16th Street Theater, Best Emerging Theater Company

[Terri]

Congratualtions to Ann Filmer!
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Best Emerging Theater Company
The Reader's Choice: 16th Street Theater

Most Chicago theater companies get started because like-minded artists decide they want to do the work they love best the way they want to do it—finding a space and an audience comes later in the process. Ann Filmer took a different approach. When she moved out to Berwyn a few years ago, she found there was a nifty little black-box theater in the Berwyn Cultural Center, but no professional company to use it. So with the help of the North Berwyn Park District, the longtime director started 16th Street Theater, and got busy producing work that would speak to the western suburb's ethnically diverse, working-class audience base.

Filmer's background in new work encompasses shows at the Aardvark, the now-defunct collective she cofounded in 1995, as well as many credits with Chicago Dramatists, A Red Orchid Theatre, and Writers' Theatre in Glencoe. Taking note of Berwyn's large Latino population, she has forged a fruitful alliance with Teatro Luna and staged one of the best shows I saw in 2008—Kita y Fernanda, a breathtaking look at class consciousness and female bonding among Mexican immigrants by Teatro Luna cofounder Tanya Saracho.

Teatro Luna finishes its current 16th Street production, S-E-X-Oh! The Remix, this weekend. Then comes the Words in Motion Festival, consisting of three autobiographical performance pieces running in repertory. Unveiled, a solo show about women in Islam, follows. And in July Filmer will revive The Last Barbecue, by her old buddy Brett Neveu, using the original cast from its 2000 premiere production with the Aardvark. After only one year, 16th Street Theater is an indispensable part of Berwyn's cultural fabric—and a destination for anyone interested in checking out new voices in a warm, intimate environment.  Teatro Luna's S-E-X-Oh! The Remix runs through 3/29: Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 5 and 8 PM, Sun 5 PM. The Words in Motion Festival opens Thu 4/2 and runs through 4/25: Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 5 and 8 PM. Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16th, Berwyn, 708-795-6704, 16thstreettheater.org, all shows $16. —Kerry Reid

http://www.chicagoreader.com/best_of_chicago_09/performing_arts/emerging_theater_company/

[n01_important]

Nice, it's on my list of places to go this season.

[Bungalow]

16th Street Theater is fantastic.  Plus it is a professional theater IN BERWYN!  That's not something I thought would happen in my lifetime.  I'm sure there are a lot of people who wonder if Berwyn can / will support the theater long-term, so let's show them and ensure that Ann always has a full house.  The price can't be beat, either.  Where can you see a professional theater production for 16 bucks?

[tgoddess]

Sadly, JUST having a full house (which we'd LOVE) isn't enough to completely sustain the the theater indefinitely.  We are always looking for businesses who are willing to sponsor shows (with ads in our program) or people who are willing buy our $100 Club Season subscription or make an additional donation.

This theater is a true shining spot here and we are not limiting to ourselves to just Berwyn residents to support it (we've had sponsors and supporters from Forest Park, Oak Park and beyond, as well).  So please tell your friends outside of Berwyn about us, too.  The rest of the season is going to be fabulous and if you haven't seen S-E-X-OH! yet, try to come out this weekend.  It's a wonderful show!

Visit http://www.16thstreettheater.org for more info

[Shelley]

We had the chance to see Unveiled this past weekend.  The performance was very good and our party talked into the evening afterward about the topic.  I highly recommend checking out this show and this great theater if you haven't already. 

Shelley

[n01_important]

It's on my list for this season.  Thanks for the recommendation.