Interrobang Theatre Project is pleased to conclude its eleventh season with the streaming world premiere of Dingleberries, a dark comedy written by Susan Chenet and directed by Managing Artistic Director Georgette Verdin. Dingleberries will stream via BroadwayWorld from June 24 – July 18, 2021. Tickets ($15) will go on sale shortly at interrobangtheatreproject.org. Note: the opening performance on June 24 will stream at 7 pm central; all subsequent performances will be available on demand.
Dingleberries features Salar Ardebili* (Geoffrey/Michael), Matthew Martinez Hannon* (Jay/Bob), Charles McNeely III (Phil/Coach Jones), Aaron Spencer (David/Buddy) and Laura Berner Taylor* (Jonie).
Jonie, a middle school theatre teacher, is standing at the threshold of her playwriting dreams when a regional company selects her new, avant-garde work to debut. Rehearsals seem to be going smoothly until the week before previews when she receives a video call from the artistic director. What happens next would be funny if it weren’t so sad. This crappy comedy is based on actual events.
The production team includes Megan Love (video editor), LaVisa Angela Williams* (costume design), Richie Vavrina* (production manager) and Shawn Galligan* (stage manager).
To learn more about ITP’s monthly memberships, visit patreon.com/interrobangtheatreproject.
*Denotes Interrobang Theatre Project Ensemble Member or Artistic Associate.
About the Artists:
Susan Chenet (Playwright) is both an experienced teacher of theatre and a playwright. Combining both her passions for teaching and writing, Chenet began creating plays for teenagers and kids in the early 1990s, which eventually expanded to writing for every age group. Chenet’s original plays, both for adults and teenagers, have been performed all over the country, including two mainstage performances in New Orleans, LA, where she received two “Excellence in Playwriting Awards” from the American College Theatre Festival. Chenet received an award as the District High School Teacher of the Year in St. Charles Parish, near New Orleans, during her 15-year tenure there.
Chenet has a B.A. in Speech Education, a B.A. in Theatre Arts and an M.A. in English from McNeese State University; she has an M.A. in Drama and Theatre Studies from Royal Holloway University of London and an M.F.A. in Film and Theatre arts, with a concentration in playwriting, from the University of New Orleans (UNO). Chenet recently received an Author’s Award from UNO for her “contribution to her community and world through the written word.”
Chenet directed a summer camp in New Hampshire where in the off season she lived on Long Island, NY. While in New York, she had five books published: Incorporating Theatre Into the Camp Setting, 50 Nifty Theatre Activities for Kids, Another 50 Nifty Theatre Activities for Kids, 101 Bunk Activities and 101 Ways to Teach Staff How to Teach Kids.
In 2016, Chenet moved back to her hometown, Lake Charles, LA. She is back in the classroom again teaching theatre to many talented students and creating plays for her community and the world.
Georgette Verdin (Director) is a Cuban-American freelance director, theatre and speech educator and arts integration specialist. She has been working with ITP since 2014. Recent directing credits include Tribes (Nina Raine) at Western Michigan University, Jeff recommended productions of Out of Love (U.S. Premiere, Elinor Cook), Grace and Recent Tragic Events (Craig Wright) and Time Stands Still (Donald Margulies), as well as the 2013 & 2016 Yale Drama Series winners, Still (Jen Silverman) and Utility (Emily Schwend). Georgette has also worked with Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Facility Theatre and Chicago Dramatists, among others. Georgette holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA and a Master in Directing from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. She is an associate member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Much love to her wife, Zoë and baby boy, Shire.
About Interrobang Theatre Project
The recipient of 2019's Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre award, Interrobang Theatre Project, now in its eleventh season and under the artistic leadership of Georgette Verdin, has been hailed by the Chicago Tribune as a “company to watch” and by Time Out Chicago as “one of Chicago’s most promising young theatre companies.” Chris Jones called Foxfinder, which kicked off Interrobang’s 2017-18 season, “...a ripping good yarn,” earning it 3.5 stars from the Chicago Tribune. Foxfinder also garnered seven non-Equity Jeff Awards nominations including Best Director and Production of a Play, and took home two awards for Best Original Music and Set Design. The company also earned seven non-Equity Jeff Nominations for their seventh season, including Best Director, Production of a Play, Solo Performance and acting nominations for Lead Actor, Actress (win) and Actor in a Supporting Role (win). Productions have included the world premiere of Calamity West’s Ibsen is Dead (Jeff Recommended), the Jeff Recommended The Pitchfork Disney, Orange Flower Water, Recent Tragic Events, The North Pool, The Amish Project, Falling, Grace, The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, I Call My Brothers and Out of Love.
What’s an interrobang?
An interrobang is the combination of a question mark and an exclamation point, joining the Latin for “question” (interro) with a proofreading term for “exclamation” (bang). Through the plays we produce, Interrobang Theatre Project aims to pose worthwhile and exciting questions which challenge our understanding and assumptions of who we are and the world in which we live.
For more information, please visit interrobangtheatreproject.org.