ABOUT SIDESHOW
"Theatre for the Curious"
It is the mission of Sideshow Theatre Company to mine the collective unconscious of the world we live in with limitless curiosity, drawing inspiration from the familiar stories, memories and images we all share to spark new conversation and bring our audience together as adventurers in a communal experience of exploration.
Over its 10+ year history, Sideshow is proud to have distinguished itself as a vital member of the Chicago theatre community. Sideshow was awarded the 2016 Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award by the League of Chicago Theatres. Sideshow is a multiple Jeff Award-winning theatre and has been listed on the “Best of” lists in 2012, 2013 and 2014 by Time Out Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times. Sideshow continues its multi-year residency at Victory Gardens in the historic Biograph Theater.
Sideshow is also the producer of Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLLAW), a wildly popular fundraiser held in benefit of Sideshow Theatre Company and other local community organizations. CLLAW has been featured in local and national press, including The Washington Post, Reuters, Penthouse Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times and on WGN Morning News, ABC 7’s Windy City Live and CBS 2.
ENSEMBLE
Katy Carolina Collins
Matt Fletcher
Elly Green
Jonathan L. Green
Ann James
Walt McGough
Megan A. McGuane
Karie Miller
Nate Whelden
Katy Carolina Collins
Katy Carolina Collins is an ensemble member with Sideshow where her credits include No More Sad Things (Jessiee), Stupid Fucking Bird (Mash), and Idomeneus (Monster/Ensemble). She can also be seen wrestling in CLLAW (Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers) events as Hillary Rod-Arm Clinton. She has acted in Chicago with Second City, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Vintage Theater Collective, and Collaboraction. She is a stakeholder in the Backroom Shakespeare Project, co-founded Pivot Arts, created Chicago Movieoke, cheerleads in the band Mucca Pazza, and stars in the web series “The Doula Is In.” She graduated with a BFA from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program.
Matt Fletcher
Matt proudly serves as producing artistic director of Sideshow Theatre Company, where he was last seen in Give It All Back and both iterations of Stupid Fucking Bird. Other performance credits include Idomeneus (Jeff Award - Best Ensemble), The Golden Dragon, Mai Dang Lao, Tyrant, Heddatron, Theories of the Sun, Dante Dies!! (and then things get weird), and others (Sideshow Theatre Company); The Killer Angels (Lifeline Theatre); Failure: A Love Story (Victory Gardens); Common Hatred (The Ruckus); As Told by the Vivian Girls (Dog & Pony); Chicago Fire (NBC) and two seasons with The Lost Colony on Roanoke Island, NC. Matt received his BA in drama at the University of Virginia.
Elly Green
Elly Green previously directed Hansol Jung’s No More Sad Things for Sideshow Theatre. Other Chicago theatre credits include: Pillars of the Community by Henrik Ibsen/Samuel Adamson, The Night Season by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, After Miss Julie by Patrick Marber (Strawdog Theatre), The Woman in Black by Stephen Mallatratt/Susan Hill (Wildclaw Theatre), The Distance by Deborah Bruce (Haven Theatre), The Woman Before by Roland Schimmelpfennig (Trap Door Theatre), Rabbit by Nina Raine (Stage Left Theatre) and The Tomkat Project by Brandon Ogborn (Playground & NY Fringe). Elly trained in the UK, where her credits include: Our Country’s Good (Royal & Derngate, Actors Company), My Balloon Beats Your Astronaut (Papatango/Tristan Bates), Beyond Therapy (Old Joint Stock/BSA, Birmingham), About Tommy (Southwark Playhouse), Copenhagen (Tabard Theatre), Skylight (Stephen Joseph Theatre), The Beach (Theatre 503) & The Zoo Story (Etcetera Theatre). She is an ensemble member with Sideshow Theatre and Strawdog Theatre, and an artistic associate with Stage Left Theatre.
Jonathan L. Green
Jonathan has been the artistic director of Sideshow Theatre since its founding in 2007. He has directed and assisted for Sideshow, Greenhouse Theater Center, Lookingglass, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Diversionary Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Theatre Seven of Chicago, Pavement Group and the Earl Hamner, Jr. Theatre. Recent projects include truth and reconciliation, The Happiest Place on Earth, Antigonick, Stupid Fucking Bird, Idomeneus (Jeff Award for ensemble), and others. Recent dramaturgy credits include Blind Date, Objects in the Mirror, Gloria, War Paint, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, and Disgraced, all at Goodman Theatre. Jonathan is a graduate of the University of Virginia, currently serves on the board of directors of the League of Chicago Theatres, and is the literary manager for Goodman Theatre.
Ann James
Ann James is a Sideshow ensemble member and has appeared in its productions of truth and reconciliation, Caught, Antigonick, Maria/Stuart and Idomeneus. Among the companies with whom she has also worked are 16th Street, Goodman, Jackalope, Organic, Pivot Arts, Provision, Shattered Globe and Stage Left. She is the founding director of Chicspeare Production Company, which has brought Shakespeare alive for more than 100,000 Chicago area residents in the past 20 years.
Walt McGough
Walt McGough is a Boston-based playwright (by way of Pittsburgh and Chicago). In Boston, he has held fellowships with both the Huntington and New Repertory Theatre Companies, and was a finalist for the 2016 Dramatists Guild Lanford Wilson Award. His plays include Pattern of Life, which was named Best New Play by the Independent Reviewers of New England, and The Farm, Priscilla Dreams the Answer, and Paper City Phoenix, all of which received Best New Play IRNE nominations. Other plays include Non-Player Character, Brawler, Chalk, Dante Dies!! (and then things get weird), and The Haberdasher!. He has worked around the country with companies such as San Francisco Playhouse, The Lark, the Huntington, New Rep, NNPN, Boston Playwrights, Fresh Ink, Sideshow, Orfeo Group, Nu Sass Productions, Chicago Dramatists, and Argos. In 2015, his play Advice for Astronauts was selected as the winner of the Milken Playwriting Prize. He has served on the staff at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston and Chicago Dramatists, and is a founding ensemble member of Chicago’s Sideshow Theatre Company. He holds a BA from the University of Virginia, and an MFA in playwriting from Boston University. He co-hosts the bi-weekly pop culture/comedy podcast Crossover Appeal.
Megan A. McGuane
Megan is a founding ensemble member for Sideshow Theatre. She served as the company's executive director from 2007 - 2016. She works with Sideshow Theatre directing world or Chicago premieres (Chalk, Tyrant, The Burden of Not Having a Tail, Theories of the Sun, Ekphrasis: Cave Walls to Soup Cans), and with Southern Illinois University (Joan's Laughter). Megan recently directed We Are Very Small, a sketch comedy show written by Tom McGuane at iO Chicago, and the world premiere of Target Behavior by Caity-Shea Violette with 20% Theater Company. Megan wrestles from time to time as The Cutting Edge for the Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLLAW). She is a proud graduate of the Catholic University of America.
Karie Miller
With Sideshow, Karie performs (The Burden of Not Having a Tail; Tyrant; Idomeneus; Everything Freezes; Ekphrasis), directs (Strangerland), and emcees (Rockke L Squelch, Mistress of Ceremonialisms for the Chicago League of Lady Arm-Wrestlers; Mariafe Ariadne Buckford-Westington-Washington-Taylor-Clais at the yearly Sideshow Gala). Karie is also an artistic associate with The Ruckus, with whom she performed/devised 15 Minutes and directed/devised Common Hatred. She holds an MFA from UVA, a BFA from NKU, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Theatre History, Theory and Performance at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Her research interests include audience, creative placemaking, and performance art.
Nate Whelden
Nate has worked in Chicago with Sideshow (Antigonick, Stupid Fucking Bird, Maria/Stuart, Idomeneus, Strangerland at Chicago Fringe Fest 2011, and Heddatron), the Goodman (Carlyle, New Stages Festival 2014), 16th Street Theatre (Pinoklandia), Jackalope Theatre Company (The Peacock), and The Ruckus (Common Hatred at RhinoFest). He has worked with Ensemble Studio Theatre (NYC) and in 2007 at the Hangar Theatre (Ithaca) as a member of the Lab Company. Nate graduated in 2008 from the University of Virginia with a degree in drama and a minor in Afro American studies. He graduated high school in Guatemala City and grew up in Latin America. He is proud to be an ensemble member with Sideshow where he treads the boards as Charlie No Pants for the Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers and helms Sideshow's new play development program, The Freshness Initiative. Nate sends love to his family, the gutter, the dirt, the youth of America and to Elizabeth Anne.
ARTISTIC ASSOCIATES
Kathleen Akerley
William Boles
Philip Dawkins
Benjamin W. Dawson
Gina M. Di Salvo
Brittany Ducksworth
Andrew Goetten
Christopher M. LaPorte
Christopher M. LaPorte has collaborated on projects with many Chicago companies including Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, Writers Theatre, Victory Gardens, Lookingglass, Drury Lane, The Hypocrites, TimeLine, Raven, University of Illinois Chicago and Sideshow Theatre Company where he is an artistic associate. Regional collaborations include Kansas City Repertory, Dallas Theatre Center, The Old Globe (San Diego), Center Stage (Baltimore), Arena Stage (Washington D.C.), Arsht Theatre Center (Miami), Denver Center for the Performing Arts, NY United Solo Festival.
Kathleen Akerley
Kathleen is a Sideshow artistic associate whose previous work with the company has been as playwright (Theories of the Sun and Tyrant) and co-director (Tyrant). She lives most of the year in Washington, D.C., where she has acted with 1st Stage, Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Catalyst Theatre, Cherry Red, Glamonstrosity, Olney Theatre, Studio Theatre, Studio Theatre Secondstage, Theater Alliance, Washington Shakespeare Company (now WSC AvantBard), and Washington Stage Guild. MFA, Catholic University of America; graduate of the Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory.
William Boles
William Boles is an artistic associate with Sideshow, where his previous design work includes The Golden Dragon, No More Sad Things, Mai Dang Lao and Give it All Back. Chicago credits: Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Second City, Lyric Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Victory Gardens Theater, The Hypocrites, American Theater Company, Timeline, A Red Orchid Theatre, About Face Theatre (associate artist), Chicago Children’s Theatre, Steep Theatre Company, First Floor Theater, among others. Regional credits: Kirk Douglas, Huntington Theatre Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Children’s Theatre Company, Wolf Trap Opera, Minnesota Opera, Milwaukee Repertory Theater Pig Iron Theatre Company, and the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City. International credits: Stockholm Vocal Academy and Opera Siam in Bangkok. Boles received his MFA at Northwestern University.
Philip Dawkins
Philip Dawkins is a Chicago playwright whose plays have been produced all over the country and the world. His critically acclaimed works include Charm (Northlight Theatre), Le Switch (About Face Theater) and Miss Marx: Or The Involuntary Side Effect of Living (Strawdog Theatre), which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work, as well as The Homosexuals (About Face Theater) and Failure: A Love Story (Victory Gardens Theater), both of which received Joseph Jefferson nominations for New Work. This fall, he will be performing in the world premiere of his one man play, The Happiest Place on Earth, at the Greenhouse Theater Center with Sideshow Theatre Company. Look for his musical adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s The Sneetches (with composer David Mallamud) at Children’s Theater Company in Minneapolis next winter. Philip teaches playwriting at Northwestern University, Loyola University Chicago, his alma mater, and through the Victory Gardens ACCESS Program for writers with disabilities. Most of his plays, including his plays for young performers, are available through Playscripts, Inc. and Dramatic Publishing.
Benjamin W. Dawson
Ben is an artistic associate with Sideshow and is overjoyed to be working with this talented group of miscreants once again. He has worked with the likes of the Goodman, the Santa Fe Opera and The History Channel, to name a few. He is currently the associate technical director at Lookingglass Theatre and the production manager at Lifeline Theatre. In his spare time he produces shows in his living room, for aliens and dogs, using only Lego bricks and mini figures.
Gina M. Di Salvo
Gina is a proud artistic associate of Sideshow, where her credits for dramaturgy include Caught, The Burden of Not Having a Tail, The Ugly One, and Theories of the Sun. Other Chicago-area credits include Mine (The Gift), The Petrified Forest (Strawdog), and Dangerous Beauty (AMTP/Northwestern University). When not dramaturging new works in the theatre, she can be found researching in the archive. She teaches about the theatrical past and present at the University of Tennessee, where she is an assistant professor of theatre.
Brittany Ducksworth
Brittany is thrilled to join Sideshow as the company manager! A graduate of the University of Central Florida with degrees in marketing and stage management, her previous work with Sideshow has been as a stage manager on Stupid Fucking Bird, The Golden Dragon and 9 Circles. Other stage management credits include stage management intern on Brigadoon (Goodman Theatre), stage managing Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Gem of the Ocean (UCF), This Is Our Youth, Plaza Hotel Ballroom (Hangar Theatre); As Bees in Honey Drown, tick, tick, BOOM!, Love Letters (Stageworks Theatre), assistant stage managing The Little Mermaid, Suessical, Jr (Hangar Theatre), Veronica’s Room (UCF), and rehearsal stage managing The Little Dog Laughed (Stageworks Theatre).
Andrew Goetten
Andrew is an artistic associate with Sideshow Theatre, where his credits include Give It All Back, Mai Dang Lao, and more. Other Chicago credits include: Prowess (Jackalope Theatre), Love & Human Remains (Cor Theatre), Dragons Love Tacos (Emerald City Theatre), Eat Your Heart Out (Rivendell Theatre), The Killing of Michael X ( Jackalope Theatre), The Drunken City (Steppenwolf's 2013 NEXT UP series), Hot 'N' Throbbing (Interrobang Theatre Project), Thirty Thousand One (Pursuit Productions), The Duchess of Malfi (Strawdog Theatre Company), Residue (Buzz22 Chicago), LOW (Slingshot Productions), The Big Meal (American Theatre Company), which won the 2010 Jeff Award for Best Ensemble, Roadkill Confidential (Dog & Pony Theatre Company) and She Loves Me (Writers’ Theatre). He is a graduate from The Theatre School at DePaul University and is represented by Grossman & Jack Talent.
David Lawrence Hamilton
David Lawrence Hamilton's credits include: The Bottle Tree and The Firestorm (Stage Left Theatre), Antigonick and The Golden Dragon (Sideshow Theatre), Down Range (Genesis Theatrical Prod), CCX (Modofac Production), A Lesson Before Dying (Lincoln Square Theatre) and To Kill a Mockingbird (Chase Park Theatre).
Michael Huey
Michael is a composer for film and theatre who has had the pleasure of working with such companies as Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Sideshow, Adventure Stage, North Park University, Filament, and many others. Music and more can be found at officialmichaelhuey.com.
Noël Huntzinger
Noël hails from Tulsa, Oklahoma and is a graduate of Oklahoma University. Noël is an artistic associate at Sideshow Theatre Company, where her credits include: truth and reconciliation, Stupid Fucking Bird and Antigonick. Noël is a resident artist at Filament Theatre, where her credits include Robin Hood, Van Gogh Café, Pinocchio: A Folk Musical, Hank Williams Lost Highway and others; and an ensemble member at Interrobang Theatre, where she designed Still, North Pool, Pitchfork Disney and others. Noël designed the 2016 New Stages at the Goodman: Blue Skies Process and Support Group for Men. Noël wrapped her first full-length film design, Olympia: an Instruction Manual for Everything, in the summer.
Jordan Kardasz
Jordan is a proud artistic associate of Sideshow Theatre. Around town, she has worked with Strawdog (where she is an ensemble member) Lifeline, Strange Tree, Factory, The Arc, and many more. Her most recent designs were Tyrant with Sideshow and Hey Dancin! Hey Musical! with Factory Theatre, and you can see more of her work next season at Strawdog. When not working in theatres around the city, Jordan works in the auditorium at Northeastern Illinois University. As always, love to the best two and four legged dudes in her life.
Marti Lyons
Marti most recently directed The City of Conversation by Anthony Giardina for Northlight Theatre Company; Prowess by Ike Holter for Jackalope Theatre Company; Wondrous Strange by Meg Miroshnik, Martyna Majok, Jen Silverman, and Jiehae Park for the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville, starring the theatre's Apprentice Company; and a reading of Meg Miroshnik's Lady Tattoo for the Pacific Playwrights Festival at South Coast Repertory Theatre. Marti has also directed Will Eno’s Title and Deed for Lookingglass Theatre Company and a reading of Martín Zimmerman's On the Exhale for the New Stages Festival at Goodman Theatre where she received the 2015 Maggio Directing Fellowship. Other projects include Laura Marks’ Bethany, Marks' Mine and Will Nedved’s Body and Blood for The Gift Theatre where she is an ensemble member; Catherine Trieschmann’s Hot Georgia Sunday and Theresa Rebeck's Seminar for Haven Theatre; The Peacock by Calamity West and The Last Duck by Lucas Neff for Jackalope Theatre; The Play About My Dad by Boo Killebrew for Raven Theatre; Mai Dang Lao by David Jacobi, 9 Circles by Bill Cain, Maria/Stuart by Jason Grote, and co-directed The Golden Dragon for Sideshow Theatre, where she is an artistic associate. Later this season Marti will direct Wit by Margaret Edson for The Hypocrites, Short Shakes! Romeo and Juliet for Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Mystery of Love and Sex by Bathsheba Doran for Writers Theatre, and Native Gardens by Karen Zacarías for Victory Gardens Theatre. Marti is a proud member of SDC.
Ian Martin
Recently:
Ian Martin is an emerging theatre artist who is pleased to join Sideshow Theatre Company as an artistic associate. Chicago credits include The Toilet for Haven Theatre (director), Hang Man for the Gift Theatre (assistant director to Jess McLeod), Insurrection: Holding History for Stage Left Theatre (TJ), truth and reconciliation for Sideshow Theatre Company (Zimbabwean Husband). He is currently the community engagement coordinator at Goodman Theatre, where he recently completed an artistic producing apprenticeship. He received his BA in theatre and drama from Indiana University and his diploma in drama from the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, OH. Ian sends love to the women of color who made him the man he is today.
Nina O'Keefe
Nina's credits with Sideshow include Chalk, Stupid Fucking Bird, The Ugly One and Heddatron. Nina was most recently seen in The Other Place (Profiles Theatre). Other credits include: Golden Boy (Griffin Theatre Company-Jeff Nomination for Best Supporting Actress); Bedroom Farce, After the Fall, Candles to the Sun and Democracy (Eclipse Theatre Company); Our Town (Lookingglass Theatre Company); Sketchbook 7 - "It's About Time" (Collaboraction) and work with About Face Theatre, Timeline, and Steep Theatre. TV/Film credits include Chicago PD, The Secret Santa, and The Discovery Channel. Nina is a proud graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and Millikin University. She is represented by Stewart Talent and an artistic associate of Sideshow Theatre. Love to Dad, Mom, Patrick, Erin and Erik.
Bruce Phillips
Bruce is an actor and improviser in Chicago. He has a BA in drama and secondary education from The Catholic University of America in DC. He is an ensemble member of ComedySportz Chicago, and has performed with the Washington Shakespeare Company and at the Greenhouse Theater, The Annoyance, Donny's Skybox, iO, and in the Landmark Festival with Prologue Theater Company. Bruce made his Sideshow debut as Florizel in Everything Freezes: another winter's tale directed by Jonathan L. Green. He is also performed in and helped create The Boy Scout Musical: Knot Prepared directed by Mick Napier at The Annoyance Theater last year. He is a touring ensemble member of both Imagination Theater and GreatWorks Theatre Company. Bruce originated the role of Wilbur in the Tony Award-winning musical Hairspray aboard the largest cruise ship in the world - The Oasis of the Seas, with Royal Caribbean International in 2010. He is a Jeff Award winner for artistic specialization for his work designing the robots in Heddatron for Sideshow at the Steppenwolf Garage in 2011. He can currently be seen performing with Hitch*Cocktails, the improvised Hitchcock thriller, directed by Stephanie Vlcek at the new Annoyance Theatre, and weekends at ComedySportz. Learn about upcoming projects at brucetheactor.com.
Cody Proctor
Cody Proctor is a Sideshow artistic associate. Sideshow credits: Stupid Fucking Bird and Idomeneus. Other credits include Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (Henry V, Othello), Oracle Theatre (The Mother), Goodman Theatre (The Iceman Cometh), Theatre Seven (We Live Here, The Water Engine), Red Tape Theatre (Brand), Lifeline Theatre (The Moonstone), and the Illinois Shakespeare Festival (Macbeth, Comedy of Errors, Failure: A Love Story, Richard III, Midsummer Night's Dream, Titus Andronicus, Taming of the Shrew). Cody is also a company member with Oracle Theatre and Alithea Mime Theatre and is represented by the glorious team at Grossman & Jack Talent.
Gabrielle Randle
Gabrielle Randle is a graduate student, director, and dramaturg who is passionate about social justice, storytelling, and the power of performance to change the world. She has a dual BA degree in drama and sociology from Stanford University and an MA degree in performance as public practice at The University of Texas at Austin. She has directed, devised, dramaturged, and produced professionally across the United States in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Austin, and New York City (off-Broadway) and internationally on three continents. In Chicago she has worked with Sideshow Theatre Company, Chicago Dramatist, Victory Gardens Theater, and Court Theatre. She is a second year PhD student at Northwestern in the interdisciplinary PhD in theatre and drama.
Calamity West
Calamity is a Chicago-based, award-winning, Kilroys-cited playwright. Her newest play In the Canyon is scheduled for its world premiere at Jackalope Theatre Company in fall of 2018. Most recently Calamity’s work was seen at Steep Theatre Company with the world premiere of her play Hinter in the winter of 2018. In January 2018 her play Engines and Instruments of Flight: A Fantasia in Three Acts, originally commissioned by Goodman Theatre, had its first New York reading at Roundabout Theatre where it continues to be developed. Another of her plays, Greetings from Moscow! A Love Story, is currently in development at TimeLine Theatre Company’s Playwrights Collective. Additional plays by Calamity West include: Give It All Back (2016, Kilroys-cited); Rolling (2016); Ibsen Is Dead(2014); The Peacock (2013, Kilroys honorable mention); The Gacy Play (2012); and Common Hatred (2012). In 2014 Calamity was recipient of the 3Arts Award. She teaches playwriting at the University of Chicago and Webster University. She is a company member of Jackalope Theatre, an artistic associate of Sideshow Theatre Company, and is represented by The Gersh Agency.
Ellen Willett
Ellen Willett is thrilled to be working with Sideshow again after such fun with Antigonick, Mai Dang Lao, The Happiest Place on Earth, and You for Me for You. She is an artistic associate with Sideshow, a company member with The Inconvenience, and regularly makes theatre and events with the talented folks at Definition, Remy Bumppo, Steep, Strawdog, E.D.G.E. Theatre, the Grant Park Music Festival, and many more. For fun, she plays hockey with the South Side Storm, fosters hound dogs, and takes any opportunity to sail on the lake.
STAFF
Jonathan L. Green
Stephanie Weddell
Matt Fletcher
Walt McGough
Nate Whelden
Brittany Ducksworth
Jessica L. Dwyer
Jonathan has been the artistic director of Sideshow Theatre since its founding in 2007. He has directed and assisted for Sideshow, Greenhouse Theater Center, Lookingglass, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Diversionary Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Theatre Seven of Chicago, Pavement Group and the Earl Hamner, Jr. Theatre. Recent projects include truth and reconciliation, The Happiest Place on Earth, Antigonick, Stupid Fucking Bird, Idomeneus (Jeff Award for ensemble), and others. Recent dramaturgy credits include Blind Date, Objects in the Mirror, Gloria, War Paint, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, and Disgraced, all at Goodman Theatre. Jonathan is a graduate of the University of Virginia, currently serves on the board of directors of the League of Chicago Theatres, and is the literary manager for Goodman Theatre.
Stephanie has served as Sideshow's executive director since 2016. Previously, Stephanie was the director of the Drama & Dance School at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. She has worked for Chicago Children's Theatre and The Night Ministry where she also was a member of the associate board. A graduate of Drury University, Stephanie holds a master of arts in communication and a bachelor of arts in theatre and arts administration.
Matt proudly serves as producing artistic director of Sideshow Theatre Company, where he was last seen in Give It All Back and both iterations of Stupid Fucking Bird. Other performance credits include Idomeneus (Jeff Award - Best Ensemble), The Golden Dragon, Mai Dang Lao, Tyrant, Heddatron, Theories of the Sun, Dante Dies!! (and then things get weird), and others (Sideshow Theatre Company); The Killer Angels (Lifeline Theatre); Failure: A Love Story (Victory Gardens); Common Hatred (The Ruckus); As Told by the Vivian Girls (Dog & Pony); Chicago Fire (NBC) and two seasons with The Lost Colony on Roanoke Island, NC. Matt received his BA in drama at the University of Virginia.
Walt McGough is a Boston-based playwright (by way of Pittsburgh and Chicago). In Boston, he has held fellowships with both the Huntington and New Repertory Theatre Companies, and was a finalist for the 2016 Dramatists Guild Lanford Wilson Award. His plays include Pattern of Life, which was named Best New Play by the Independent Reviewers of New England, and The Farm, Priscilla Dreams the Answer, and Paper City Phoenix, all of which received Best New Play IRNE nominations. Other plays include Non-Player Character, Brawler, Chalk, Dante Dies!! (and then things get weird), and The Haberdasher!. He has worked around the country with companies such as San Francisco Playhouse, The Lark, the Huntington, New Rep, NNPN, Boston Playwrights, Fresh Ink, Sideshow, Orfeo Group, Nu Sass Productions, Chicago Dramatists, and Argos. In 2015, his play Advice for Astronauts was selected as the winner of the Milken Playwriting Prize. He has served on the staff at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston and Chicago Dramatists, and is a founding ensemble member of Chicago’s Sideshow Theatre Company. He holds a BA from the University of Virginia, and an MFA in playwriting from Boston University. He co-hosts the bi-weekly pop culture/comedy podcast Crossover Appeal.
Nate has worked in Chicago with Sideshow (Antigonick, Stupid Fucking Bird, Maria/Stuart, Idomeneus, Strangerland at Chicago Fringe Fest 2011, and Heddatron), the Goodman (Carlyle, New Stages Festival 2014), 16th Street Theatre (Pinoklandia), Jackalope Theatre Company (The Peacock), and The Ruckus (Common Hatred at RhinoFest). He has worked with Ensemble Studio Theatre (NYC) and in 2007 at the Hangar Theatre (Ithaca) as a member of the Lab Company. Nate graduated in 2008 from the University of Virginia with a degree in drama and a minor in Afro American studies. He graduated high school in Guatemala City and grew up in Latin America. He is proud to be an ensemble member with Sideshow where he treads the boards as Charlie No Pants for the Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers and helms Sideshow's new play development program, The Freshness Initiative. Nate sends love to his family, the gutter, the dirt, the youth of America and to Elizabeth Anne.
Brittany is thrilled to join Sideshow as the company manager! A graduate of the University of Central Florida with degrees in marketing and stage management, her previous work with Sideshow has been as a stage manager on Stupid Fucking Bird, The Golden Dragon and 9 Circles. Other stage management credits include stage management intern on Brigadoon (Goodman Theatre), stage managing Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Gem of the Ocean (UCF), This Is Our Youth, Plaza Hotel Ballroom (Hangar Theatre); As Bees in Honey Drown, tick, tick, BOOM!, Love Letters (Stageworks Theatre), assistant stage managing The Little Mermaid, Suessical, Jr (Hangar Theatre), Veronica’s Room (UCF), and rehearsal stage managing The Little Dog Laughed (Stageworks Theatre).
Jessica hails from the San Francisco Bay Area and graduated from Emerson College in Boston before moving to Chicago and joining the Sideshow family in 2013. In addition to her work with Sideshow, Jessica works as the grant program manager at Coleman Group Consulting and is a 5-Star dog sitter on Rover.com.
Jack is an actor, yoga instructor, and community organizer who has trained with The Theatre School at DePaul University, Green Shirt Studio, and Brown/Trinity Rep. He is also a company member at The Agency Theater Collective. Past performance credits include: The Spirit of ’76 with The Agency, Beach Party at the End of the World with Walkabout Theatre Company, and ETC with The Theatre School at DePaul.
Zach serves at the literary associate at Sideshow, helping to bring the Freshness Initiative to life, as well as generating written material to help market new works in Sideshow’s season. Zach has directed, written, and stage managed at The Agency Theatre Collective, Kokandy Productions, Otherworld Theatre Company, Poetic Forum Collective, and Studio East (Kirkland, WA). He has previously worked as a theatre critic for Newcity Stage Chicago, and currently serves on the writing staff of Scapi Magazine. He holds a BA in theatre from Northwestern University, where he created The Hanslick Girls.
Heather is excited to be working with Sideshow Theatre Company as the development associate. Originally from southeastern Wisconsin, she has spent her adult life living in Northern Wisconsin, Italy, California, and Chicago (twice). In California, she spent two and a half years working in development for a performing arts center. She has also worked in an administrative capacity with TimeLine Theatre Company and Peninsula Players Theatre. Heather graduated from The Catholic University of America with a degree in drama and a minor in Spanish.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Tom Bergin
Janet Burroway
Frances Gecker
Jonathan L. Green
Megan A. McGuane
Karen S. Walters
Stephanie Weddell
Tom Bergin
Treasurer
Tom is the Vice President of Fund Management at National Equity Fund. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in finance in 2001. Tom joined the Sideshow Theatre board in 2015 after participating in the Arts and Business Council of Chicago’s Onboard program. He lives with his girlfriend and many pets and plays fingerstyle guitar in his free time.
Janet Burroway
Janet Burroway is the author of plays, poetry, children’s books, and eight novels including The Buzzards, Raw Silk, Opening Nights, Cutting Stone (all Notable Books of The New York Times Book Review), and most recently Bridge of Sand. Her plays have received readings and productions in Chicago, New York, London, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Her Writing Fiction, now in its ninth edition, is the most widely used creative writing text in America, and Imaginative Writing is in its fourth edition. She is author of the memoir Losing Tim (Think Piece Press, 2014). Winner of the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award in Writing from the Florida Humanities Council, she is Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Emerita at the Florida State University.
Frances Gecker
President
Frances Gecker is one of the founding partners of FrankGecker. Prior to founding FrankGecker, she was a partner at Jenner & Block and co-managing partner of the insolvency practice at Freeborn & Peters and Neil, Gerber & Eisenberg. She represents and counsels financial institutions, trusts, corporations, creditors’ committees and investors in commercial law, restructuring and insolvency issues.
Jonathan L. Green
Artistic Director
Jonathan has been the artistic director of Sideshow Theatre since its founding in 2007. He has directed and assisted for Sideshow, Greenhouse Theater Center, Lookingglass, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Diversionary Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Theatre Seven of Chicago, Pavement Group and the Earl Hamner, Jr. Theatre. Recent projects include truth and reconciliation, The Happiest Place on Earth, Antigonick, Stupid Fucking Bird, Idomeneus (Jeff Award for ensemble), and others. Recent dramaturgy credits include Blind Date, Objects in the Mirror, Gloria, War Paint, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, and Disgraced, all at Goodman Theatre. Jonathan is a graduate of the University of Virginia, currently serves on the board of directors of the League of Chicago Theatres, and is the literary manager for Goodman Theatre.
Megan A. McGuane
Megan is a founding ensemble member for Sideshow Theatre. She served as the company's executive director from 2007 - 2016. She works with Sideshow Theatre directing world or Chicago premieres (Chalk, Tyrant, The Burden of Not Having a Tail, Theories of the Sun, Ekphrasis: Cave Walls to Soup Cans), and with Southern Illinois University (Joan's Laughter). Megan recently directed We Are Very Small, a sketch comedy show written by Tom McGuane at iO Chicago, and the world premiere of Target Behavior by Caity-Shea Violette with 20% Theater Company. Megan wrestles from time to time as The Cutting Edge for the Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLLAW). She is a proud graduate of the Catholic University of America.
Karen S. Walters
Secretary
Karen Walters is Senior Director, Compensation for USG Corporation, where she is responsible for the strategy, design, implementation, and administration of base pay, short-term incentive, long-term equity, and recognition programs. Responsibilities span domestic and international locations as well as executive compensation, proxy reporting, Board matters and other total rewards matters. Prior to joining USG, Karen worked for a number of large companies such as Aon Hewitt, Arthur Andersen, Sears and Sprint. Karen is a former executive board member of the Chicago Compensation Association (CCA).
Karen is an active member of the Conference Board Council on Compensation, National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP), Global Equity Organization (GEO), Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), WorldatWork and International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plan.
Karen received her MBA from University of Notre Dame and holds a BS from Westminster College. She is an equestrian enthusiast and passionate about travel, skiing and the theatre (of course!).
Stephanie Weddell
Executive Director
Stephanie has served as Sideshow's executive director since 2016. Previously, Stephanie was the director of the Drama & Dance School at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. She has worked for Chicago Children's Theatre and The Night Ministry where she also was a member of the associate board. A graduate of Drury University, Stephanie holds a master of arts in communication and a bachelor of arts in theatre and arts administration.
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Dante Dies!! (and then things get weird)
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