Remy Bumppo Theatre Company

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, the absurdly named theatrical venture co-founded by Artistic Director James Bohnen in 1996, begins its 10th year of talk-provoking plays performed by an ensemble of seasoned Chicago actors, in the intimate Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater Upstairs Mainstage at 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue. The 2006-2007 Season opens with Gore Vidal’s election drama The Best Man, followed by Tom Stoppard’s witty play about love The Real Thing and concludes with the once-banned comedy Mrs. Warren’s Profession by George Bernard Shaw. In celebration of its 10th year, Remy Bumppo launches the new project thinkTank.

The month-long studio series thinkTank will be presented March 15 through April 15, 2007 in the Victory Gardens Greenhouse downstairs studio theater. thinkTank will feature short dramatic works with a focus on provoking timely conversation about a social, political or economic issue in which Chicago citizens have a stake. Associate Artistic Director Shawn Douglass, producer of thinkTank, says, “Our goal is to reach beyond our current loyal audience and begin a more active engagement with the community. These smaller scale productions of less traditional material will challenge our audiences and our artists alike, ideally bringing new and diverse talents to the stage, and a more diverse audience to the seats.”

“What is most striking about entering our 10th year,” states Managing Director Kristin Larsen, “aside from the consistently high-level of artistic achievement throughout the past decade, is the remarkable organizational growth of the past five years.” Artistic Director Bohnen concurs, “For many reasons this season should be looked at as our fifth anniversary rather than 10th. For the first five years the company was itinerant and a producing entity only.”

The significant growth and establishment of Remy Bumppo on the Chicago theater scene began in 2001 when a local university invited James to direct ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, but were unable to find a home for his dog Natty Bumppo (the company was named for Bohnen’s black Labrador and fellow co-founder Carol Loewenstern’s cat Remy). As a result of the directing project falling through, Remy Bumppo Productions (established in 1996) produced four plays in one calendar year versus its usual pace of two per season. Remy Bumppo’s season that year included Shaw’s Man and Superman, Tom Stoppard’s Hapgood, Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land and Carol Churchill’s Top Girls. “Hapgood was the break out production that put the company on the map,” notes Bohnen.

Subsequently in 2001, the company incorporated as a not-for-profit under the name Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, established the board of directors, hired its first administrative staff and began producing three-play seasons annually.

Five years later the company has grown its subscription base from 150 in its first three-play season to an expected 1,000 by 2007, stabilized its residence, by invitation from Victory Gardens, as an anchor tenant in the renamed Greenhouse Theater complex at 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue and increased its annual operating budget from $200,000 to just under one million.

Managing Director Kristin Larsen says, “We are grateful to Victory Gardens Theater for providing us with a venue for our work for the past nine years. We are especially appreciative for Artistic Director Dennis Zacek and Managing Director Marcelle McVay’s generous vision of fostering new theater companies. Remy Bumppo is honored to be invited to be a resident company of the newly appointed Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater, and we believe the stability of an established residence will better position us for growth as we begin our second decade.”

Subscriptions for the 2006-2007 season are on sale now and can be purchased by phone at 773-244-8119. Season information and order forms are available online at www.remybumppo.org. Beginning Aug. 1, 2006, single tickets can be purchased online or through the Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater box office at 773-871-3000, 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue.