We met at Aldo's Gallery!!!!

Between 1995 and 1996, I lived for a year in Chicago. It was one of the most intense years of my life. And a very dramatic turning point, too.

At that time, I was 25 and doing a very bad job at trying to survive as a freelance journalist. My main clients were Metromix, a pioneering website at the time, and Exito!, the Spanish weekly published by the Chicago Tribune. For both outlets I covered cultural events, and for Exito! I wrote art and theater reviews.

And that is how I met Aldo Castillo, the charismatic art dealer and curator, at the center of a romantic memory in a key scene of our play "Tables and Beds, an unromantic comedy".

The references to Aldo Castillo and his gallery are always received with complicity by a large number of our audience members. And that is because if you're a gay man of a certain age in Chicago, chances are you know Aldo and/or you have many friends in common with him. Who hasn't partaken or witness the following conversation? "Hey! Wait. I think I know you! We met at Aldo's Gallery!"

In that faithful year of 1996, I got to spent a lot of time in his iconic art gallery, at that point in its second incarnation at 675 N Franklin St (Close to the Chicago Brown Line.)

For me, Aldo's gallery was my little Rabitt's Hole from Alice in Wonderland. For two reasons. First, the artwork. I remember very vividly so many of the artists he represented and represents as well as the perfectly curated exhibitions he organized. Just to mention one, I remember an incredible exhibition by the otherworldly Colombian painter Luis Fernando Uribe.

The second reason? The clientele. Every opening at Aldo's was not just another opening but an EVENT! The participants in Aldo's soirees were from my impressionable young perspective the quintessential sample of glamour and sophistication. At Aldo's openings, there was always enough beautiful people and back-stage drama to make anybody feel, if only for one night, that they were not in Chicago but in New York or London. (And let's face it, at times, that is the secret dirty daydream of many artsy people in Chicago.)

17 years ago this weekend, I left Chicago for Washington D.C., to work once more for CNN. My hope was always to come back to Chicago one day. When I finally did in July of 2011, Aldo's Gallery was closed. A friend told me he had moved to Florida...

But Aldo's legacy persists in many ways. And that's why I wanted to pay tribute to him in the American version of "Tables and Beds".

Away from Chicago, now, Aldo manages very far-flung international art projects. Visit
http://www.aldocastilloprojects.com/index.html   But most impressively, in Chicago, Aldo continues to be present in hundreds of conversations every single night.

Let's face it, if I could have a quarter for every time I hear Aldo Castillos' name at a party in Chicago, I would be richer than Mark Zuckerberg!

Emilio Williams

Art dealer, Aldo Castillo

Critics love our sister show "Your problem with men" produced by Teatro Luna

While "Tables and Beds" continues to delight audiences... the new world premiere by Emilio Williams, produced by Teatro Luna at Stage773 is gathering rave reviews.

"The whole thing is winningly delirious" says The Chicago Tribune in its 3 star reviews (out of 4) "Loose but assured in its ridiculous sensibility, the production's alchemy is from Emilio Williams' droll script and director Alexandra Meda's breakneck pacing and an eye for clean design, all of which benefit from the efforts of this madcap three-person ensemble, which finds humanity within the sitcomlike parameters." 

The show is also RECOMMENDED by the Chicago Reader: "In this mischievous new one-act from Spanish playwright Emilio Williams, protagonist Asun spins through a surreal sequence of regret after breaking off her engagement. Williams approaches his convoluted subject with a convoluted plot—the line between dream and reality remains hazy—but Asun's remorse rings through clearly. (...) Abigail Vega electrifies as Asun.

You can purchase discounted tickets here. The show runs Fridays and Saturdays at 10pm and Sundays at 5pm.

http://www.goldstar.com/events/chicago-il/your-problem-with-men

Meet Alex Meda, Abigail Vega and Emilio Williams in this radio interview.

https://soundcloud.com/vocalo/teatro-luna-your-problem-with

Everybody loves Yoshi's

Yoshi's Cafe, my favorite restaurant in Chicago, serves a backdrop for a very important story the character of Charlie tells in the U.S. Version of "Tables and Beds, an unromantic comedy." (Now playing at Stage773)

During a night of drunkenness, Charlie tells his best friend Thomas about a beautiful, platonic dinner (with French wine) that took place at Yoshi's circa 1997. And Thomas replies: " Yoshi's existed already? God, that guy has been around forever!!!!"

That line gets a healthy laugh every single night... because at this point, in real life, Yoshi's restaurant has served as backdrop for thousands of romantic dates, friends and family gatherings for several generations of Chicagoans.

In the last year, I've had the immense fortune to join the ranks of a group of hardcore fans of Yoshi's, lead by Edmund Paszylk. My friends have a very hard time finding an excuse NOT to go to Yoshi's.

What makes Yoshi's Cafe so special?

For me there are two things: the consistency of the quality, you can randomly chose a dish and never be disappointed, and the warm, professional service team, lead by Nobuko, whose kindness and elegance make her the soul of restaurant. Once my friends from out of town asked me who was Yoshi, and I replied: "He's Nobuko's husband. Duh!"

Last Tuesday, to celebrate I'm-not-sure-what, I came back to Yoshi's. What I can't forget is what I ate. A brand new dish on the menu: a combination of lamb (I ordered on the pink side) with a croquette made of oxtail and Chinese forbidden rice. The entree was served with sweet mashed potatoes and gobo, a delicious Japanese root that usually comes in the Yoshi's bento boxes. 

Because I continue to forget to buy a smartphone, I asked somebody to take a photo for me...

Online, I stole another photo: one of the luscious Japanese breakfast dish one can order for Sunday brunch.



                                     


And then, there is the oyster shooter on sake, and the tuna tartar, and the octopus, and the crab cakes, and the award winning hamburger, and the hen and duck combination, and the red snapper, and.. and.. and...

Well, you get the point!

Emilio Williams

Discounted Tickets now available on Goldstar

Here is the link for 50% tickets for Thursday and Friday!!

http://www.goldstar.com/events/chicago-il/tables-and-beds


The award-winning Tables and Beds lays out the relationship highs and lows of a pair of Chicago couples -- one gay and one straight -- in a play TimeOut Chicago calls a "smart and often surprising look at contemporary romantic yearning." Written and directed by Emilio Williams, an up-and-coming star in his home country of Spain, this European dramedy marks not only the play's U.S. premiere, but also the debut of a new international theater company, Chicago Theater Sweatshop.

Meet Tedd and Mar

Christopher Kauffmann and Géraldine Dulex play Tedd and Mar on "Tables and Beds". Their chemistry is memorable. And their commitment to perfection and the material at hand, one for the ages!

A few days before opening of our show, Christopher and Géraldine starred in a series of online comic sketches that are going viral.

Check out the two marvelous clowns in action on the links below!

And you can come to see them on "Tables and Beds", being silly, but never stupid at Stage773.

You can watch another hysterical video here.

http://zooppa.com/ads/dating-101-all-the-moves/videos/the-roommate-1http://zooppa.com/ads/dating-101-all-the-moves/videos/the-roommate-1



About Géraldine (Mar)
Géraldine Dulex is overjoyed to collaborate with Emilio Williams after premiering his pocket size farce Smartphones at Trap Door Theatre. She was last seen in Garden of Delights with New Stage Theatre at Theatre for the New City in New York City. Chicago credits include: Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Steppenwolf), A Memory of Two Mondays and After the Fall (Eclipse), Robin Hood (Theatre-Hikes), The Censor (Ebb and Flow) and numerous contemporary European plays at Trap Door Theatre. She is a recipient of an artist grant for her one-woman show Fawn and holds a B.S. from Northwestern University. Danke vo tüfschtem Herze Mama und Papa! www.geraldinedulex.com

About Christopher (Tedd)
Christopher is thrilled to be a part of the inaugural production of The Chicago Theater Sweatshop! Co-founder and Operations Manager for Picaro Media, LLC. He was born in NYC, raised in Miami, and now resides right here in Wrigleyville. He studied at the Acting School of South Florida and then at the T. Schreiber Studio in NYC. Some of his past credits include: "Burn This" with the Alliance Theatre Lab, "Living Together" with Rude Mechanical Productions, and "Bent" with Hubris Productions, where he also made his directorial debut with the acclaimed original musical “Annee Pocalypse” at the 2010 Chicago Fringe Festival. This past summer he also directed "People in the City" with the comedy duo "Dominizuelan." He would like to dedicate this performance to his own E. and C. ¡Ponte listo!

Time Out Magazine says: "It's easy to admire this production"

Suzanne Scanlon reviews "Tables and Beds" for Time Out Magazine:

"Emilio Williams’s new play offers an odd, smart and often surprising look at contemporary romantic yearning. 

(...) set in Chicago (and Lake Geneva), the play liberally references local hot spots, from Yoshi’s to the long-lost Belmont Rocks, with a playful self-referentiality. 

(...) this is a surprising and pleading look at both the limitations of committed love and the painful gap between fantasy and reality. With sophisticated lighting and set design, smooth transitions, and strong actors who comfortably bare their bodies, it’s easy to admire this production, which, in a presentation of marital woes, ever so skillfully avoids the minefield of clichés around gay and straight coupling." 

Mis chicas

I started writing "Tables and Beds, an unromantic comedy" at the end of 2006, a very difficult year in my life, and I finished it in 2008, the beginning of the happiest time of my life... a time that I feel is still going, knock on wood, very strong.

For me writing this comedy was a type of therapy, a very personal journey. I wanted to talk about relationships, about broken hearts, unmet expectations, and the indestructible love of real, honest, and true friendship.

The play ended up being a love letter. A love letter to all my "chicas", the women of my life: my sisters, Rosalia and Maite, my niece, Marta, Monica, Calila, Mamen, Tatiana, Blanca, Beatriz (to whom the play is dedicated), Elisabeth, Mercedes mother, Mercedes daughter, Karen... These ladies in presence, via the phone, or "in memoriam", helped me pull through the very dark years of 2005 and 2006. And in many ways, all of them, separately and combined, have been the so-called "love my life".

Mar, the romantic heroine of "Tables and Beds" is a composite of three element: mis chicas, my favorite characters of fiction and myself.
 
Since "Tables and Beds" opened in the winter of 2010, in Spain. Two important names has been added to "mis chicas.""

One is Cristina, a friend who every day makes me feel like Madrid is only around the corner from Chicago.

The other one is Géraldine Dulex, the actress playing the role of Mar in this first American production, the role that I originally wrote for Mercedes Herrero, daugther.

Maybe it is important that I didn't say this out-loud before today, twenty fours before the opening of the US premiere of "Tables and Beds." It would have been too much pressure for Géraldine to hear this during the process, her knowing how much I love the women who inspired the play. Now her amazing work is about to be available for the world to enjoy. And I just couldn't be any more proud or grateful.

Géraldine has temporarily moved back from New York to Chicago, just for this show. That commitment has been an incredible financial, logistical and emotional sacrifice for her. But, as it happens always with my chicas, everything she does for me seems effortless and natural. Almost, as if it was fated and there was no decision involved in the process.

Géraldine, as all my chicas, is funny, at times knowing that she's funny, at times not even realizing how hysterical she is. Like a good day at the Korean spa, Géraldine has been for me, one of those presences who is able to calm me down if I'm too high, or bring me up, if I feel down.


On top of the friendship, Géraldine is a generous and kind artist in full collaboration with the material, both from an artistic and the production perspective. And, most importantly, she is the kind of actress that I could write roles for.... for the rest of my life.

At times during rehearsals, I look at Géraldine, and the three men from the cast, Popio, Kauffmann and
Brynt, and I'm absolutely puzzled by the fact that I didn't know ANY of them when I wrote this play. How can that be possible? Hand in Glove!!!

As much as I wish all my chicas were here next to me for opening night at Stage773 in Chicago... I have a great, great consolation.

Thanks to Géraldine, all of them will be with me tomorrow tonight. On stage.

Emilio Williams

Variations on Brahms (Music Preview)

The work of the music department of "The Chicago Theater Sweatshop" may become one of the surprises our our inaugural production.

The department is run by composer/producer Gabriel Dib, the Brazilian musician responsible for the sound designs of "Smartphones, a pocket-size farce." Gabriel is a tireless collaborator who can take one tiny idea and make a universe out of it... he always understands what I'm trying to say in ways, I can't even explain with words... then he comes out with brilliant, complex productions that are always, just perfect.

Gabriel and his team have been working on creative variations for the main theme of the play, the romantic, bittersweet 3rd symphony by Brahms.

You can get a taste of their work on this overture for both Acts of the play.

The group of musicians is quite impressive and way beyond what a small independent production could possibly afford. We want to thank all of them for their amazing contribution to our play. They are:

Gabriel Dib - Composer, Arranger and Music Producer

Sergei Stern - Assistant Music Producer



Jim Lordeman - Conductor

Sean Pack - Flute

Meghan Kininger - Bassoon

Matt Cohen - Sax Tenor

Joy Thornton - Trumpet

Dan Kramer - Tuba

Dan Myers, Steven Melin - Violins

Tracie Turnbull - Cello

Jordan Lewis - Accordion

and Gabriel Dib - Guitars and Percussion

Party Time and a busy March (with events at Berlin, Stage 773, Victory Gardens and Steppenwolf Garage)

Our calendar's this month is full of very special occasions. If you are Chicagoland, please join us!!

Calendar of Events in Chicago, March 2013

Friday, March 8th, 2013- Cast Party at Berlin for the US Premiere of "Tables and Beds, an unromantic comedy." 11:00pm http://www.berlinchicago.com/index.html

Thursday, March 14th, 2013- US Premiere of "Tables and Beds, an unromantic comedy" at Stage773. This is the Inaugural Production of The Chicago Theater Sweatshop- 7:30pm

Saturday, March 16, 2013- International Voices Project presents the Brazilian play "Artsy, a Hipster Farce" by Felipe Sant'Angelo at Victory Gardens Theatre. Directed by company members Mercedes Herrero and Mariana Leite. Starring the members of the Chicago Theater Sweatshop Incubator of New Talent- 7:30pm

http://www.ivpchicago.org/event/artsy-a-hipster-farce-brazil/ Free and open to the public

Sunday, March 24th, 2013- Teatro Luna presents the World Premiere of "Your Problem with Men" by Emilio Williams at Stage773- 5pm

http://teatroluna.org/season/season-12-productions/your-problem-with-men/

Thursday, March 28th, 2013- Route66 Theatre presents a staged reading of Next Stop: A New Chicago Musical at Steppenwolf Garage with music and lyrics by Diana Lawrence and one act plays by Alice Austen, Danny Bernardo, Aaron Carter, Ike Holter, Alexander Lubischer, Brett Neveu, Caitlin Parrish and Emilio Williams.- 11:00pm $5.00

http://www.steppenwolf.org/Plays-Events/productions/index.aspx?id=587&performanceDate=2013-03-28T23:00:00

Are Romantic Comedies Dead?

Interesting post from NPR.ORG

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2013/03/04/173424536/are-romantic-comedies-dead

commenting on this story from the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/movies/03scot.html?_r=0


"Tables and Beds, an unromatic comedy" is our take on this genre. We're trying to bring romance to some sort of truth, talking not only about "the sparks" of the beginning, but also about routine, and the weight that the passing of time creates on our shoulders. It's also about all kinds of relationships: romantic love, the love of friends, erotic love, platonic love...  and about the unrealistic expectations that some "desperately" single people have about love... in part because of the romantic tales that we consume.

I continue to be fascinated by how ridiculous we are as human beings. I realize now that is the main theme that all my plays have in common. And I think that when in love, or lust, is when we act in our most ridiculous behavior. 

While, it's easy to demean the new generation of rom-coms from Hollywood, let's face it, they're dreadful, still, there is something magical about the old movies of that same genre. They last.

In rehearsals, we have talked often about "Bringing up, baby" and other screwball comedies from the golden age of Hollywood. I love those movies so much! And the more ridiculous they get, the funnier and more touching they become. It was a time and place for geniuses, such as Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant, directed by Howard Hawks in a movie co-written by Dudley Nichols (who also wrote the classic script for "Stagecoach").

The comic timing, the tempo, and pace of the comedy is perfect pitch! The spectator is caught on that crazy pace, and before one knows, one cares for these character very deeply. It's storytelling magic.

For me, what makes Hepburn and Grant so special is their total fearlessness with the material at hand. You can tell, in this particular comedy, the cast members knew they were in good hands.

                                                                                                         Emilio Williams

From the designer's ateliere: 10 days to opening day...

10 days to opening day...

The excitement builds in our team. We cry when we see each other's work, but most importantly, we always laugh, a lot. This production is no doubt one of my happiest theater experiences. In the middle of the laughter there is always Tonette.

We love working with Tonette Navarro, who is designing and supervising the costumes for the show. Today she sent me this picture from her atelier...

This is the sexy lingerie that Mar Hobson (Géraldine Dulex) wears during her flashbacks: the memories of a happier time with her husband Thomas (Chris Popio).

We met the super-talented Tonette and Trap Door Theater. I've never found anybody who can be both so detailed, and still so flexible and collaborative. She is the embodiment of "grace under pressure". With Tonette in charge of costumes, I know I can relax and expect first class work, always receiving beyond my wildest expectations with a very generous smile.

I was lucky to work with her in "Smartphones, a pocket-size farce". Her manicured styles brought much deserve accolade. Particularly the striking pink dress worn by Géraldine Dulex.

This time around Tonette gets to dress Géraldine in four couture dresses, all of them in the same purple color. I can't wait to see them in action. Dress Rehearsal is a week from today!

                                                                                                                                   Emilio Williams