The Illusion

CHARLES NEWELL has been Artistic Director of Court Theatre since 1994, where he has directed over 30 productions. He made his Chicago directorial debut in 1993 with The Triumph of Love, which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production. Directorial highlights at Court include Angels in America, An Iliad, Porgy and Bess, Three Tall Women, The Year of Magical Thinking, The Wild Duck, Caroline, Or Change, Titus Andronicus, Arcadia, Man of La Mancha, Uncle Vanya, Raisin, The Glass Menagerie, Travesties, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Hamlet, and The Invention of Love.  Charlie has also directed at the Goodman Theatre (Rock ‘n’ Roll), the Guthrie Theater (Resident Director: The History Cycle, Cymbeline), Arena Stage, John Houseman’s The Acting Company (Staff Repertory Director), the California and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Juilliard, and New York University. He is the recipient of the 1992 TCG Alan Schneider Director Award. He has served on the Board of Theatre Communications Group, as well as on several panels for the National Endowment for the Arts. Opera directing credits include Marc Blitzstein’s Regina at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Rigoletto at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Charlie is a multiple Joseph Jefferson Award (Chicago’s highest theatrical honor) nominee and recipient.

COLLETTE POLLARD returns to Court Theatre where she last worked on The Illusion. Recent design credits include Odradek at The House Theatre, Harriet Jacobs at Kansas City Repertory Theatre, To Kill A Mockingbird at Steppenwolf Theatre, and A Streetcar Named Desire at Writers’ Theatre. Collette earned her MFA from Northwestern University. She is adjunct faculty and teaches at Columbia College. Collette is honored to be this years’ recipient of the Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award.

JACQUELINE FIRKINS is pleased to return for her tenth season at Court Theatre. She also designed costumes for last season’s production of Invisible Man. Design work includes: sets and/or costumes for Victory Gardens Theater, TimeLine Theatre Company, House Theatre of Chicago, Marin Theatre Company, Hartford Stage, Dallas Theater Center, Portland Center Stage, Goodman Theatre, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Virginia Stage Company, Westport Playhouse, Shakespeare & Company, Shakespeare Festival of Tulane, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Yale Repertory Theater, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Brave New Repertory, About Face Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Yale School of Drama, and Dorset Theatre Festival. Jacqueline is a recipient of a 2001 Princess Grace Award and teaches design at the University of British Columbia.

JOHN CULBERT recently designed Court Theatre’s productions of Angels in America, Invisible Man, and Porgy and Bess, Writer’s Theatre’s Sweet Charity, Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Romeo and Juliet, Timeline Theatre’s The Farnsworth Invention, Northlight Theatre’s Civil War Christmas, and Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Regina. He also designed Lookingglass Theatre’s Argonautika, Goodman Theatre’s Rock ‘n’ Roll and Mirror of the Invisible World, and Long Wharf Theatre’s Hughie. He has designed productions for the Singapore Repertory, Opera National du Rhin, Berkeley Rep, McCarter Theatre, and the Shakespeare Theatre. He serves as the dean of The Theatre School at DePaul University.

JOSHUA HORVATH Court credits include: James Joyce’s “The Dead,” Jitney, Angels in America, Invisible Man, Spunk, Porgy and Bess, The Illusion, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Wait Until Dark, Carolin, or Change, The First Breeze of Summer, Carousel, Titus Andronicus, Arcadia, Flyin’West, Raisin, Lettic and Lovage, Fences, Man of La Mancha, Endgame, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Guys and Dolls, and The Romance Cycle. Regional: The Kennedy Center, The Lincoln Center, Long Wharf Theatre, Hartford Stage, Centerstage, The Alliance, Milwaukee Rep, Madison Rep, Kansas City Rep, Center Theatre Group, Illinois Shakespeare, Great River Shakespeare, and California Shakespeare. Chicago: Goodman, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, Writer’s Theatre, Lookingglass, About Face, Northlight, Next, TimeLine, Lifeline, A Red Orchid, and The House. Mr. Horvath teaches sound design for theatre and film at Northwestern University, is an artistic associate of Lookingglass, a collaborative partner of the Goodman Theatre, and has one LA Ovation Award and four Joseph Jefferson awards.

NICK KEENAN is delighted to return to Court Theatre after designing last season’s The Piano Lesson.  Designs include Goodman Theatre (Strange Interlude, assistant for Mirror), TUTA (The Wedding), Next (Return to Haifa, End Days), Rivendell (These Shining Lives), BackStage, Collaboraction,  Raven, Apple Tree, A Red Orchid, the Neo-Futurists, the side project, and New Leaf Theatre, where he is a company member.  Nick engineers sound at the Goodman, teaches at Northwestern’s Cherub program, and authors a blog (theaterforthefuture.com) discussing arts sustainability and technology in theater.

DREW DIR is the Resident Dramaturg at Court Theatre, where he oversees dramaturgy and literary management. Production highlights include Orlando, The Comedy of Errors, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Illusion, Porgy and Bess, An Iliad, and Angels in America. Drew is also the cofounder of Manual Cinema, a Chicago-based shadow puppetry company, whose productions include The Ballad of Lula Del Ray, FJORDS, and Ada/Ava. Drew holds an MA in Text and Performance Studies from King’s College London and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. For the past three years, Drew has been a lecturer in Theater and Performance Studies at the University of Chicago, where he co-teaches History and Theory of Drama with Professor David Bevington.

WILLIAM COLLINS is in his seventh season with Court Theatre. Court credits include Angels in America Parts 1 and 2, An Iliad, Porgy and Bess, Three Tall Women, The Year of Magical Thinking, Uncle Vanya, Thyestes, Titus, Comedy of Errors, and Arcadia, among others. Most recently William was on the stage management team for Other Desert Cities at The Goodman Theatre. Other stage management credits include 3 seasons with Peninsula Players Theatre in Door County Wisconsin, Paramount Theatre (My Fair Lady), Drury Lane Theatre (Sugar), The Chicago Humanities Festival, Redmoon Theater, About Face Theatre, and The Guthrie Theatre.

SARA GAMMAGE is delighted to return to Court Theatre. Credits here include Flyin’ West, What the Butler Saw, The First Breeze of Summer, Wait Until Dark, The Mystery of Irma Vep, The Illusion, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, Home, Orlando, Porgy and Bess, Spunk, An Iliad, Invisible Man, and Jitney. Other credits include productions with Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Greenhouse Theater, Theatre at the Center, Marriot Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre, and Redmoon Theater. She spent several seasons at Peninsula Players Theatre in Door Country, WI; credits there include A Little Night Music, Comic Potential, Wait Until Dark, Is He Dead?, Rumors, and The Lady’s Not for Burning. Sara is a proud graduate of Northwestern University.