Collision Theatre Company

Collision Threatre Company is a young Chicago-based theatre company. Their mission is to produce new plays, company created original works, and adaptations inspired from the theatrical and literary canon.

History
The company was created by DePaul University Theatre School Alumni Jason Fleitz and Seth Unger in 2004. Currently, Collision has eight company members:

* Seth Unger - Managing Director

* Marjorie Armstrong

* Desmin Borges

* Kate Cares

* Jason Fleitz

* Libby Ford

* Mary Grill

* Erica Peregrine

In the Summer of 2003 CTC produced an on-site production of The Middling Season by playwright Adam Simon. The production had a minimal budget and was produced in the apartment of co-founders Fleitz and Unger.

That same Summer, Fleitz, Unger and former member Dan Muck traveled to Sioux City, IA (Seth Unger's hometown) and wrote, directed and produced three piece suit, a 60-minuite meditation on the role a business suit plays in our culture and society. The show was a fast-paced montage of physical theatre, musical performance and social commentary. three piece suit was produced at Sioux City West High School and all proceeds benefited the school's drama department.

Fleitz and Unger then took a brief hiatus from CTC as both completed their senior year of college at DePaul University.

In the January of 2005 the twosome began to focus again on the company, adding new members and incorporating as an Illinois not-for-profit business.

In the Summer of 2005 CTC produced their first annual Summer Reading Series. The SRS is an outlet for playwrights to have their plays workshoped with a director and subsequently read aloud in front of an audience. The first year the Summer Reading Series included the plays Shotgun Wedding by Chris Garcia Peak, The Flu Season by Wil Eno and Chest Red Blue by Megan Breen.

Later that year the company decided to produce Chris Peak's play Shotgun Wedding in the Spring of 2006 as their inaugural production. The show opened on Friday, March 3 at the National Pastime Theatre and ran through the beginning of April. Shotgun Wedding imagines a society where a religious zealot maintains total control, gay people have been outlawed, and extremists have ruined the nation. The story follows the story of Therese, a lesbian, and her eccentric family as they attempt to arrange a wedding for her in an attempt to save her from being deported. The play features the original song "Christ Eyes", composed by Shawne Benson with lyrics by Peak.

Collision is in their second season. The first show of the season, Dracula by Mac Wellman was performed at Angel Island Theatre in October of 2006. The second show of CTC's second season, Scab, opens in April of 2007.

Past Productions
* 2003: The Middling Season, three piece suit

* 2006: Shotgun Wedding, Dracula

* 2007: Scab, Mixtape

Trivia

* The CTC Annual Fundraiser is called the Crash Bash.

* Company Members Kate Cares, Jason Fleitz, Libby Ford, Mary Grill, and Seth Unger are all graduates of the Theatre School at DePaul University formerly the Goodman School of Drama.

* Erica Peregrine is a graduate of Purdue University.

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