Company

Derrick:  Hello, friends of Halcyon.  I am back, once again, with a new Halcyon Artist of the Month.  For January I am joined by Christine Lin.  Christine is a wonderfully talented woman, who I have had the pleasure to work with on a number of occasions.  Christine, I’m glad you could join me today.

Christine:  It’s a pleasure to be here.

Derrick:  So, let’s get down to it then.  Tell me about yourself.  Who are you?
 

Christine:  Well as far as my profession goes, I am a Actor and a Quality Engineer.
 

Derrick:  What is a Quality Engineer?
 

Christine:  What I do involves writing and executing test documents to make sure equipment, facilities and other validated mechanical systems are working correctly. Basically, I’m a checker. I check to make sure stuff works the way it should.
 

Derrick:  Sounds fun.  So tell me, why Halcyon?
 

Christine:  Well, they were the first company I worked with in Chicago, so they have a special place in my heart.  I also really love Halcyon’s Mission Statement - the commitment to diversity - and the willingness to take risks. Oh, Tony and Jenn are great, too.
 

Derrick:  They are indeed.  What are you working on at the moment?
 

Christine:  I am currently in Halcyon’s Trickster, where I play a graceful and powerful Swan Woman goddess.  I am also going to be performing in Halcyon’s next show, Iphigenia (a rave fable).
 

Derrick:  You are playing the titular character in Iphigenia, correct?
 

Christine:  I am.  After Iphigenia, I am going to be working on InFusion Theatre’s Soul Samurai.
 

Derrick:  That sounds like a lot of fun.  So, what’s next?  Where are you going from here?
 

Christine:  In addition to these shows, I hope to do some improv with Stir-Friday Night! - the sketch comedy group I play with. Also, I am making preparations to move to L.A. later this year - go out to Hollywood and see what kind of trouble I can get into.
 

Derrick:  You can probably get into quite a bit of trouble in L.A.  So what are your goals and dreams, for yourself and the company?
 

Christine:  I want to help the company continue to grow and develop.  I’d love to see a wider audience base.  More working capital would be great, too, so we can pay the actors more and even hire permanent staff for the company. I’m already really excited about currently working at the Greenhouse and for receiving the Alphawood Grant; I think we’ll keep heading in this direction.
 

Derrick:  What about goals for yourself?
 

Christine:  Well, I’m really excited about L.A.  I’d like to get on TV; maybe become a regular on a series.  Maybe I can get into film.  I could see myself as an action hero...
 

Derrick:  Well, I think all I can say to that is “L.A., look out.”  Sadly, that is all that we have time for.  Christine, as always, it has been a pleasure.  Thank you for taking the time to talk with me.
 

For you, friends of Halcyon, you can see Christine in her role as Swan Woman in Trickster at the Greenhouse Theatre Complex.  The show runs through Feb 6th.  You can also catch her in Iphigenia, also at the Greenhouse, Feb 17th through March 27th.  More information, as well as tickets, can be found on Halcyontheatre.org.
 

As for me, I am off to prepare for February’s Artist of the Month.  Who will it be?  Read and find out.

-Derrick York

Derrick:   Hello, everyone.  I’m here today with the first ever Halcyon Artist of the Month, Ruth Schilling.  Ruth is always a joyful presence at any Halcyon meeting or rehearsal.  She is kind, friendly, and always singing.  She has also been a key player in the workshopping and execution of Halcyon’s current production, Trickster.  Hello, Ruth and congratulations.  Now, let’s get the most basic question out of the way first.  Tell me a little bit about yourself.  Who are you?

Ruth:    Hmm.  Who am I?  This is rather a life long question, but I could offer a few possibilities.  For much of my adult life I've been a secretary/administrative assistant by day and actress - singer - something creative by night.  I have a strong propensity for spiritual thoughts and approaches to how we live here on earth.  I am always interested in why.  I am buoyed up by the beauties of nature.  I have a passionate need to be heard, but also love hearing the stories of others.

Derrick:   What draws you to Halcyon theatre?

Ruth:    I was drawn to the company over a couple of years of seeing this interesting couple on the bus and train.  I met Tony, Sr. and Junior first - the younger being drawn to the snowy bus stop on a sled by the elder.  I had no conscious intention of going back to acting when we first met (my last show was in the middle 80s), but there must have been something/someone hovering over us!  We just kept meeting on trains and buses and eventually talked of theater and what we liked and didn't like about various aspects of it.  So it was mainly the person of Tony and Jenn that drew me in to begin with.  I complained about auditioning to them and then I auditioned for them!  I liked their energy and commitment and sense of fun.  I especially like the commitment to works by women.

Derrick:   How long have you been with the company?

Ruth:    I am a very recent member.  It was some time this past summer that I was invited to join. My first show was What of the Night in last season's Alcyone Festival.

Derrick:   What projects are you currently working on?

Ruth:    I am playing the role of Molly and doing a little vocal coaching in Trickster and will be Assistant Director for Iphigenia.

Derrick:   What is your favorite Halcyon memory?  It can be anything you like.

Ruth:    The whole experience of playing Reba in What of the Night - from coming home from rehearsals unable to wind down for hours - I was so excited about being back in theater (and so surprised at how much I liked it!) to opening night - getting through it and running up to Tony and hugging him, to rides home with Arvin and Arch.  Frankly just about everything is immensely memorable to me in this experience!  I also really liked having a (champagne) breakfast with Tony, Jenn, Tony Jr. and Charlotte after the show was over - watching them walk up the sidewalk Charlotte furious at the snowflakes in her eyes.

Derrick:   What are your goals for yourself and for the company?  Your hopes and dreams.

Ruth:    That we find a space of our own.  Education, Children's theater, more community outreach.  That we become a company with all of us involved and working towards our vision.  For me personally - just to keep walking through what lies before me, keeping my heart and ears open to "spirit" so I don't [[mess]] up too much!

Derrick:  So, where are you going from here?  What's next for you?

Ruth:    Well, after Iphigenia - rest, vacation perhaps.  Some writing.  A visit to recently "re-found" relatives in July - connecting with a side of my family that I had thought forever lost to me.  I have some Chicago stories that I would like to finish and perhaps put on stage.  And, of course, new projects with my colleagues at Halcyon!

Derrick:   Thank you, Ruth and, again, congratulations.  You can all see Ruth perform in Halcyon Theatre’s Trickster which opens on Jan 6^th, 2011 and runs through Feb 6^th.  Ticket prices and reservation information can be found on Halcyontheatre.org.  I’ll be back in January with another Halcyon Artist of the Month.

Lots of new stuff to tell y'all about. We have new company members, a new board member, a new website and more.

Life's been a bit crazy lately to say the least. I'm slowly but surely starting to get back to my normal self. I tweeted last week that for the first time since Mom got sick, I was starting to get my swagger back. It's kinda funny, but I hadn't realized how much her being sick was affecting me, until I started to feel myself returning. It's almost as if I've been tele-commuting since she was diagnosed in the fall of '08. I didn't realize it until now.

Her passing had been countered with so much exciting and inspiring stuff that some days it felt like I wasn't sure what was up or down.

One thing I did was to rework the website. It looks similar (I hope) with a few tweaks, but everything under the hood is new. Having a rigidly logical project to take on helped me cope with the irrationality of life for a bit. Not avoid it, but balance.

If you subscribe to the feed, you may have gotten some weirdness during the migration, if that's the case, sorry for any inconvenience. I'm still working on migrating the comments from older blog posts, hoping to have that resolved soon.

What do you think of the new digs?

We added more company members and artistic associates. I'm really excited; the amount of talent is pretty insane. New company members are: Barb Anderson, Doug Bowman, Elizabeth Byland, Arch Harmon, Marquetta Jackson,  Arvin Jalandoon, Ed Kuffert, Warren Levon, Andréa Morales (who moved up from being an artistic associate) and Miguel Nuñez.

Erica Hernandez and Derrick York joined the company as artistic associates. And we have a new board member as well Debbie Ruzicka.

Some of the new folks we've known for a while. I directed Warren before Halcyon was around and he was in our first show. Other folks like Derrick are newer to the family and I think we've got a great group of people.

We also kicked off a strategic planning process with the help of the Arts and Business Council of Chicago and three great consultants who are volunteering their time. We had our first workshop session earlier this month (pics are below.)

And to top it off, Greg P's about to get married and Aimee's about to have her second child. (She's due sometime this week.)

The day Mom passed I had to go to the theater to fix a lighting issue. I busied myself with stuff, helping with photo call, running the box office etc. When the lights went down and the show started I wept alone in the dark lobby for about ten minutes. I was able to pull myself together long enough to walk through Lincoln Square, passing by the fountain on the way to the train home.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and it was a bizarre thing to be fighting back tears surrounded by happy families playing all around me. I was there, but not really a part of it. I had withdrawn, it was an odd summation myself for the previous year and a half. But sometimes you don't realize you've been absent until you return.

I'm back. There's a lot of digging out to do, but I'm more inspired than I have been in years.

Anyway, enough about me, how are you?