The Theatre School Showcase, DePaul University, presents TINTYPES November 6 – 15, 1998 (previews 11/4 & 11/5) at DePaul’s Merle Reskin Theatre, 60 E. Balbo Drive, Chicago. The play is the first offering of the 1998-99 season celebrating DePaul University’s Centennial with the theme "The American Experience in the 20^th Century: Dreams Denied & Delayed, Lost & Found."

Tintypes was conceived by Mary Kyte with Mel Marvin and Gary Pearle and features musical and vocal arrangements by Mel Marvin and orchestration and vocal arrangements by John McKinney. The play is directed by Betsy Hamilton with musical direction by Mark Elliott, scenic design by Noelle C.K. Hathaway, costume design by Nan Cibula-Jenkins, lighting design by John Culbert, and sound design by Jeffrey Webb.

For information and to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at (312) 922-1999. A dinner package and sign-language interpreted performances are available.

Patriotic marches, spirituals, popular songs and ragtime illustrate our nation’s character at the time when millions of immigrants entered America seeking the land of hope and opportunity. Tintypes spans the post-Civil War era through the early 1900s with a musical potpourri that delights the spirit and touches the soul. Incidents and political circumstances from the time, popular figures and issues of the day are inventively woven together through the music of George M. Cohan, John Philip Sousa, Bert Williams, Victor Herbert and Scott Joplin in songs like "Meet Me in St. Louis," "You’re a Grand Old Flag," "Sometimes I feel Like a Motherless Child" and "A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight."

Tintypes was first produced on Broadway in 1980. Reportedly, it was originally to be entitled Ragtime, but the authors instead named their work after a photography process popular at the end of the 19th century. Tintypes were an American invention that allowed images to be developed on a piece of iron. Much of the history of the United States is recorded on surviving examples of these early photos.

As it tells its story of America at the turn-of-the-century, Tintypes evokes the gradual changes and development of attitudes that took place during that pivotal period. "Tintypes is an exhilarating opportunity to relive — through music, vivid characters, history and hope — who we were, where we came from and where we thought we were going," says director Betsy Hamilton. "It is up to us to determine if we fulfilled our promise, and, as we near the turn of the 20th century, to connect that history to our own."

Performances of Tintypes are November 6 – 15, 1998 (previews 11/4 & 11/5). The performance schedule is Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Morning matinees are scheduled at 10 a.m. Tuesday, November 10, and Thursday, November 12. Both morning matinees and the evening performance on Thursday, November 12, will feature post-show discussions.

Tickets are $6 - $10; $5 for college students with I.D. Seniors, Corporate Partners, DePaul employees and alumni are eligible for discounts. Group rates are available for 15 or more people. Wednesday, November 11 is DePaul Night: two tickets for the price of one for high school and college students with I.D.

Performances are held at the DePaul University Merle Reskin Theatre, 60 E. Balbo Drive, Chicago. Discount parking is available with coupons available from the Box Office.

INTERPRETED PERFORMANCE: The performance on Saturday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m.
will be interpreted in American Sign Language by Sign On Stage. For information, call the Theatre Box Office or TTY: (773) 325-7975.

DINNER OFFER: The Theatre School has partnered with the Chicago Hilton and Towers
to feature a special dinner offer at The Pavilion, the Mediterranean café on the lobby level of the
Chicago Hilton and Towers across the street from the theatre. Dinners are $20.00 for adults or $11.00 for children 12 and under and may be purchased through the Theatre Box Office.

Director BETSY HAMILTON is a professor of Movement and chair of the Performance Programs at The Theatre School. She has directed numerous productions at the school, including Merrily We Roll Along, The Roar of the Greasepaint — The Smell of the Crowd, The Trojan Women and Into the Woods. Prior to joining the school, Ms. Hamilton served as Associate Professor and head of the Movement Program for Actors at California State University at Long Beach. She has studied mime and circus techniques with Marcel Marceau and Decroux in Paris, researched dance and drama in Africa and studied in Berlin. Other directing and choreography credits include the Oregon Shakespearean Festival, Laguna Playhouse and nine seasons with the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

Musical Director MARK ELLIOTT is Composer-in-Residence and teaches Musical Theatre Performance at The Theatre School. At the school he composed music for The Good Woman of Setzuan, Cinderella and The Bourgeois Gentleman and served as musical director for Peter Pan, Merrily We Roll Along, Into the Woods and Lock Up Your Daughters, among others. He was also the Resident Music Director at the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse and has provided musical direction for more than 50 productions and written scores for more than 20 shows during his career.

Scenic Designer NOELLE C.K. HATHAWAY is an advanced student in the school’s Scenic Design Program. She most recently designed scenery for the school’s world premiere production of The Sacred Art of Self-Decoration at Victory Gardens Studio Theater.

Costume Designer NAN CIBULA-JENKINS is chair of the Design/Technical Department and head of the Costume Design Program at The Theatre School. Her numerous credits include costume design for the Goodman Theatre, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center and Shakespeare Repertory Theatre, where she received a Jeff Award for Much Ado About Nothing. Ms. Cibula-Jenkins recently received the Michael Merritt Award for Design and Collaboration, a national theatrical award.

Lighting Designer JOHN CULBERT is Associate Dean and head of the Lighting Design Program at the school. A Jeff Award-winning lighting designer for Court Theatre’s Triumph of Love, Mr. Culbert’s numerous credits include scenic and/or lighting design at the Colorado Opera Festival, Field Museum of Natural History, Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theatre and Lookingglass Theatre, among many others. He also designed lights for the renovated Buckingham Fountain in Chicago’s Grant Park.

Sound Designer JEFFREY WEBB is the Resident Sound Designer and Director of Technical Operations at DePaul's Merle Reskin Theatre. He has designed sound for numerous Chicago theatres, including Steppenwolf Theatre, Remains Theatre, Organic Theatre, Northlight Theatre and Lifeline Theatre. Mr. Webb also teaches Introduction to Sound Design at The Theatre School.

Further information about Tintypes and The Theatre School is available via the Internet on The Theatre School’s Website, located at http://theatreschool.depaul.edu .

For information and to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at (312) 922-1999.

The Theatre School was founded as the Goodman School of Drama in 1925 and is a member of the League of Chicago Theatres, the Illinois Arts Alliance and the Illinois Alliance for Arts Education.