THE NEW ROOSEVELT ROAD PASSES ITS FIRST BREATHS OF LIFE INTO ZOMBIES…WITH A TASTE FOR FUNDRAISING FOR THE 16TH STREET THEATER!

BERWYN, IL October 29, 2010 – The Berwyn Development Corporation (BDC) will partner with the Roosevelt Road Business Association (RRBA) and Horrorbles to present theInaugural Roosevelt Road Zombie Walk and Pub Crawl on Saturday, October 30 from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The event will feature zombie make-up, a pub crawl, food and an after-party designed to rival even your fondest memories of Thriller. Participation in the event is $10, which includes admission, make-up and food provided at the after-party. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Berwyn ’s acclaimed 16^th Street Theater.

The Zombie Walk is founded on the participation of Halloween-lovers willing to take their zombie motif to the limit. To help with this endeavor, Horrorbles will sponsor make-up and costume staging from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at Homescape Custom Builders & Designers, Inc., located at 6823 West Roosevelt Road , and Citizens Community Bank, located at 7025 West Roosevelt Road . Once properly attired, zombies will be led on a pub-crawl that will overtake the 12^th Street Rag (6943 W. Roosevelt Rd), Friendly Tap ( 6733 W. Roosevelt Rd ) and FitzGerald’s ( 6615 W. Roosevelt Rd ). FitzGerald’s will host the catered after party with films and other un-deadly fun. In the true spirit of the un-dead, zombies will proceed between venues in silence. Once the crawl is over, zombies can resume their search for brains at their favorite Berwyn haunts until the late hours of the evening!

Paul Zimmermann, President of the BDC and RRBA, stated, “ Roosevelt Road strives to be one of Chicagoland’s finest entertainment destinations. There is a lot of creativity brewing between our businesses. The Zombie Walk promises to awaken our spirits for a night of revelry.” John Aranza, owner of Horrorbles, continued, “I think it is wonderful that so many businesses pulled together for the 16^th Street Theater. There really is positive motion happening here on Roosevelt Road . All of our event sponsors have graciously brought their expertise to the table to make this happen!”

Additional information on the Roosevelt Road Zombie Walk and Pub Crawl in Berwyn , IL can be obtained through the Berwyn Development Corporation at (708) 788-8100 or athttp://www.facebook.com/BDCorp#!/event.php?eid=153103928056394&ref=mf.

The Business of Small Theatre, Explained

PENNY-PINCH: Ann Filmer of Berwyn's 16th Street Theater Discusses Her Budget for "Menorca"

“I’m doing everything from stocking the bathrooms to writing all the grants and doing all the marketing,” says Filmer, the theatre’s founder and artistic director. Judging from the overstuffed trunk of her car, she also schleps posters, office supplies, and tools. With a projected operating budget of approximately $100,000 for the three-play 2011 main season, 16th Street is representative of dozens of scrappy Chicago theatres that excel in the art of stretching dollars as well as audiences’ imaginations.Ann Filmer just received good news. She’s learned that the house carpenter for Steppenwolf Theatre has offered to fix a severed $150 sound cable for free. In a universe where the budget for Bono’s much-delayed Broadway musical, Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark, can balloon past $50 million, $150 sounds like pocket change. But it represents about 1 percent of the average budget for a production at 16th Street Theater, a 49-seat operation in Berwyn that champions plays by underappreciated Illinois writers.

For her next production, Menorca, by the Chicago playwright Robert Koon (running through October 16th), Filmer must figure out how to stage dueling locations: an archaeological dig on a Spanish island and the desert border between Southern California and Mexico. “A lot of times a small budget enhances creativity,” she says. The set designer Kurt Sharp’s particular challenge will be representing the interior of a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle onstage for $500 or less. On the day we talk, Sharp doesn’t know yet what he’ll do.

“Buying is never the first choice, ever,” says Filmer, who draws a salary of $31,000 a year. “It’s like, where can we borrow this?” One of her board members runs an antiques business, and that’s the company’s first stop for period-specific furniture and props. Directors, designers, playwrights, and actors (even non-Equity performers) all receive small, but consistent, checks. Resident playwrights, such as Koon, earn a flat rate of $1,500—a better deal than the standard 5 percent of box-office receipts.

The company keeps ticket prices low ($16) to encourage non-traditional theatregoers in culturally diverse, working-class Berwyn. Still, 16th Street generates half of its income from box office (subscribers number around 170), with corporate sponsorships, grants, and individual donations making up the rest. But Filmer has one big financial advantage: She doesn’t pay rent, usually the biggest budget buster for most small theatres. Instead, 16th Street resides in a basement black box in the Berwyn Cultural Center. Lately, some shows have started here and moved on: In a coup for Filmer and her actors, their most recent effort, This Train, sold out a summer run in Steppenwolf’s Garage Theatre.

GO: Menorca runs September 9th through October 16th at 16th Street Theater, Berwyn; 708-795-6704,16thstreettheater.org.

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