Chris Fields News

The Echo Theater Company's west coast premiere of playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Pulitzer Prize-finalist GLORIA receives a sturdy mounting with a very capable cast handling the witty, words-heavy monologues. Plot centers on a group of lower-level publishing employees stuck (for various reasons) in their respective, non-upwardly mobile positions. GLORIA illustrates the various common office behaviors, such as back-stabbing, condescension, 'Mean Girl' insulting, and stressing out.

Brooding, compelling, funny and startling. Memories unravel and dark truths are revealed in a haunting ghost story by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater's Daniel Talbott(Slipping) when The Echo Theater Company's West Coast premiere returns in a third and final rendition (following productions in April and July) with a third set of ensemble members. This time round, Chris Fields directs Ian Bamberg,Matthew Gallenstein and, at alternate performances,Kenzie Caplan and Mara Klein, for a Sept. 27 opening at Atwater Village Theatre. 

For the 20-somethings working at a chic, unnamed New York magazine, the only thing that matters is style, status - and selling out to the highest bidder. The Echo Theater Company presents a razor-sharp, darkly comic drama about ambition, office warfare and pecking orders by MacArthur "genius" grant recipient Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.Chris Fields directs the West Coast premiere of Pulitzer Prize-finalist Gloria, opening Sept. 15 at Atwater Village Theatre.

The Echo Theater Company presents a hilarious and deeply moving "comedy with dark edges" that takes an honest look at the absurdities of being home with a baby, the power of female friendship, the dilemma of going back to work and the effect class has on parenthood in America. Lindsay Allbaugh directs the West Coast premiere of Cry It Out by Molly Smith Metzler for a July 14 opening at Atwater Village Theatre.

What Happened When - Echo Theater Company's West Coast premiere of Daniel Talbott's haunting ghost story returns with a different set of ensemble members. On a snowy night in a rural farmhouse, three siblings (Randall Clute, Joey Stromberg and Libby Woodbridge) huddle together in the dark with a flashlight, while the audience (unseen by them) gathers closely around. Expect to be fully immersed in this beautiful, provocative and disturbing memory play. (The production's April run featured Klute alongside Ellen Neary and Chris Stack; the show will reopen for a third run at the end of September with Randall Clute, Matthew Gallenstein, and, at alternate performances, Kenzie Caplan and Mara Klein.)

The Echo Theater Company presents a hilarious and deeply moving "comedy with dark edges" that takes an honest look at the absurdities of being home with a baby, the power of female friendship, the dilemma of going back to work and the effect class has on parenthood in America. Lindsay Allbaugh directs the West Coast premiere of Cry It Out by Molly Smith Metzler for aJuly 14 opening at Atwater Village Theatre.

Theater (Jonathan Bank, Producing Artistic Director) will present the New York Premiere of Miles Malleson's political love story Conflict. Performances will begin May 25th and continue through July 21st at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street). Opening Night is set for June 21st.

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (RTE), Chicago's only Equity theatre dedicated to producing new work with women at the core will add four performances to the run The Cake by Bekah Brunstetter, directed by Lauren Shouse, and featuring RTE Founders Tara Mallen and Keith Kupferer, RTE Member Krystel McNeil, with Tuckie White.  Eight performances have been added to the run, which must close June 2, 2018 at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago. 

The air between the words is so thick you could cut it with a knife in Daniel Talbott's shadowy play about three siblings attempting to survive their dysfunctional family. Each is broken in his or her own way and, as the hairball unravels, the audience must piece together their fragmented story over a period of six years.

Brooding, compelling, funny and startling. Memories unravel and dark truths are revealed in a haunting ghost story by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater's Daniel Talbott (Slipping). Chris Fields directs theWest Coast premiere of What Happened When for The Echo Theater Company, opening at Atwater Village Theatre on April 12. Following the production's three-week run through April 26, What Happened When will re-open this summer and again in the fall, each time with a different cast.

Theater (Jonathan Bank, Producing Artistic Director) will present the New York Premiere of Miles Malleson's political love story Conflict. Performances will begin May 25th and continue through July 21st at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street). Opening Night is set for June 21st.

The world premiere of playwright Yusuf Toropov's AN UNDIVIDED HEART receives a stunning mounting by The Echo Theater Company and Circle X Theatre Co. Director Chris Fields sure-handedly guides his talented cast through the involving story of a passionate young priest striving to do the right thing. In this case, publish an expose on the pedophilia prevalent in the Catholic church.

Brooding, compelling, funny and startling. Memories unravel and dark truths are revealed in a haunting ghost story by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater's Daniel Talbott(Slipping). Chris Fields directs the West Coast premiere of What Happened When for The Echo Theater Company, opening at Atwater Village Theatre on April 12. Following the production's three-week run through April 26, What Happened When will re-open this summer and again in the fall, each time with a different cast.

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (RTE), Chicago's only Equity theatre dedicated to producing new work with women at the core, announces the Midwest premiere of The Cake by Bekah Brunstetter, directed by Lauren Shouse, and featuring RTE Founders Tara Mallen and Keith Kupferer, RTE Member Krystel McNeil, with Tuckie White.

How far will powerful men and institutions go to keep their secrets - and who pays the price when they do? Echo Theater Company and Circle X Theatre Co. join forces to present the world premiere of An Undivided Heart by Yusuf Toropov, directed by Chris Fields and running March 16 through April 22 at Atwater Village Theatre. Two pay-what-you-want previews take place on March 14 and March 15.

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble proudly announces its 2018 Season, "The Reckoning." The season includes three plays about women who come face to face with an essential truth that threatens to shatter the things they love most. The 2018 Season will be performed at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago.

The award-winning Echo Theater Company will continue its commitment to original work in the new year, introducing Los Angeles to important, emerging playwrights from across the country.

Los Angeles-based Echo Theater Company, long recognized for its dedication to creating new work for the theater, has selected six young writers from across the country to participate in its newly minted National Young Playwrights in Residence program, designed to nurture the next generation of playwrights through professional mentorship, staged readings and the sharing of their work through digital platforms.

The Echo Theater Company continues its 20th Anniversary Season with a funny, tragic and provocative new play by Los Angeles' own Boni B. Alvarez. Dually inspired by Calder n's Spanish Golden Age Drama The Physician Of His Own Honor and the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning, which detailed New York's then-underground drag queen ball culture, Alvarez ups the stakes by setting his story in the heart of L.A.'s Historic Filipinotown. Echo company member Rodney Todirects the world premiere of Fixed, now throughOct. 22 at Atwater Village Theatre.

The Echo Theater Company continues its 20th Anniversary Season with a funny, tragic and provocative new play by Los Angeles' own Boni B. Alvarez.