We say good-bye! For now...

It was our final weekend for our world-premiere of Smartphones, a pocket-size farce at Trap Door Theatre. The four last shows were sold out!

What a joy is to share our toy with an audience who wanted to play with it every night.

Thanks for all your support, Chicago, and we hope to come back with this and more ridiculous comedies in the future.

XOXOX

Emilio Williams

Ms. Dulex goes to the Big Apple

What a weekend ahead of us!

Always so sad to close a theater show. And Smartphones closes this Saturday night, for a sold out session. (We have been selling out all week!)

This closing is particularly sad for me because it will be also the farewell party for our dear Amelia (Geraldine Dulex) who is moving to NYC.

When Beata Pilch introduced me to Geraldine we went out and drank martinis together. I felt an instant connection to her. She always quotes me on that fateful dinner: "Who knew that a Swiss and a Spaniard could have so much in common?"

Since then Geraldine has played many roles in my life: muse wrapped in bubble-wrap, lady in a pink dress, sister, mother, daughter, object of my affection, object of my desire, master, servant...friend.

One of the most regarding experiences of "Smartphones" has been seeing her grow into the role of Amelia and inhabit the crooked logic of Fede's apartment with equal doses of restraint and total abandon. During that process as she was finding the physicality and sound for her character, I always thought "Is it possible that I didn't even know Geraldine before I wrote this play?"

Geraldine Dulex has touched many of our lives in Chicago with her commitment to bare-bones theater, her amazing work ethic and attention to detail, her understanding of the audience as human beings, and her unsurpassed energy and passion on everything she does.

We're going to miss Geraldine so much...

but we know this is the right thing for her!

We hope that NYC will give her everything she deserves.

Here is a selection of some of the most memorable performances by Geraldine Dulex in the Chicago stage.

Thanks for all the memories!!!

Geraldine with the ladies of "the bitter tears of petra von kant" directed by Beata Pilch for Trap Door Theater

Ms. Dulex with Kevin Cox on Minna by Howard Barker directed by Nicole Wiesner for Trap Door Theater

 

 

 

With John Gray in The Censor. They won an Orgie Award for this groundbreaking basement production.

Geraldine and Dave Holcomb ended being the supper in Werner Schwab's overweight unimportant misshape- a European Supper at Trap Door Theatre

 

 

As the hysterical, Amelia in "Smartphones" at Trap Door Theatre

Very few tickets left! It's our closing weekend!!!

Dear Friends,

There are only a few tickets left for Wednesday August 15th and Friday August 17th. The Thursday and Saturday shows are sold out already.

You can buy or reserve tickets here:

http://trapdoortheatre.com/

Saturday is our last night! What a bittersweet moment. We're so happy and thrilled by the reception and support! What a beutiful summer you have given us.

Thanks, Chicago!!!

E.W.

Our Brazilian Star: Mariana Leite

A wonderful article in Portuguese about our darling Mariana Leite!

http://acessochicago.com/2012/08/12/palco-aberto-brasileira-na-cena-teatral-de-chicago/

We translated some highlight:

"Mariana as the hilarious Maria in Smartphones"
Actress Mariana Leite, of Sao Paulo, arrived in Chicago in 2011, to accompany her husband, the musician Gabriel Dib to study his masters. Today, she already has a presence in one of the city's most avant-garde stages, Trap Door Theater, playing the role of hilarious maid Maria. She also signs as assistant director of that play: Smartphones by Emilio Williams. Gabriel is responsible for the production of the musical piece.
"Theatre is entertainment," was what I said to Mariana, to paraphrase Brecht. She is a former member of the Brazilian group IVO 60.

Here Mariana's hints for those who want to enjoy the stage in Chicago:
Inside Trap Door

    Chicago is full of theatrical activity. It's amazing the number of groups, theatrical spaces and cultural events happening in the city all week! I always check out what is going on the site of the League of Chicago Theatres, because they talk about all kinds of parts, the most commercial to the storefront (or alternative theater)

    Among my favorite group is the Trap Door Theatre. They have a cozy theater in Bucktown and always produce quality theater, with bold ideas, proposing to actually research the theatrical language in all its excellence. Sometimes the texts are not simple and, for us who have English as a second language can make it difficult to understand, but there is acting, the scenery, the costumes, light, music and other elements that help us to see the work.

  

All the reviews (Links)

As we get ready for closing weekend (last performance is August 18th), here is a summary of the critical response to the play, including links to the full articles.

"Emilio Williams's deft, of-the-moment comedy is worth tweeting about. (...) Williams and his deft cast tweak theatrical conventions and technological obsessions with joy and, indeed, smarts."
-Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago

http://timeoutchicago.com/arts-culture/theater/15538116/smartphones-a-pocket-size-farce-at-trap-door-theatre-theater-review


"Smartphones: A Pocket-Size Farce is a smart, well-executed show with just the right ratio of mockery to substance. Recommended"
-Keith Griffith, Chicago Reader 

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/smartphones-a-pocket-size-farce/Event?oid=6938347

"The production design is spectacular, evoking an mid-60s flavor.  (...) It looks fantastic, and the performances (hilariously arch) are stylized and otherwordly."
-Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ott-0727-on-the-fringe-20120726,0,7713654.story

"Ah, what a refreshing thing a good farce can be on a hot summer day. In a nation with a drought of not just rain but quality satire, the premiere of Emilio Williams' Smartphones: A Pocket-Size Farce delivers a quirky little comedy with a sneakily smart dose of both old and new humor."
-Clint May, Chicago Theater Beat

http://chicagotheaterbeat.com/2012/07/22/review-smartphones-a-pocket-size-farce/

"One of the funniest and cleverest pieces of absurd theater I have ever seen. (...) I laughed, I gasped, I cringed, I enjoyed every second of it. It's theater of the absurd for the digital age."
-Jake Lindquist, Chicago Stage Style  

 http://steadstylechicago.com/smartphones.htm

 "IT'S ABSURD HOW AMAZING TRAP DOOR THEATRE IS...OR IS IT THE OTHER WAY AROUND? (...) Emilio Williams is a new voice worth following.
" - Paul Kubicki. Stage and Cinema 

http://www.stageandcinema.com/2012/07/26/smartphones/

“The cast delivers the craziness with a calculated combination of choreographed restraint and reckless abandon. (…)This show looks as good as next year’s iPhone upgrade. Recommended”
-Venus Zarris, Chicago Stage Review

http://www.chicagostagereview.com/?p=25972

“The cast is wonderful as a unit, but Jodi Kingsley (…) manages to humanize an absurdist character, and once you’ve seen that, you start to think that all absurdist comedies might be improved by such a performance. Recommended”
-Lisa Findley, Center Stage

http://www.centerstagechicago.com/theatre/shows/13059.html#review

The Unmatched Style of Studiobema

The runs follows its course. We're overwhelmed by the audience response. We're learning every night about how, in comedy, the audience is one more character on the play. And 99% they audience is right there with us and our crazy story from beginning to end.

Next week will be our last weekend. We're already on the other side of the hill... (The play closes August 18th)

Tonight, I also wanted to blog about Studiobema. This is the factory by one of my favorite avantgarde artists: Michal Janicki. This is the same artists who developed the visual and artwork for "Smartphones- a pocket-size farce" including the poster and still photography.

His website just got some deserved recognition from Unmatched Style:

http://unmatchedstyle.com/gallery/studiobema-com.php

But most importantly, the latest short film by Mr. Janicki has been posted. And you can watch it below. Click here to watch his new movie:


Murdered Woman Suddenly Gets Up from Chair (a tribute to Wislawa Szymborska)


E.W.