Recent Past Production

Previewed Aug 28, 2012 @ 8pm
Opened Aug 29, 2012 @ 8pm
Sun/Mon/Tue @ 8pm - until Sept 25, 2012

"Under Deiorio’s unflinching direction, with fierce fight choreography by Scott Cummins and Julia Neary, the fearless actors forge a mighty bond as a pair that has lived together for many years on a New Zealand farm, and endured jealousy, loneliness and a period of wartime separation."
- Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times
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"But it's the emotional wringer that they put themselves through before that baptismal coda that truly impresses."

- Kerry Reid, Chicago Tribune

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"Skin Tight, a new work by the new company Cor Theatre, is the most perfectly astounding piece of theater I have seen since Goodman's "The Iceman Cometh". I can't recommend it highly enough. It should extend, it should tour. It is scary, moving and touching. Go see it. You won't get a word about the plot out of me. Figure it out yourself. That is always half the fun. The floor is covered with wrestling mats. There is a bathtub, some apples, and a very sharp knife. Enough said."
- David Zak, SteadstyleChicago.com
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"Tony Bozzuto's and Tosha Fowler's performances deliver an infectious synergy, while Lindsay Jones' sound design maintains the environmental synchronicity associated with romanticism, elevating the mood to operatic levels despite the starkly minimal scenic ambience. Victoria DeIorio's direction seamlessly integrates the flow of physical spectacle and verbal revelation, allowing us nary a pause in our anticipation of the ending we know is inevitable. When it arrives, the catharsis can be felt throughout the whole room."
Mary Shen Barnidge - Windy City Times
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"She may as well be a surrogate for director Victoria DeIorio, manipulating and toying with her audience, forcing emotional presence with a gesture as sensually provocative as it is confrontational."
- Dan Jakes, Time Out Chicago
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"The violent sexual action is equally disturbing and fascinating because it *is* a love story. Within their passionate frenzies, Fowler and Bozzuto show complete trust. Their intimacy is shocking and endearing. Their response is primal and honest."
- Katy Walsh, Chicago Theatre Beat
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"For me, this gem quite accurately reflects a single average day for a couple—its fights, lulls and rushes of passion—only with the theater’s harrowing urgency and perpetual threat."
- Johnny Oleksinski, New City Stage
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"If the quality of acting and dedication are any indication, COR theatre has the potential to punch Chicago's theatre community square in the gut. I'm greatly looking forward to their next phase."
- Bob Bullen, Chicago Theatre Addict
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 "Skin Tight is one of those little gems that needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. It ekes out the power of live theatre magnificently. What a engrossing hour of theatre! I can’t imagine a finer off night show."
- Tom Williams, Chicago Critic
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Podcasts!

Hear Toy and Tosha on Chicago Theatre Off-Book interviewed by Katy Walsh and Joshua J. Volkers!

Hear Toy, Tosha, Scott, and Julia discuss the collaborative process of the physicality of Skin Tight!

Biographies

Cast

Tosha Fowler (Elizabeth)

Tosha is excited to work with Toy again after having collaborated with her on Mami, Where’d my O go?  The Chicago Theatre Blog reviews, “Fowler’s emotional depth in performance simply goes balls to the wall… nothing less than inspired.” Tosha has performed in Chicago with Lifeline, Emerald City, MPAACT, Cock & Bull and Circle Theatre. She has also toured throughout the Southeast; notable performances include Roberta in Shanley’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and Laura in The Glass Menagerie. Savannah Morning News hails Fowler as having “elegant simplicity, even as the emotions run wild,” “subtle but steely strength,” and “impeccable comic timing.” Tosha holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University.  She is proud and thankful for the opportunity to perform this piece with such a courageous team of artists.  Much love to all of those visiting this site and seeing our play!

Tony Bozzuto (Tom)
Tony is very excited to be a part of COR theatre's debut show.  A company member of BackStage Theatre Co., Tony has worked with Chicago Shakespeare Co, Next Theatre, Lifeline, and Metropolis to name a few.  A native of New York, Tony has performed theatre in Detroit, Philadelphia and now Chicago.  In addition to theatre, Tony has been featured in commercials for Steak n' Shake and LUNA Carpet, print work for PNC Bank and has also voiced a children's textbook CD Rom set.  Tony thanks everyone involved with this production, including you the audience, for their honesty and bravery. For more information please visit www.tonybozzuto.com.

Crew

Victoria (toy) Deiorio (Director)
Toy has directed Falling: A Wake with Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Mami, Where’d My O Go with COR theatre; Stigmata (which she also wrote) for RTE's Fresh Produce; a staged reading of Night Light by Robert Smith; Sunday on the Rocks with the Second Sex Series; and 365 Days, 365 Plays - Week 19 and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs! at Lifeline Theatre. Combining her previous careers in acting and songwriting, Victoria DeIorio is a critically acclaimed sound designer and composer for theatre, based in Chicago. Her compositions and sound design have been heard in many theatres over the past 15 years. Off-Broadway sound designs have been heard at NY Music Theatre Festival, Joe’s Pub (The Public), The Duke Theatre, and NYC Fringe Fest. Regionally she has worked with The Goodman, Steppenwolf Theatre, Victory Gardens, Northlight Theatre, LA Theatre Works, Center Stage Baltimore, Indiana Repertory, Syracuse Stage, Cleveland Playhouse, Florida Stage, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Peninsula Players, Milwaukee Rep and Geva Theatre. In Chicago she has designed productions with Writers’ Theatre, The Next Theatre, Remy Bumppo, Lifeline, Light Opera Works, and many other storefront theatres. She is the first woman to have been nominated for 10 Joseph Jefferson Awards - winning 6 - and she has received two After Dark Awards. Victoria is the head of Sound Design at The Theatre School for DePaul University. For more information visit www.victoria-sound-design.com.

Scott Cummins (Fight Director)
After spending the last four and half years in Los Angeles, Scott is glad to be back in Chicago where he was born and raised. During his career Scott has been involved in over 70 productions throughout the United States either as an actor, director and/or fight choreographer. He has worked at such theatres as The Goodman, The Next Theatre, Famous Door, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare Theatre, Apple TreeTheatre, Prop Theatre, Powertap Productions, Organic Theatre, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble to name a few. Scott’s work has earned him an Ovation Award (directing), 2 Ovation Nominations (directing/acting), 2 Jeff Citations (acting/fight choreography), an After Dark Award (directing) and a Jeff Award(acting ensemble). He has done some television and film, but that’s not important right now.

Julia Neary (Fight Director)
Julia Neary was a founding member of the Organic Theatre Collective, Powertap Productions and Running With Scissors all based in the creation of original and physically inspired work. She has directed and choreographed dance, movement and combat in theatre, television, music videos and film.  She has co-adapted three novels for the stage one of which, The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon, received two After Dark Awards and a nomination for a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Adaptation.  As an actor, she has worked with various theatres throughout Chicago including Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Victory Gardens, Next, Teatro Vista, Chicago Dramatists, Lifeline, Strawdog, About Face, Collaboraction and received a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Supporting Actress as a ventriloquist’s dummy in Famous Door’s award winning production of Ghetto, which she also choreographed.  She recently collaborated and performed in Plasticene’s Graphomania, and will be choreographing Spring Awakening in the fall at The Theatre School, DePaul University where she is an Assistant Professor of Acting and Movement. Film and television credits include Early Edition, The Untouchables, The Break Up, Black Days, Samaritan, Four/Four, Jack Slash, Etchings, Thanks Mom!, and I Think Not. 

Jason Fassl (Lighting Designer)
For more than ten seasons, Mr. Fassl has designed lighting for over three hundred theatrical productions in across the state of Wisconsin. His work brings illumination solutions to plays, musicals, operas, ballet, and corporate settings.  In addition to his work in Wisconsin, Jason served as head sound and lighting technician onboard Royal Caribbean International Cruise lines and has toured the globe with the magician David Copperfield as a programmer and electrician. He is an Artistic Associate for First Stage Children's Theatre and the Resident Designer for The Fireside Dinner Theatre. Jason's designs have spanned the stages of The Milwaukee Ballet, The Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Skylight Opera Theatre, American Players Theatre, Peninsula Players, Renaissance Theaterworks, Next Act Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, The Madison Repertory Theatre and Youngblood Theatre Company, among many others.  Jason graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point with a BFA in Theatre Design/Technology and is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. For more information please visit www.antishadows.com.

Lindsay Jones (Original Music and Sound Design)
Lindsay is very excited to be working with COR theatre! Off-Broadway: Rx (Primary Stages), Through the Night (Union Square/Westside Theatres), The Brother/Sister Plays (Public Theater), The Burnt Part Boys (Playwrights Horizons/Vineyard), Top Secret (New York Theatre Workshop), In The Continuum (Primary Stages) and many others. Regional: Guthrie, Center Stage, American Conservatory Theatre, Hartford Stage, South Coast Repertory, Alliance, Goodman, Arena Stage, Yale Repertory, The Old Globe, Chicago Shakespeare, Steppenwolf, Lookingglass and many others. International: Stratford Shakespeare Festival (Canada), Royal Shakespeare Company (England), as well as productions in Austria, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Scotland. Awards: five Joseph Jefferson Awards and 16 nominations, two Ovation Awards and three nominations, LA Drama Critics Circle Award, two ASCAP Plus Awards, two Drama Desk Award nominations, as well as nominations for Henry Hewes Design, Barrymore, Austin Critics Circle, AUDELCO and NAACP Theatre Awards. Lindsay was also the first sound designer to win the Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award. Film/TV Music: HBO Films¹ A Note Of Triumph (2006 Academy Award for Best Documentary, Short Subject), and Family Practice for Sony Pictures. www.lindsayjones.com

Samantha Umstead (Costume Designer)
Samantha Umstead is a wig maker for Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and continues to do costume, hair, and makeup work throughout the city. Getting to work with Tosha and Toy on Mami, Where'd My O Go? was an amazing experience and it's an honor to work with them again on Skin Tight. 

Sarah Brew (Dramaturg)
Sarah Brew is a dramaturg, playwright, and translator. As a dramaturg, she has most recently worked in the literary departments and on dramaturgical projects at Soho Rep, Hartford Stage, Denver Center Theatre Company and Georgia Shakespeare. Sarah's first full-length play, Love the Doctor, recently received its world premiere in Massachusetts in 2011, and was published in The Mercurian. She holds MFA in Dramaturgy from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and a BA in English from the University of North Carolina (Charlotte). She was a 2008 Regional winner of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Dramaturgy Award. Sarah now lives in Chicago, where she is also an English teacher and a figure skating coach.

Liz Fiala (Stage Manager)
Liz Fiala proudly hails from St. Louis, Missouri, and is currently a stage management major at The Theatre School at DePaul University. Her past credits at The Theatre School include Loose Knit (Stage Manager), A Raisin in the Sun (Asst. Stage Manager), Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Asst. Stage Manager),Hedda Gabler (Stage Manager), Medea (Asst. Stage Manager), Intimate Apparel (Stage Manager), and Nancy Drew (Asst. Stage Manager). Community credits include St. Louis Dance Festival (Asst. Stage Manager), Avalon Theatre Summer Cabaret Series (Stage Manager), Evanston Theatre Festival (Asst. Stage Manager), Franz Fest (Floor Manager), Duchess of Malfi (Asst. Stage Manager), and Oedipus El Rey (Stage Management Intern). She’s thrilled to be working with Cor Theatre Company and is proud to be a part of such a wonderful team.