Join us for our first Commons’ event of Season 41 – a live concert reading.
It’s summer of 2011, and Ellie, an awkward 16-year-old, has written what she believes to be a groundbreaking new musical inspired by the early discography of Avril Lavigne. She has invited Rachel, her much cooler ex-best friend and their theatre teacher’s favorite, to her house to pitch the show in hopes that Rachel can convince him to program it for their spring musical. Over the course of one evening of workshopping, the two girls rekindle their friendship and reopen old wounds. The Best Damn Thing is a piercing and boldly theatrical exploration of what it means to be a teenage girl in a world that refuses to take you seriously.
Friday, July 31 @ 7:00 PM
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
HANNA KIME she/her (playwright) is a Jeff-Nominated Chicago-based playwright and screenwriter originally from St. Louis, Missouri. Her full-length work has been presented with companies such as Benson Drive Productions, the Goodman, Berkeley Rep, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Dacha, Steep, [producingbody], Bramble, Sideshow, where she was an ensemble member, First Floor, where she previously served as Literary Manager, among others. Recent Chicago productions include THE TARGETED at A Red Orchid Theatre, DOGS at Red Theater, and THE BEST DAMN THING at The Understudy: Coffee and Books. Kime is a two-time O’Neill Finalist, a Seven Devils Finalist, was the winner of OKC Rep’s New Voices Contest, and has been named a semifinalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Ashland New Play Festival, and Premiere Stages Play Festival. She holds degrees from the University of Chicago in English and Gender and Sexuality Studies. She is represented by UTA and managed by Curate.
ELYSE DOLAN (director) is a proud ensemble member of American Blues Theater, where she is also the Associate Artistic Director. Favorite directing credits include Come Back, Little Sheba at American Blues Theater, the Chicago premiere of If/Then at Brown Paper Box Co. and Blackbird at Blank Theatre Company. Her work as a director and/or assistant director has also been seen at Raven Theatre, Redtwist Theatre, The New Coordinates, Babes with Blades, Oracle Theatre, Broken Nose Theatre, Prop Thtr, Commission Theatre, and more. She is a frequently a guest director for Remy Bumppo Theatre Company’s “Master Class: Scene Study” class. Elyse holds a B.A. in English Literature and Theatre from Denison University.
MAYA LOU HLAVA (Rachel) is a proud artistic affiliate of American Blues Theater. She is thrilled to be returning to American Blues Theater. She was previously seen in Come Back Little Sheba, Things With Friends. Additional Chicago credits include, Father of the Bride, Little Mermaid, Christmas Carol, Shrek, White Christmas and Bye Bye Birdie (Drury Lane Theater); Prayer for the French Republic (Northlight Theatre); The Penelopiad (Goodman Theatre); Happy Days Are Here (Again) and Zurich (Steep Theatre); The Best Damn Thing (The Understudy Cafe); Dory Fantasmagory and Last Stop On Marketplace (YPPT/Greenhouse Theater); Spring Awakening (Porchlight Theater); Act 5, The Killing Game and The Nether (A Red Orchid Theatre); Oklahoma (Marriott Theatre); Violet (Griffin Theater); Trevor (Writers Theatre); The Secret Garden (Court Theatre); The Wheel (Steppenwolf Theatre); Film and Television Credits include Will Trent, The Perpetrator, Chicago Med, The Chi, and The Big Leap. Maya is represented by Stewart Talent.
ELISABETH DEL TORO she/her (Ellie) Chicago credits include DOGS (Red Theater), The Best Damn Thing (Understudy Coffee and Books), The Ballad of Lefty and Crabbe (Underscore Theatre) and Parachute Men (Teatro Vista). Elisabeth has a background in improv and sketch comedy, and degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Glasgow. Represented by Grossman and Jack Talent. More at elisabethdeltoro.com.