Articles About Brain Surgeon
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Return to Menu APRIL 28, 2008 Press Contact: Stepher Eng and Gwen Tulin, Brain Surgeon Theater, Marketing Director and Artistic Director, brainsurgeontheater@gmail.com, 617-448-6797 Audience Contact: Gorilla Tango Theatre @ 773.598.4549, info@gorillatango.com May 23 – June 1, 2008 JOHNNY TEN BONES Press Angles: Mixed
cast of local kids and professional actors; workshopped from scratch
by the ensemble; live original music. Americana Musical JOHNNY
TEN BONES Brings Brothers Grimm to the Town Next Door Chicago, IL, April 28, 2008
– Do you really know what goes bump in the night? Brain Surgeon
Theater’s intergenerational cast of the brand-new, original Americana
rock musical “Johnny Ten Bones” just might. When it opens for a
two-week run at Bucktown’s Gorilla Tango Theater on May 23, “Johnny
Ten Bones’” energetic and youthful team of local kids, professional
actors, designers and musicians hope to bring to life a “Leave It
To Beaver” world where, to quote the show, “What’s normal can
tend to get rearranged.” A typical barn dance turns into a treacherous
fiasco where no one, it seems, is safe from the bullies and birdwomen
of the fog-filled underground; meanwhile, a dark secret keeps everyone
in town on pins and needles.
Lydia Conklin, who created the eerie drawings that initially inspired
the world of Johnny Ten Bones, describes the current show as a macabre
romp into the the nightmares of childhood. “It’s the exploration
of the ghastly fate of a child who never grew up,” says Conklin, who
also worked on Brain Surgeon Theater’s last show, “Zombie Project:
THE SAD WORLD.” Brain Surgeon Theater was started
in the summer of 2007 by Gwen Tulin, and works with kids and artists
from all over the Chicagoland area. “Unlike typical children's theater,”
writes Natalie McCarty of The Chicago Journal, “Brain Surgeon
Theater brings kids and professional actors together not only onstage
but in the creative process of forming the script and characters.”
Indeed, this collaboratively-written play is anything but typical children’s
fare. From the minds of the old and young come bizarre character compositions,
raw emotions and character-driven story lines that weave in and out
of a basement universe where Johnny Ten Bones desperately tries to get
someone, anyone, to sing him to sleep. Stunning original music colors
the world of the play, presented by a live band of cello, mandolin,
piano, and percussion; the requisite cast of oddball characters permeate
the aether of this “quiet town.” So what’s different about
“Johnny Ten Bones” as compared to Brain Surgeon’s previous two
shows, “CAVES!” and “Zombie Project”? “I think we took ourselves
slightly more seriously this time,” says Tulin, who has directed and
co-written all three projects. “Not to say that we’ve lost our sense
of humor, but more that we realized we had a really good story on our
hands, and wanted to do it justice.” But there’s still an element
of farce that is always present in Brain Surgeon’s work, she says.
“We will be using a toilet paper gun. And, of course, the fog machine.” “Johnny Ten Bones” runs May 23 through June 1, Fridays at 6 pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 1 pm, at Gorilla Tango Theater, 1919 N Milwaukee. Tickets are $10. For more information about this and past productions and to view a complete cast list, please visit www.brainsurgeontheater.com. Journalists may email brainsurgeontheater@gmail.com to schedule a review. [MORE] ABOUT BRAIN SURGEON THEATER Brain Surgeon Theater serves as an educational and creative home committed to making original plays unconstrained by typical expectations of children’s theater. We believe in bringing together child and professional actors with a wide range of talents, abilities, ages, and interests to collaborate and perform in equally-sized roles. The success of our February 2007 revival of "CAVES!" and December 2007 production of our original rock musical “Zombie Project: THE SAD WORLD” demonstrates that Chicago has need of a company that creates work with, by, and for children that is truly meta-theatrical for audience and performers alike. [ END ] Return to Menu |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Return to Menu NOVEMBER 6, 2007 Press Contact: Gwen Tulin, Artistic Director, Brain Surgeon Theater @ 617.448.6797, brainsurgeontheater@gmail.com, www.brainsurgeontheater.com Audience Contact: Gorilla Tango Theatre @ 773.598.4549, info@gorillatango.com December
7 – 16, 2007 Intergenerational
Rock Musical “Zombie Project” Addresses Capitalism,
Fog CHICAGO,
IL 11/6/07. What happens when eight kids, six grownups, and Zombies
collide? Apparently a one-hour rock and roll spectacle reminiscent of
your kid’s school pageant gone totally cool. Brain Surgeon
Theater, newly minted after their February ’07 production of
“CAVES,” presents “ZOMBIE PROJECT: The
Sad World,” a play that addresses issues of capitalism,
consumerism, and non-nuclear families. Headed by Bucktown resident and
Artistic Director Gwen Tulin, Brain Surgeon Theater creates its plays
from scratch with a cast consisting of local kids and professional
actors, all playing substantial roles. The initial theme for
this ensemble-based play? Zombies. The results? Very few actual
zombies and a whole lot of politics and scaffolding – go
figure. This meta-theatrical, extremely atypical children’s
theater piece, running December 7 – 16 at Gorilla Tango
Theatre, features such song and dance numbers as “Stars
N’ Sparkles (No More Apathy)” and “Sad
Song” – a withering diatribe about seedy cities and
callous corporate moguls. But, says Tulin, it’s all in good
fun. Brain
Surgeon Theater officially became a company in June 2007, and works
with kids and artists from all over Chicago. Its unique mission
– to create children’s theater unconstrained by
typical expectations of the genre and not charge anyone for
participating – has attracted both long-time friends and
completely new artists to the projects. Matthew Wood, who plays Mitch
Pickle, the resident workaholic dad of “Zombie
Project,” was eager to get involved in the performance
process after having choreographed for “CAVES” in
February ’07. “It seemed like such a unique
challenge to collaborate with a generationally diverse group of
actors,” says Wood. “These kids have a boundless
imagination that I find inspiring, and for those of us who are even
just a little bit older and have grown just a little more jaded, it
helps to unleash a lot of our own creative juices.” Lydia
Conklin of New York, who is currently developing the non-traditional
children’s literary magazine, “Two
Friends,” designed the graphics for Brain Surgeon Theater.
Conklin says, “The pieces are sophisticated and sarcastic and
definitely new… kids can create their own oeuvre,
unencumbered by commercial concerns or condescending
moralizing.” And, says Conklin, the products of this process
are surprisingly delightful. “These projects allow adult
artists and creative-minded kids to team up,” she says,
“And by virtue of that collaboration they create exciting,
strange and catchy work.” There
is an undeniable electricity at rehearsals, says Tulin.
“Because everyone creates their own characters,
there’s an element of investment in the process and product
that makes this really special.” Tulin articulates
that the atmosphere of possibility and openness keeps everyone going
full speed, even as they stage fairly complicated dance numbers and
learn tricky music. Sometimes after rehearsal or during the week Tulin
will receive a phone call or email from a kid who has a great idea for
the plot. “That’s how open we are to every single
cast member, whether you’re seven or whether you’re
a published writer doing the project for fun,” she says. This
influx of creativity led Tulin to develop a three-tiered writing
process: first the whole group brainstorms, then just the adults, and
finally Tulin takes that material and writes the script. “Do
we use all the ideas? Well, no,” she
says. “But I can tell you that I never would have come up
with a 300-year-old perfume counter manager named Edna Peep, or our
spectacular surprise ending to ‘Zombie Project’
– all I’ll disclose is that it may or may not
involve an otherworldly vessel.” As
with “CAVES,” Tulin hopes that “Zombie
Project” will draw in an audience of not just kids and their
parents, but also serious theater-goers who want to see an innovative,
fresh and fast-paced play. “We’re working with
professional artists on all tiers,” says Tulin.
“And when you set high expectations for kids,
they’ll meet them providing you give them the proper tools
– in our case a great script and an insane amount of
fun.” “ZOMBIE
PROJECT: The Sad World” runs December 7 through the 16,
Fridays at 6 pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 1 pm, at Gorilla Tango
Theater, 1919 N Milwaukee. Tickets are $10. For more information about
this and past productions and to view a complete cast list, please
visit www.brainsurgeontheater.com. Journalists may
email info@brainsurgeontheater.com to schedule a review. ABOUT
BRAIN SURGEON THEATER
Brain Surgeon Theater serves as an educational and creative home
committed to making original plays unconstrained by typical
expectations of children’s theater. We believe in bringing
together child and professional actors with a wide range of talents,
abilities, ages, and interests to collaborate and perform in
equally-sized roles. The success of our February 2007 revival of
"CAVES!" demonstrated that Chicago has need of a company that creates
work with, by, and for children that is truly meta-theatrical for
audience and performers alike. [ END ] Return to Menu |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Return to Menu JANUARY 16, 2007 Press Contact: Gwen Tulin @ 617.448.6797 Audience Contact: Gorilla Tango Theatre @ 773.598.4549, info@gorillatango.com February 10-18, 2007 "Caves! The Musical" is Original Mix of Song, Dance, and Strangeness "Caves! The Musical" is descending on Chicago. Originally written by a group of seven to nine year olds in Arlington, Massachusetts, "Caves!" director Gwen Tulin has recast this forty minute musical with a rollicking group of adult actors and local kids – all playing mutant insects, grumpy scientists, and strange, cave-dwelling humans, of course. Gorilla Tango Theater in Chicago's own Bucktown neighborhood will present "Caves!" on Saturdays and Sundays from February 10-18 at 5 pm. With such song-and-dance numbers as "Trapped in a Cave, Physically and Emotionally" and the crowd-pleasing opener "Caves!" this rock-band backed musical is both solid entertainment and an opportunity to see local kids collaborating with professional actors. Gwen Tulin is a recent Boston transplant who studied theater and creative writing at Brandeis University. Her "Caves!" script quickly found a home at Gorilla Tango, and the subsequent revival cast, design team, and crew is made up of a unique group of theater artists, musicians, and young actors. Gabriel Inton, a 24 year old actor and former New York middle school science teacher, is playing Vampiro Fax, a mutant vampire bat originally conceived of by a Boston seven-year-old. "Ever since exploring the Mammoth Cave National Park in Western Kentucky, I have had a love of caves," says Gabriel. " This project has turned out to be a unique adventure vaguely pertinent to my original interest in actual caves." Matthew Wood, the show's choreographer and 23 year old Bucktown resident and actor describes his choreography work for the show as "spontaneous, kitchy, and fresh. I think of 'Caves' not so much as children's theater but as theater with children at the center of it. There are no other projects out there like this." When "Caves!" opens on February 10, Tulin hopes to draw in an audience of kids, grownups, families, and theater-goers who want to see something totally strange and new, whether or not their kids are performing in it. "You're not going to see this kind of an interpretation of stage work anywhere else," says choreographer Wood. "And," he adds, "It's really cute." "Caves! The Musical" runs February 10 through the 18 on Saturdays and Sundays at 5 pm at Gorilla Tango Theater, 1919 N Milwaukee. Tickets are $10. [ END ] Return to Menu |