Vanessa Greenway

Honored to be nominated with these talented women....

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:29:11 -0500

NON-EQUITY JEFF AWARD
NOMINEES AND RECIPIENTS

Actress in a Supporting Role - Play
Caroline Neff - Under the Blue Sky - Steep Theatre Company
Sasha Gioppo - Red Light Winter - Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co.
Susan Monts-Bologna - Superior Donuts - Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co.
Vanessa Greenway - Life is a Dream - Vitalist Th. in association with Premiere Theatre

Jeff Awards 2012...you should come!

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:21:10 -0500

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Jeffrey Marks - Media Chair, 312-606-0400

or media@jeffawards.org, or

Doug Bradburd - Non-Equity Wing Chair,

nonequitywing@jeffawards.org

Special Jeff Award will Honor Theater at the Lake at June Non-Equity Ceremony

Terry Hamilton and Vanessa Greenway to Emcee

Non-Equity Awards

May 29, 2012 - Chicago, IL. In honor of Theater on the Lake’s 60^th anniversary in June 2012, the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee will bestow a Special Award to the Theater for its commitment to presenting a cross section of Chicago’s diverse theater scene, in its facility on the lakefront. The Jeff Awards recognizes the Chicago Park District’s Theater on the Lake Program for developing new audiences for local performing arts companies and artists in the City of Chicago. The Special Award will be presented at the Non-Equity Jeff Awards Ceremony on June 4, 2012, at the Park West, 322 W. Armitage Avenue.

The Jeff Committee also announced that Jeff Award recipients Terry Hamilton and Vanessa Greenway will emcee this year’s Non-Equity Awards. Hamilton is an artistic associate at TimeLine Theatre Company, where his recent credits include “Frost/Nixon,” “The Front Page,” and “Enron”. In addition to television work, Mr. Hamilton’s credits include Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Writers’ Theatre, Lifeline Theatre, and American Blues Theatre. Vanessa Greenway is an artistic associate at Griffin Theater where she most recently appeared in “Spring Awakening;” her credits also include Vitalist Theatre, The Hypocrites, City Lit Theatre, American Theater Company, Porchlight Music Theatre, and Eclipse Theatre.

Set in a red brick building beneath the towering trees of Lincoln Park, Theater on the Lake offers a great view of Lake Michigan and affordable ticket prices. In 1996, the theater was changed from an arena-style theater-in-the-round space to a three-quarters thrust stage in order to accommodate new types of shows and to improve sightlines for audiences. Since its debut in 1953, the nearly 300-seat Theater on the Lake has evolved from a showcase of amateur community theater to the summer showcase of some of the city’s most outstanding professional theater companies, giving Chicago’s vibrant theatre scene an opportunity to reach new audiences.

The Chicago Park District’s Theater on the Lake has two new “artistic curators” for the 2012 season: Michael Patrick Thornton and Meghan Beals McCarthy. Thornton, the artistic director of The Gift Theatre Company, performed in his first play at the neighborhood Chicago Park District theater; McCarthy is associate artistic director of Chicago Dramatists.

The 39^th Annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards Ceremony will be hed on Monday, June 4, 2012, at the Park West, 322 W. Armitage, Chicago, IL. Doors open for a cash bar at 6:00 p.m., with a light buffet at 6:30 p.m., and the presentation ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 in advance, $45 at the door. A group rate of $35 is available for parties of 10 or more. Festive cocktail attire is suggested, and the public is cordially invited. Tickets may be purchased online with a credit card at www.jeffawards.orgor by mail with the downloadable mail-order form. For more information contact Doug Bradburd, Non-Equity Wing Chair, at nonequitywing@jeffawards.org. Follow live twitter feeds from the ceremony and behind the scenes at @josephjefferson.

The Jeff Awards has been honoring outstanding theatre artists annually since it was established in 1968. With an active contingent of 50 members representing a wide variety of backgrounds in theatre, the Jeff Awards is committed to celebrating the vitality of Chicago area theatre by recognizing excellence through its recommendations, awards, and honors. The Jeff Awards fosters the artistic growth of area theatres and theatre artists and promotes educational opportunities, audience appreciation, and civic pride in the achievements of the theatre community. The Jeff Awards evaluates over 250 theatrical productions and holds two awards ceremonies annually. Originally chartered to recognize only Equity productions, the Jeff Awards established the Non-Equity Wing in 1973 to celebrate outstanding achievement in non-union theatre. The next Equity Awards Ceremony, honoring productions presented under union contracts, will be held on Monday, October 15, 2012, at the Drury Lane Oakbrook in Oakbrook Terrace.

Up next....I'm getting excited!

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:14:19 -0500

Casting complete for Griffin’s Spring Awakening

Posted in Unscripted blog by Kris Vire on Aug 2, 2011 at 3:15pm

After receiving nearly 500 submissions and auditioning dozens of young actors, Griffin Theatre Company and director Jonathan Berry have their cast for the Chicago premiere ofSpring Awakening. Some of the actors cast as the troubled teens of 19th-century Germany may be familiar faces, such as Lindsay Leopold (Ilse) and Whitney White (Martha), but many of these actors—some of them new arrivals in Chicago, others still undergrads at area schools—will be unknowns to even the most tireless theatergoers (using myself as a gauge, anyway). Spring Awakening will play Theater Wit November 27–January 8. Tickets go on sale September 1. Find the full cast list, with which Griffin has helpfully provided the actors’ alma maters or current schools, after the jump.

MELCHIOR - Josh Salt (Columbia College)
MORITZ - Matthew Fletcher (Northwestern University)
HANSCHEN - Adam Fane (Roosevelt University)
ERNST - Adam Molloy (Roosevelt University)
GEORG - Harter Clingman (Columbia College)
OTTO - Matt Babbs (Cornell College)
WENDLA - Aja Wiltshire (Oklahoma City University)
MARTHA - Whitney White (Northwestern University)
ILSE - Lindsay Leopold (Theater School at DePaul University)
ANNA - Paige Collins (University of Illinois-Champaign)
THEA - Lauren Paris (Loyola University-Chicago)

And in the adult roles:
MAN- Larry Baldacci (last seen at Griffin in Berry’s production of Company)
WOMAN - Vanessa Greenway (Griffin ensemble member and 2-time Jeff Award winner)

Current Show...Life is a Dream with Vitalist Theatre

Thu, 26 May 2011 14:16:23 -0500

Now Playing May 10 – June 11, 2011

The U.S. Premiere of Calderón de la Barca’s
Life is a Dream

in a New Version
by Helen Edmunson

directed by Liz Carlin-Metz

Life is a Dream is one of the most revered plays of the Spanish Golden Age. Its 16th century themes explode in every contemporary political circumstance where leaders are called upon to sacrifice narrow ambition, relinquish personal gain, and stand instead for social justice. Yet every leader confronts some moment when the temptations of power—wealth, licentiousness, vengeance, fame—collide with the obligation to serve the common good. Acclaimed British playwright Helen Edmundson’s new version of Life is a Dreamcaptures the original play’s power with elegant language and characters as fully human and recognizable as Shakespeare’s. Honor, humility, self-awareness, accountability, and dignity are values that define human aspirations the world round, but, as Calderón demonstrates, they are hard-won and fragile: without them, we are beasts.

Drawing upon years of experience in both traditional and experimental theatre, Elizabeth Carlin-Metz has served as Artistic Director of Vitalist Theatre since 1997 and received a Chicago After Dark Award for her direction of Mother Courage and Her Children. Under her guidance, Vitalist Theatre has developed its distinctive fusion of physical theatre, psychological dynamism, and magical-realism. The cast includes returning actors Paul Dunckel (The Night Season); Vitalist Jeff Award nominated Madrid St. Angelo (A Passage to India); and Vitalist Jeff Award winning Vanessa Greenway (The Night Season). Vitalist welcomes Chicago actors Lyndsay Kane, Gregory Isaac, BF Helman, Matthew Allis,Will Gillespie, and co-founding Executive Director director of UrbanTheater Company, Ivan Vega. Set designer Tracy Otwell (puppetry design: Anung’s First American Christmas) and fight designers R & D Choreography join the Vitalist award winning design team ofRichard Norwood (lighting), Rachel Sypneiwski (costumes), and Gregor Mortis (sound).

Chicago Reviews

“A monster of a play comprised of many labyrinths of expository details….Vanessa Greenway is splendid as Rosaura. She brings strong presence and exceptional depth to her part with impressive intelligence and grace.”

—Chicago Stage Review full review

“Love, honor, and duty compete with sudden independence and entitlement”

—Chicago Now full review

“Life Is A Dream is a remarkable production, small in budget, but large in talent..”

—Around the Town Chicago full review

“Baroque and often beautiful, Calderon’s ornate language abounds in glorious declamation”

—Chicago Theater Blog full review

“Plato’s allegory of the cave has spawned many creative explorations, right up to Neo and his excellent adventures in The Matrix. But none are as poetic as Pedro Calderon de la Barca’s 1635 drama”

—Chicago Tribune full review

Next up: Jackie and Me with Chicago Children's Theatre!

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:06:00 -0600

Adapted by Steven Dietz from the novel by Dan Gutman and directed by Jeff Award winner Derrick Sanders, Jackie and Me tells the story of one of history’s greatest baseball players, Jackie Robinson. I’m part of a terrific cast and crew on this one! Check it out at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street right here in Chicago. Recommended for theatre and baseball fans 8 years and older! www.chicagochildrenstheatre.org

Non-Equity Jeff Awards 2010

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 09:51:13 -0500

Vanessa Greenway won the Best supporting Actress Non-Equity Jeff Award for her work in “The Night Season” - Vitalist Theatre i/a/w Premiere Theatre & Performance. The ceremony was held Monday, June 7th at Park West in Chicago, IL. Vanessa also won the 2008 Non-Equity Jeff Award for Best Actress in a principal role for her work in The Constant Wife, Griffin Theatre.

The Jeff Awards has been honoring outstanding theatre artists annually since it was established in 1968. With up to 50 members representing a wide variety of backgrounds in theatre, the Jeff Awards is committed to celebrating the vitality of Chicago area theatre by recognizing excellence through its recommendations, awards, and honors. The Jeff Awards fosters the artistic growth of area theatres and theatre artists and promote educational opportunities, audience appreciation, and civic pride in the achievements of the theatre community. The Jeff Awards Committee evaluates over 250 theatrical productions and holds two awards ceremonies annually. Originally chartered to recognize only Equity productions, the Jeff Awards established the Non-Equity Wing in 1973 to celebrate outstanding achievement in non-union theatre. The next Equity Awards Ceremony, honoring productions presented under union contracts, will be held on Monday, October 25, 2010, at the Drury Lane Oakbrook in Oakbrook Terrace.

Into The Woods @ Porchlight Music Theatre

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:22:23 -0600

Vanessa will be appearing in Porchlight Music Theatre’s (www.porchlighttheatre.com) production of Into The Woods, opening April 5, 2010 and running through May at The Theatre Building Chicago.

www.porchlighttheatre.com

A ‘Threepenny Opera’ to get the fall juices flowing...

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:46:00 -0500

A ‘Threepenny Opera’ to get the fall juices flowing | The Theater Loop - News from America’s hottest theater city

"Principal Actress awards went to… Vanessa Greenway for “The Constant Wife”..."

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:02:00 -0500

“Principal Actress awards went to… Vanessa Greenway for “The Constant Wife” (Griffin Theatre Company).”

- Jeff Awards | News & Events | Press Releases

Twelfth Night directed by Jay Skelton City Lit Theatre...

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:00:00 -0600

Twelfth Night

directed by Jay Skelton

City Lit Theatre 2008

“…Vanessa Greenway is a powerful and dynamic force as the voluptuous Olivia, going from stone-cold maid to naughty vixen… “

Anthony Lewis, BroadwayWorld.com

"Vanessa Greenway, a classy, articulate young actress…"

Fri, 25 May 2007 15:11:00 -0500

“Vanessa Greenway, a classy, articulate young actress…”

- Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

The Constant...

Fri, 25 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The Constant Wife

By W. Somerset Maugham

Directed by Paul S. Holmquist

Griffin Theatre 2008

“…an expertly controlled performance by Vanessa Greenway…” -Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times

“…Vanessa Greenway’s knowing-but-not-winking Constance leads a sparkling cast…” -Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago

“…FIERCELY HONEST, VANESSA GREENWAY IS ALLURING AND SHARP…” -Jonathan Abarbanel, WBEZ

“…Vanessa Greenway, a classy, articulate young actress…” -Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

From the 2005 Silk Road Theatre Project reading of “China...

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 15:06:00 -0600

From the 2005 Silk Road Theatre Project reading of “China Doll,” starring Lisa Tejero as Anna May Wong. Cast includes: Marc Rita, Vanessa Greenway (at right), Cherly Hamada, James Foster, Derek Czaplewski, Steven Gilpin, Doug Mackechnie, and ambra Anie. Directed by Jay Paul Skelton. Produced by Jamil Khoury and Malik Gillani.