The Storm of the Century
Ridgeville Park
908 Seward St, Evanston, IL
June 14-15, 21-22, 28-29
All shows begin at 5:30pm
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This performance will take place outdoors. A limited number of seats are available. We recommend bringing folding chairs and blankets, to make yourselves comfortable.
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Tickets are Pay-What-You-Can (Suggested: $25). You can make your reservations online here, or pay in cash when you arrive.
Synopsis & Setting
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Chicago, Italy "1625" - The home of Signora Bianca
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The Storm of the Century
Flaminia is in love with Isabella and needs the approval of her mother, Signora Bianca, before they can be married. All that's left is one final meeting to agree on the details. But an unexpected storm is rolling through - and not just the weather outside! Something in Flaminia's past emerges that threatens to cancel the whole engagement. When the power goes out, everyone's plans are thrown into chaos! Will calmer heads prevail?
Cast List
(in order of appearance)
Flaminia............Helena Scholz-Carlson*
Isabella............Olivia Finkelstein
Dottore............Brendon Duran
Signora Bianca............Claire Proepper*
Colombina............Shea Lee*
Bagattino............Martin Downs*
Production Team
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Directed by............Steven Yandell
Stage Management............Grace Mealey
Choreographer............Martin Downs*
Costumer............Jennifer Mohr*
Props Designer............Shea Lee*
​​*Denotes Ensemble Member
Artist Bios
Asterisk denotes LST Ensemble Member
Helena Scholz-Carlson* (She/Her)
Flaminia
Helena performed Commedia for the first time last summer in Laughing Stock’s BirdCoin; or, the One Where They Learn to Respect Women and is delighted to be returning! She is an Evanston-based actor, playwright, and artist. She graduated from Northwestern University where she studied theatre, with a focus on playwriting. At NU she directed Macbeth and appeared as Vivian Bearing in W;t, Romeo in R&J, and Laura in Tea & Sympathy. Helena also studied classical performance at the Great River Shakespeare Festival.
Olivia Finkelstein (She/Her)
Isabella
Olivia Finkelstein is an actor and writer who is newly Chicago-based, having recently moved from Seattle. She is so excited to return to Laughing Stock after performing in their New Work Festival in February. Olivia is a recent graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University's BFA Acting program. Some of her recent credits include Reality Winner in Is This a Room (Harlequin Productions) and #2 in The Wolves (IWU) alongside various short films created in the PNW. She's happy to be here! oliviafinkelstein.com
Brendon Duran (He/They)
Dottore
Brendon Duran is thrilled to be making their Laughing Stock Theatre debut, and for their return to the theatre for first time since 2020. They are an actor, comedian and theatre educator from the steamy bayous and floodplains of Houston, Texas. Their favorite theatre performances include Aesop's Adventures at Raven Theatre, Oskar and the Last Straw! tour at Alley Theatre and The Judgement of Fools at Horse Head Theatre. Brendon was a player with ComedySportz Houston from 2011 to 2018, where they were in hundreds of improv shows as a performer, director and producer, and in classes as an instructor and eventually Director of Education. They were also a teaching artist with the Alley Theatre. They've performed with indie improv groups in Chicago and across the country, being featured at festivals including Bentwood Comedy Festival (Chicago), Out of Bounds Comedy Festival (Austin) and Trill Comedy Festival (Houston). Brendon is a proud member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 134. They earned their BFA in Theatre from the University of Houston in 2015.
Claire Proepper* (She/Her)
Signora Bianca
Claire Hart Proepper is a founding member and one of the owners of LST in addition to being the Executive Director. She has been performing, directing, and studying Commedia for the past 13 years. Select Commedia performance credits include: Pantalone in Over My Dead Body, Signora Rosaura in The Masquerade; Or, Love is Queer to Stay, Colombina and Isabella in BirdCoin; Or, The One Where They Learn To Respect Women (Laughing Stock Theatre), Colombina in At Your Service: Commedia dell’Arte (Bristol Renaissance Faire), Rosaura in The Venetian Twins (Piccolo Theatre). Claire received her theatre and history degrees from the University of Virginia and completed Antonio Fava's Stage Internazionale di Commedia Dell'Arte. She sends her love to her family, friends, her ever-supportive husband, Kurt and their adorable son, Jack.
Martin Downs* (He/Him)
Bagattino
Like many actors, Martin first heard the term "Commedia dell'Arte" in a high school theater history class. He began to study it in earnest in 2013, as Company Manager and Artistic Director of "The Panini Players" at Northwestern University, He branched out to the Commedia troupe "At Your Service" at the Bristol Ren Faire from 2016-2018. He was one of the founding members of Laughing Stock Theatre in 2019, and traveled to Reggio Emilia
Shea Lee* (She/Her)
Colombina
Shea Lee is a founding ensemble member of Laughing Stock, where she has co-devised and performed in Alone at Last!, A Tale of Two Houses, Over My Dead Body, and more! She is also a brand-new ensemble member of Lifeline Theatre and has been seen in their productions of Leaf, Cat's Cradle, and Extra Yarn. Other favorite credits include The Conductors (Kerfuffle TVY), StarDog (Astral Stage Collective), and Mr. Kotomoto is Definitely Not White (NoMads Art Collective). Shea is an alumna of Northwestern University and is represented by Big Mouth Talent.
Play A Part
Please consider making a donation to support our future performances and educational programming either after the show or any time at:
https://www.laughingstockchi.com/support-us
Or, purchase merchandise at:
https://laughingstock.myspreadshop.com
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Our Mission
Making Commedia dell'Arte Accessible
Laughing Stock Theatre creates and performs substantive, high-quality Commedia dell’Arte that spectacularizes the mundane and delights our audiences.
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LAUGHING STOCK THEATRE is an LLC officially operating as a for-profit business, however our guiding principal is providing financially accessible Commedia dell’Arte. We operate our performances on an entirely Pay-What-You-Can model.