Faces, Exhibit J: The Lion/Cyclist/Art Dealer/Radiogram 3

Holy jeezus, will you look at all those parts? This is Angie Steffens, and she is what we call a multi-tasker. A super-multi-tasker. Come on out to Radio Silence and during the course of The Eiffel Tower Wedding Party, you will see her play a Radiogram (#3 to be precise), a Cyclist, back to a Radiogram (still #3, but this time with dancing!), a Lion (!!!RAWR!!!), and an Art Dealer! How on earth does she keep them all straight? And what's the transformation process from Lion to Art Dealer like, exactly? And when she's dancing as the Radiogram, does she ever have the urge to break out in a timely RAWR? All excellent questions from the reader grab bag, but you'll have to come to the show and ask her yourself if you *really* wanna find out!

(Once more for good measure: RAWWWWWR!)

"Angie Steffens is elated to be back on the Chicago stage after a too-long hiatus. The fact that she gets to make her debut with The Nine is icing on the cake! After appearing with Signal Ensemble in their production on The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, she took a break to pursue film projects, travel, and to begin a career in the fashion industry. However, the thrill of doing a live show was too good to pass up, and hopefully this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship with The Nine. Much love to Anders, the Hills, and the Zipps for their unending support. It's all happening!"

Faces, Exhibit I: The Costume Designer

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CREW, BRIES?!?!

Glad you asked. Let's hop over to that side for a hot second. You know all about those actor-type people, but let me relay the tale of a mystical person know as the Costume Designer. You see, there's a person in this process (let's refer to her as Carla Hamilton, eh?) who took a whole bunch of the ideas in my head, went away with them for a few weeks and then came back to return them all perfectly realized in clothing form. Those mysterious weeks may never be fully explained, but I tend to think Carla has some sort of magic loom that can translate Bries. And let me tell you, that's ruhhhl heavy magic. Or maybe she's got a Rumplestiltskin hanging out at her place. That's what he did, right? Spin nothing into a whole lot of something? Then again, it could be that she's a supercool Costume Designer and is just very, very good at her job.

Sure, if we're gonna get technical, the last answer's the correct one, but in the long run, it's just more fun to pretend it's all of the above. I mean, can you imagine the resale value on a Rumplestiltskin? Yeah, think about that...

"Carla is tickled to be working with The Nine! She graduated with a degree in psychology, but has found that she cannot stay away from theatre. She is now pursuing costuming in the city. Carla spent last summer sewing for the Black Hills Playhouse in South Dakota and recently finished designing for Goat Song Theatre's 'The Balcony.'"

Faces, Exhibit H: The Photographer

Alrighty, let's take it retro again on a Monday morning. Odds are you haven't forgotten Greg Wenz's bouncing off the walls as Buff in Part One: subUrbia. Well, he's back again, this time as The Photographer in The Eiffel Tower Wedding Party! Funny thing is, this time he might be the only normal character of the bunch. Which means one of two things: either Greg's got him some range, or this play is tricked out with absolute nutters. My guess is a lot of Column A and a lot of Column B.

But don't let his headshot fool you. He has a beard. #secretsrevealed!

"Greg is extremely psyched to be a part of Radio Silence. Last year, he had a blast playing Buff in subUrbia in The Nine: Part One. Greg has been on many stages, playing many parts, throughout many years. He originally hails from the murky shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio making him a severely traumatized sports fan but a loyal fan nonetheless. Greg would like to thank the cast of Radio Silence for making rehearsals ridiculously hilarious, Mark Hurni for allowing him to constantly steal pens without too much backlash, Chuy for always telling it like it is and in particular Bries for allowing him to be a part of such an innovative and exciting piece of theater. Think for yourself, question authority. Spiral out, keep going...."

Faces, Exhibit G: The Child

Alright then, we've put our Bride and Bridegroom together. If you put any stock whatsoever into playground rhymes (and let's be honest, who doesn't?), the next step would be the baby in the baby carriage, right? Oh goodness, you have no idea just how right you are!

Today's face is dear Stephen Gawrit, who is playing the role of The Child in The Eiffel Tower Wedding Party. Now I figuratively hear you saying that Stephen doesn't look like a child at all, much less the Child of our Bride and Bridegroom. And, figuratively, I may agree with you. But I have seen this man walk around carrying an oversized lollipop. And that, ladies and gents, is a little game-changer we call THE MAGIC OF THEATRE! Revel in it!

"Stephen, a native Chicagoan, is extremely excited to be working with The Nine channeling his cheeky childhood characterizations. He’s a graduate from both the Chicago Academy for the Arts (Theatre) and Illinois State University (B.A. Acting). Stephen has also trained with Profiles Theatre and the National Institute for Dramatic Arts Australia (NIDA). Recently Stephen has been seen, as an actor, in such productions as: SAINTS AND SINNERS (Goat Song), PRETTY PENNY (Right Brain Project), CHARLEY’S SONATA (On the Spot), GARDEN OF THE THREE (Gorilla Tango), COMEDY OF ERRORS (Chase Park Theatre), and TROILUS AND CRESSIDA (Tafety Punk Theatre). Stephen is a Company Member of The Right Brain Project and starting July 13^th 2011 his new SciFi play THE ARCHIVIST will premiere. Stephen can also been seen as Brutus in CAESURA: A BUTCHERY this August at New Rock Theater. Special thanks to his family, friends, teachers, and Amanda for their constant support."

Faces, Exhibit F: The Bridegroom

So, the initial thought was that I was only going to put up new faces on weekdays from now until opening. You know, give you guys the weekend off and all, 'cause it's like Lent and it only seems proper or something like that. However, I sat down and did the official math for the first time today, and between cast and crew, there are twenty-four faces that need to be blogpostified. Twenty-four! That's almost a whole alphabet full of exhibits!!! Who's gonna be Exhibit I? Or Exhibit P? Or the elusive Exhibit Q? You'll have to wait and see...

Anyways, the moral of the story is that if you're going to have any hope of meeting all of these people before we open, there's no rest for the wicked. And by the wicked, I mean the guy writing these blogs. No rest for him. Because obviously, he's putting SO MUCH time into them and they're not just coming off the top of his head. Obviously.

So now look here! In the interest of continuing the whole 'introduce the wedding party by pairs' thing as well as the whole show you just how amazeballs this cast and crew are, I present our very first special weekend introduction: Mr. Christopher Perez, soon to be appearing as The Bridegroom in The Eiffel Tower Wedding Party! Rock and roll, team! Rock. And. Roll.

"Chris is a Chicago native and has managed to still do theatre all over. His favorite is outdoor theatre. His favorite role was Touchstone with the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival. He has enjoyed working with this group of people very much, and hopes you enjoy the show half as much as Chris does."

Faces, Exhibit E: The Bride

I mean, the play's called The Eiffel Tower Wedding Party -- you knew there was gonna be a bride at some point, right? Well, here it is, the moment of truth! Allow me to unveil (Get it? Unveil??? Yeah, I'm gonna make that joke about a bajillion times, so get used to it.) our beautiful, blushing, Cocteau-spouting Bride: Erin Elizabeth Orr!

**Hooray! Fanfare! Limos with cans tied to the bumper! Elvis impersonators in cramped Vegas cathedrals! Confetti! Not rice because the birds will eat it and then explode! Unveiled!**

"ERIN ELIZABETH ORR is tickled to be playing with this fantastical group of talented and beautiful people! She has been lucky enough to work with such wonderful Chicago companies as the Right Brain Project, The Factory, Speaking Ring Theater, WNEP Theater, InFusion Theater, Per Diem, Point of Contention Theater, Silent Theater, Bootstraps Comedy Theater, and The Mammals (where she is a proud company member!) She also had the magical opportunity to play with Don Hall and Joe Janes in this year's Sketchfest 2011! Originally from Texas, she spent time as an acting intern at Milwaukee Repertory Theater before making her move to the Windy City. Her next projects will be working on the Chicago premiere of "Bonegrinders" with BENDSINISTER THEATRE, Joe Janes' 50 PLAYS PROJECT, and The Mammals' "Put My ____ In Your ______", "Mexican Wrestling Macbeth" and "All Girl Moby Dick". Erin is also one of the founding members of the Ex-Pats. In her free time, she likes to play her banjo and smooch a cute boy named Adam. Thanks to Bries and Chuy for being the coolest of the cool! xo"

Faces, Exhibit D: The Hunter/Radiogram #2

Today today today! That's when you get to meet Nick Freed. He's pulling off two roles in The Eiffel Tower Wedding Party, playing both The Hunter (think Elmer Fudd without the speech impediment, the male pattern baldness, and whose rival is not a Bunny but an Ostrich -- who you'll be meeting soon enough) and Radiogram #2 (which means he dances, and let me tell you, he does a mean ballerina)!

Take a look at that hunka hunka dancing man. Fuh serious.

"Nick is a proud Missourian who has been transplanted in Chicago. After college he worked as a time traveling tour guide in Rhode Island before moving to Chicago three years ago to star in NachtKabarett at Gorilla Tango. Since then he has worked with The Building Stage (Dracula), Filament Theater Ensemble (Legend of Sleepy Hollow), The Right Brain Project (Hesperia), Chicago Fusion Theater (Proof), and Chicago dell'Arte, where he has done numerous shows including The Literati, A Christmas Carl, A Commedia Christmas Carol, and Much Ado About Nothing (Director) and of which he has been newly appointed Artistic Director. He loves Chicago more than he can express, and couldn't be happier to be working with Bries Vannon again and on this project with this fantastic cast. Nick wants to thank his friends for being there no matter what, and lastly his incredible family. If it weren't for their support and dedication and love, he would be a much lesser person."