Babes With Blades Theatre Company

Marty's Martini Bar Fundraiser 2019
2019-08-25 14:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Marty’s Martini Bar, 1511 W Balmoral Ave, Chicago, IL, 60640
Come share an afternoon drink with the Babes at Marty’s Martini Bar!
All drink proceeds during this 3-hour (at-cost) event go directly to Babes With Blades Theatre Company and tips go directly to your bartenders.
Indoor and outdoor seating. Large or not-as-large martinis. You choose!
It’s the easiest way to support your local Babes With Blades!
See you there!

Women of 4G
2019-08-24 20:00 - 22:00, 2019-08-23 20:00 - 22:00, 2019-08-22 20:00 - 22:00, 2019-08-18 15:00 - 17:00, 2019-08-17 20:00 - 22:00, 2019-08-16 20:00 - 22:00, 2019-08-15 20:00 - 22:00, 2019-08-11 15:00 - 17:00 and 1 more date | The Factory Theater, 1623 W Howard Street, Chicago, IL, 60626
Women of 4G
By: Amy Tofte
BWBTC’s first foray into full-length science fiction
Seventy-five years in the future, an all-female crew and their male captain depart on what appears to be a routine mission to Mars until the captain is murdered and the real mission comes to light. Part murder mystery, part space thriller, Women of 4G uses a science fiction world to ask questions about women in power as well as their leadership, responsibility and, ultimately, sacrifice.

BUY TICKETS HERE

DIRECTOR: Lauren Katz
VIOLENCE DESIGN: Maureen Yasko*

CAST: Jillian Leff* (Ensign Pierce), Ashley Yates (Stark), LaKecia Harris (Nataki), Jazmín Corona (Wollman), Catherine Dvorak+ (Baston), Renee Lockett (Dr. Cava), Judi Schindler (Dr. Toulle), Samantha Price (u/s Pierce/Baston), Tehilla Newman (u/s Cava/Toulle)
STAFF: Sarah West (Stage Manager), Stephanie Mattos (Assistant Director), Kate Booth (Assistant Fight Director), Anika Jones (Production Manager), Jessica Baldinger (Scenic Designer), Jeremiah Barr (Technical Director), Elle Erickson (Costume Designer), Gabrielle Strong (Lighting Designer), Hannah Foerschler (Sound Designer), Auden Granger (Props Designer)
* = BWBTC ensemble member
+ = BWBTC emeritus member

**Tickets: Previews $10; student and senior tickets are $15 and general admission are $28. Every show has limited tickets for Industry for $10, must present proof of theatre industry affiliation.
***Ticket sales end 3 hours before curtain. Seats may still be available even if it says no longer available. You can reserve a seat by calling our Box Office Line at 773-904-0391.***
Click here for more show details

Women of 4G - Opening Night!
2019-08-09 20:00 - 22:00 | The Factory Theater, 1623 W Howard Street, Chicago, IL, 60626
Women of 4G – Opening Night!
By: Amy Tofte
BWBTC’s first foray into full-length science fiction
Seventy-five years in the future, an all-female crew and their male captain depart on what appears to be a routine mission to Mars until the captain is murdered and the real mission comes to light. Part murder mystery, part space thriller, Women of 4G uses a science fiction world to ask questions about women in power as well as their leadership, responsibility and, ultimately, sacrifice.

BUY TICKETS HERE

DIRECTOR: Lauren Katz
VIOLENCE DESIGN: Maureen Yasko*

CAST: Jillian Leff* (Ensign Pierce), Ashley Yates (Stark), LaKecia Harris (Nataki), Jazmín Corona (Wollman), Catherine Dvorak+ (Baston), Renee Lockett (Dr. Cava), Judi Schindler (Dr. Toulle), Samantha Price (u/s Pierce/Baston), Tehilla Newman (u/s Cava/Toulle)
STAFF: Sarah West (Stage Manager), Stephanie Mattos (Assistant Director), Kate Booth (Assistant Fight Director), Anika Jones (Production Manager), Jessica Baldinger (Scenic Designer), Jeremiah Barr (Technical Director), Elle Erickson (Costume Designer), Gabrielle Strong (Lighting Designer), Hannah Foerschler (Sound Designer), Auden Granger (Props Designer)
* = BWBTC ensemble member
+ = BWBTC emeritus member

**Tickets: Previews $10; student and senior tickets are $15 and general admission are $28. Every show has limited tickets for Industry for $10, must present proof of theatre industry affiliation.
***Ticket sales end 3 hours before curtain. Seats may still be available even if it says no longer available. You can reserve a seat by calling our Box Office Line at 773-904-0391.***
Click here for more show details

Women of 4G - Preview
2019-08-08 20:00 - 22:00, 2019-08-04 15:00 - 17:00, 2019-08-03 20:00 - 22:00, 2019-08-02 20:00 - 22:00 | The Factory Theater, 1623 W Howard Street, Chicago, IL, 60626
Women of 4G – Preview
By: Amy Tofte
BWBTC’s first foray into full-length science fiction
Seventy-five years in the future, an all-female crew and their male captain depart on what appears to be a routine mission to Mars until the captain is murdered and the real mission comes to light. Part murder mystery, part space thriller, Women of 4G uses a science fiction world to ask questions about women in power as well as their leadership, responsibility and, ultimately, sacrifice.

BUY TICKETS HERE

DIRECTOR: Lauren Katz
VIOLENCE DESIGN: Maureen Yasko*

CAST: Jillian Leff* (Ensign Pierce), Ashley Yates (Stark), LaKecia Harris (Nataki), Jazmín Corona (Wollman), Catherine Dvorak+ (Baston), Renee Lockett (Dr. Cava), Judi Schindler (Dr. Toulle), Samantha Price (u/s Pierce/Baston), Tehilla Newman (u/s Cava/Toulle)
STAFF: Sarah West (Stage Manager), Stephanie Mattos (Assistant Director), Kate Booth (Assistant Fight Director), Anika Jones (Production Manager), Jessica Baldinger (Scenic Designer), Jeremiah Barr (Technical Director), Elle Erickson (Costume Designer), Gabrielle Strong (Lighting Designer), Hannah Foerschler (Sound Designer), Auden Granger (Props Designer)
* = BWBTC ensemble member
+ = BWBTC emeritus member

**Tickets: Previews $10; student and senior tickets are $15 and general admission are $28. Every show has limited tickets for Industry for $10, must present proof of theatre industry affiliation.
***Ticket sales end 3 hours before curtain. Seats may still be available even if it says no longer available. You can reserve a seat by calling our Box Office Line at 773-904-0391.***
Click here for more show details

Wome of 4G - Preview
2019-08-01 20:00 - 22:00 | The Factory Theater, 1623 W Howard Street, Chicago, IL, 60626

Jenga - FWF 2019 Reading
2019-06-02 15:00 - 18:00 | Otherworld Theatre Company, 3914 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60613
Three new works that place women at the center of the story and the action!
The second annual Fighting Words Festival!
Each year BWBTC selects three scripts for development. Each must have the potential to grow into the kinds of plays that fit BWBTC’s mission. Several of the Fighting Words selections have been seen as full productions with BWBTC, as well as other theatre companies: most recently 180 Degree Rule, Patchwork Drifter, L’Imbecile and Bo Thomas and the Case of the Sky Pirates.
Each 2018-19 script has undergone two reading-and-feedback sessions with the ensemble and invited guests prior to being introduced to the public (and given the BWBTC treatment of including one staged fight) at the Festival in June 2019.

Tickets: FREE ADMISSION! Refreshments and a talkback follow each reading.
RSVP Here

FIGHTING WORDS 2018-2019 SELECTION:
Sunday, June 2, 2019 – 3:00pm
Jenga
by Deborah Yarchun
Director:Alexis Randolph*
Fight Choreography: Maureen Yasko*
Yelena returns to her childhood home for the first time in twelve years only to discover that her older sister Simone has transformed it into a “Burning Man-inspired” (and booby-trapped) game-room of fairy wings and glitter. As monstrous noises filter in from an offstage room, the two sisters battle in a series of escalating games over whether or not to finally confront a violent incident from their past.

* Denotes BWBTC ensemble member
Learn more about Fighting Words or submit your own script.

Summer Nights and Fireflies - FWF 2019 Reading
2019-06-01 19:00 - 22:00 | Otherworld Theatre Company, 3914 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60613
Three new works that place women at the center of the story and the action!
The second annual Fighting Words Festival!
Each year BWBTC selects three scripts for development. Each must have the potential to grow into the kinds of plays that fit BWBTC’s mission. Several of the Fighting Words selections have been seen as full productions with BWBTC, as well as other theatre companies: most recently 180 Degree Rule, Patchwork Drifter, L’Imbecile and Bo Thomas and the Case of the Sky Pirates.
Each 2018-19 script has undergone two reading-and-feedback sessions with the ensemble and invited guests prior to being introduced to the public (and given the BWBTC treatment of including one staged fight) at the Festival in June 2019.

Tickets: FREE ADMISSION! Refreshments and a talkback follow each reading.
RSVP Here

FIGHTING WORDS 2018-2019 SELECTION:

Saturday, June 1, 2019 – 7:00pm
Summer Nights and Fireflies
by Bianca Sams
Director: Kanomé Jones
Fight Choreography: Chloe Baldwin*
Summer Nights and Fireflies, follows Zandra Richards, the owner of a small eastern Texas bar which has been in her family for generations. On the surface Zandra’s finally moving forward in life, but secretly everything is falling apart at the seams. Her bar is struggling financially, younger brother Tyrone is involved in a tumultuous relationship and her boyfriend Sean wants more from her than she’s capable of giving. To make matters worse, Zandra is literally haunted by ghosts from her past which force her to confront a lifetime of abuse that she’d rather leave dead and buried. Summer Nights and Fireflies explores issues of modern femininity, the cycle of violence, and the power of self love.
* Denotes BWBTC ensemble member
Learn more about Fighting Words or submit your own script.

Life In A Sandcastle - FWF 2019 Reading
2019-06-01 15:00 - 18:00 | Otherworld Theatre Company, 3914 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60613
The second annual Fighting Words Festival!
Each year BWBTC selects three scripts for development. Each must have the potential to grow into the kinds of plays that fit BWBTC’s mission. Several of the Fighting Words selections have been seen as full productions with BWBTC, as well as other theatre companies: most recently 180 Degree Rule, Patchwork Drifter, L’Imbecile and Bo Thomas and the Case of the Sky Pirates.
Each 2018-19 script has undergone two reading-and-feedback sessions with the ensemble and invited guests prior to being introduced to the public (and given the BWBTC treatment of including one staged fight) at the Festival in June 2019.

Tickets: FREE ADMISSION! Refreshments and a talkback follow each reading.
RSVP Here

FIGHTING WORDS 2018-2019 SELECTIONS:
Saturday, June 1, 2019 – 3:00pm
Life In A Sandcastle
by Jayme McGhan
Director: Kelsey Kovacevich*
Fight Choreography: Kim Fukawa*
Two getaway weekends on the shore of Lake Michigan collide when childhood friends and family from separate worlds find themselves doing battle for the same beachside fire pit. Political persuasions, economic privilege, religious beliefs, regional proclivities, educational barriers, and a mess of cheap beer, expensive wine, and dill pickles chips quickly become both shields and weapons as the women do battle for the sandy square footage they feel is rightly theirs. Life in a Sandcastle is a hilarious and touching exploration of the fates that bring us together and the tax brackets that keep us apart.
* Denotes BWBTC ensemble member
Learn more about Fighting Words or submit your own script.

June, 2019 - Fighting Words Festival
2019-06-01 - 2019-06-02 | Otherworld Theatre Company, 3914 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60613
Three new works that place women at the center of the story and the action!
The second annual Fighting Words Festival!
Each year BWBTC selects three scripts for development. Each must have the potential to grow into the kinds of plays that fit BWBTC’s mission. Several of the Fighting Words selections have been seen as full productions with BWBTC, as well as other theatre companies: most recently 180 Degree Rule, Patchwork Drifter, L’Imbecile and Bo Thomas and the Case of the Sky Pirates.
Each 2018-19 script has undergone two reading-and-feedback sessions with the ensemble and invited guests prior to being introduced to the public (and given the BWBTC treatment of including one staged fight) at the Festival in June 2019.

Tickets: FREE ADMISSION! Refreshments and a talkback follow each reading.
RSVP Here

FIGHTING WORDS 2018-2019 SELECTIONS:
Saturday, June 1, 2019 – 3:00pm
Life In A Sandcastle
by Jayme McGhan
Director: Kelsey Kovacevich*
Fight Choreography: Kim Fukawa*
Two getaway weekends on the shore of Lake Michigan collide when childhood friends and family from separate worlds find themselves doing battle for the same beachside fire pit. Political persuasions, economic privilege, religious beliefs, regional proclivities, educational barriers, and a mess of cheap beer, expensive wine, and dill pickles chips quickly become both shields and weapons as the women do battle for the sandy square footage they feel is rightly theirs. Life in a Sandcastle is a hilarious and touching exploration of the fates that bring us together and the tax brackets that keep us apart.

Saturday, June 1, 2019 – 7:00pm
Summer Nights and Fireflies
by Bianca Sams
Director: Kanomé Jones
Fight Choreography: Chloe Baldwin*
Summer Nights and Fireflies, follows Zandra Richards, the owner of a small eastern Texas bar which has been in her family for generations. On the surface Zandra’s finally moving forward in life, but secretly everything is falling apart at the seams. Her bar is struggling financially, younger brother Tyrone is involved in a tumultuous relationship and her boyfriend Sean wants more from her than she’s capable of giving. To make matters worse, Zandra is literally haunted by ghosts from her past which force her to confront a lifetime of abuse that she’d rather leave dead and buried. Summer Nights and Fireflies explores issues of modern femininity, the cycle of violence, and the power of self love.

Sunday, June 2, 2019 – 3:00pm
Jenga
by Deborah Yarchun
Director: Alexis Randolph*
Fight Choreography: Maureen Yasko*
Yelena returns to her childhood home for the first time in twelve years only to discover that her older sister Simone has transformed it into a “Burning Man-inspired” (and booby-trapped) game-room of fairy wings and glitter. As monstrous noises filter in from an offstage room, the two sisters battle in a series of escalating games over whether or not to finally confront a violent incident from their past.

* Denotes BWBTC ensemble member
Learn more about Fighting Words or submit your own script.

Othello - Closing Night
2019-05-25 20:00 - 22:30 | The Factory Theater, 1623 W Howard Street, Chicago, IL, 60626
Othello
By: William Shakespeare
Othello is a brilliant general with the support of the Venetian government and an army behind him. But when he promotes Cassio over Iago, madness and jealousy take over as Iago slanders and schemes to destroy Othello utterly. Events spiral madly out of control as prejudice, pride, and paranoia all clash in one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies.
BUY TICKETS HERE

Babes With Blades Theatre Company brings you the biennial production of BWBTC Shakespeare: productions which solely feature actors who identify as female, trans, and gender-nonconforming, providing the opportunity for audiences to perceive these classic stories through a new lens.
Now, we bring our take on the Bard’s classic tale of jealousy and manipulation.

DIRECTOR: Mignon McPherson Stewart
FIGHT DIRECTOR / INTIMACY DESIGNER: Samantha Kaufman*

CAST: Sarah Liz Bell (Desdemona), Deveon Bromby (u/s Othello), Brianna Buckley (Othello), Meredith Ernst (Cassio), Ashley Fox* (Aemilia), Kim Fukawa* (Montano), Kimberly Logan+ (Duke/Lodovico & u/s Iago), Michelle McKenzie-Voigt (Brabantio), Izis Mollinedo* (Ensemble & u/s Montano/Roderigo/Aemilia), Rachel Mock (Roderigo), Hilary Schwartz (Bianca), Mary Eliza Willingham (Ensemble & u/s Cassio/Desdemona/Duke), Kathrynne Wolf* (Iago)
STAFF: Samantha K. Barr* (Primary Production Manager), Libby Beyreis* (Tech Week Production Manager), Lauren Brady (Stage Manager), Lauren Valice (Assistant Stage Manager), Erin Gautille (Scenic Designer), Sarah Riffle (Lighting Designer), Leigh Barrett* (Sound Designer), Carlie Casas (Costume Designer), Lacie Hexom (Props Designer), Hayley Rice* (Dramaturge/Script Adaptor)
* = BWBTC ensemble member
+ = BWBTC emeritus member

***Ticket sales end 3 hours before curtain. Seats may still be available even if it says no longer available. You can reserve a seat by calling our Box Office Line at 773-904-0391.***
Click Here for more show details
Click Here for special events and discounts

Press photos taken by: Steven Townshend

Othello - Closing Week
2019-05-24 20:00 - 22:30, 2019-05-23 20:00 - 22:30 | The Factory Theater, 1623 W Howard Street, Chicago, IL, 60626

Othello
2019-05-19 15:00 - 17:30, 2019-05-18 20:00 - 22:30, 2019-05-17 20:00 - 22:30, 2019-05-16 20:00 - 22:30 | The Factory Theater, 1623 W Howard Street, Chicago, IL, 60626

Othello (Open Caption)
2019-05-12 15:00 - 17:30, 2019-05-11 20:00 - 22:30, 2019-05-10 20:00 - 22:30 | The Factory Theater, 1623 W Howard Street, Chicago, IL, 60626
