Red Tape Valentine: Meghan Reardon and Spencer

Megan joined the ensemble after appearing in Red Tape’s The Love of the Nightingale in 2010. She is now our Director of Loyalty and Retention. Meghan performed in Obscura: A Voyeuristic Love Story and can be seen on stage now in Church/Pullman, WA. Spencer first appeared at Red Tape in cognito to surprise Meghan during Nightingale. We’re so glad he did not whisk her back to NYC with him!

“This is me with my best friend of ten-plus-years-and-counting, Spencer. He is my partner-in-crime and an honorary member of my family (he was even in our Christmas card one year). Our fake facebook marriage has lasted longer than many real marriages.

When I was in my first Red Tape show, he surprised me by flying in from New York to see the closing night performance. He even went as far as to wear sunglasses and a hat during the show so I wouldn't recognize him and get thrown off (for the record it didn't work--I'd know him anywhere).

Being so far away from him never gets any easier and all my theatre stuff cuts into precious phone time all too often. So this V-Day shout-out is for my dear, funny, finicky, favorite fella, my Spence!” –Meghan

Meghan and Spencer- going on 11 years

Hang out with Red Tape on Industry Night
Monday, February 14 at 8:00
After party at Wilde
Tickets: http://www.redtapetheatre.org/ , code: mermaid

Greetings from Meghan Reardon!

Greeting to all you friends of Red Tape out there in the blogosphere!

Meghan Reardon here, your friendly Director of Loyalty and Retention. If you were able to attend our fall production of Obscura you may have found yourself in for more than just a play. Whether you joined us for a beer at our Friday Night Bar Nights, stuck around after every show for Set Tours led by the actors or headed over to Cloud 9 with us after our Industry Night Performance, we hope that you had the chance to get to know Red Tape and for us to get to know you!

The upcoming production of Church and Pullman, WA will provide some similar and brand-new events and activities to help make your night at the theatre a more engrossing experience. Join cast, crew, company members and other members of our audience every Friday during the run for a drink or a bite to eat at the fantastic WILDE’S BAR & RESTAURANT, just around the corner on Broadway (3130 N. Broadway, to be exact). Also, after every production, you will have the opportunity to join the cast and crew for a special activity. Now, I can’t be too specific about the activity without spoiling the surprise of walking into the space and set of these experimental one-acts but here are some hints: It’s crafty and it will help create the mood and environment for the next weekend’s audiences. Sound exciting and mysterious enough for you?

Also, for you industry-types, mark your calendars for our Industry Night, Monday, February 14. Look for more information on that night-of-fun from yours truly or our dashing DOCE, Alex Kyger.

Thanks for reading, and see you around the theatre!

~Meghan Reardon


Church and Pullman, WA run Jan 27 -Mar 5 at Red Tape Theatre.

Agents Decorate Our Set!

On December 12, 2010 Red Tape Theatre hosted our third Secret Agents Event. Ensemble member Meghan Reardon had our guests create artwork for the set of Church. Their artwork will be displayed through previews where audience members will be asked to provide the decor for future performances. She explains how in the attached clip.

Church and Pullman, WA run Jan 29 - Mar 13
www.redtapetheatre.org


See what they created:

First Look at Obscura!

This Sunday, September 12, ensemble members Nick Combs and Meghan Reardon performed a scene from Jennifer Barclay's Obscura at our Secret Agents Event!

Obscura runs Sep 23- Oct 23.
Tickets are available through our website!

A new role for Meghan Reardon

Hello all!

First-time blogger and company member Meghan Reardon here. I am lucky enough to play the role of Salvia in the lovely and peculiar world of Obscura, but I want to fill you in on my even newer role, Director of Loyalty and Retention here at Red Tape!

In addition to having the catchy acronym of DOLR, my job is to create new, exciting ways of turning our network into a community. Our plays have always engaged our audiences in different and unexpected ways and we want to take the same approach to getting to know each of you! Get geared up for a few special events we have planned for Obscura.

After each performance, you’ll have the opportunity to literally step into the world of the characters. Join cast and company members as they take you through a tour of the set. Explore where the characters live and give yourself the chance to see even more of this voyeuristic love story! And if you still don’t have enough Red Tape in your life, join us every Friday night during the run of the show at Brendan’s Pub immediately following the performance. Grab your play-going friends and a beverage of choice and get to know your friendly Red Tapers.

And there’s plenty more in store for everyone, all you have to do is be there. See you around the theatre!

Meghan Reardon
Ensemble Member

Obscura runs Sep 23-Oct 23.
Tickets are available on our website!

Red Tapes Welcomes Four New Ensemble Members!

We're thrilled to announce Red Tape's newest ensemble members!

Carrie Drapac joined Red Tape Theatre after her involvement in their 2010 production of The Love of the Nightingale. She holds a B.F.A in Theatre from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, having focused on musical theatre in the CAP21 program and film acting at Stonestreet Studios. She has had the pleasure of working on a wide variety of projects ranging from devised theatre to feature length horror films. Carrie's favorite projects include a musical adaptation of the novel Hotel Sarajevo, silent short films about the Iraq War (Red, White and Blue) and metamorphosis (Tropism), and 1940's musical fluff Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Carrie is a personal trainer and co-founder/owner of Comfy Fitness. Currently, Carrie and her business partner are producing a kids' fitness television pilot.

Amanda Reader's first production with Red Tape Theatre was The Love of the Nightingale, in the spring of 2010, after which, she joined the ensemble. In Chicago, she was seen onstage in The Blessed Child, as part of Halcyon Theatre's Alcyone Festival and Sex Marks the Spot at the Theatre Building. She also performed in North Carolina Shakespeare Festival's productions of King Lear and Much Ado About Nothing (Ursula), and will be in Michigan Shakespeare Festival's Comedy of Errors (Luciana) and Romeo & Juliet (Juliet) during the summer of 2010. She has studied with Profiles Theatre, and also stage managed their production of The Mercy Seat. Amanda holds a BFA in Acting Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Meghan Reardon is a performer from Topeka, KS and is extremely proud to call herself a Red Tape Company member. She graduated in 2008 with a BA in Theatre and Dance from Knox College, where she received the Colton Prize for Performance and The Karger Award in Theatre Arts. In Chicago, she has performed in The Love of the Nightingale with Red Tape, Dumbspeak in the (a)Symmetry Cycle, SubUrbia with the Nine Chicago, Spectacle Lunatique with Redmoon (where she also served as a performance intern), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie with Signal Ensemble, The Conduct of Life with Tooth and Nail Ensemble, A Hampstead Hooligan in King Arthur's Court with Chicago Dell'arte, Dracula and as part of the Objects in Motion festival at The Building Stage, and Frugal Love with The Moving Dock. She has studied at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland and has studied with the SITI Company and The Actor's Gymnasium. She holds a particular place in her heart for movement and ensemble-based performance. Meghan was the recipient of a 2009 CAAP Individual Artist Grant.

Kathleen Romond performed in Red Tape's 2010 production of The Love of The Nightingale. Other Chicago credits include; Blind Date and Talking Pictures as a part of The Horton Foote Festival at The Goodman Theatre. Regional Credits include; The Cherry Orchard and The Government Inspector at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Kathleen was born and raised in Kentucky. She graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy High School in Michigan before hopping across the pond to Glasgow, Scotland where she received her BFA in Acting from The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. This winter Kathleen will be understudying Honey in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Steppenwolf Theatre.

The Story of Philomele: Meet Meghan Reardon

Where are you from?

Topeka, KS



What do you do when you're not performing?


I do administrative work for a handful of groups, High Concept Laboratories, Voice of the City and Premiere Theatre and Performance, for whom I also serve as grant writer. They are all awesome organizations and I’m more than happy to talk to anyone about any of them. If you’re very lucky or have way too much free time, you can also catch me a few days a week playing the role of Cashier at Banana Republic in Old Orchard Mall. Play your cards right and I will lovingly wrap your items in tissue paper while tempting you with offers of Banana Credit Cards.



What is your favorite moment in The Love of the Nightingale?


I love Procne and Philomele’s relationship—I’ve got two sisters, an older one in NY and a younger one in KS, and the more moments we discover and create onstage between the two sisters, the more it makes me miss my real-life sisters and brings back memories of growing up with them.



Any standout rehearsal moments?


Secretly, my favorite rehearsal moments are whenever James offers to buy coffee. Not so secretly, learning fight choreography from Claire and her assistant Zack was scary and exciting. I’m a petite lady, so being able to grapple around and get a few good swings in feels pretty darn good. I’m also an actor who just loves being completely physically engaged in an action and a moment, so it’s really gratifying on a number of levels.



What's a fun fact about your character?


I think Phil enjoys going to the theatre even more than I do, which is definitely saying something. I mean, this girl LOVES it, and is totally uninhibited in her reactions. I could get there, but it would probably take a few drinks.





The Love of the Nightingale runs May 3-29.


Tickets are available through our website.