back. 

posted by Artistic Chair Traci Brant

The street and house front of a tenemant building.  The front is skeletal entirely. The main acting area is the living room-dining room of Eddie's apartment. It is a worker's flat, clean, sparse, homely. There is a rocker down front; a round dining table at centre, with chairs; and a portable phonograph.

At back are a bedroom door and an opening to the kitchen.

At the right, forestage, a desk.

There is also a telephone booth. This is not used until the last scenes, so it may be covered or left in view.

A stairway leads up to the apartment, and then farther up to the next storey.

Ramps, representing the street, run upstage and off to the right and left.

Wow. That is incredibly ambitious for CST's 34 x 19 foot black-box mainstage.  I've been peaking in on the the build and it's been challenging. I have great respect for the passion and attention to detail the directors are bringing to the process and I think their careful decision-making and a lot of volunteer muscle are going to result in a gorgeous set that brings our audiences into the world of the play.

Just for fun, take a look at some of the widely varied set designs of other theatre's that have produced A View From the Bridge.

posted by Artistic Chair Traci Brant 

"Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher takes us to conflicted Vichy France, where a society renowned for fostering artistic freedom was suddenly under the boot of a paranoid culture at its most oppressive. From 1940 until 1944, France was divided into an area occupied by Nazi Germany and one administered by the hastily devised Vichy-based French government, which collaborated with the Germans.

Paris, in the occupied section, is the setting for this fictional face-off between Pablo Picasso and a less-than-committed German official named Ms. Fischer. Through these two, Hatcher provides sketches of censorship at its most insane and unjust, and a creative genius at his most embattled. In its mad rush to brainwash people into agreement, the Nazi propaganda machine not only generated sanctioned “art” that promoted its narrow racial profile, it also set about discrediting and destroying degenerative art--Entartete Kunst as they called it. Cowed and genocidal as they became, many Germans were nevertheless highly educated and culturally advanced. Deep within the officious, dispassionate Ms. Fischer, a light still flickers with appreciation for the creative breakthroughs and historic achievements that had emerged in this city before Hitler’s rise."

Actor Larry Hinken portrays the masterful painter Pablo Picasso and actress Maggie Reister-Walters brings Ms. Fisher to life under the veteran direction of Ed Griffith. Rehearsal last night looked like a typical Monday of tech week with actors and technicians adjusting to the space. 

As Picasso and Fischer, the actors confront questions of who ultimately owns art and the multiple uses to which it can be put. What is most fascinating to watch is not the political dynamics of these two characters, but the examination of the power and meaning of art. 

I'll be taking another peak at rehearsal tonight... can't wait!

[Above Image: Guernica painted by Pablo Picasso, 1937. Oil on canvas. 349x776cm. The painting was commissioned by the Spanish government to hang in the Spanish Pavilion at the World Fair in Paris, 1937. Guernica is Picasso's answer to the attrocities that were inflicted upon Guernica. It is a powerful work done a grand scale to highlite the futility of war and the suffering that it causes for all.]

posted by Artistic Chair Traci Brant

CST is leading Guided Tours to some of the participating downtown businesses on Saturday May 11 at 10am, 11am, and 1pm.  For a donation of $10 for adults and $5 for children, you will receive a CST insulated tote bag (one per couple/family) and special behind-the-scenes tours, coupons, and tastings at the following participating businesses.   

• Chicago Street Theatre 
• Valparaiso Public Library 
• Papa John’s Pizza 
• South Bend Chocolate Company 
• Porter County Museum 
• Memorial Opera House 
• Valpo Velvet Shoppe

Tours are limited to 10 people.  Click here to make your donation & reserve a spot on a tour.

Download the map below for the Guided and Self-guided tours of the downtown Hounds About Town.

STEP 4: I cut out the image of the boy and place it into the center of the void and collage it in place. To create the "ripple effect", I cut out ripple sections of the same paper that I drew him on and collage those into the image radiating from the hole. I notice that the ripple and void are kind of obscuring the image of the father and decide to paint over him. This focuses and simplifies the image to being more about the mother and son. In the lower right corner where I painted out Viggo, I create a continuation of the character Becca's body. The placement of the boy disappearing down the "rabbit hole" now seems to be over the mother's heart.

STEP 5: Finally I add more details of shadow and light to bring out the two subjects. Every once and a while I drag my putty knife across the image to create a rubbed or scratched away effect to the illustration. Looks like all I have left to do is hide the exclamation mark, and this one is done. This one was a lot of fun because it involved some experimentation and some interesting changes of game plan. The beauty of art some times is that there's not really a right or wrong and as I often tell people "mistakes in art are fixable."

Well, stay tuned to our Chicago Street Theatre blog because I've got about six or so paintings to go and you'll never believe which one I got done next! See you Next Time.

 -Posted by Eric Brant, Illustrator

As for the history of the play, itself, Play It Again, Sam was originally presented on Broadway in 1969 and ran for over a year. Two years later it was made into a feature film by director Herbert Ross who brought many Broadway works to the screen. As with many of Woody Allen's films it takes place in New York City and he played the main character "Allan Felix" in both the Broadway and movie versions.

Allen's character is "Allan Felix" -a writer who has just been through a messy divorce. Feeling that he will never be good at relationships again, he pours himself into his work and his obsession with the Humphrey Bogart film Casablanca. His two best friends are a married couple, Christie and Dick, who push Allan into "circullation" again by setting him up on a series of disasterous blind dates. He wishes that he could regain his confidence and be more like the Rick Blaine character in Casablanca. With this, comedy ensues as the ghost-like apparition of Humphrey Bogart become Felix's life coach on love.

Since the play is a comedy I knew I wanted to go with a brighter and sunnier look for the illustration. Next I go back to several little sketches I did to figure out how I want to arrange the image. Because the show has a familiar feel to it, I knew the image had to have a Woody Allen-type guy in it with Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine from Casablanca. I looked through my photo references and found numerous images of both men on the internet.

My thought was to keep the Bogey character in grays, blacks and white like the film, but the question was whether to go literal with him as a ghost or tangible and next to Woody. One idea I had was to make Bogey a ventriloquist and Allen the dummy. Another idea has a tiny Bogart sitting on Allen's shoulder like Jimminey Cricket. Then I remebered that Jason had said something about the voice of Bogey "in Woody Allen's head." 

STEP 1: My first step on this one was to prepare the canvas with bright orange and yellow gradiation. I wanted to recreate this kind of "sunburst" look that I remembered from my parent's master bedroom back in the 70's for the background.

STEP 3: After Woody's image is done and dry, I cut the image out. For comedic effect, I then cut off the very top of the head across like the top of a Jack 'o' Lantern. I place and arrange the pieces at the center bottom of the canvas and attcach them with Mod Podge so that it looks like Woody's head has a lid.

STEP 4: Next I go to my images of Humphrey Bogart. One thought is to blow up and collage an actual photo of him but I'm unable to find one image that will work for that. Since it won't actually be Bogart playing the apparition, I decide, instead, to draw a combination of a head I like with a body that works for where it will be placed in the illustration. I draw the Bogey figure on some scrapbook paper that has a faded newspaper print on it and then lay in some light washes to signify shadows and light.

STEP 5: Once the washes are dry, I cut out Bogart's image and collage it on to the canvas. Placement of Rick Blaine is precisely what Jason talked about: "in Woody Allen's head." After placing the image I notice that the grays that I used for the Bogey image are too warm and don't have enough contrast to the warmth of the Woody Allen face. I use some light washes with more blue in them to cool it off and give it more of that "Film Noir" effect.

STEP 6: The last part, as usual, is to refine details and deepen shadows to make these two very flat drawings more three dimensional. Finally, I pop in some highlights and hide the exclamation point. I hope you're enjoying this step by step series on how we create the images for our upcoming plays as much as I am writing about it. So if you are, please stay tuned to the CST blog page- 'Cause there's lots more paintings to come... Now get back to work!

I hope you're enjoying this step by step series on how we create the images for our upcoming plays as much as I am writing about it. So if you are, please stay tuned to the CST blog page- 'Cause there's lots more paintings to come... Now get back to work!

 -Posted by Eric Brant, Illustrator