Former Skokie students present the Chicago premiere of 'Election Day'

July 1, 2008

Under the leadership of former Northlight Theatre intern and Niles North High School graduate Clayton Fox, twelve Niles North alumni have reunited for their first post-high school collaboration: the creation of ensemble113.  Born out of the desire to work together again, ensemble113 is a local theatre troupe whose actors, designers, and production team all hail from Niles North.

Producing Artistic Director Fox says, “I thought it was about time this talented group of artists got a chance to do some substantial work outside of an educational setting.  We're all loving the chance to get our feet wet, and, as I learned from my time at Northlight, there's no better place to do it than Chicago; theatre here is really about family. We're lucky to be from Skokie.”

The result of this venture is the upcoming production of Election Day, a new play by Josh Tobiessen.  Fox says, “I wanted to work on something that would be fun for us to produce as a first go-round, and something that would be entertaining for our audience.  Watching this year’s primary horserace, I really felt like people needed a chance to revel in the humor of it.”

Running at the Skokie Theatre in July, Election Day is a timely political farce full of comedic twists and turns.  In the midst of a heated election, regular guy Adam finds himself in the middle of a tangled web.  Being pulled in all directions by his political activist girlfriend, his sex starved sister, an eco-terrorist and a desperate mayoral candidate, Adam finds that making a quick trip to the polls might be harder than he thought!

The twelve ensemble members were all heavily involved in the Niles North theatre program, and have gone on to participate in the arts at top universities including Columbia College, DePaul University, New York University, Northwestern University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Ensemble members have also worked with prominent Chicago theatres such as Northlight, Steppenwolf and Chicago Shakespeare.  While the ensemble shares a common Niles North Theatre foundation, each member brings with them a newfound perspective and expertise.  The fusion of old and new skills allows the ensemble to function as a unit and learn from one another.           

Balancing summer jobs with mounting a full production has been busy but rewarding for the members of ensemble113.  Cast member Marty Scanlon spends his days teaching as this summer’s Leadership Director at Northlight Theatre Academy, and rehearsing Election Day at night.  “I come into Northlight every morning and urge kids to have fun, follow their impulses and learn on the go; then I get to play by all those same rules at night.”

The members of ensemble113 include: Joey deBettencourt, Marty Dubin, Clayton Fox, Jill Harris, Corey Lubowich, Kori Miner, Ben Raanan, Benjamin Rosenthal, Marty Scanlon, Molly Scanlon, Rob Tolzien, and Jessica Trier.