Ghostlight announces acts for its Holiday Cabernet

The Holiday Cabernet is shaping up to be quite a night of laughing, singing and dancing with acts ranging from clowning to improv to theatre — and just because it’s not weird enough, a live podcast.

Announced acts in our holiday-themed evening of cabaret-style entertainment include: Brad French, Club Asia, Les Enfants Terribles, Carrie Campana, Comedy Dance Chicago, The Holidudes, The Reviewniverse and Ghostlight Ensemble (that’s us!). Learn more about all these artists over on the Holiday Cabernet Facebook page, where we’re featuring a new act each day. And no promise that there won’t spontaneously be other performers who show up. It’s the holidays! Life is a cabernet…or is it cabaret? We’re drunk. Who can remember?!

The evening will be hosted by Chicago actress and personality Caitlin Jackson, along with her sober sidekick Chad. Expect singing and drinking and the unexpected.

The Holiday Cabernet takes place at 10:30 p.m. on December 14, 2018, in the back room at My Buddy’s (4416 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640). There’s plenty of street parking (though you probably shouldn’t be driving); the Montrose (78) and Clark (22) buses stop a few steps away; if you prefer trains and walking, the Wilson Red Line and Montrose Brown Line stops are a 15 minute walk away; or try ride sharing/cabs — they’ll bring right up to the front door!

Tickets are only $10 and are on sale now!

Nielsen takes on the (red) mantle for iconic Nutcracker role

Words may be the weapon most closely associated with an actor's trade, but for P. Tyler Nielsen taking on the iconic role of The Nutcracker in "Nutcracker Nightmare" meant acting with his body…and with actual weapons.

"I love the physical challenge of portraying such an iconic character who has so few lines," Nielsen said. "There is much to convey without the chance to verbalize the Nutcracker's internal journey.

"In addition, the chance to discover how a nutcracker might move, fight and express love is a joy," he added.

Read more about Tyler and his work in the Chicago Tribune or the Crystal Lake Patch.

Gingerbread Grindhouse presents: Babes With Blades!

Grindhouse wouldn't be Grindhouse without the trailers that come before the main feature -- often for movies that were never made.

At Gingerbread Grindhouse, we have trailers for plays yet-to-be. Will they ever become features? That remains to be seen. In the meantime, we present: Babes With Blades in Snow Day Bloody Snow Day.

A young schoolteacher finds herself at odds with a group of women devoted to their frosty master. Will she be able to claw her way out of their icy grip or be forced to join their depravity?
 
Snow Day Bloody Snow Day,written by Elyse Dawson, is directed by Hayley Rice and stars: Chloe Baldwin, Morgan Manasa, Izis Mollinedo, Hayley Rice and Kathrynne Wolf.

Find out more about Gingerbread Grindhouse.

Ghostlight holding auditions for Nutcracker Nightmare

Ghostlight Ensemble will hold auditions for its production of Nutcracker Nightmare, part of our ongoing Gingerbread Grindhouse holiday horror series on, Tuesday, October 24 and Wednesday 25 from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Theater Momentum (1803 W Byron St #216, Chicago, IL 60613) .

Nutcracker Nightmare is a holiday tale of children, the toys they love and the toys that try to kill everyone they love. It's the perfect holiday entertainment. The play is written by Maria Burnham and will be directed by Chad Wise.

Time Commitment:
Performance Dates: Friday, December 8; Saturday, December 9; Friday December 15 and Satuday, December 16 at 10:30 p.m. at the Greenhouse Theatre Center.

Material To Prepare:
Please prepare a 1-2 minute comic or serio-comic monologue and don't take yourself too seriously. Submit H/R to Jean at casting(at)ghostlightensemble.com, and she will be in touch to schedule an audition appointment.

Ways you can help Ghostlight while G.E.T.ing some fun in return!

Want to star in your own play? Watch a live reading of your favorite movie? Have tea and biscuits with the wicked Mrs. Cheveley? Get murdered on stage? Then we have just the thing(s) for you...

Ghostlight has launched an independent fundraising drive. Wonder how these two things are releated? Read on.

Between October 1 and December 31, 2017, when you make a donation to our PayPal account, you can get a slew of cool, unique rewards — with a focus on experience-based incentives!

Your help will pay our artists and our rent for rehearsal and performance spaces, as well as fund design elements such as set and costumes, for the three shows that make up Season 1: Gingerbread Grindhouse, An Ideal Husband and The Princess Without Pots.

And by giving, you also G.E.T. Among the items to choose from: tea and biscuits with the cast of An Ideal Husband, getting murdered onstage as part of our holiday show, and having our Ensemble playwrights write a personalized play for you, starring you.

Perks will be given out on an ongoing basis, with all items distributed by the end of our 2017-18 Season.

We are self-producing this fundraiser, so word of mouth is very important to us. If you've supported Ghostlight in the past and enjoy what we do, please take a moment to let your friends know how they can help. You can also tell your enemies — we aren't picky or proud.

Details on exactly how this works and what you need to do are available on the fundraiser page of our website. And periodic updates will be posted there as well.

Ghostlight Ensemble is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so any donation you give is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Grab something you can use as a weapon! Krampus walks tonight on Krampusnacht

According to folklore, tonight is the night Krampus shows up in towns to punish all the naughty children.

Known as Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night, the evening of December 5 is when Santa Claus' dark companion travels the world bringing switches and coal to those on his list, or — if they've been particularly bad — he captures them in a sack strapped on his back to feast upon later.

Keep Krampus off your back (or rather stay off HIS back), by joining us at Underground Wonder Bar where the Murray family is set to face this Germanic Christmas demon.

Only four performances remain! Get your tickets now for our December run, which begins tonight at 7:30 p.m.

And thanks to everyone who joined us at Martyrs' Krampus Fest last weekend. Check out our photos from the event.

If you missed us at Martyrs, you can still catch us tomorrow night at 5 p.m. as part of the League of Chicago Theatres' Theatre Tag at the 21st Annual Christkindlmarket Chicago. The Christkindlmarket is held at Daley Plaza in the Loop.

For a full list of Theatre Tag performances and more information visit the event page.

Krampus returns in December

Only four performances of Krampus! remain!

Get your tickets now for our December run, which begins at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, December 5, at the Underground Wonder Bar in River North.

Krampus! follows the Murray family as they get together for one final Christmas as a family before their eldest daughter moves to New York City with her boyfriend. And what could be more perfect than spending the holiday with your bickering family in a remote cabin in the Wisconsin woods during a snowstorm with a Christmas demon on the loose? Nothing says Christmas like abject fear.

Directed by Maria Burnham, Krampus! stars Jean E. Burr, Sean Harklerode, Stefanie Johnsen, Allison McCorkle, Christopher Paul Mueller, John Rohr, Paul Tinsley, Michael Wagman and Chad Wise, with Fight Choreography by Alex Farrington. Cast bios are on our website.

The show takes place at Underground Wonder Bar (710 N. Clark St., Chicago 60654) at 7:30 p.m. on October 31, November 1, November 7-8, December 5-6 and December 12-13, 2016. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. 

Join Ghostlight and Krampus at Martyrs' Krampus Fest

Ghostlight Ensemble is excited to be a part of the Fourth Annual Krampus Fest at Martyrs' on Saturday, December 3, 2016.

The holiday market starts at noon with the Krampuslauf parade stepping off at 6 p.m. Entry is free and costumes are encouraged! The Fest features local artists, makers and bakers; German street food, gluhwein, beer and live music.

Make sure you stop by our table. We'll be there to chat about our show, Krampus! Come meet the creators, director and members of the cast. Plus pick up some Ghostlight swag and find out what else we have in store.

What's all this about Krampus, you ask? In European folklore, Krampus is the dark companion of Saint Nicholas. With cloven hooves, a long tongue and goat-like horns, Krampus (also known as Black Peter) punishes the naughty children while Saint Nicholas rewards the good. Krampus Night, or Krampusnacht, is celebrated on December 5 each year.

If you can't wait till Krampus Fest on Saturday, you can check out a preview of Krampus! at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 29, at Martyrs before PechaKucha Night.

Catch Krampus! at Christkindlmarket

Ghostlight joins the League of Chicago Theatres and 10 other local theatre companies as part of Theatre Tag at the 21st Annual Christkindlmarket Chicago on Tuesday, December 6, 2016.

Grab a warm beverage and join us after work at 5 p.m. with a scene from our current holiday production, Krampus! — Jaclyn Jensen and Mike Wozniak’s new take on a classic Christmas tale of switches and chains and devils who punish naughty children.

Mrs. Murray is looking forward to one final Christmas together as a family before her eldest daughter takes off to New York City with her boyfriend. And what could be more perfect than spending the holiday with her bickering family in a remote cabin in the Wisconsin woods during a snowstorm with a Christmas demon on the loose? Nothing says Christmas like abject fear.

The Christkindlmarket is held at Daley Plaza in the Loop. For a full list of Theatre Tag performances and more information visit the event page.

Celebrate Halloween & unwrap the dark side of Christmas early this year with Krampus!

No need to wait until December 5 to celebrate Krampusnacht. Krampus is getting a jump start on the holidays and delivering all sorts of tricks starting October 31.

Krampus!, Jaclyn Jensen and Mike Wozniak’s original play, brings horror and humor to the stage as the Murray family gathers together for the holidays and where better to celebrate than in a place where deaths keep mysteriously happening...

Mrs. Murray is looking forward to one final Christmas together as a family before her eldest daughter takes off to New York City with her boyfriend. And what could be more perfect than spending the holiday with her bickering family in a remote cabin in the Wisconsin woods during a snowstorm with a Christmas demon on the loose? Nothing says Christmas like abject fear.

Tickets are on sale now for this new take on the classic holiday tale of switches and chains and devils who punish naughty children by stuffing them into baskets and dragging them to the fiery depths of hell.

Directed by Maria Burnham, Krampus! stars Jean E. Burr, Sean Harklerode, Stefanie Johnsen, Allison McCorkle, Christopher Paul Mueller, J. Rohr, Paul Tinsley, Michael Wagman and Chad Wise, with Fight Choreography by Alex Farrington.

The show takes place in the basement (where else?) at Underground Wonder Bar at 7:30 p.m. on October 31, November 1, November 7-8, December 5-6 and December 12-13, 2016. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door.

Krampus! time is near

Ghostlight Ensemble brings Christmas to Halloween — and vice versa  — as we present Krampus!, Jaclyn Jensen and Mike Wozniak’s new take on the classic holiday tale of switches and chains and devils who punish naughty children by stuffing them into baskets and dragging them to the fiery depths of hell.

Mrs. Murray is looking forward to one final Christmas together as a family before her eldest daughter takes off to New York City with her boyfriend. And what could be more perfect than spending the holiday with her bickering family in a remote cabin in the Wisconsin woods during a snowstorm with a Christmas demon on the loose? Nothing says Christmas like abject fear.

Krampus! will be performed on select Mondays and Tuesdays beginning October 31, at Underground Wonder Bar in River North. The holidays can't come soon enough — or be scary enough.

Directed by Maria Burnham, Krampus! stars Jean E. Burr, Sean Harklerode, Stefanie Johnsen, Allison McCorkle, Chris Mueller, John Rohr, Paul Tinsley, Michael Wagman and Chad Wise, with Fight Choreography by Alex Farrington.

The show takes place at Underground Wonder Bar (710 N. Clark St., Chicago 60654) at 7:30 p.m. on October 31, November 1, November 7-8, December 5-6 and December 12-13, 2016. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door.