"Relationships in Progress" Opens September 25 at Gallery Theater

Gallery Theater’s 2015-16 theatre season kicks off with a premiere production. Relationships in Progress, written and directed by Glen Ellyn resident Carl Zeitler, is made up of six short plays portraying various people in relationships we all can relate to: first dates, co-workers, spouses, siblings, and friendship. Whether fun and light, serious and deep, or some combination of those, the characters deal with their relationships with one another as well as the world around them.

The cast includes Renata Allelujka, Debbi Dennison, Vicky Giannini, Beth Goncher, Jerry Moore, Debbie Roberts, Erick Sosa, Dennis Stewart, Scott Surowiecki, Elizabeth Thompson, Lauren Visser, and Carl Zeitler.

The production’s stage manager will be Maureen Corcoran, assisted by Michael Silverman.

Performances will be September 25-26-27 & October 3 and 4. Friday & Saturday performances will be at 7:30 PM and Sunday matinees will be at 3 PM. Gallery Theater is located at 203 Turner Ct. in West Chicago. Tickets are $12 per person. Free parking is available. Tickets are now on sale and likely to go quickly, so please make your reservations today. To purchase tickets or for additional information, contact Gallery Theater at (630) 234-5919 or via email at GalleryTickets@aol.com.

Zeitler talked about how these short scenes representing various forms of relationships came to be. “Just like life, these plays demonstrate part of the journey relationships take. There is no lasting perfection in anything, but levels of progress exist. That continued journey, whether alone or with some form of relationship, makes life interesting and worth continuing down the path. I think people will be able to identify with these characters and what they’re experiencing on some level,” he said.

The six scenes, or parts, of the play represent comedic and dramatic moments among different relationships.

Part One: Four of a Kind Beats Two Pair

Two pairs of friends are hanging out a local sports bar on a weekday night. Each pair has an outgoing friend who tries to encourage the quieter friend to start dating again.

Part Two: Broken Serve

While their mother recovers from emergency heart surgery, a brother and sister try to cope with their estranged relationship.

Part Three: Wedded Bliss…or Not

A husband who is trying to watch a football game is interrupted by his wife who wants them to take a survey of their marriage that she found in a magazine.

Part Four: A Smattering of Perspective

Two people who recently had a first date are recounting the event, each from their own perspective, to friends on their phones.

Part Five: Ella’s Rainbow

Three friends try to cope, in their own way, with the passing of a mutual friend.

Part Six: The Elephant in the Room Never Forgets

An older married couple undergoes a form of marriage counseling and must discuss unresolved issues from their marriage.