Walking Tall

Hello Folks,
     Welcome to my webpage! It has been about six months since my last blog and I'm glad to have found some time to post again. Many wonderful and unexpected opportunities have come my way and I'm excited to share them. 

     At the time of my last blog, I was in rehearsal for Strangeloop Theatre's French With Me Gala. The piece was called Come Enjoy the Show or The Inexhaustable, Unpredictable, Amaranthine Shadow Circus. It was a dark story involving circus performers and a dangerous love triangle. I performed as the Enchanting Eliana - a tight rope & stilt walker who steals the heart of a young gentleman in the audience. In the end, a difficult decision has to be made by both of them if their love is to continue.
​The piece went over very well and its author & director, Maria Burnham is working to turn the ten minute play into a full length production. 

     In March and April, I was cast in the first production of a new company called Switchboard Theatre. We performed two one acts: Overtones, by Alice Gerstenberg and The Game, by Louise Bryant. Both pieces were directed by Hillary Champlin. Overtones follows an interaction between two women, Harriet and Margaret, who used to be school chums and are now meeting up for the first time in years. Each is accompanied by their inner selves (or inner thoughts), Hetty and Maggie (played by two separate actresses). Both ladies want something the other has. Their inner selves are the driving force behind how their gentle 'overtone' personas get what they want. I played Margaret, the wife of a starving artist with whom the wealthy Harriet is in love. The second piece The Game involves Life and Death gambling over the lives of two brilliant youths who wish to end their lives. Life helps them discover love in hopes to save them. I played Life. This show was my first time performing at Mary's Attic in Andersonville.

     This spring, I took a stab at stand up comedy! The Plagiarists Theatre Co. hosted a Salonathon sporting the theme Legacy. I used my storytelling background and attempted a hybrid style of funny storytelling plus stand up. The focus of my routine revolved around some of my more ridiculous day job moments. It was well received - which was encouraging! I intend to do more stand up in the future. 

     On Super Bowl Sunday, I was involved in a photo shoot led by the talented photographer Ivan Phillips. The shoot was named Superstrobe Sunday! It was meant as a class (taught by Ivan Phillips) for aspiring photographers as well as a way for many of them to get more experience with models. I was one of the hired models. I had a great time getting to know/work with different photographers. Check out my photos here or on my profile through Model Mayhem. 

 (Photo Credit: Ivan Philips)

     As my summer was about to begin, I was initially meant to travel to Salt Lake City, Utah. My talented friend Cooper Lee Smith had just co-founded a new company out there called the Straw to Gold Ensemble. I was set to perform in their first show The Crickets Have Arthritis. Unfortunately, due to some sad circumstances, the production process got pushed back and my intended living/ travel situation became complicated. I was unable to go to Salt Lake City and had to drop from the show. Very quickly, I reevaluated my summer plans and prepared myself to find work again in Chicago. On a positive note, I decided to visit New York and Boston both for the first time. I love discovering new cities. I had no idea, however, how many opportunities would come my way in the next couple of months.

     In late June, I got cast in a piece submitted for a playwright festival/compettition held at City Lit. The event was called The Art of Adaptation and each playwright was to submit a twenty minute play that had to be based off of or adapted from an existing work or historic event. I played Frauline Elizabeth in A Case of Hysteria, written by Ken Kaye. This piece was adapted from one of Freud's early lectures. Our play was very well received, although our playwright did not win. Since this piece was only a snippet from Ken Kaye's full length play, we have high hopes it will get picked up in the near future (and its original cast with it). To see a recording of the play, click here. 

     Immediately following A Case of Hysteria, I started rehearsals for Walkabout Theatre's summer play in the parks Tall Girl and the Lightning Parade. It was my first time performing in one of Walkabout's shows (although I've worked with some of its members before). It was truly a grand piece, suitable for adults and children. Tall Girl and the Lightning Parade was a touching and visually stunning love story told by a large cast involving stilt walkers, puppeteers, musicians, storytellers, and more. It was also a bilingual show, spoken in English and Spanish. I played one of the Storm Gods (brothers to the Sun). When the Tall Girl attempts to elope with her love, the Storm Gods are ordered by the Sun (her father) to seek them out and bring her back. The role required a lot of stilt dancing, which I was more than eager to partake in. The performances always started with a parade to draw a crowd and we received a lot of positive feed back. Check out our review from New City Stage here. 

​(Photo Credit: The Obsessive Eye Photography)

Starlight Radio Dreams (the radio podcast group I'm an ensemble member of) is still going strong. You can check us out online at www.starlightradiodreams.com, on i-tunes, and on our facebook page. Every month we have a new episode. In one of our most recent releases, you can listen to me as Hildy in Mob Daughters and as the character 'Intern' stepping in for our usual host (Devin Showtime) who was out of town that month. Click here to find all of our posted episodes. More exciting, is that this month marks our season 1 finale! Check out one of our two performances if you can. We regularly have our first of the two monthly performances at Black Rock Pub and we will have our second monthly performance at Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro. Come October, we will be moving into our second season! We will be changing out a couple of our serials and I'm looking to submit one of my own for consideration. Stay tuned! 

(Mob Daughters​)

​     This summer, I was on set a couple of times for the new television show Patriot. I stood in for one of the characters and I was background for another scene. It's always nice to get some time on a large studio set. Thank you 4 Star Casting for the numerous opportunities!
    
     Over the past six months I participated in numerous workshops and specialty skill sessions.
-The first was a workshop on Suzuki, led by Dan Wilson. The atmosphere was relaxed. but charged with a unique energy. It was lovely to flow into a new kind of movement training. 
-In May, I felt so lucky to have been informed about a fantastic week long clowning workshop. The instructor was a french performer and master in clown, Victor Quezada-Perez. Trap Door Theatre was the hosting company. It was incredible what I learned and it certainly gave me a physical and mental workout! Victor Quezada-Perez will be coming back to Chicago to do another workshop and direct a Trap Door theatre show in 2017.   

-More recently, I had the pleasure of taking another stilt dancing workshop with Kristina Isabelle Dance Co. As you can probably tell, I love being on stilts and her courses push me to test my boundaries and consistently discover what I can do on them. I've taken both two day workshops she has offered this year and now there is talk of her setting up a regular class! Check out my stilt dancing videos in my Specialty Skills section.

   Other skills I've been honing/ picking up include:
-Fire Poi

​-Balloon Animals/Hats

​-Trapeze

-Whip Cracking (See videos in my Specialty Training section)

​     EllEntertainment is starting to gain momentum, I'm proud to say. In February, Flopples the Clown Rag Doll made an appearance at the For the Love of Chocolate Gala. It has been a couple of years, but I have worked this event before during my actor apprenticeship with Redmoon Theatre Co. This time it was fun to be roving about as a character of my own creation. 

     In late June, I booked two other performers to play Gerttie the Lass on Stilts and Flava the Sunflower Pixie at the Homer Township 4th of July Parade (I was out of town). It was bizarre seeing other performers in my costumes, but they looked phenomenal! 

     I performed at Six Flags Great America as Gerttie for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of July. I stilt walked five hours a day, interacting with the patrons of the park. I enjoyed it immensely and I hope to work for them again! I also performed as Gerttie at the Wheaton Township 4th of July Parade (right before my day at Six Flags). 

     In late July, I stilt walked in the Kidzapalooza section of Lollapalooza. I was with Collaboraction Theatre. That weekend was a blast! Hopefully they will bring me back next year.

     This fall, I have a lot of plans and a few gigs already lined up. I'll be a stilt walking angel at a wedding & at the Stronghold Festival in Oregon, IL, the Art Bar caretaker for Collaboraction at the September After Dark event, and a suspicious character in a Murder Mystery Dinner - to name a few. I'm developing a couple of movement workshops (which I'm currently negotiating) to teach at The Armory Art Center in Boston, MA.

     I've been walking tall (figuratively and literally) for most of the summer. I have high hopes in keeping the momentum going this fall. Thank you so much for reading my blog and be sure to check out my new photos, videos, and much anticipated reels!

Best,
​Ellen