FULL PROGRAM:

UNDER WATER/UP IN FLAMES by Tom Torluemke
Recollections, daydreams, dirty deeds, and ramblings from love to hate and back again.

UNTETHERED: A WOMAN’S STUMBLE & FALL INTO POLYAMORY a monologue by Lisa Roth
Julie is a 50-year-old navigating the trials and pitfalls of a polyamorous lifestyle. Her mother and a cast of other characters join her tribulations and celebrations, each adding their own stories to the unfolding tale. The performance is a small snapshot from a larger piece; expect to be left with questions by the end!

A HOUSE OF DOORS by Carl Watson; musical accompaniment by Michael Zerang
In this epic poem, Watson examines the essentially transient and homeless nature of the human condition. He starts with the Big Bang and takes us through the last days of our universe. Watson's work is full of stories, musings and the conversations of a single narrator meeting with others along the road to Heat Death. 

THE MAGNETIC EYE performed by Charles Pike; written David Hauptschein; directed by Julio Maria Martino 
Under the direction of London-based Martino, actor Charles Pike performs The Magnetic Eye, the third installment of Hauptschein's notorious FRANK MONOLOGUES. In this episode, Frank, who is often the butt of the joke, embarks on an errand to Karl’s Family Shoes and Brookfield Optical, which quickly turns from the mundane to the menacing as he is thrust into a vertiginous loop from which he may never escape.


MORE ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Tom Torluemke  is an Indiana-based contemporary American artist. His practice spans 40+ years and includes works in painting, drawing, sculpture, and installations in various mediums. He is known for his powerful, no-holds-barred approach to the socio-political, ethical, and humanistic.

Lisa Roth  has a BFA in acting and a lifelong love of the theater. Before moving to Chicago in 2021, Lisa acted and directed with theater companies in Hood River and Eugene, Oregon, most notably the Oregon Contemporary Theater, The Very Little Theater, Plays for Non-Profits, and the Columbia Arts Stage Theatre. Lisa is currently an Associate Artist with the Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble.

Carl Watson is a poet, novelist, and playwright. He has written four novels: ONLY DESCEND, IDYLLS OF COMPLICITY, BACKWARDS AND THE DROWNED GO DREAMING, and THE HOTEL OF IRREVOCABLE ACTS. His books of poetry include: AFTER THOUGHT, STAGE FRIGHT, PAREIDOLIA, and ASTRAL BOTANICA. His novels and short stories have been translated and published in French by Éditions Vagabonde and Gallimard. Carl grew up in Northwest Indiana, has lived in Portland, New Orleans, and Chicago, and is now currently based in New York City.

Michael Zerang was born in Chicago and is a first-generation American of Assyrian descent. He has been a professional musician, composer, and producer since 1976, focusing extensively on improvised music, free jazz, contemporary composition, puppet theater, experimental theater, and international musical forms.

Julio Maria Martino is a London-based theatre and film director. His work includes directing Steven Berkoff's KVETCH in various venues around the world. He has also directed over ten plays by Chicago playwright David Hauptschein. London productions of Hauptschein's work include: THE PLAYACTOR, which was Time Out Critics Choice, AN ALCHEMY OF FLESH, and IN MEMORY OF EDGAR LUTZEN. The award-winning feature film COUNTRY OF HOTELS (also written by Hauptschein) is Matino's debut as a film director. It was released in 2023 by Terror Films. Martino also directed the play LIFE’S A GATECRASH by Terry Hughes, which won a Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Charles Pike is a New Mexico-based actor/writer with an over forty-year history in theater and film. He has written plays that have been produced all over the United States, including in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago, where Pike has also appeared in numerous productions at the Prop Thtr. Pike had a starring role in the feature film, COUNTRY OF HOTELS, directed by Julio Maria Martino and written by David Hauptschein. In recent years he has performed two of Hauptschein's pieces from THE FRANK MONOLOGUES (The Bunkhouse and The Swim Club) as well as Hauptschein’s short play CAST at the Rhino Theater Festival in Chicago. 

MORE ABOUT THE CURATOR AND ARTIST DAVID HAUPTSCHEIN

(David Hauptschein Pictured Above)

David Hauptschein is a Chicago-based playwright, screenwriter, visual artist, and impresario. His plays have been produced in Chicago, New York, London, and Edinburgh. Hauptschein has also published two collections of plays, WHEN THE WALLS HAVE EARS AND OTHER PLAYS (2021) and AN ALCHEMY OF FLESH AND OTHER PLAYS (2022). COUNTRY OF HOTELS, the 2020 feature film written by Hauptschein and directed by Julio Maria Martino, was shown internationally in film festivals and is now being distributed by Terror Films. Hauptschein is also the creator of the award-winning, experimental, animated short, FECUNDATION (1981). Hauptschein’s visual art has been exhibited widely, especially in Chicago, and he has published four collections of pictures, the latest of which was published in 2023 and is entitled, SELVES PORTRAIT: SELF-PORTRAITS.