Behind the ‘Line

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Let’s make a wall of memories

Join The Normal Heart. Help us make this amazingly moving production even stronger for those who will come to see it! It’s a project unique to our production, built on your participation. We would like anyone who comes to see TimeLine’s production to bring a photo of a friend, family or loved one who lost their life to HIV/AIDS or the effects of the virus. Read on for more and how to get involved … ...
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A potent call to action

In 2010 TimeLine’s literary manager, Ben Thiem, encouraged me and my fellow Company Members to read Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart. Embarrassingly, initially I  made the mistake of assuming that it was a dated play. And then I read it, for the first time. Like ...
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A conversation about “The Normal Heart”

During rehearsals, Artistic Director PJ Powers (PJP) talked with director Nick Bowling (NB) and actor David Cromer (DC) about The Normal Heart. An edited version of their conversation appears in The Normal Heart Backstory. “The Normal Heart” actor David Cromer (from left), director Nick Bowling ...
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Around the table

As To Master the Art begins its new life, courtesy of the Chicago Commercial Collective and Broadway In Chicago, I thought it worth noting just how we got to this point in a process that began an astonishing seven years ago. Ironically, the process has ...
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“This play is special”

During rehearsals for A Raisin in the Sun, TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers (PJP) talked with playwright Ron OJ Parson (ROJP) about his history with the play, his roots within Chicago theatre, and the lessons we can continue to take away from Lorraine Hansberry’s timeless ...
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Why this again

We are thrilled to launch TimeLine’s 17th season next week with Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Since we announced this play I’ve been struck by the number of people who’ve responded with “Why that play again?” This hasn’t been a majority response, but I’ve heard it more than expected. Yet when asked, most people have trouble answering when they last saw it performed. (It’s been 13 years since a major Chicago revival by ...
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From the classroom: Connecting to history

Four high school students arrange themselves in front of the class. One of them has taken a black hoodie and put it over her head like a bag. The other two stand, fingers holding the invisible trigger of a gun, held close against their eyes—which ...
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A tangled web

I couldn’t be more excited to have J.T. Rogers’ Blood and Gifts on our stage right now to conclude TimeLine Theatre’s 16th season. The road to bring this dynamic play to TimeLine started more than five years ago—before J.T. had even begun work on the ...
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“Trust no one in this play”

During rehearsals for Blood and Gifts, TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers (PJP) talked with playwright J.T. Rogers (JTR) about his genesis as a playwright, the extensive research that informed the writing of Blood and Gifts, and the lamentable lack of plays with a global perspective ...
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A little sex in our theatre

I like a little sex in my theatre. During our Sunday Scholars Series for TimeLine’s production of Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West by Naomi Iizuka, Artistic Director PJ Powers joked that “sex never gets old.” Indeed. One of the most interesting moments in ...
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