Hello friends and supporters!

Well, here we are, less than a month away from 4 July 2010, the birthday of both the United States of America and (a)Symmetry Cycle. There is a lot left to do, but every day is full of exciting discoveries. The Chicago theatre community has been overwhelmingly supportive, as have our families and friends around the country. We couldn't be more humbled by or grateful for your investment in us.

All three plays are in rehearsal as we speak, and design elements (music, lights, set, props) are starting to come together. With so many people on the production team (art director, 3 photographers, lighting designer, sound designer, two composers, scenic designer, 3 directors, 3 stage managers, one playwright), getting a meeting together can be quite challenging, but our dialogue is continuous and inspiring. Add 19 of Chicago's most talented actors to that brew, and you get one exhilarating project just about ready to erupt. In a few more weeks.

Below, please enjoy some photos from our WILDLY successful benefit, JoyMake, which was held on 5 June 2010. We threw a great party, generated a lot of interest in the cycle, and reached our fundraising goal for the evening to boot. There was drinking, dancing, feasting, sneak peeks of all three plays, and of course plenty of science talk.

Hope that summer is treating all of you well!
Best,
Chelsea

Hello again, everyone!
Things are really rocking now!

With just over a month until opening, the plays could not be in a better place. We held auditions the first weekend of May and saw over 100 very talented Chicago actors, but we have room on this ship for only 19. I feel like the directors (Lavina, Eric, and John) chose the best of the best, and after some haggling and negotiation between them, everyone has the best cast for their play. It's going to be an interesting challenge for the actors, playing a role at the same time as two other people, each of you representing a different time in the character's life. We had the first reading of the full cycle on May 22nd, and the actors immediately began eyeing their doppelgangers curiously.

Without furthur ado, I give you the cast lists:

NUMBFEEL : Girls/Boys/Bodies/Biology

Directed by :: Lavina Jadhwani

Stage Managed by :: Drew Durfee

featuring...

Isaac :: Austin D. Oie

Alice :: Carol Enoch

Lill :: Emily Shain

Arlie ::Marissa Cowsill

Peter :: Michael Mercier

Billy :: Brett Lee



DUMBSPEAK : The Chemistry of Falling Apart

Directed by :: Eric Hoff

Stage Managed by :: Claire Bader

featuring...

Isaac :: Drew Longo

Alice :: Stacie Hauenstein

Lill :: Kristen Secrist

Arlie :: Meghan Reardon

Peter :: Mike Steele

Billy :: Dan Krall



BLINDSIGHT : A Neurological Rebeginning

Directed by :: John Ross Wilson

Stage Managed by :: Allison Queen

featuring...

Isaac :: Ryan Patrick Dolan

Alice :: Kelley Ristow

Lill :: Mallory Nees

Arlie :: Megan Gotz

Peter :: Jason Feriend

Billy :: Roy Gonzalez

Monica :: Bergen Anderson

In addition to reading through the script for the first time, we were able to shoot a really amazing video trailer for (a)Symmetry Cycle on May 22nd. Look for that soon!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention our upcoming Benefit Soirée: JoyMake.
It's going to take place on Saturday, 5 June 2010, from 8pm UNTIL in Bucktown.
$20 gets you unlimited drinking, eating, and dancing with the casts and crews of (a)Symmetry Cycle, not to mention $3 off your ticket in July. If you're in the Chicago area and want to party with us, RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php... .

In the meantime, check out a short clip from the first read-thru.
It was a gorgeous day to be outside in Chicago.

Happy Summer!
--Chelsea

We're the Kickstarter of the Week over on the Arts and Dafts Blog.
Can you believe it?!
We're beyond excited that our project seems to have captured one more heart!

http://www.artsanddafts.com/kick-starter---weekly/kick-starter-of-the-week-asymmetry-cycle.html

Also, we're making great headway, funding-wise.
Soon we'll be having auditions and casting 19 actors in these plays, and our little family will double in size. Can't WAIT!

In the meantime, check out these photos that nk Mooneyham took of the first reading of "Dumbspeak." These are our friends. These are our comrades. These are the theatre chums of Chicago who will show up anywhere to help you out with any project. As long as there's free chili.

(a)Symmetry Cycle has gone live! We've launched a finished version of our website at www.asymmetrycycle.com, we have a Facebook fan page and a Twitter feed, and Kickstarter has been launched. We're ready to roll.

The day we went live was Easter Sunday, and the (a)Sc team spent the day at Chelsea's apartment discussing the future of the project, troubleshooting website issues, and eating marshmallow Peeps by the dozen. Luckily, nk Mooneyham, our Art Director and one of the four amazing photographers we have working on the cycle, was there to document the shenanigans. Check it out below.

Additionally, we had the first reading of the second play, Dumbspeak, last night, and a very productive feedback session with actors and directors afterward. Auditions are coming up the first weekend of May, and we couldn't be more excited to cast these shows and get 19 new faces involved with the project!

Opening day is 3 months away!
Let's do this like Brutus!