Steadstyle Chicago
	February 2010 Theatre Review by Chris Arnold
	11:11 The New Colony, a company showing a lot of promise, presents the world premiere of "11:11" by Evan Linder and Tara Sissom.  The title refers to a Bible verse, which I will let the play explain.  The play is far from perfect, but has enough merit to deserve an audience.  "11:11" revolves around a team of young Christian camp counselors who unknowingly drug themselves the night before the camp commences.  The drug-induced evening begins with fear, bleeding into fun, and ending in suppression rearing its ugly head to mixed reactions. "11:11" poses an interesting premise, but the writing needs some polish.  The first act clocked in at 35 minutes, but it took 20 for anything to happen.  I say this because I felt Act II is when the play came to life, and I became invested in the characters and their journey.  Many of the themes truly resonated in an era with "Come back to the Catholic church" commercials, and the prospect of Mike Huckabee running in the 2012 election.  "11:11" is not the next great American play, but does pose some interesting food for thought on religion. However, I am still uncertain whether "11:11" is intended to be a satire on organized religion or a character drama.  I feel it spent too much time in a grey area, which did not help the production.  This issue stems from Director Meg Johns not being able to meld the writing with the acting.  The performances range from very broad caricature to utter realism.  As a result I did not know if the characters were supposed to be highly prolific teenagers, or emotionally stunted young adults.  However, I give kudos to Johns for creating some wonderfully touching exchanges, as well as a breathtaking final moment of the play. The production values were top notch, with great attention to detail by Scenic designer Nick Sieben.  Sound designer Gary Tiedmann kept the music fun, and at the same time slightly creepy.  Lighting Designer Nicholas J. Carroll did a nice job creating a cabin ambiance, while having fun with the more outlandish moments.  The New Colony theatre company is new to Chicago, but I have a feeling they will be around for a while.  They were recently awarded $25,000 via Chasegiving (which if you are on Facebook you most likely saw every theatre company in Chicago campaign for).  Based on this production I could see it was a wise investment in potential. "11:11" will run through March 13, 2010 at The Victory Gardens Biograph Studio Theater.  Performances are Thursdays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, Fridays at 8:30pm and two additional Wednesday performances on March 3rd and March 10th at 8:00pm.  Tickets are $25 General Admission, $20 for Seniors, and $15 for Students/Industry.  Show passes (which allow the patron to see "11:11" an unlimited number of times) are $25.  Tickets and information can be obtained at (773) 871-3000 or Tickets.com.  For more information visit www.TheNewColony.org.   About Chris Arnold Chris Arnold has been in Chicago for seven years where he has directed for Act One Studios, the side project, Bailiwick, Illinois Theatre Center, LiveWire Theater, and Diamante Productions, amongst others.  For three years he was a company member with Circle Theatre, and directed the Jeff Recommended productions "Escanaba in Love" and "Boy".  He also directed "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with Circle Theatre Youth Ensemble.  He is the former Associate Artistic Director for Thunder & Lightning Ensemble where he directed "Jack Goes Boating," "Red Light Winter" (Named one of the top five memorable productions by a smaller troupe: New City 2008), and "Earl the Vampire".  Chris has interned at Steppenwolf and Goodman Theatre.  While at the Goodman he had the opportunity to serve as the Script Manager for the world premiere of "Blue Surge" by Rebecca Gilman.  When not directing Chris teaches in the Literature & Theatre Department(s) at The Chicago Academy for the Arts, where he has directed "Doubt" and "The Pillowman".  He writes for Chicagocritic.com, and is a member of the Artistic/Technical Team for the Jeff Committee.  Spring 2010 Chris will be a Teaching Artists with American Theatre Company as part of their American Mosaic Program.  He holds an MFA in Directing (with a focus in Critical Studies) from The University of Memphis.