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  Ren Faire! A Fistful of Ducats  
 

Writen by Matt Engle*
Directed by Kyle Hamman
Musical Directed by Curtis Williams

 
   
 
Let the conflict begin!
7.27.12


What happens when a Renaissance Faire gets into a turf war with the Wild West show across the interstate? If Bill Pickens has his way, Flume Parks for miles! Will Hero be in time? Will Andy be the 9th fighter stabbed? Will Tammy ever find a friend? Get your mead ready for the highlight of the summer.

 
 
Ren Faire!  A Fistful of Ducats

 
     
 
 

Opens July 27th and runs through September 2nd, 2012 $20
Previews (7/20 – 7/22) $10

OPENING NIGHT GALA PARTY 7/27 $30
Industry night 8/13 $5
$30 Flex Pass for our 20th Anniversary Season (includes 2 tickets)

Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm

Factory Theater at the Prop Thtr 3502 N. Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60618




FOR RESERVATIONS: Please call (312) 409-3247


 
   
 
     
bullet The Cast  
     
  Hannah Alcorn – Tatyana
Kevin Alves – Lucky Jim
Matt Engle* – Hero
Eric Frederickson – Dave
Sarah Rose Graber* – Emma
Carmine Grisolia – Mickey
John Luzar – Raynoth
Johnny Moran* – Ol' Jerky
Mike Ooi* – Bill Pickens
Scott OKen* – Doug
Nathan Paul – Bobbini
Jennifer Pompa* – Tammy
Jack Rubin – Mudbegger #1
Chris Savell – Mudbegger #2
Justine C. Turner – Andy
Johnathan Wallace – LeShawn
Curtis Williams – Wesley

Understudy – Robyn Coffin*
 
     
     
     
     
  Hannah Alcorn (Tatyana)  
 

This is Hannah's first production with Factory and she is thrilled to be a part of Ren Faire! She is a two-time figure skating Olympic medalist and is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history. Known for her consistency and expressive artistry on ice, Kwan is widely considered one of the greatest figure skaters of all time. Hannah was most recently seen in Prop Theatre's Drumming in the Night and feels unbelievably lucky to have worked with a bevy of awesome people here in Chicago. Thanks for being so cool, y'all.

 
 
     
     
     
  Kevin Alves (Lucky Jim)  
 

is F'ing STOKED to be working on his first production with The Factory Theater. Born and raised in Ocean Springs, MS, Kevin has been living and working in Chicago for the past four years. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a BFA in acting/drinking/disc golf. Some of his favorite roles include SQuja' (Scrooge) in A Klingon Christmas Carol Roy in Lone Star,   Clifford Anderson in Deathtrap and Edward Reeve in the Discovery Channel's 3D documentary Fields of Valor: Civil War. Much thanks to The Factory for letting him come play and much more thanks for the love and support from his soon to be wife and full time lover, Kim.

 
 
     
     
  Matt Engle* (Hero)  
 

is glad to be back at Factory, where he is a proud company member. Some of his favorite Factory roles include: Vic(Dirty Diamonds), Cy Curnin (Toast of the Town),Brian Nowlan (Being At Choice), and Brad, the life camp counselor/douche (Janice Dutts Goes To Life Camp). Other favorite roles include: Captain Holly (Lifeline's Watership Down),Abe O'Brien (Strawdog's Marathon '33) and The Rookie Lee (Steep's Howie The Rookie). As a violence designer, Matt has worked at Factory, Steppenwolf, Lifeline, Steep, Strawdog and Pine Box.

 
 
     
     
  Eric Frederickson (Dave)  
 

would like to thank the Factory Theater for the profound sense of deja vu he is feeling right now. Since last being seen as Dave, he has appeared as Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet, written a novel, and somehow managed to stay out of jail. He lives in Kenosha, WI for reasons that are best left unexplored.

 
 
     
     
  Sarah Rose Graber* (Emma)  
 

is delighted to be hanging out with her Factory family again! She graduated from Northwestern University's Theatre Program and received her acting certificate from The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Past Factory credits include The New Adventures of Popeye, Hey! Dancin'! (Director), Hunky Dory, Mop Top Festival, Siskel and Ebert Save Chicago, and GI's in Europe. Other recent Chicago credits include The Last Meal Man at Collaboraction, The Giver and The Blue House at Adventure Stage Chicago, Barefoot in the Park and The Book of Liz at CIC, MilkMilkLemonade with Pavement Group, and Dinner for Six at Metropolis. She is a proud company member with the Factory Theater and Adventure Stage Chicago. Big thanks to the Ren Faire cast, Kyle, Hank, Monica, and Matt for this wonderful experience! Find out more at: www.SarahRoseGraber.com

 
 
     
     
  Carmine Grisolia (Mickey)  
 

is pee-in-his-pants excited for his first opportunity to perform with the Factory folks on their home turf. An ensemble member at Strawdog Theatre Company, he played with loads of these cats there during Marathon '33, but hasn't performed outside of Strawdog in a pretty long-ass time-- so he's grateful for the opportunity to appear relevant and engaged (thaaanks Kyyle.) Carm was last seen at home as The Water Seller in The Good Soul of Szechuan. Other favorite Strawdog shows over the course of the last 15 seasons include Red Noses, St. Crispin's Day, Measure for Measure, Ivona- Princess of Burgundia, The Waltz Invention, Tooth of Crime and Puntila and His Man Matti. As always, love and thanks to his family and friends for their constant support and gentle teasing, and especially to Jennifer, Nicholas, and Cecilia for being his for lo these many years. Happy 20th, Jenny-Bear!

 
 
     
     
  John Luzar (Raynoth)  
 

is happy to be back at Ren Faire!, despite the show's earnest attempts to kill him last time around. In addition to the first Ren Faire! A Fistful of Ducats, John was in The Gray Girl and Mop Top Festival with Factory, though no one pursued him through the window of a coffee shop with homicidal intent during those productions. Other work, with Lifeline, A Red Orchid, ATC, Theater Wit, TimeLine, Strawdog, Stage Left, Teatro Luna, Bailiwick, American Demigods, Steep, Seanachai, Backstage and others, has come and gone without significant physical trauma. John asks you to kindly park your Lexus OUTSIDE the building and enjoy the show.!

 
 
     
     
  Johnny Moran* (Ol' Jerky)  
 

Originating the role in its initial production in 2008, Johnny returns this time as an official company member of Factory, joining in June of this year. He has also had the pleasure to work with A Red Orchid, The Hypocrites, Black Ensemble, Mary Arrchie, ATC and the Neo Futurists. You can also see him this fall in Griffin Theater's Burnt Part Boys, opening the new Griffin Arts Center.

 
 
     
     
  Scott OKen* (Doug)  
 

is pleased to be reprising his role as DOUG in Ren Faire! A Fistful of Ducats. He hopes you are entertained by the show and he wishes that his costume was acceptable fashion in today's world. He wishes he had a sword...or perhaps a scythe. OKen is the Artistic Director of the Factory Theater and has been in, and written and co-written and directed quite a few of these little plays that we do. He also likes his new old iPhone....

 
 
     
     
  Mike Ooi* (Bill Pickens)  
 

is excited to join this remount of Ren Faire! A Fistful of Ducats, as the premier production of RF!AFoD was the first Factory show he ever saw. If this isn't your first Factory show, you might have seen Mike in Black & Blue, 1985, or MopTop Festival. Other Chicago credits include Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, The Thirteen Clocks, Last of the Dragons, Neverwhere, and The Mark of Zorro (Lifeline Theatre), Sinbad the Untold Tale and Ghosts of Treasure Island (AdventureStage), Three Penny Opera (The Hypocrites), Old Town (Strawdog), and Curse of the Crying Heart and Cave with Man (House Theatre). Mike is the Operations Manager for the Factory Theater.

 
 
     
     
  Nathan Paul (Bobbini)  
 

is honored to have been invited to be apart of the crazy awesomeness that is Ren Faire! He is a member of Silent Theater Company and hosts a monthly variety show "The Wild Party Variety Hour". He thanks each and every one of you for coming out and supporting great theater, and simply wants to know "Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?"

 
 
     
     
  Jennifer Pompa* (Tammy)  
 

is so happy to again be a part of the Factory's 20th Anniversary Season! She is really excited to be returning to the Ren Faire! and exploring her "Roast Beef Wench" roots with her beloved Tammy. And Hilotta. And anyone else who wants to be Tammy's friend. She hopes you enjoy the Faire and the fight choreography, which she got to work on with everyone's Hero, Matt Engle! Find out more details about Jennifer on her bio page at the Factory Website (www.TheFactoryTheater.com). Also, look for Jennifer in Stage Left Theater's production of Impenetrable, which opens at Theater Wit this September. And you can also see her brief cameo as a trailer park mom in the upcoming movie release of "Eden Court" with Thomas Lennon, this summer. If they didn't cut her out. Thanks & love to the Blazeks, Gehrs, Lane-McGarrahans, Hawkins' and everyone else that has foolishly given her love, money or support of some kind. This is what you bought, so I hope you enjoy it! No refunds or exchanges!

 
 
     
     
  Jack Rubin (Mudbegger #1)  
 

is a proud member of the Strawdog Theater Company, happy to be returning to the stage after a 56 year hiatus. This Shit Is Good (tm). .

 
 
     
     
  Justine C. Turner (Andy)  
 

is stoked to swash the buckle again with Ren Faire! She was last seen as the Duchess in The Duchess of Malfi at Strawdog theatre. She is a proud company member of Strawdog and a proud founding memeber of The Plagiairists. She is thankful to have worked in the past at the Goodman, Writers' Theatre, Timeline Theatre, Factory theatre, Famous Door, Defiant theatre, Rivendell, Noble Fool Theatricals, A Crew of Patches, and Journeymen Theatre Company. She would like to thank her family, friends, and Mike for all their support and love.

 
 
     
     
  Johnathan Wallace (LeShawn)  
 

is very happy and grateful to be apart of Factory Theaters' 20th Season. He will be a senior at Columbia College this fall. He would like to thank the awesome cast & crew, Kimberly Senior and Kyle, and most of all his wonderful family and friends.

 
 
     
     
  Curtis Williams (Wesley)  
 

is glad to be back in the Wild West. He is a company member with Barrel of Monkeys. You may have seen him as a strange pianist in Crisis: A Musical Game Show or Beer (Neofuturists). He wrote the score for The King's Proposal, or the Marriage of Princess Guido which premiered in Seattle last year.

 
 
     
     
     
     
bullet The Crew  
  Director: Kyle Hamman
Music Director: Curtis Williams
Assistant Director: Hank Boland
Technical Director: CW van Baale*
Production Manager: Joe Gehr*
Stage Manager: Monica M. Brown
Set Designer: John Wilson
Lighting Designer: Sean Mallary
Sound Designer: Chas Vrba*
Costume Designer: Rachel Sypniewski*
Props Designer: Thea Wigglesworth
Graphic Designer: Jason Moody
Web Designer: Craig Eisenhammer
YouTube Trailer Director: Patrick Holland
Co-fight choreographers: Matt Engle* Jennifer Pompa*
* Denotes Factory Ensemble Member
 
     
     
  Kyle Hamman (Director)  
 

is happy to back at The Factory and playing with these clowns! Kyle is the owner/creator of KBH Media, a multi-media design company specializing in storytelling. Kyle has previously collaborated with several theatres around town on media designs including WildClaw Theatre, Halcyon Theatre, Emerald City Theatre, Barrel of Monkeys and Strawdog Theatre Company where he has been an ensemble member since 2000. Kyle also does media design for several small businesses throughout Chicago. For more information visit www.kbhmedia.com or follow Kyle on "the twitters": @khambone

 

Hank Boland (Assistant Director) is honored to be involved with Ren Faire! A Fistful of Ducats, and happy to help The Factory Theater celebrate their 20th Anniversary (and if there are any doubts about his dedication to The Factory, he can tell you about seeing shows Bitches and Mancard). Hank is a proud member of the Strawdog Theatre Company Ensemble where he is the Co-Producer and Director of Theatre Wars!, as well as Director of New Works. He teaches Screenwriting at Columbia College, is pursuing an MFA in Playwriting from Spalding University, and works at The League of Chicago Theatres. Hank is somehow lucky enough to be married to the lovely and talented Elizabeth Dowling; they have two imaginary dogs named 'Mutton' and 'Wagner'. Thanks to Kyle, and everyone else, for allowing me to play.

 

CW van Baale* (Technical Director) is a homo sapien. Born in Iowa, he moved in with his parents after birth, residing in their custody for about 18 years. He has attended schools, traveled, worked, and slept during his time on this planet and currently teaches at the Chicago Academy for the Arts. Also, a member of Will Act for Food, he primarily is a theatrical technician, or at least acts like one.

 

Joe Gehr (production manager) has been an ensemble member of the Factory for eight years now and has been grateful to have all of them. Enjoy the show!

 

Monica M. Brown (Stage Manager) most recently worked as a floor manager at COLLABORACTION's Sketchbook 12 and at Goodman Theatre as a stage management intern on New Stages: Amplified, Race, and Camino Real. Previously, she also interned at Victory Gardens Theater and stage-managed a variety of college productions during her time at Cornell College in Iowa. She is a native Chicagoan and is thrilled to be back in the city, working with these positively wonderful folks!

 

John Wilson (Scenic Design) is gonna loose his shit with excitement that he finally gets to work with all of his friends at the Factory. He has been scenic designing in Chicago for over ten years. His next designs are Yo Solo Festival (Collaboraction/Teatro Vista) and The Life of Death (WildClaw). John is a proud company member with Collaboraction and The Mammals, a teacher with Lifeline, American Theater Company, and Steppenwolf, and a graduate of the school at Steppenwolf. Also he is building an outdoor theater in his backyard from the trash of the Chicago theatre community. Thanks go out to this wonderful company , Kyle, and Katy. Meet Big Bill

 

Sean Mallary (Lighting Designer) is very excited to return on this remount for the Factory's 20th season. He is a proud ensemble member of the Strawdog Theatre Compnay where he is a resident designer and is part of the Hit Factory writing program dedicated to original new work. By day he currently works as the assistant lighting supervisor at the Goodman Theatre, designing as his time allows. Starting the fall, he'll be joining the MFA theatre program at Northwestern University for lighting, so he may not be around much the next 3 years. Recent credits include Moonlight and Magnolias with Fox Valley Rep, Kin with the Griffin Theatre Company, Old Times at Strawdog and A Twist of Water with Route 66, which will be re-mounted off-Broadway in New York later this year. Sean would like to thank Kyle and the good folks at the Factory for inviting him back to play, plus the various muses in his life for their inspiration and support. Sean can be reached at www.seanmallarylighting.com.

 

Chas Vrba* (Sound Design) thinks it's pretty sweet that Ren Faire! A Fistful of Ducats has returned to the Factory stage. He is happy to be along for the ride again. Previous sound design credits include work with The Neo-Futurists, Infamous Commonwealth, Will Act for Food, Open Eye Productions, The Journeymen, Navy Pier, and plenty of Factory shows among others. You also might hear him DJing at various weddings, parties, bars, and cruise ships throughout the city. Thanks for seeing the show, and thanks for listening.

 

Rachel Sypniewski* (Costume Design) has costumed many shows for the Factory, but this is the first one as an official member! She's excited and proud to be a part of this crazy fun loving group. Ms. Sypniewski has designed over 100 shows in the Chicago storefront and educational theatre communities, some of her favorites include,Frankenstein in Love with Will Act For Food, Hey! Dancin'! with the Factory, Arcadia with New Leaf, Resort 76 with Infamous Commonwealth, and A Passage to India with Vitalist. Her recent and upcoming designs include, The Wizard of Oz with St. Patrick's High School and Gruesome Playground Injuries with Rasaka Theatre Productions. Thank you for supporting theatre and the arts in Chicago. Much love to Robb and the cats. www.rachelsyp.com

 

Thea Wigglesworth (Props Design) graduated Mount Holyoke College in 2011. She moved to Chicago in September to pursue a theatrical career after majoring in African American Studies. She works as a Teaching Artist, Stage Manager, Choreographer and Prop Designer. Her Prop Design credits include, Dr. Jekyll and Hyde Summerfest (Lexington, KY), Sirens Citadel Theatre (Lake Forest), In the Heart of America Theatre Seven of Chicago, 60 Miles to Silver Lake Collaboraction Theatre Company, and Exit Pursued by a Bear Theatre Seven of Chicago. She is so excited to be working on her first Factory show, Ren Faire

 
     
 
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