The May Ceyx Series was at Teatro Luna
3914 N Clark St. Chicago, IL 60613

May's Lineup

Usman Ally

Usman Ally is best known for originating the role of VP in the award winning Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Victory Gardens Theater) which he then reprised for the New York and Los Angeles Premieres (Second Stage & Geffen Playhouse). He currently spends his time between Chicago, New York and Chicago. Usman was born in Swaziland and grew up in Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania and Pakistan. After spending the first 18 years of his life in Africa, he moved to the United States to attend college at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR. He majored in Theatre and Cultural Anthropology and received his BA in 2004. During his time in Portland, Usman also began his SLAM Poetry career, performing with the Hip Hop group, Prisoners of Politics.  Usman then received his MFA in Acting (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Florida in 2007. In Florida he founded the University's first ever Hip Hop Theatre troupe, One Nation and served as director, writer and actor.  Usman is a recipient of the FOX FOUNDATION/TCG GRANT 2010. He can be found on Actors Access, Nowcasting, Casting Frontier, Casting Networks and IMDB.

Rey Andújar

Born in Santo Domingo in 1977, Andújar is the author of several works of fiction including Candela (Alfaguara – Puerto Rican Pen Club Award, Best Novel 2009); Amoricidio (Santo Domingo International Book Fair Fiction Award 2006); Saturnario (Ultramar Short Fiction Literature Prize, New York 2010) and UGDU (Santo Domingo International Book Fair Fiction Award 2011). For more than ten years Andújar has been researching the connection between body, writing, language and literature. During this time he has colllaborated with many artists in different disciplines, especially theater, film and music. He has worked with Katharsis Anarco-Teatral Taller in Dominican Republic, Sociedad Anónima in Puerto Rico and Teatro Aguijón in Chicago.His performance Ciudadano Cero made the Official Selection of the Santo Domingo International Theater Festival in 2006 and was the inaugural performance of the Puerto Rican International Theater Festival in 2007. In 2009 Andújar was invited to the Havana Film Festival as Honorary Guest of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his workshop How to tell a tale at the San Antonio de los Baños International TV and Film School. Rey Andújar resides in Chicago and is a PhD Candidate in Caribbean Literature and Philosophy at Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe.

Matter Dance

Matter Dance Chicago celebrated its fifth anniversary this year.  Chicago natives and MDC Founders Gail Adduci Gogliotti and Carisa Barreca have diverse backgrounds ranging from dance therapy to corporate finance and sketch comedy.  Their unique perspectives lend themselves perfectly to their upcoming show which prides itself on having something for everyone. Currenty they are rehearsing for their upcoming Summer Show - inJOY.  InJOY is a happy show. Our goal is simple... To make you smile. In this groundbreaking performance we combine an interactive joy-filled dance show with improv. Inbetween the flurry of joy based rehearsed pieces Matter Dance Company is proud to present to their patrons a new form of dance performance. Living in Chicago, a town known for comedy and improv, Matter Dance is excited to fuse dance with short form improv games. Our dancers have been working with clowns, mimes, stunt men, as well as talents from The Second City, iO, and The Annoyance to create this unique form of dance improv called Chance Dance. Matter Dance Chicago was founded by Gail Adduci Gogliotti and Carisa Barrecawho have been collaborating for 12 years. They have performed together throughout the Midwest, and their work has been featured in Dance Chicago, Around the Coyote Festival, Open House Dance Collective, Rebound, and Collaborations. Matter Dance Chicago believes dance should be created for the audience as well as the dancers. Their goal is to create dance that makes the audience think, laugh, and want to experience dance. www.matterdance.com

Think Tank

Think Tank is Brent Bridwell, Kevin Carroll, Paul Robinson, and Peter Stepnoski. These "sketch comedy masters" (Redeye) have been writing and performing their unique brand of comedy all over Chicago and beyond for 5 years. Their shows have been called "a raucous, totally silly night of comedy" (Chicagoist.com) and "some of the most bizarre, high-concept comedy around." (Chicago Reader). The A.V. Club recommends Think Tank as the best local alternative to the hit TV show, Portlandia. Think Tank produces a monthly sketch and stand-up show called Pistol Party and has recently completed production of the pilot episode of "Misguided TV," an original sketch comedy series. For more info check out www.thinktankcomedy.com

Patrick O’Connor and Seth Thomas 

Patrick O’Connor (guitar, vocals) and Seth Thomas (vocals, keyboards, percussion) have been performing together since 2001, when Jonny Rumble formed in Kalamazoo, MI.  As musicians ad songwriters in Jonny Rumble, Pat & Seth have recorded over 5 full-length albums and toured throughout the east coast and Midwest with the band.

In 2004 Pat and Seth started the project, Sethington Loggerson Tenderfoot with their friend Jeremy Pryor. With a focus on psychedelic-pop, alternative-country, and other more traditional pop/rock tunes, they have produced 3 full-length albums under this name.  This summer they will be releasing a new full-length album, “Return of the Bison,” the highly anticipated sequel to the adventurous, “Way of the Buffalo”.

Throughout the years, Pat & Seth have played hundreds of open-mics and acoustic/songwriter showcases at venues all over Michigan, Illinois, and Florida. Their set will display the diversity of their songwriting and the duo’s refreshing harmonies.