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Soul Theatre’s mission is to create art that is full of radiant joy – food for the soul – and to play, poke, and prod at what it means to be human. Through our art, we explore the dualities of the universe – especially the differences between belief and action, masculinity and femininity, erotic and absurd – with the intent to enrich the communities in which we perform in any way we can. Scatterbrain sweetness is dancing through our veins. We believe every meeting should end with a piece of dark chocolate.
history :: members :: back to top
Ravi was putting on make-up for a show when Dani plunked down in the chair next to her for a chat.
“How are you?” Ravi asked.
“I’m culturally confused and sexually screwed up, but otherwise, I’m fine,” Dani said.
“Sounds good to me,” Ravi said.
She looked at Dani in the mirror and saw a friend. That was how Dani and Ravi became collaborators: standing in a dressing room getting ready for a show. They had so much fun that they decided it shouldn’t end and embarked on creating a theatre company. Because they were interested in the human predicaments, they decided to call it Soul Theatre. Their mission is to create art that is full of radiant joy—food for the soul. They have also been known to bake cakes together while singing pop songs and discussing plays.
They turned to their favorite people for help and threw themselves into a whirlwind of rehearsals and set building. Zygmunt Dyrkacz, Producing Artistic Director and Lela Headd, Managing Director of the Chopin Theatre were the first victims (or should we say co-conspirators?) And so it began, with Neil Simon's The Last of the Red Hot Lovers in the steamy summer of 2006.
After that, Dani headed back to the west coast to finish up school, leaving Soul Theatre in Ravi's hands. She decided to forge ahead, so she recruited Cindy Savage and Dan Pellant, and the three of them officially formed the company. Over some yummy Thai food and a bottle of wine, we talked about the future of Soul Theatre, and what projects we'd be interested in taking on. The first decision was to go ahead with a project Ravi had applied for, a week of plays by Suzan-Lori Parks as part of the year-long 365 Days/365 Plays Project.
And so, it begins...
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ARTISTIC DIRECTORS
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Cindy Savage does a lot of stage managing, some directing and costuming, and a little bit of just about everything else (except acting) around town. She has worked with TUTA, Remy Bumppo, About Face, Greasy Joan & Co., Redmoon, the Goodman, Stockyards Theatre Project, Prickly Pear Productions, Theatre Building, the Bailiwick, Light Opera Works, L'Opera Piccola, HyperWorld Theatre, CPA Theatricals, and Loyola University, where she got a fancy theatre degree. Cindy is a company member and the Operations/Special Events Manager at TUTA. |
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Dan Pellant likes his props lists, yes he does. |
COMPANY MEMBERS
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Ravi Batista has appeared in shows with The Albright Theatre, The Artistic Home, Soul Theatre, First Folio Shakespeare Festival, Greasy Joan & Company, and at Donny’s Skybox at Second City; and in staged readings with Silk Road Theatre Project and Chicago ScriptWorks. She attended the School at Steppenwolf. |
| Justin Beal (Intern Extraordinaire) Bio coming soon. | |
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Caren Evers Caren Evers brings experience as a director, writer, producer, actor and banker to Soul Theater. Caren recently wrote, directed, and produced the short film Complementary Nuts. She has appeared around Chicago in various plays and improv shows. Her voice can be heard in the feature film Quietly On By. She is most proud of her role as the Nodding and Smiling Woman in the last two seconds of an Empire Carpet commercial. Caren appeared in Soul Theater's first production, The Last of the Red Hot Lovers. |
| Kasey Foster Bio coming soon. | |
| Lila Frazer Bio coming soon. | |
| Colleen Mallon Bio coming soon. | |
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© 2007 Soul Theatre. Website design by Cindy Savage.
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