Featuring: Sarah Hecht, Scott Dare, and Raquel Torre Gonzalez
Musicians: Margaret Daly, Karl Davies, and Monica Reilly
“The front pattern does move—and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it! Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind.” Yellow Wallpaper
“Helmer: Now, now, the little lark’s wings mustn’t droop. Don’t be a sulky squirrel.”
“Nora: I’m a human being no less than you – or anyway I ought to try to become one.” – A Doll’s House
Charlie and John haven’t been alone since the baby was born a year ago. For her first Mother’s Day, John decides to surprise Charlie with a weekend get-away at a Victorian Inn “with an edge.” Meant as a relaxing weekend to reconnect as a couple, Charlie struggles to put down parenting even though she’s hundreds of miles away from the baby who is being cared for by her mother. Inspired by late nineteenth Century texts: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, this immersive play explores the fine line between unconditional love and isolation, and the romanticization of motherhood and the day-to-day reality of parenting.
The Skylark Inn will begin at 6:30 with a lobby reception, followed by a performance and talkback on the Facility Mainstage.
Development History:
Sickly Sulphur/Florid Arabesque at the Den Theatre in February 2018
Summer Residency at Links Hall in Summer of 2019
A million thanks to Maria, Kirk, Jaimelyn, and Facility Theatre, Quintin Turnbow, David Holcombe, Yvette Marie Dostatni, Claire Alpern Meidroth, 3Arts. and all of our past collaborators at The Den and Links Hall.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Guadalupe Sosa (she, her) is the Stage Manager for The Skylark Inn, this is her first time being a Stage Manager. She is thrilled to be a part of this production as it explores the complexity of womanhood. She has been an Assistant Stage Manager for American Griot and of other productions while at Moraine Valley Community College. She is a student at Northeastern Illinois University and plans to graduate with a degree in Economics.
Sarah Hecht (she/her) (Charlie) is thrilled and grateful to work with these incredible artists on a story so close to her heart. Other Chicago area performances include work with Northlight Theatre, Remy Bumppo, Filament, Citadel, The Arc Theatre, and The Building Stage, among others. Sarah’s also an Associate Artistic Director with the Chicago-based experimental arts organization, Cock and Bull, and she teaches performance at DePaul University. She dedicates this work to her three-year-old, Sanna Fern. Sarah’s great delight is witnessing Sanna’s vast and wild imagination reveal itself. Together they love pretending to be forest creatures or dinosaurs.
Scott Dare (he/him) (John - he/him) is so grateful to be a part of this team of moms! He’s a physical theatre and circus artist working as a deviser, choreographer, and coach. Outside of Chicago he has performed and directed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Phoenix, and London. Locally he has collaborated with The Actors Gymnasium, Theater Unspeakable, Filament Theater, Mudlark Theater, Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, American Theater Company, and Imaginez Ensemble. He holds a Master’s degree from Royal Holloway, University of London and a Black Belt in traditional martial arts from the ISKA. See more at scottjdare.com.
Raquel Torre (she/her/ella) (L) is a creator/performer from Puerto Rico. After completing her BA in theatre from the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (Puerto Rico), she spent two years living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, training in circus arts and completing a certificate in Devised and Movement Theatre from Cabuia Teatro. Raquel holds an MFA in Devised Performance Practice from LISPA/Columbia College Chicago (Berlin/Chicago). In 2013, she co-founded La Vuelta Ensemble (formerly Circo La Vuelta) with Jean Claudio, now a minority-led ensemble with a focus on high physicality and delightful absurdity. Since moving to Chicago in 2016, she’s collaborated with UrbanTheater Company, Filament Theatre, Shattered Globe Theatre, Opera-Matic, Playmakers Lab, The Gift Theatre, among others, as a director, movement coach, and actor. Raquel became a mother in 2021 and has recently witnessed Galileo's first independent steps!
Jenni Lamb (she/her) (Playwright) – Jenni is a Chicago-based playwright and former improviser. She is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists and her plays include Mother Lode, Quiver, Candy Store, Memento Polonia, Period Piece, Sickly Sulphur/Florid Arabesque (with Flora Bare), Thou Proud Dream (a site-specific adaptation of Henry V written with Damon Kromeitis), Jumble of Bones, and Waterway. Jenni’s plays have had developmental readings or productions with Pivot Arts, The Road Theatre (LA), The Goodman Theatre, Route 66, The Gift, American Theatre Company, Stage Left Theatre, Project Y (NY), Links Hall, Flint Repertory (MI), Broken Nose, Wordsmyth Theatre (Houston), Northwestern University, and Chicago Dramatists. Jenni's play Quiver was cited by the Kilroy List, and she has been a member of the Goodman Playwrights Unit. Jenni was awarded a 3Arts Make a Wave Grant in 2021, and she holds an MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage from Northwestern University. Jenni is a proud mother to 14 year old Nate who also loves comedy and theatre. She dreams of a mother/son collaboration some day.
Flora Bare (she/her) (Director) – Flora is a Chicago-based theater and circus artist. She is a former USA National Champion and nine-time All-American gymnast from the University of California, Davis. Flora received her MFA from the London International School of Performing Arts in Lecoq-based physical theater and has performed and created work in California, New York, Italy, Uruguay and London. Her main focus is on collaborative, devised, immersive and daring physical storytelling. She is interested in finding what connects us all as humans and creating stories where many voices and experiences are brought to the process and stage.
Flora is an adjunct professor in movement and physical comedy for The Theatre School at DePaul University and Columbia College Chicago as well as an instructor at The Actors Gymnasium. She is an award-winning choreographer and was a Co-Mission resident with Jenni Lamb in 2019 at Links Hall. You can find her work at: baretheater.com