Red Tape Theatre starts our 16th Season with a new adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel. All Quiet On The Western Front became both a runaway bestseller around the world and a target of scorn for the rising National Socialists German Workers Party and their vision of a new German Reich. By the time Hitler was made chancellor in 1933, it was declared illegal to own a copy of All Quiet on the Western Front in all of Germany.
The story is centered on the experiences of 2nd Company on the German Front lines during the last year of WWI as they navigate the vicious cycle of tedium, boredom behind the lines, and constant terror when installed in the trenches at the font. The adaptation closely follows the events of the novel, as the central storyteller, Paul, speaks to the loss of friends, the deepening of human connections and the growing realization of what is true and what is not in the face of war.
Our play, adapted by Matt Foss and created with permission and in association with the Remarque estate. The story speaks to the cycles of history from which we are charged to learn, and our approach to the play seeks to gather the threads of this cycle—from the time of Remarque’s writing and to our immediate present. This will be a co-production with the Greenhouse Theatre and the University of Toledo.
All tickets are FREE as part of the Free Theatre Movement. To guarantee a seat to sold-out performances, become a member.
OPENING AUGUST 16th and running through SEPTEMBER 14th.
Fridays at 7:30
Saturdays at 7:30
Sundays at 2:30
Mondays (Industry Night) at 7:30
All Performances at the GREENHOUSE THEATRE CENTER, 2257 N Lincoln Ave
Cast & Creative Team
Cast: Charlotte Mae Ellison, Caitlin Ewald, Elena Victoria Feliz, Ian Maryfield, Colin Morgan, Alec Phan, Collin Quinn Rice, Laila Rodrigues, Brenda Scott Wlazlo*, Bianca Canigila (US), Austin Rambo (US)
Writer/Director: Matt Foss
Artistic Director: Max Truax*
Assistant Director: Kate Staiger
Producer: Ambrose Cappuccio*
Stage Manager: Emily Melgard
Assistant Stage Manager: Dan Poppen
Props Designer: Matt Foss
Casting Director: Catherine Miller
Sound Design and Composer: Dan Poppen
Costume Designer: Rachel Sypniewski
Lighting Design: Stephen Sakowski
Movement and Choreography: Leah Urzendowski
Scenic Design: Nick Schwartz*
Teaser Poster Design: CM Dugan
Marketing Director: Casey Chapman*
Associate Marketing Manager & Webmaster: Joseph Ramski*
*indicates Red Tape Company Member
Meet the Artists
Matt Foss (DIRECTOR / PLAYWRIGHT) (he/him/his) Matt Foss received his MFA in acting from Chicago’s Roosevelt University and Ph.D. in theatre studies and directing from Wayne State University in Detroit. Professional credits include Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Oracle Theatre, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, American Blues Theatre, The Jewish Ensemble Theatre, and Tipping Point Theatre. In 2016, his touring production of The Glass Menagerie performed at Russia’s Moscow Art Theatre. He adapted and directed Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle for Oracle Productions in Chicago in 2014. The production received Chicago Jeff Award Nominations for Outstanding Production, Director, Ensemble, and won for best new adaptation. In 2012 his production of Six Characters at Iowa State University received the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival’s (KCACTF) National Award for Outstanding Production of a Play and Outstanding Director of a Play. In 2019, his adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front received the Kennedy Center’s National David Mark Cohen playwrighting award. He was a recipient of the National ATHE/KCACTF Prize for Innovative Teaching in 2013 and teaches at the University of Toledo.
Charlotte Mae Ellison (she/her/hers) is thrilled to be at Red Tape for the first time. She’s back in Chicago after performing with Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet). She also spent the prior two summers touring with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks (Othello, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Macbeth, You Never Can Tell), as well as the past winter in their black box (Noises Off!). In the Chicago area, she’s performed with Writer’s Theatre (The Diary of Anne Frank u/s), Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (SS! Twelfth Night u/s), Steppenwolf (The Burials u/s), Red Orchid Theatre (Pilgrim’s Progress), Griffin Theatre (The 25th Annual…Spelling Bee, Letters Home), Adventure Stage Chicago (Spark), The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (Circle Mirror Transformation), and others. Charlotte is represented by Big Mouth talent and has appeared on Chicago Fire and the web series #whokilledheather. She is a proud graduate of Emerson College and the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland.
Caitlin Ewald (she/her/hers) is a Chicago based actor whose most recent work includes a co-starring role in the feature film Captive State in which she plays Anita (now available on Amazon and I-Tunes). Recently she has had the pleasure of working with Red Leg Films on their short ‘Now and Not Yet’ and is also looking forward to beginning filming the crowdfunded project: C.O.R.A. in which she will star as the super-soldier Cora. Her background includes a B.F.A. in acting from Northern Illinois University where she studied abroad at the Moscow Art Theatre School. Caitlin enjoys working and coaching at Unanimous Boxing Gym in Logan Square and is blessed to get to work with and know so many inspiring, hard-working individuals and artists!
Elena Victoria Feliz (she/her/hers) is a Chicago based actress and singer and is excited to be working with Red Tape Theatre for the first time! Past theatre credits include ROMEO AND JULIET with Teatro Vista (Tybalt), OUR TOWN at Redtwist Theatre (Emily), THIS BOAT CALLED MY BODY with For Youth Inquiry (Jane), REVOLT! at Visión Latino (Narrator), GENDER BREAKDOWN at Collaboraction Theatre (Understudy), and COSMIC EVENTS ARE UPON US with Waltzing Mechanics (Maria Romanov), and IN THE HEIGHTS at MusicalFare Theatre (Nina). Originally from Buffalo, NY she is a graduate of Niagara University. She is proudly represented by Actors Talent Group.
Ian Maryfield (he/him/his) is ecstatic to be making his Red Tape Theatre debut. Chicago credits include productions with Court Theatre, Haven Theatre, The House Theatre of Chicago, 16th St. Theatre, Erasing the Distance Theatre, Pulse Theatre, Factory Theater, Arc Theatre, Runcible Theatre Company and in October he can be seen in Tru: The Musical at Stage 773. Television credits include Chicago Fire; Commercial credits include Legendary Whitetails and Guinness. Ian received his BFA in acting from Oklahoma City University.
Colin Morgan (he/him/his) is excited to be working with Red Tape for the first time. Public Access theatre is the best. Chicago credits include 3 Sisters (The Neighborhood Theatre); Sense and Sensibility, Pericles, Short Shakes! Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); The Jungle, No Beast So Fierce, Romulus (Oracle Productions); Explorers Club (Windy CityPlayhouse) Bellboys, Baggage, and Bears (Redmoon), and regionally. Colin is from Sioux City, IA and graduated Iowa State University.
Alec Phan (he/him/they/them) is an actor, deviser, and musician based in Chicago. He is thrilled and deeply grateful to be back onstage with Red Tape for the second time this year. Alec hails from Wisconsin, where he was founding artistic director of Fermat’s Last Theatre Co. Most recently, you may have seen him play a moody punk rocker, an undead catholic priest, or a troubled prison guard here in the Windy City. Special thanks to Pashachka for being the goodest boy.
Collin Quinn Rice (they/them) is absolutely thrilled to add a new “Red” company to their credits! They were most recently seen in Mike Pence Sex Dream (First Floor Theater), Trans Voices Cabaret (Steppenwolf LOOK OUT Series), The Harvest (Griffin Theatre Co.), Hatfield & McCoy (The House), Le Switch (About Face Theatre), Masque Macabre (Strawdog Theatre Company), An Oak Tree (Red Theater), Going to a Place… (Redtwist Theatre), and The Hilary Duff Project (MCL Chicago). Film credits include The Right Swipe and The Play Cycle. Collin is a graduate of Northwestern University, and they are represented by Big Mouth Talent.
Laila Rodrigues (she/her/hers) is from Los Angeles, California. Past credits include Misalliance, Into the Woods, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra, Go! and Jeff and the Dead Girl. She is very passionate about children’s theatre, new plays, and drag. She is a recent graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University, and is proudly represented by Grossman & Jack Talent.
Joel Rodriguez (he/him/his) is a Chicago-based singer and actor thrilled to be making his Red Tape Theatre debut. He was last seen in Redtwist Theatre’s 2017 production of Our Town (Howie Newsome). Past theatre credits include Going To A Place Where You Already Are with Redtwist Theatre (Jonas) and Cinerella At The Theatre Of Potatoes with The Hypocrites (Ivan Turgenev/Baron). He would like to thank his family, friends, the cast and crew, and you the audience for supporting Chicago theatre.
Brenda Scott Wlazlo* (she/her/hers) Brenda hold’s a BA in Theater from Florida State University and is a graduate of AMDA’s Musical Theater Conservatory in New York City. Since moving to Chicago in 2013, she’s worked with the likes of Chicago Kids Company, Redtwist Theatre, Red Theater, Chicago Slam Works, Tympanic Theater Company, and Waltzing Mechanics. She is a proud company member at Broken Nose Theater and the Director of Accessibility for Red Tape. When not onstage, Brenda can be found chatting to herself in her sound booth. She has over 20 audiobooks published and can be heard on Audible, Itunes, and more. You can check out her work at http://www.BswVoice.com. She’s thrilled to be a part of this production.
Bianca Canigila (US) (she/her/hers) is a graduate of The University of Toledo 2018 Environmental Science Department and Women’s and Gender Studies Department. Since moving to Chicago Bianca has been in a collection of short plays The Moon Plays put on by The Neighborhood Theater. She produced and directed a short film Lilac. And she most recently was the Production Assistant for 12 Ophelias at The Martin Chicago and has since become the Artistic Associate of The Martin. She is absolutely thrilled to join the All Quiet team!
Austin Rambo (US) (he/him/his) is a graduate from The University of Toledo class of 2019 for Theater and media communications. He trained at the Moscow Art Theater (MAXT) during the summer of 2018. This is Austin’s debut to Chicago theater, he was in the first draft of All Quiet on the Western Front when it was performed at The University of Toledo.
RED TAPE THEATER / THE FREE THEATRE MOVEMENT
“The public interest is best served by the free exchange of ideas.” – John Kane
Red Tape believes that access to the arts is essential for our community’s ability to engage in a free exchange of ideas. As an art form, the immediacy of theatre provides a powerful platform for this exchange. We strive to remove the barriers that exist between our community and an increasingly commodified culture. Starting in January of 2018, we will offer all of our quality theatrical productions to the public free of charge.
Red Tape will be able to offer our work free of charge thanks to the generous support of our Members, each of whom makes an automated monthly donation in an amount of their choose (or a one-time donation). Each donation enables Red Tape to share our work with more people and to engage a growing community in discourse through the arts.
Simply put, we believe everyone should be able to see theatre without the financial stress of ticket price.
We are a theatre of free ideas. We are a theatre of free access. We are a free theatre.
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