Milk Wood Emerges

This Dylan Thomas fellow… we know him mostly for a villanelle he wrote exhorting his father “Do not go gentle into that good night.” We know he’s Welsh, if we think about it, because we likely read in school his Child’s Christmas in Wales.

Entering our sixth season, Caffeine finds ourselves with two poets whom even the scholars call by their first names, as if of friends—one famously pounding whiskey at the White Horse Tavern, one infamously garreted away in her quiet Amherst home—Dylan and Emily, two poets more than half in love with death. (And when you add on the work-in-progress Ode to Akhmatova begun at University of Chicago’s Summer, Inc residency, there’s a third singer of mortality in the mix.) So perhaps the most amazing thing about the work of these poets is the great joy they find in life, and the big-hearted humor in these plays.

This week Thomas’ Under Milk Wood takes shape in the Storefront Theater.

When Thomas was writing the play, the world was still reeling from the bombing of Hiroshima. Some believe the poet gave us his little village of Llareggub to reveal the resilie nce of small daily beauty.

Dedicated to beauty and to the play, our cast and design team make a Llareggub in Chicago.

Call for poems and performers

Caffeine Theatre seeks short original performance pieces of all kinds (music, dance, theatre, spoken word, poetry, etc.) for the Dylan Thomas Coffeehouse Cabaret, September 9, 2009, at 7pm in the Storefront Theater Mezzanine (in the Loop, at 66 E Randolph). The Coffeehouse Cabaret celebrates the work of Welsh poet and playwright Dylan Thomas. Any and all pieces inspired by Thomas’ life, work, or themes are welcome. Out-of-Chicago artists are encouraged to send a script, music, poem, etc. to be performed/directed by in-town artists. Collaborations with Chicago arts organizations are welcome and encouraged.

Please email a 1-2 page proposal (or, if the written piece already exists, send that) to Artistic Director Jennifer Shook at jen(at)caffeinetheatre.com including (with understanding that transformation occurs in process) a description of your proposed piece, how many people you expect to be involved, estimated length, and any required resources. (Consideration will be given to minimal pieces with brief setup and small spatial needs.) Please use “Coffeehouse submission” in the subject heading. If it is not evident how your piece relates to Thomas, please include a brief explanation.

Some rehearsal space will be available on a first-come basis. Casting assistance is also available as required and appropriate.
The Dylan Thomas Coffeehouse Cabaret is produced in association with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and in conjunction with Caffeine’s production of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood, running at the Storefront Theater August 21-September 27.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: August 5, 2009.
Accepted pieces will be notified by August 12, 2009.

Caffeine also seeks original poetry for Eli Jenkins’ Five and Country Senses poetry competition. Submissions may include any size or style of poem, as long as it is inspired in some way by Dylan Thomas’ life or work, or in some way speaks in conversation with that life or work. Winners will be posted and podcast on Caffeine’s website, and performed at the Dylan Thomas Coffeehouse Cabaret on September 9. Any new or previously written poem may be submitted (provided it can be republished/ recorded/performed). If it is not evident how your piece relates to Thomas, please include a brief explanation.

TO SUBMIT: Email poem(s) and 3-5 sentence description of relation to Dylan Thomas to Caffeine Theatre Artistic Director Jennifer Shook at jen(at)caffeinetheatre.com with “Eli Jenkins” in the subject heading. DEADLINE: August 16, 2009.