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- Summer 1997, began a cross-country road trip interviewing family members
in anticipation of writing a book of non-fiction about the search for
birth father.
- Fall 1997, transcribed family interviews and began work on stories/book.
- April & July 1999, read aloud stories for the first time at small
gatherings/salons in Chicago.
- Fall 1999, began working on structure for a "performance piece" with
Bud Beyer, chairman of the Theater Department at Northwestern University.
- February 2000, presented first "staged reading" at the Egyptian Theater
in Los Angeles.
- June 2000, presented a staged reading at the end of the Sundance Institute's
summer theater training seminar for teachers in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- February 17th 2001, was invited to the California African-American
Museum in Los Angeles to present a reading as part of their Black History
Month programming.
- February 26th 2001, presented the first of two "backer's auditions"
at the Mercury Theater in Chicago with the help of Jane Nichols-Sahlins.
Chicago Sun-Times Critic Hedy Weiss wrote a rave review appearing in
the paper two days later.
- May 7th 2001, presented the second "backer's audition" at the Mercury
Theater. Was immediately offered a performance slot at the Bailiwick
Repertory Theater in Chicago during the fall, and an "off-night" slot
at the Apple Tree Theater in Highland Park to run simultaneously.
- June 2001, began working with director Michael E. Myers on shaping
the piece and getting it ready for staging.
- September 11, 2001 (!), began rehearsals for a 4 week run at the Bailiwick
Repertory Theatre.
- October 18, 2001, opened the show receiving a rave review from Richard
Christiansen, lead theater critic of The Chicago Tribune,.
- October 22, 2001, Apple Tree Theater decided to cancel their planned
simultaneous run, and offered Incognito the third slot in their season,
February 18th through March 17th.
- October 30, 2001, a 35-minute interview with Michael aired on WBEZ's
848 with Steve Edwards (Chicago's NPR affiliate).
- November 5, 2001, Bailiwick Theatre run extended through December
23, 2001 and moved to their studio space.
- November 11, 2001, a live five-minute interview with Michael aired
as part of the Sunday morning news on the Chicago ABC affiliate, WLS-TV.
- December 2, 2001, a 30-minute interview with Michael aired on the
WLS-TV Sunday morning show "Chicagoing" with Bill Campbell.
- December 24, 2001, Richard Christiansen of the Chicago Tribune listed
Incognito as one of the highlights of the 2001 Theater season.
- February 8, 2002, Presented "Incognito" as a benefit for Hyde Park's
Urban Life Center, an organization that brings college students from
rural areas to the city of Chicago for an urban experience.
- February 17, 2002, opened the show at the Apple Tree Theatre in Highland
Park, IL., receiving rave reviews from all the press; The Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Reader, Windy City Times, Daily Herald, News-Sun, & Pioneer
Press.
- February 22, 2002, a featured 5-minute interview with Michael aired
on "Jeanne's Scene", with the NBC 5 entertainment reporter Jeanne Sparrow.
- April 2002, Michael is invited to present "Incognito" as the opening
show at the Missouri Repertory Theatre in Kansas City, September of
2002.
- July 2002, developed an extensive study guide with a variety of lesson
plans to be used in conjunction with performances for school groups.
- September 14, 2002, Incognito opens the season in the 700 seat Missouri
Repertory Theatre in Kansas City receiving rave reviews and standing
ovations after every performance.
- November 2002, presented Incognito at the Vittum Theatre - as a part
of their educational programming – then conducted three weeks
of classroom workshops on race, identity, and personal history.
- December 26, 2002, Virginia Gerst of the Pioneer Press listed Incognito
as one of the best productions of the 2002 Chicago Theater season.
- February/March 2003, Apple Tree Theatre presented an abridged version
of Incognito for their winter Theater for Young Audiences programming.
This production marks the first time someone other than Michael performs
the play.
- April 2003, presented Incognito for students at Evanston Township
High School – then conducted classroom workshops for the week
following.
- March 2004, presented a staged reading in the Owen Theater at the
Goodman Theatre complex.
- July 2004, presented Incognito for the students and faculty of The
National High School Institute at Northwestern University.
- January 2005, presented Incognito at West High School, Iowa City,
Iowa – then conducted 2 days of workshops
- March 2005, presented Incognito at Northern Highlands Regional High
School, Allendale, NJ – then conducted 3 days of workshops
- April 2005, presented Incognito at the Barrow Street Theatre, NY,
NY
- April 2005, presented Incognito at The Potomac School, Mclean, VA
- May 2005, presented Incognito at the John Houseman Studio space, NY,
NY
- July 2005, presented Incognito for students and faculty of the National
High School Institute at Northwestern University.
Production contact information:
The Potomac School
1301 Potomac School Road
Mclean, VA 22101
Dan Paradis
Upper School Head
(703) 749-6327
Northern Highlands Regional High School
298 Hillside Avenue
Allendale, NJ 07401
John Keenan, Principal
(201) 327-8700
Laura Rokoszak, Theater Dept. Head
(201) 264-2860
West High School
2901 Melrose Avenue
Iowa City, IA 52246
Andrew Redlawsk, Chairman of S.P.I.T.
(Students Producing Innovative Theatre)
(319) 621-9070 / (319) 354-4532
National High School Institute
At Northwestern University
Lynn Baber, Director of Theatre Arts Division
(773) 551-3903
Missouri Repertory Theatre
(Now Kansas City Repertory)
Peter Altman, Producing Artistic Director
(816) 235-6088
Apple Tree Theatre
Highland Park, IL
Eileen Boevers, Artistic Director
(847) 432-8223
Bailiwick Arts Center
Chicago, IL
David Zak, Artistic Director
(773) 883-1090
Urban Life Center
Valerie Wallace, Administrative Director
(773) 363-1312
California African-American Museum
Redell R. Hearn, Museum Curator
(213) 744-7432
Evanston Township High School
(contact person no longer works at school – has relocated to East
Coast)
Janine Corrin, former Director Social Studies Dept.
(973) 313-1177
Sundance Institute
Salt Lake City , Utah
(contact person no longer there – has relocated to East Coast)
Lisa Beth Allen, former Director of Educational Programs
(505) 737-6628
Mercury Theatre
Jane Nichols-Sahlins, producer
(312) 944-6671
Vittum Theatre
Laura Forbes
(773) 278-7471
Egyptian Theatre
Hollywood, CA
Natalija Nogulich, Artistic Director
(310) 826-3865
The Goodman Theatre – (Owen
Theatre space)
Steve Scott, Associate Producer
(312) 443-3811
The Barrow Street Theatre
New York, NY
Scott Morfee, Producer
(212) 243-6262
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