FINAL WEEK for JUMPING TO DELUSIONS

Wild and wacky, hilarious, and heartbreaking — JUMPING TO DELUSIONS veers from vaudeville shenanigans to searing anguish to sketch comedy. This play is a freewheeling look at people coping with mental illness. it shines a compassionate light on their struggles and pokes a LOT of fun at some of society’s misconceptions. Co-directed by Stephen F. Vrtol III and Richard Raether, this play closes April 2. Get tickets HERE.

Auditions for AET's 20th Season

For the first time in two years, AET is holding local in-person auditions!

WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 28 from 1-4 pm
WHERE: Cheek Theatre at Rockford University
APPOINTMENT: E-mail: rraether@artistsensemble.org

Prepare one or two monologues, no longer than two minutes OR material will be provided to read. Auditions are for roles in all productions in AET’s 2023-24 season.

Actors Equity auditions are Tuesday, Jan. 31 at the Equity Center in Chicago.

MYSTERY THEATER • Oct. 21-22

October is Mystery Month at AET, which presents two very different detectives in a faux broadcast from the Golden Age of Radio. In the first episode, Hercule Poirot exercises the little gray cells to unravel a series of deaths attributed to a curse. In the second episode, a glamorous private eye tracks a killer who strikes without making a sound.

Performances are at 7:30, Oct. 21-22 in the Cheek Theatre in the Clark Arts Center. This is a pay-what-you-can event. No tickets, just a donation jar.

JULIE & JANE plays Oct. 14-15

JULIE & JANE performs at 7:30 on Friday & Sat. Oct. 14-15 in the Cheek Theatre at Rockford University.

AET partners with the League of Women Voters of Greater Rockford to present JULIE & JANE, a staged reading of a new play by Margaret Raether about Julia Lathrop and Jane Addams, two women who met as schoolgirls and, throughout the course of nearly 60 years of friendship, changed the world.

This play celebrates these remarkable women and marks the 100th anniversary of the League of Women Voters of Greater Rockford, as well as the 175th anniversary of Rockford University, where Julie & Jane met. This is a pay-what-you-can event. No tickets, just a donation jar.

Season One Finale of Mysterious Journey

New episode of AET’s podcast is out! Two self-described "gen-u-wine desperados" abduct a young boy from a small town in Alabama. The boy, who insists he is an Apache warrior named Red Chief, proves to be more than they can handle. Nothing goes as planned for the hapless kidnappers in this holiday treat from O. Henry, "The Ransom of Red Chief." This episode marks the finale of season one of Mysterious Journey.

Holiday Theater Dec. 10-11

A double dose of holiday cheer will be on stage in the Cheek Theatre Friday & Saturday, Dec. 10-11. Two tales of Christmas in New York are performed as part of “Playhouse on the Air” a vintage radio program complete with sound effects. Episode one: a grumpy detective must find a killer whose victims are all dressed as Santa. Episode two: Nimble Nick needs to blow town before a furious mob boss catches up to him. He’s just got one errand to complete on Christmas Eve before he takes a powder. FREE performances at 7:30 for two nights only. A donation jar is in the lobby.

Mystery Theater • Nov. 12-13

Mystery Theater returns for two performances only, Fri. & Sat. Nov. 12-13 in the Cheek Theatre at Rockford University. Performed as if it were a vintage 1940s radio broadcast, Mystery Theater is a pay-what-you-can event. Episode One: A tough lady detective is in a bind when her client is murdered and there are too many clues. Episode Two: A crime reporter finds himself in a hilarious bind when a beautiful blonde hires him to uncover the secrets of a haunted castle.