The Mercy Street Theatre Company, an ensemble founded and led by Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alumni, kicks off its second season with The Mercy Street Affair, an evening of new plays, live jazz, pastries, and craft cocktails inspired by the plays scheduled for the group’s upcoming 2015-16 season. The Mercy Street Affair takes place Monday, November 9, at the Foxhole, 2444 W. Montrose, in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood. Doors open at 7:30 PM, and the program begins at 8 PM. Tickets are available at the door for a $15 suggested donation. The event is a fundraiser for the Mercy Street Theatre.
Julia Rohed
J. Cody Spellman
Ian Michael James
Arianna Soloway
The short plays to be performed are: Dean is a Motherf***ing Pedophile, by E.J.C. Calvert, directed by Mercy Street artistic director Julia Rohed (BA ’13); Drink the Kool-Aid, by Dusty Wilson, directed by ensemble member Francisco Lopez; Dinner Date, by Rachel DuBose, directed by J. Cody Spellman (BA ’13); and Alpha/Omega, by Ian Michael James (BA ’14), directed by Arianna Soloway (BFA ’13). Rohed, Spellman, and Soloway are graduates of Columbia College’s theatre directing program. James is a graduate of Columbia’s BA Program in Acting with a minor in playwriting.
Jake Fruend
Rachel Minkoff
Jerico Bleu
Dakota Parobek
The Mercy Street ensemble includes Columbia College Theatre Department alumni Julia Rohed (artistic director); Jake Fruend (BA ’13) (associate artistic director), a graduate of Columbia College’s theatre directing program; Jerico Bleu (BA ’13) (outreach and development coordinator) and Rachel Minkoff (BA ’14), graduates of Columbia College’s Acting Program; Ian Michael James; and Dakota Parobek (BA ’15) (resident playwright), a graduate of Columbia College’s BA program in playwriting and author of Merry Christmas, Mulch Pile!, the opening production of Mercy Street Theatre’s 2015-16 season. The play, directed by Jake Fruend, concerns a young trans woman working to assert herself in an unwelcoming community. For this production, Mercy Street is partnering with Chicago House, an agency serving disenfranchised individuals and families in the LGBTQ community by providing housing, employment services, legal services, medical linkage and retention services, HIV prevention services, and other supportive programs.
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