Lakeview actress brings her love of scary stories to latest production

Jaclyn Jensen loves a good scary story.

The Lakeview resident and actress also loves to TELL a good scary story, which is what she’s doing on her latest project, Strangeloop Theatre’s production of Thinking Caps.

Thinking Caps is a cautionary tale of where technology is headed and the disastrous global consequences that can come from good intentions. Jensen’s character, Kim Ayers, is leading the charge to place restrictions on the use of Thinking Caps – the iPhones of the future that allow uses to access the Headnet, an interconnected telepathy-based virtual reality that has replaced the internet – and will stop at nothing to achieve that goal.

“I like that Kim leads by example,” Jensen said. “She really puts herself on the front line to achieve her goals and protect the things she cares about. I also like that we share core similarities, but act on them in extremely different ways. It’s been exciting to explore her perspective.”

Set about 25 years into the future, Thinking Caps takes audiences on a journey through the lives – real and virtual – of the Cusick family, as they grapple with the predominance of the technology that brought them together and now threatens to tear them apart.

Jensen, a company member with Strangeloop Theatre, has worked as an actress in Chicago for years, including productions with Consortium Project, Chicago Parks District, St. Sebastian Players and Shapeshifters Theatre Company.

A native of Sandy, Utah, she lives in Lakeview now, with her husband Mike.

“Lakeview is my favorite neighborhood in Chicago!” Jensen said. “Anything I could need is just a short – and scenic – walk from my doorstep.”

See Jensen in Thinking Caps, May 8-31, at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays at The Charnel House, 3421 W Fullerton Ave., in Chicago. Tickets are $18 for general admission and are on sale now at Brown Paper Tickets. Discounts are available for students and seniors.