Behind the ‘Line

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Another first

Already a week in! Rehearsals for TimeLine’s next production — the Chicago premiere of Winter Miller’s In Darfur, directed by Nick Bowling, started last Monday, December 6. Since that first rehearsal one week ago, cast and production team have already finished their table work (a slow read of the script, asking and answering questions about characters, facts, context along the way) and have been working on their feet for several days, starting to block the ...
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Share your thoughts

The past few weeks have been extraordinary as all of us at TimeLine have seen the world premiere of To Master the Art by William Brown and Doug Frew — the first play commissioned by TimeLine to be presented on our stage — open to ...
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Our Julia story

I’m a foodie. Rivaled only by the theater, the kitchen is my chosen sanctuary and laboratory, and I gluttonously imbibe all things epicurean—magazines, websites, cookbooks, gadgetry, you name it. Like many of you who might share this passion—swept up by the current Food Network, farm-to-table, ...
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Celebrating 100 years of Baird Hall

The cornerstone of Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ was laid on Thanksgiving morning, November 24, 1910. The church celebrated its centennnial with a special benefit event on October 23. Last weekend, several of my TimeLine colleagues and I had the opportunity to attend a ...
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2010 Equity Jeff Awards

TimeLine enjoyed a great evening celebrating the 2009-10 Chicago theatre season last night, celebrating with friends and colleagues from this amazing theatre community, and capping the night with the 2010 Equity Jeff Award for Outstanding Production, Play (Midsize Theater) for The Farnsworth Invention! Look closely ...
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Recommended reading

In advance of the premiere of To Master the Art, many audience members have started to request readings to accompany the play. Here is a brief list of books that many of the design team and actors have read, as well as recommendations for further reading and viewing, should you be interested in learning more about all that inspired the play. Julia and Paul Child My Life in France, by Julia Child and Alex Prud’homme ...
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Joyful and productive

I have worked in many great theaters with many fine people, but I can’t remember when I’ve had more fun in rehearsal than I’m having now with To Master the Art. A recent Wednesday night’s rehearsal was (typically) joyful and productive, and it is a ...
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An ever-changing role

On Sunday I took part in the Company Member Discussion after the matinee performance of Frost/Nixon — a discussion that is always one of my favorite events during each production. It is when the TimeLine Company Members — the group that collectively selects the plays in ...
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What a start!

The first rehearsal of To Master the Art — TimeLine’s upcoming world premiere that tells the story of Julia and Paul Child’s time together in Paris during the 1950s — was this week. As always it was a festive occasion of bringing together a cast ...
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Around a table

Isn’t it delicious that so often a first rehearsal involves a table read? That’s what I was thinking last night as Bill Brown gathered his cast, production team and other TimeLine family members  around for the first rehearsal of To Master the Art. In theatre, ...
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