The Agency Theater Collective's HELLCAB

Returning for the holidays, The Agency Theater Collective is proud to once again present the Chicago classic HELLCAB by Will Kern, directed by Cordie Nelson, playing November 30 – December 30, 2018 at The Raven Theatre (West Stage), 6157 N. Clark St. in Chicago. All performances are pay-what you-can (suggested $20 donation). Tickets go on sale Thursday, November 1, 2018 at wearetheagency.org or by calling (773) 680-4596.

HELLCABwill feature Regina Linnas the Cab Driver with George Ellzey Jr.,Tyler Esselman, Audrey Gladson, Katie Incardona, Kate Jacobsen, Elbron James, Ashley Joy, Lynnette Li, Adam Mengesha, John Miraglia, Delysa Richards, Tricia Rogers,Jack Schultz, Gin Toand Damian Jason White.

On a bitterly cold day leading up to Christmas in 1992, a young cab driver journeys through Chicago picking up a variety of bizarre and mysterious characters. Kern draws from personal experience as a former cabbie to examine this hilarious, frightening, and poignant trip through the Windy City.

The production team for HELLCAB includes: Elyse Balogh (scenic design), Hailey Rakowiecki (costume design), Ellie Humphrys (lighting design), Ryan Wiechmann (sound design), Cecilie Kvie (props design), Reggie Robinson (assistant director), Colleen Schuldeis (stage manager) and Si Squires-Kasten (assistant stage manager).

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: HELLCAB

Written by: Will Kern

Directed by: Cordie Nelson

Cast (in alphabetical order): George Ellzey Jr. (Architect, Pregnant Husband), Tyler Esselman (Curly, Obnoxious Guy #2), Audrey Gladson (Girlfriend, Good Looking Woman, Distraught), Katie Incardona (Mean Shopper, Redhead), Kate Jacobsen (Blind Guy, Accordion Player), Elbron James (Pakistani Driver, Obnoxious Guy #1), Ashley Joy (Young Black Man, Shalita), Lynnette Li (Religious Wife, Sister #1), Regina Linn (Cab Driver), Adam Mengesha (Young Guy & Scary), John Miraglia (Driver #2, Southside Guy), Delysa Richards (Lawyer, Pregnant Wife, Drunk), Tricia Rogers (Looker, Southside Girl), Jack Schultz (Religious Husband, Homer, Good Looking Man), Gin To (Sister #2, Intense Guy) and Damian Jason White (Driver #1, Boyfriend).

Location: The Raven Theatre (West Stage), 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Friday, November 30 at 8 pm, Saturday, December 1 at 8 pm, Sunday, December 2 at 3:30 pm.

Press performance: Thursday, December 6 at 8 pm

Regular run: Friday, December 7 – Sunday, December 30, 2018

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 3:30 pm. Please note: there will be an added matinee performance on Saturday, December 22 at 3:30 pm

Industry Night: Monday, December 17 at 8 pm

Tickets: All are performances pay-what you-can (suggested $20 donation). Tickets go on sale Thursday, November 1, 2018 at wearetheagency.org or by calling (773) 680-4596.

About the Artists

Will Kern (Playwright) is the author of Hellcab, one of the longest-running shows in Chicago theater history. Some of Mr. Kern’s other theater credits include Kid Sister, which received its world premiere at Profiles Theatre in 2010 and was selected by the Chicago Tribuneas one of the year’s best plays; and Mothers and Tigers: True Stories of Korean Women at Chaimoo Theater, in Seoul, South Korea in 2008. As a screenwriter, Mr. Kern wrote the adaptation of Hellcab, and the short films Pain Chain and Lost in Rome. Currently, Mr. Kern is an assistant professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Dongguk University in Seoul.

Cordie Nelson (Director) is a freelance director and the Casting Director of The Agency Theater Collective. She has been teaching Meisner Levels 1-5 at Green Shirt Studio since 2016. She has directed several new works for The Basement Series, as well as directed I’m Falling In Love All The Time and co-directed Tres Bandidos for The Agency Theater Collective this year.

About The Agency Theater Collective:

The Agency Theater Collective creates extraordinary theatrical experiences by fostering new work and fresh takes from dynamic points of view.

Now in their seventh year, The Agency was born from a Meisner acting classroom at Green Shirt Studio, a storefront training center in Chicago founded by Andrew Gallant and Sommer Austin. Since 2011, The Agency has produced nine world premieres, including the acclaimed I Wish To Apologize To The People of Illinois and the Jeff nominated Truth in Context. In 2017, they produced the first ever female led production of the Chicago classic Hellcab. For more information visit wearetheagency.org.

PHOTO CREDIT: (left to right) Gabrielle Gulledge, Reginald Robinson and Rusty Schwimmerin The Agency Theater Collective’s 2017 production of HELLCAB. Photo by Bill Richert.