Tickets on sale for The Selfish Giant

Actors have begun rehearsals for The Selfish Giant, which runs in June at Otherworld Theatre in Lakeview.

Tickets are on sale now for The Selfish Giant, a physical theatre production that will mesmerize audiences of all ages.

This story of a giant who builds a wall to keep children off his land runs during the month of June at Otherworld Theatre and is geared toward all ages.

Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets and are $5 for children, $10 for adults or $25 for a family of four.

You can also obtain tickets through our Go Fund Me Campaign. The Garden, Ogre, North Wind and Giant levels all come with tickets to the show, along with a host of other goodies. Learn more Becoming a Generous Giant for Children's Theatre here.

Based on Oscar Wilde's short story of the same name, The Selfish Giant illustrates the perils of isolation and the negative consequences of selfishness, but it also teaches us that it is never too late for redemption and for love.

Donate to children, earn a reward!

Did you know we’ve put together some very special gifts for the donors to our The Selfish Giant fundraiser? From growing your own garden to headshots and more.

Read all about the show here and then go donate here.

By donating you help keep our ticket prices affordable for all families in Chicago.

Levels include:

$25 GARDEN LEVEL: Start your own urban garden with a Grow Your Own Garden Kit and receive a ticket to the show, as well as thanks in our program.

$50 OGRE LEVEL: Join cast members and the director of The Selfish Giant after a performance for apple pie and milk and to learn more about physical storytelling. Bring your kids (or you friends’ kids) so they can learn how to turn everyday objects into props to create their own plays at home. Plus: A ticket to the show, as well thanks in the program

$75 NORTH WIND LEVEL: Get a headshot session with our company photographer who will offer you one look (a.k.a. outfit, but a variety of expressions within that one outfit) and guarantee a photo you’re happy with, or you’ll get a makeup session. You get all the photos from the session on a disc to use as you wish without watermarks. This offer is regardless of whether you’re an actor looking for fresh headshots, one of our business friends looking to spruce up your LinkedIn page or an animal lover looking for a professional photo of your pupper (did we mention, this wasn’t limited to humans!) Plus two tickets to The Selfish Giant, as well as thanks in the program

$100 or more GIANT LEVEL: A Nightlight Gift bag, featuring your choice of a Nightlight T-shirt or tote bag, among other items, plus two tickets to The Selfish Giant as well as thanks in the program.

Be a Generous Giant for The Selfish Giant, a show for young audiences

Every theatrical production involves a team of artist on the stage and behind the scenes to bring the stories you're seeing to life. Most of these people perform, design and build without ever being paid for their efforts.

At Ghostlight, we strive to provide everyone with an stipend to help offset the costs of traveling to rehearsal and performances or running all over town to gather materials for costume, set and properties construction. That's not always an easy task when trying to provide affordable family-friendly entertainment with rental rates in Chicago at all-time highs.

We hope you'll help up reach our goal by supporting theater for young audiences.

Find out more about The Selfish Giant and our campaign here.  

Support Ghostlight in March by grabbing dinner at Panera!

On Thursday, March 21, make plans for dinner with us at Panera at 501 S. State St. in Chicago.

Bring in a copy of this flyer or show an electronic version of it anytime between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, and Ghostlight will receive 20 percent of sales from your order.

You can dine in, get it to go or have it delivered. If you’re ordering online for rapid pick-up or delivery, make sure to enter "PRFUND" as your Promo Code to have a portion of your proceeds donated to Ghostlight.

Can't wait to see you there!

Let's G.E.T. Crafty! with a Ghostlight Ensemble Theatre craft beer fundraiser

Let's G.E.T. Crafty! is a Ghostlight Ensemble Theatre craft beer fundraiser at My Buddy's. Join us on Wednesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. to sample five craft beers, then have a pint of your favorite -- all for just $10. The money goes to Ghostlight, the beer goes to your belly!

Featuring the following brews:

• Metropolitan Brewing- Krankshaft Kolsch

• Temperance Brewery- Gatecrasher IPA

• Ravinia Brewing- Four Shore Witbier

• Founder's Brewing- Rubaeus (gluten free)

• Wiseacre Brewing- Gotta Get Up To Get Down Milk Stout

You can RSVP to My Buddy's via their Facebook page here to reserve your spot, or try your luck at the door. Either way, please mention Ghostlight Ensemble when you do!

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!

Shopping Amazon? Do it with a Smile

Shopping on Amazon this month? Help Ghostlight in the process.

Go to smile.amazon.com/ch/81-3409965 between now and March 31, and Amazon will donate a portion of your sale to Ghostlight Ensemble Theatre Company. And if it's your first AmazonSmile purchase, Amazon is tripling it's usual donation amount to 1.5 percent of your total purchase price. 

Best of all, there is no added cost to you.

Why Theatre Matters To Us

Hello friends of Ghostlight,

As we approach the end of 2017 and the end of our fundraising drive, we wanted to share with you our personal stories of why theatre is so important to us and in turn to others. We know this is the time of year you are bombarded with requests from very worthy organizations and some of them are literally making life or death differences in people's lives.

Supporting the arts is more nebulous, we know. You look at Ghostlight and you think, "They put on theatre. That's nice." And we do that, yes. But theatre can sometimes ALSO make a life or death difference in a person's life. It empowers young people, gives them purpose, gives them friends, makes them realize there are others like them and they are not alone.

It has done that for all of us here at Ghostlight and for countless other theatre kids around this world. It may be doing it right now for someone you know and love, someone you don't realize is struggling to understand why they are here on this planet at this time and place.

That is why you should support the arts and why we hope you will support Ghostlight, as we make a place for future generations of artist to tell the stories that matter to them and to help them find their purpose, their home.

— The Ensemble

Thanks to all who attended Must Eat TV

From left: Miona Lee,  Dennis Davies, Nick Conrad, Christopher Paul Mueller, Paul Tinsley and Jean E. Burr in How I Met Your Mother's Slapsgiving episode. (Photo by Dana Tedesco)

Thanks to everyone who attended Must Eat TV, the latest installment of our live movie reading series, on Tuesday night. We enjoyed sharing our traditional English trifle with you all, as we watched faces get slapped and turkeys get dropped from the sky.

We also want to thank our audience for their generosity in donating to Common Pantry. Thanks to you, a lot of people's lives will be made a little better during this season of thanks. You are truly amazing.

Help us combat hunger by donating to Common Pantry at Must Eat TV

Our mission at Ghostlight doesn't focus just on how we can effect change from the stage, but what we can do beyond the boards. So, while our Live Reading series is an opportunity for fun, it is also an opportunity to do more.

For this month's performance on Tuesday, November 14, we'll be collecting donations for Common Pantry.

Common Pantry, located in North Center, was founded in 1967 to combat hunger and food insecurity in specific north side neighborhoods in Chicago. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit’s mission is to meet the emergency food needs of the community through weekly food distributions, home delivery to elderly clients, its hot lunch program and its monthly distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables on Produce Day. Through the Common Community Program, it helps individuals and families address the root causes of food insecurity and poverty by assisting with benefit applications, job searches, housing issues and services to the homeless.

While the organization collects canned good and other non-perishable food items, they also have a Personal Care Wish List, which is just as important. We encourage those coming to Must Eat TV to consider bringing razors, soap, deodorant, diapers, toothpaste and feminine hygiene products. You can find the entire Wish List here.

Celebrate Thanksgiving with some Must Eat TV

Ghostlight will present a special Thanksgiving installment of its ongoing live reading series, this time subbing out the small screen for the big.

Must Eat TV: A Live Reading of Your Favorite Thanksgiving Episodes will feature selections from How I Met Your Mother, Friends and WKRP in Cincinnati at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 14, at the Celtic Crown (2356 W Cullom Ave, Chicago, IL 60618).

There is a suggested donation of $5 at the door, which will help Ghostlight fund its upcoming season, AND a non-perishable good or additional cash donation to benefit Common Pantry, of North Center.

Put on those pants with the elastic waist and get ready to give thanks for some classic TV gems!

Goodies for Ghostlight: A Potbelly Foodraiser

Fall may be here in theory, but it's still warm enough outside for milkshakes.

So join us on Wednesday October 11, 2017, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lincoln Square Potbelly (4709 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60625) for another in our series of delicious fundraisers that will go to support our Season 1 programming.

Potbelly will donate 25 percent of net sales during that time to Ghostlight. You don't need any special paperwork or flyers or code words or secret handshakes, just come in, order and eat.

Ensemble members will be on hand to chat about our Company, the upcoming season, our favorite plays or anything that takes your fancy. So come say hello and raise a toast — or a toasted sandwich — to the arts in Chicago. 

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.

Live music, farm fresh fruits and Potbelly: A Fun-raiser in Lincoln Square

Time to put the fun back in fundraiser.

Join us on Thursday, August 17, 2017, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lincoln Square Potbelly (4709 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60625) for another in our series of delicious fundraisers that will go to support our Season 1 programming.

Potbelly will donate 25 percent of net sales during that time to Ghostlight. You don't need any special paperwork or flyers or code words or secret handshakes, just come in, order and eat.

But it doesn't end there. Thursdays in Lincoln Square make a great day out for the family. You can shop the extensive Farmers Market across the street from Potbelly and then stroll over to the Square proper where the annual Summer Concert Series takes place. On August 17, you can boogie to the swampy blues of Tijuana Hercules, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Back at Potbelly, Ensemble members will be on hand to chat about our Company, the upcoming season, our favorite plays or anything that takes your fancy. So come say hello and let's break bread — or better yet a Dream Bar — together. 

June is for milkshakes, Dream Bars and supporting theatre

Time for another tasty, tasty fundraiser.

Join us on Thursday, June 8, 2017, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lincoln Square Potbelly (4709 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60625) for a delicious fundraiser to support our first full season of programming. (Look for an announcement coming soon!)

Potbelly will donate 25 percent of net sales during that time to Ghostlight. You don't need any special paperwork or flyers or code words or secret handshakes, just come in, order and eat.

Ensemble members will be on hand, as well. So come say hello and let's break bread — or better yet a Dream Bar — together. 

Celebrate Pirandello at 150

If you enjoyed Six Characters in Search of an Author, don't miss its companion piece, Six Authors in Search of a Character on May 25.

In this festival of new works celebrating the 150th anniversary of Pirandello's birth, we asked six playwrights to write 10-minute plays around the "missing" character in The Mountain Giants, Luigi Pirandello's final, unfinished play.

Get your tickets now for this one-night event.

With works by: Jeff Bouthiette, Spenser Davis, Rory Jobst, Jillian Leff, Francesca Peppiatt and Sean Margaret Wagner.

Learn more about the festival here.

Do double duty while shopping for mom this Mother's Day

It's May and that means flowers, spring break and— most importantly— mom.

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 14. You can help support Ghostlight Ensemble while shopping at Amazon for your Mother's Day gifts. Just visit smile.amazon.com/ch/81-3409965, log into your Amazon account and shop as you normally would. 

There are no extra charges and the prices are the same. The only difference is that Ghostlight gets 0.5 percent of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchase. It may seem small, but it adds up!

Feed your belly, help the arts

Join us on Thursday, March 23, 2017, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lincoln Square Potbelly (4709 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60625) for a delicious fundraiser to support our spring show, Six Characters in Search of an Author.

Potbelly will donate 25 percent of net sales during that time to Ghostlight. You don't need any special paperwork or flyers or code words or secret handshakes, just come in, order and eat.

Ensemble and Six Characters cast members will be on hand, as well. So come say hello and let's break bread — or better yet a Dream Bar — together.