Displaying items by tag: Tara Mallen

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Chicago's only professional theater that seeks to advance women through the power of storytelling, announces additional performance dates for  the world premiere of Jeff Award winning playwright Alex Lubischer's Pivot, directed by RTE Member Hallie Gordon.  The original run dates, February 12- March 21, 2026, are sold out and are available through a waitlist only. Added performances are March 25-April 4, 2026, with the best availability April 1-4, 2026.

The 30^th Season takes place at Rivendell's home, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago. Tickets are on sale at www.RivendellTheatre.org; (773) 334-7728. For placement on the waitlist for sold out performances, call the box office, (773) 334-7728.

The cast features ensemble members Keith Kupferer (George), Tara Mallen (Anne), Ashley Neal (Kara), and Glenn Obrero (Doug) with David Stobbe (Levi /Fr. Matt/ Ryan).

The creative team includes Eric Slater* (Asst. Director) Jackie Penrod (Scenic Design), Janice Pytel* (Costume Design), Diane Fairchild* (Lighting Design), Joyce Ciesil (Sound Design), Andres Fiz* (Projections Design), Tanya Palmer* (Dramaturg), Kristi Martens (Production Stage Manager) and Pat Fries* (Artistic Producer)

*Denotes Rivendell Ensemble member

"There is no better way to launch our 30th Anniversary Season than by bringing longtime ensemble member Hallie Gordon back home to helm another world premiere featuring so many members of our gifted ensemble," comments Artistic Director Tara Mallen. "Alex Lubischer has given us a play that's gutsy, provocative, deeply human – and perfect for Rivendell. Pivot brings the largely invisible and often underrepresented voices of the rural community to the forefront, illuminating the experiences of midwestern farmers, and highlighting both the challenges they face and the essential roles they play. As we celebrate three decades of championing complex stories that offer fresh perspectives, I am filled with gratitude for the artists and audiences who've helped build Rivendell — and looking forward to this vibrant new chapter."

The Riv Pass is available for only $95 and includes a ticket to each of the three shows, plus invitations to special readings and events. Riv Pass holders may attend each production as many times as they'd like and special benefits, including reserved seating, are available. While the Riv Pass is non-transferable, purchasing the Riv Pass for as a gift is encouraged. The Riv Pass is available at (773) 334-7728 or www.RivendellTheatre.org.

Pivot production sponsors are Cathy and David Dixon. Rivendell's 30th Anniversary Season is sponsored by Sharon I. Furiya.

FACTS

PIVOT
A world premiere by Alex Lubischer
Directed by RTE Member Hallie Gordon
February 12 – April 4, 2026

This world premiere by Alex Lubischer (Bobbie Clearly, You Deserve to be Here), a Chicago-based, Jeff Award-winning playwright originally from rural Nebraska, is directed by longtime Rivendell Ensemble member and current Senior Associate Director at the Olney Theatre Center Hallie Gordon (Eat Your Heart Out, Dry Land, Cal in Camo) and featuring ensemble members Ashley Neal, Keith Kupferer, Glenn Obrero, and Artistic Director Tara Mallen with Eric Slater as Assistant Director. 

All Kara wants is a giant wedding reception and a solid three-year crop rotation plan for the farm. But when her wedding plans blow up in her face, Kara is prepared to upend the entire town of Milton, Nebraska to fight for the future that should have been hers.  Save the date for this dark comedy about getting your way, making a scene, and father-daughter dances to the Chicks.

Dates:

Previews: February 12-21, 2026

Thursday, February 12 at 8pm

Friday February 13 at 8pm

Saturday, February 14 at 8pm

Sunday, February 15 at 3pm

Thursday, February 19 at 8pm

Friday, February 20, at 8pm

Gala Opening: Saturday, February 21 at 7pm

Press Opening: Monday, February 23 at 7pm

Regular Run: February 26 - March 21, 2026

Thursday - Saturdays at 8pm; Saturdays at 4pm

Added Performances: Sunday March 8 at 3pm (International Women's Day)

and Mondays, March 9 and March 16 at 8pm (Industry Performances)

EXTENSION DATES:

Wednesday, March 25 at 8pm

Thursday, March 26 at 8pm

Friday, March 27 at 8pm

Saturday, March 28 at 4pm and 8pm

Wednesday, April 1 at 8pm

Thursday, April 2 at 8pm

Friday, April 3 at 8pm

Saturday, April 4 at 4pm

About the Artists
Alex Lubischer (Playwright) is a queer Midwestern writer, born and raised on a farm in Nebraska. He lives in Rogers Park, Chicago. His plays include Bobbie Clearly (Roundabout Theatre Company, Steep Theatre, Jeff Award Winner: Outstanding New Play), Pivot (Yale School of Drama, GPTC New Play Conference 2024, Shelterbelt Theatre, Angels Theatre Company, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble), You Deserve to Be Here (Goodman Playwrights Unit commission; Roundabout Theatre Laura Pels commission, The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting - Longlist), Do Wasps Have Desires? (Milwaukee Repertory Theater), Weird Kids (Haven Chicago), The Quonsets (Yale Cabaret, co-written with Majkin Holmquist), and Survey No. 5 (House of International Theatre, Copenhagen).

Lubischer is a former Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence at Roundabout Theatre Company. He has developed new work at Playwrights Horizons, Atlantic Theater Company, South Coast Repertory, Page 73, The Orchard Project, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Victory Gardens Theater, First Floor Theater, The Understudy, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. He has been a semifinalist for the P73 Playwriting Fellowship and a three-time finalist for the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference.

Current screenwriting projects include Big Dave, an hour-long TV pilot co-conceived with Danilo Gambini—Hyperobject Industries is attached to produce—and three features: a 90s-set boy band movie for Division Global and Sappho Screen; an original thriller, Evildoers; and a bi coming-of-age dark comedy, The Deep End, co-written with Hanna Kime.

He teaches playwriting at DePaul University and Bramble Theatre in Chicago. MFA: Yale. BA: University of Southern California.

Hallie Gordon (director), a longtime ensemble member of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, has directed Eat Your Heart Out, Dry Land, and Cal and Camo for Rivendell and is currently the Director of Artistic Development at Kansas City Repertory Theatre. Hallie is formerly the Artistic Director Steppenwolf for Young Adults & Artistic Producer at Steppenwolf. Hallie has directed the following for Steppenwolf Theatre: HIR, The Rembrandt, the world premiere of Animal Farm, The Book Thief, along with To Kill A Mockingbird, the world premiere of The House on Mango Street, and Harriet Jacobs, adapted for the stage by Lydia R. Diamond. A new premiere of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, also adapted by Lydia R. Diamond, which won a Black Excellence Award from the African American Arts Alliance of Chicago. This production was also transferred Off-Broadway to The New Victory Theatre. For Writers Theater, Smart People and Eclipsed for Northlight Theatre, and has directed staged readings for The Goodman Theatre, Timeline Theatre, Chicago Dramatists and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. And is the recipient of The Helen Coburn Meier & Tim Meier Achievement Award.

Keith Kupferer (George) can currently be seen in Alex Thompson and Kelly O'Sullivan's Ghostlight which premiered at Sundance in January 2024 to rave reviews and was released by IFC Films nationwide last summer. Keith has received widespread praise for his "powerhouse performance" (Deadline Hollywood) and has garnered multiple prestigious end-of-year nominations from the Gothams and Independent Spirit Awards, was the recipient of Best Actor in a Comedy by the Satellite awards and named the "2025 Chicagoan of the Year In Film" by the Chicago Tribune.

A veteran of the stage, Keith has appeared at Chicago's most prestigious theaters including Steppenwolf, The Goodman, Victory Gardens, Writer's Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Northlight Theatre, A Red Orchid and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He is a founding member of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, now celebrating its 30th anniversary and performed in the critically acclaimed premieres of A Mile in the Dark, The Cake, American Wee-Pie and Cal in Camo (Jeff Award for Supporting Actor). Other notable theater credits include Support Group for Men, God of Carnage, and Sweat (Goodman); The Seagull, The Great Leap, The Qualms, Good People, and Middletown (Steppenwolf); Hillary and Clinton, Never the Sinner and Appropriate (Victory Gardens); West Side Story (Lyric Opera) and the world premiere of The Humans (American Theatre Company).  

Film credits include Ghostlight; Widows; The Dilemma; Dark Knight; Public Enemies; The Express; Stranger Than Fiction; Road to Perdition; Finding Santa; Fred Klaus; The Last Rites of Joe May; and The Merry Gentleman directed by Michael Keaton. TV credits include The Bear; Emperor of Ocean Park; Better Call Saul; Empire; Chicago P.D.; Betrayal; Crisis; Chicago Fire; and Detroit 187. Keith is represented by the Gersh Agency and Fusion Entertainment.

Tara Mallen (Anne), producer, actor, director, is the Founder and Artistic Director at Chicago's award winning Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. She is a 3Arts William Franklin Grisham Awardee, a 2024 Impact Award winner from the Chicago Foundation for Women and a Volunteers of America Silver Star Award. In 2024, Tara appeared alongside her husband, Keith and daughter, Katherine in Alex Thompson and Kelly O'Sullivan's film Ghostlight, premiering at Sundance in to rave reviews and released by IFC Films nationwide. Most recently she was seen onstage in GORGEOUS (co-production between Rivendell and Raven), directed the sold-out, critically acclaimed world premiere Wipeout for Rivendell and played "Aunt Lizzie"in Rivendell's smash-hit production Motherhouse as part of their Jeff Award winning ensemble. In 2018, she won a Jeff Award for "Actor /Principal Role" for her portrayal of "Della" in The Cake. Other stage credits include The Luckiest (Raven Theatre - Jeff Nomination – Supporting Actor); the world premiere of Lynn Nottage's Sweat (Arena Stage); Rivendell's world premiere productions of Laura and the Sea, Look, We Are Breathing and Rasheeda Speaking among many others; and How Long Will I Cry at Steppenwolf Theatre. Since Rivendell's inception in 1996, Tara has produced and acted in over fifty productions. She received a Joseph Jefferson award for "Supporting Actress" for work in WRENS and was also a part of that production's Jeff winning "ensemble". She was nominated the following year for "Actress in a Principal Role" for her work in My Simple City.

Screen credits include Steven Soderbergh's Contagion; The Last Shift (Sony Pictures); The Emperor of Ocean Park (MGM+); Dark Matter (Apple TV); Empire (Fox); Boss (Starz); Chicago Fire (NBC); Doubt (CBS/Sony Pictures); Chicago P.D.(NBC); Sense8 (Netflix) and the independent feature FOOLS. She plays a leading role in Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson's soon-to-be-released film Mouse. 

Tara co-conceived and directed the world premiere of Women at War, directed the Jeff nominated Midwest premieres of The Electric Baby, 26 Miles (co-production with Teatro Vista); Fighting Words; Psalms of a Questionable Nature; Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue (co-production with Stageworks/ Hudson); and the brief and brilliant Shady Meadows by Lisa Dillman as part of the 2007 Chicago Humanities Festival.

Ashley Neal (Kara) has appeared with First Floor Theater; Killing Game, The Nether, and Red Handed Otter with A Red Orchid Theatre; Cal in Camo, Scientific Method, Alias Grace, and many others with Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, where she is an ensemble member and the resident casting director. She has also worked with theater companies including Griffin, Steep Theatre, Redtwist, Remy Bumppo, and many more. TV credits include Chicago Fire, PD, and numerous commercials. She is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago where she is now a professor, as well as teaching at The School at Steppenwolf.

Glenn Obrero (Doug) has appeared with Rivendell in Scientific Method and Wipeout. Some Chicago Theater credits include: The Great Leap (Steppenwolf Theatre), 20K Leagues Under The Seas (Lookingglass Theatre), The Chinese Lady (Timeline Theatre), Ironbound (Raven Theatre), and A Tale of Two Cities (Shattered Globe Theatre). He's also worked in Regional Theaters such as Peninsula Players Theatre, Kitchen Theatre, and Asolo Repertory Theatre. Film and TV Credits: Chicago Fire (NBC), Next (FOX), and When Cats Fly (Upcoming Feature Film). He is a Casting Associate of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and is represented by Gray Talent. Group.

Eric Slater (Asstistant Director), a member of Rivendell since 2005, has appeared in Rasheeda Speaking, The Tasters and Cal in Camo. Some Chicago credits include: Support Group for Men, Feathers and Teeth, Smokefall (Goodman Theatre); The Doppelganger (an international farce) (Steppenwolf Theatre Co.); What the Butler Saw, Fen (Court Theatre); Hand To God, Tiny Beautiful Things (Victory Gardens); Small Jokes About Monsters (16th Street Theatre); Off-Broadway: Juvenal Players (The Kitchen); The Dudley's: A Family game! (Theatre for a New City); Our Greatest Year (Kraine); Original cast of Gloryana (Workshop Production, The Public Theatre); Cyanocitta (The Beckett / Theatre Row). Film: Widows, Coming To You. TV: "Fargo", "Chicago Fire". Eric is also a contributing writer for The Neugents with the North Carolina Writers Project.

David Stobbe (Levi /Fr. Matt/ Ryan) is a founder of The Tramp Collective and an ensemble member of Avalanche Theater, David's Chicago credits include the premiere of PRO-AM (First Floor Theater), Marie Antoinette and The Magical Negroes (Story Theater), and Ophelia in Space (The Tramps). Regional credits: Waitress (Paramount Theater) Oaken in Frozen (Fulton Theater), The Big Bopper in Buddy Holly (Marriott Lincolnshire), Pap/King Silas (Mercury Theater). He can be seen in John Mossman's "Good Guy with a Gun" on Apple TV+.

About the 30^th Season

Rivendell is celebrating three decades of groundbreaking, women-centered storytelling with new works that embody its legacy of centering women's voices, sparking crucial dialogues and advocating for women. This season is both a celebration of Rivendell's award-winning past and an invitation to experience the bold narratives shaping the future. The 30^th season of new plays continues with:

DO SOMETHING PRETTY
A world premiere by Melissa Ross

Directed by Jessica Fisch
May 2 - June 7, 2026 

Written by Melissa Ross (The Luckiest, Thinner Than Water, Nice Girl,  A Life Extra Ordinary) and directed by Rivendell favorite Jessica Fisch (The Firebirds Take the Field, I Want to F**king Tear You Apart), this world premiere production marks RTE "junior" member Katherine Mallen Kupferer's Rivendell debut. 

Summer of 1992. The United States is in a recession. Arkansas governor Bill Clinton is about to run for president. Kurt is married to Courtney. Yo MTV Raps is on the television. And Zach Morris is the only kid with a cell phone. 

On a hot August night in a small Massachusetts town. The last few weeks before school starts. Three teens try to navigate their way through the murky path to adulthood. Phoebe wants to grow up. Jason wants Evie. And Evie just wants to get as far away from everyone as she possibly can. ​                                                           

BONNIE'S LAST FLIGHT

A World premiere written by Eliza Bent
Directed by RTE Member Devon de Mayo
September 11 - October 17, 2026

Bonnie's Last Flight is written by Eliza Bent, former New York playwright produced throughout the country, now a Northwestern University faculty member, and is directed by longtime RTE member Devon de Mayo (Scientific Method, Laura and the Sea, The Tasters), Director of Performance in Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Chicago.

It's Jan's retirement flight. Everyone knows, except for Greig, Jan's best friend and coworker of many years. As Greig waxes nostalgic, Jan worries about life post- retirement. LeeAnne, a klutzy newbie flight attendant with a dark past, must avoid her ex on the plane while Captain, a waggish pilot with a weakness for Bloody Marys, is caught in a love triangle. Erik, the co-pilot with a heart of gold, can't get a word in edgewise. Presiding over the flight is the OG of travel: Mark Twain.

In a comedy set on everyone's least favorite mode of transit, we must reckon with our crew's dreams and regrets and ask ourselves: What does it take to really start living?

The Folded Map Project 

In Development

Rivendell's immersive and collaborative devising process continues with the The Folded Map Project, a groundbreaking play created in collaboration with artist, activist and 2026 MacArthur fellow Tonika Lewis Johnson.

Led by a dynamic team of writers, performers, designers and community advocates, to engage with real-life stories from Tonika's transformative Folded Map Project, highlighting the divides in Chicago's neighborhoods. This past summer, the artist team convened in partnership with University of Chicago's Performance Lab for a session that culminated in a public sharing of the work-in-progress script. 

Rivendell's aim for the Folded Map is to produce a fully realized theatrical production, inspired by the Folded Map Project, creating a pathway to social justice for all who experience it.

About Rivendell Theatre Ensemble's 30^th Anniversary Campaign:

The 30^th anniversary marks a pivotal moment for Rivendell and the company is meeting that moment by launching a special fundraising campaign. As part of this campaign, the RTE Board is hosting a series of specially curated events to commemorate and underwrite Rivendell's role as an important platform for new women's voices.

Rivendell is the leader in new play development for women playwrights and a major platform for emerging writers and artists as the only women-focused Equity storefront theatre in Chicago. The company has earned 16 Joseph Jefferson awards and nominations in our 57-production history. In an average year, we serve about 200 artists and 3,500 audience members, partner with other theatre companies both in Chicago and nationally, practice direct audience engagement, and perform extensive community outreach initiatives.

For more information about Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, visit http://rivendelltheatre.org. Follow Rivendell on Facebook at Facebook.com/rivendelltheatre and on Instagram at @rivendelltheatre.

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble is supported by generous grants from: SIF Fund at The Chicago Community Trust; ArtsWork Fund: TERRA Foundation for American Art; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Shubert Foundation; Bayless Family Foundation; Driehaus Foundation; Illinois Arts Council Agency; and The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.

The preoccupation with the opioid crisis in our pop culture these days says a lot about the world in which we live. Rivendell Theatre contributes to the national conversation with a new play, “Spay” by local playwright Madison Fiedler. “Spay” is set in Appalachia, the heart of the opioid crisis, also where Fiedler grew up. Inspired by what she observed living in rural North Carolina, “Spay” furthers the conversation of how specifically this epidemic is effecting women.

Noah (Rae Gray) is a struggling heroin addict. She has a child, but her sister Harper (Krystel McNeil) raises him. Following an overdose, Noah agrees to live with Harper but she has to get sober. Noah’s boyfriend Jackson (Spencer Huffman) is her drug dealer and all around bad influence. The standard architypes of an episode of Intervention. Fiedler works against popular tropes or clichés to make these damaged characters likeable.  

A few years ago, Vice HBO ran a segment about Project Prevention, a nonprofit with a mission to help women and mothers with addiction. Except, there’s a little more to the mission of Project Prevention than just helping addicts. In Fiedler’s play Aubrey (Tara Mallen) mysteriously floats into Noah and Harper’s lives in an almost Mary Poppinish way. Aubrey is a representative of Project Prevention, and explains to Harper exactly what it is they do. Voluntary sterilization is one way Project Prevention sees a way out of the opioid crisis. Fiedler places this detail at a crucial moment of the play.

“Spay” examines how America looks at the opioid crisis, or rather how America chooses to hide the opioid crisis. While some can argue voluntary sterilization could cut down on the amount of children being born addicted and burdening the foster care system. Fiedler’s gruesome title suggests how she feels about the procedure.

Whether this play is a tragedy is up for debate. “Spay” is a play about exactly what its title implies. The comparison of human women to dogs. We get our dogs “fixed” in order to avoid a litter to care for. There’s a coldness to the idea that anyone would be given monetary compensation for a very permanent, non-essential procedure. A branding from society that you are not good enough to recreate.

Rae Gray and Krystel McNeil both deliver strong performances in this incredibly intimate production. Designed by Lindsay Mummert, the staging feels almost as if you yourself are sitting in Harper’s dingy living room. The atmospheric nature of this staging removes any veil audiences have with the realities of the opioid epidemic. It’s a first hand experience. As more and more opioid stories are told, calls for accountability become louder and plays like “Spay” help drive home the point that addiction is a disease not a character flaw.

Through April 17 at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N Ridge Avenue, www.rivendelltheatre.org

“Look, We Are Breathing” at Rivendell Theatre is a powerful drama that deals with the coping of loss. Written by Chicago playwright Laura Jaccqmin, “Look, We Are Breathing” examines the grieving process when the one taken away so unexpectedly never really amounted to much nor has shown the potential to ever become much of anything at all. This is the case when high school hockey player Mike is killed in a drunk driving accident on his way home from a party. Always a troublemaker with a bad attitude, rude and the perennial class clown, Mike is disrespectful to his parents, his teachers and is one to take advantage of a girl’s innocence given the chance. He’s exactly what we don’t want to see in a teenage boy. Passing thoughts wonder if maybe the world would be a better place without someone like Mike.

This hard-hitting four-character play deals with the aftermath of Mike’s tragic accident. A series of flashbacks throughout the play help us get to know Mike while narratives from his English teacher Leticia, his mother Alice and his one-night stand, Caylee, provide us with more of an understanding of Mike’s behavior and the effect it had on those close to him – and those who wanted to be close to him.  

The set is simplistic. A chest-like trunk sits center stage that is used at times for a dining table or a car when need be. But the sets simplicity in this case is a plus as it helps direct focus where it should be – on the characters and story. Cast members Lily Mojekwu (Leticia), Brennan Stacker (Caylee), Tara Mallen (Alice) and Brendan Meyer (Mike) make a special point of making eye contact with the audience members in this intimate thirty-six seat theatre, as they explain themselves and open up as though expecting comforting words in return.

This play works because of its absorbing story and the very heavy-duty acting performances by each and every cast member. “Look, We Are Breathing” is a gripping story that is sure to draw in the average theatre goer, and might relate especially to those who have suffered recent losses. Towards the play’s end Caylee talks about what could have been rather than reflecting on Mike’s past behavioral issues and lack of promise of any sort. Then we stop and think - Even when you question if someone's life is worth it, when they are young, they have no time to grow out of it – and that’s the truest tragedy. They have no time to grow up to be the ENT doctor, to build meaningful friendships, to become a loving parent or to contribute in making this world a better place. We learn compassion and empathy as we grow older and “Look” understands that rather than judging one’s short past.

True to their claim that Rivendell Theatre Ensemble is Chicago’s only Equity theatre dedicated to producing new work with women in core roles, “Look” presents three strong characters in a mourning mother, a girl who believes there was more to a relationship than there really was and a teacher who tries desperately to get through to a student who has built many walls.

“Look, We Are Breathing” is playing at Rivendell Theatre (5779 N Ridge Ave, Chicago) through May 16^th. For tickets and/or more show information call 773-334-7728 or visit www.RivendellTheatre.org.