Mount Shasta |
In just two days, we're brought in $830, putting us 11% of the way to our goal, and just $170 shy of the new "Breakneck Julius Caesar" costume!
Back to the tour!
Utah, heading into Wyoming... |
(Which, of course,
begs the question, “On a scale of…?”)
Hanging with the Prez |
The very next day, I
had a show at “BardFest,” just north of Indianapolis. They were hosting three
fully-mounted Shakespeare performances, and brought me in as a teaser, leading
in to the festival with early evening performances of “Lot o’ Shakespeare” and
“Breakneck Hamlet.” Attendance was very light for both shows, but one of the
teachers from Indy’s Herron High School was there to see “Breakneck Hamlet,”
and immediately confirmed that she wanted to book me at her school on my very
next pass through town! (Also present was my friend, Sandi Palombi, who
generously volunteered to underwrite that event!)
Bar Banners! |
I was off to
Altoona, Pennsylvania, for another tavern show at McGarvey’s Bar! The owner was
a former theatre major from way-back-when, and is trying to nurture a
theatrical clientele, to replace their former punk-rock band vibe. Again, it
was a tiny house, but it’s great to see somebody taking the long view on
embracing the arts.
I had about a week between
shows, and holed up at my friend, Deb’s house in Bloomington, Indiana, to
finally get serious about memorizing “Breakneck Julius Caesar!” After one week
of work, Act I was under my belt!
Somewhere in there,
I got word that I had been cast in the aforementioned “industrial,” which would
be filming, coincidentally, just after Thanksgiving break, when I would be back
in Chicago. (which answered the question of what scale the director was using!) The odds of me being available for both an audition and the filming of any given video are pretty steep.
Name, ahem, above the title... |
I headed back for my
third
visit to Lander University in Greenwood, SC, and this time, their theatre
professor, Monique, had me up on the big stage, with a nice house of perhaps 200
students responding warmly to “Breakneck Hamlet.”
The next day I
headed about 30 minutes south to work with a group of mature community theatre
performers for a day-long workshop (they totally wore me out). By this point, I was
starting to time my departures/arrivals so that I could arrive at my next hotel
(or bar) in time to catch the Cubs in the World Series.
With another week between
performances, I headed down to Orlando to celebrate my birthday with friends. I
picked up where I left off on my memorization process, and got Act II of “Breakneck
Julius Caesar” under my belt (and actually performed the opening act for a
dozen friends on my birthday… somewhere in the middle of answering a ton of “happy
birthday” posts…).
Cub fans, old and new... |
The Cubs won the World
Series…! My friends aren’t big TV watchers, so all we could find was the Spanish
version of the play-by-play. (We tuned in the radio, instead, which gave us the
description on a 50-second delay.) As a life-long Cubs fan, I was astonished
and delighted… that the sun still came up the next day.
Although, six days
later, I might have been happy to trade in that once-in-a-lifetime experience
to reverse another.
After the election,
I posted:
“The good news is that ‘Tartuffe’ and ‘Don Juan’ will be increasingly relevant.
The bad news: so will ‘Richard III’ and ‘Macbeth.’”
“The good news is that ‘Tartuffe’ and ‘Don Juan’ will be increasingly relevant.
The bad news: so will ‘Richard III’ and ‘Macbeth.’”
Arizona sunset |
I pushed west, to Schreiner
University in Kerrville, Texas (which gave me the opportunity to drop in on
cousins Kathy & Larry just outside of San Antonio). I’ve been corresponding
with Schreiner for years, and somehow “Breakneck Hamlet” was the right show at
the right time for them. (There was an annual lecture/event sponsored by some
local folks, who responded with really lovely enthusiasm, and sent me a very
gracious thank you afterwards.)
Westward again... I don't get to southern Arizona very often, but now it seems filled with old friends: I dropped in on former theatre
chair, Al Tucci, playwright William Luce, former student Patti Lahey, and
former Minnesotan, Erika Loen.
And then: back to Idyllwild!
Betty Anderson has
been a great friend for a dozen or more years now, sponsoring a previous
performance at Idyllwild arts (in Southern California), hosting shows in her
living room, and contributing to the “Breakneck Hamlet” campaign. This time I
was back to do another workshop and a performance of “Breakneck Hamlet” to a
full house of about 120 students (which was a blast).
Also, while in
Idyllwild, I got a call from a publisher who was interested in picking up some
of my plays! We’ve signed the contracts for the first two, and soon, “The
Learned Ladies” and “The School for Wives” will be available via “Stage
Rights”!
Name/Title |
Driving through Portland, OR |
I pushed back east
again, visiting my friend Carrie in Coeur d’Alene, and working my way back to
Chicago once again.
My old friend,
Paul Schreiner stumbled across this anonymous post-it note (below) on (somebody else’s)
Moliere script, while hunting around in the prop room!
Note to the wise... |
News came in that I
was “IN” once again at the Edmonton Fringe Festival (where last summer, I sold
out five performances, and got two amazing reviews!)! More news: I am also "IN" at the first ever Tampa Fringe Fest, though not (yet) “IN”
at the Orlando Fringe Festival (which starts several days after Tampa's closes), but I am high on the waiting list!
I dove back into
another e-mail campaign, before swinging south through Carbondale (Hi, Susan
Patrick Benson!), Bloomington (dropping in on their awesome karaoke bar, “Bear’s
Place”) and Indianapolis, where my friend, Sandi had arranged for “Breakneck
Hamlet” at Herron High School. (90 Students! Terrific acoustics! Standing
ovation!)
Somewhere in there,
Act III of Julius Caesar was memorized! (It’s the longest act, but I had one
advantage: Mark Antony’s epic 8-minute “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” speech was
locked away in my memory about 9 years ago when I memorized “Lot o’
Shakespeare”!)
I took one final
swing north through Detroit, dropping off a Christmas present to Isaac (a case of beer, that would have cost just as much to ship as the beer itself), and raced home just ahead of a big snowstorm.
Proud to be a "Michigan Dad" |
With renewed
enthusiasm, I dove into Act IV of “Breakneck Julius Caesar” and, faced with the
need to resolve an upcoming (March) performance at the Southeast Theatre
Conference, I officially switched my submission from "Criteria" to what will be the world premiere of “Breakneck Julius Caesar”! (I find that the more I can challenge
myself with ever encroaching deadlines, the harder I work.)
Charlotte's first Christmas |
By December 25 Act
IV was memorized! And I paused for Christmas, visiting with April, her kids, and
(now) grandkid, Charlotte, before diving back in on the memorization.
I stuck my neck out (even further) on-line, declaring that I would have the rest of the play memorized before the
new year!, And, as George Bernard Shaw would say that “focused my mind” (like a man awaiting hanging in the
morning).
This led me to eat, drink and sleep Julius Caesar for a week, reworking and reworking the ending of the play until I found that this one was going to have a SURPRISE ending! My complete submersion in the logic that holds "Julius Caesar" together took me farther and farther from the typical ending that you see when heavy-hitters like Jason Robards or James Mason play the role of Brutus. I don’t know if the high school teachers are going to hate it or love it, but once I had factored every other piece that led up to it, it was the only ending that made any sense to me. (Spoiler alert: my version is funnier than any other "Julius Caesar" you've probably seen)
This led me to eat, drink and sleep Julius Caesar for a week, reworking and reworking the ending of the play until I found that this one was going to have a SURPRISE ending! My complete submersion in the logic that holds "Julius Caesar" together took me farther and farther from the typical ending that you see when heavy-hitters like Jason Robards or James Mason play the role of Brutus. I don’t know if the high school teachers are going to hate it or love it, but once I had factored every other piece that led up to it, it was the only ending that made any sense to me. (Spoiler alert: my version is funnier than any other "Julius Caesar" you've probably seen)
I paused for a New
Year’s Eve celebration, with “Breakneck Julius Caesar” now fully memorized!
And while I worked
on drilling those lines to get them down under an hour (I've managed it three times so far!),
David C. Jensen was spooling out early drafts of a “BJC” illustration, which he
refined, and refined into something really “splashy.”
At one point, I
hosted a “living room showing” of the new show, and about ten people showed up
to get the first opening peek at the full performance, giving me great feedback.
I had to cut way
back on the Caesar recitals, as it was now time to “wake up” Moliere than Thou”
in my mind (and my mouth), for yet another performance at DePaul university
(where my old friend, Claudia Anderson, is in the theatre department… though,
as previously, it was the French Department bringing me in).
Tim & Claudia, 32 years later! |
The Not for Profit
confirmation finally arrived from the IRS! Given that I was now in the midst of packing for the road, it was now too late to whip together any
kind of a fundraiser, but I
started making plans…! (See Generosity.com Campaign, above…)
Monmouth Hamlet Poster |
“How…?”
Off to the races
once more, stopping in Kansas City on my way to Austin, Texas.
And for the first
time since beginning this ongoing 15-year mega-tour, I GOT THE DATE WRONG! I
drove like crazy to get to Austin in time for a January 23 show at Lake Travis
High School, only to discover that the show had been scheduled for January 24!
(We’d been discussing either Jan 23 or 24, and I hadn’t noticed when the choice
shifted from one to the other!) Fortunately, I had the day off (or I probably
would have been more concerned about whatever performance-day clues I was
overlooking), and did the show the following day to a roaring response of
hilarity from the 200+ students (who were scandalized, and went wild for “Tartuffe!”).
The play concluded with a big standing ovation from the whole group.
The New TMRT Banner! |
With my schedule pushed back a day, I now had no time to revel in the success of one
show, as I had to get myself up to Dallas to perform the very next day… this
time: “Breakneck Hamlet” at St. Mark’s School. We raced through a quick tech
rehearsal, which seemed to be going well, though I was a little distraught to
see lights coming up in the audience’ face at times that didn’t actually have
audience interaction… Even so, my host seemed quite happy with the show,
repeating my favorite phrase-you-can-hear-from-a-host: “making an annual event of this…”
Again, within minutes of the end of this show, I had to race back south once
more, to the Texas Educational Theatre Association conference in Galveston, TX.
I’d attended TETA a couple times in past years as a special guest artist, but this
time there was radio silence from the organizers when I proposed another appearance, and, ultimately, I booked my own table in the exhibit hall.
Even so, this seems
to have been one of my best conferences of late. There were people who
remembered me from previous appearances, people who’d read my book, and loved
it… one girl who reported that she had just quoted me in one of her school
research papers. So, I was mostly feelin’ the love in Texas. (And, I walked
away with a list of about 40 names of people who wanted to be on my
distribution list.)
I zoomed down to Kingsville, visiting with my friend, Michael, who I knew from several Kingsville performances, before pushing on to Laredo, Texas, where I was going to give the first public preview of "Breakneck Julius Caesar." Over the course of the workshop, I'd had no time to rehearse the lines for "BJC," so I was "waking a show back up" that I'd never performed on stage before. I had a scheduled performance of "Breakneck Hamlet" that same night, but I had to trust my ability to "wake up" Hamlet in the several hours between the morning preview and the evening show.
It was an interesting event, with the kids mostly attentive, and particularly excited at all of the audience participation pieces that I had layered in to the show, as they got to respond with "Huzzahs" and cheer back at Mark Antony during "Friends, Romans, Countrymen," and, (spoiler alert!) eventually, stab me with a rubber sword at the end of the play!
And, "Breakneck Hamlet" was also pretty good. One teacher e-mailed me to describe his reaction as "utterly delighted... left me in stitches."
I pressed north, driving in brief stints, writing my blog, organizing the fundraiser, and putting a video together. While you may see the official fundraising video at Generosity.com, you can see my collection of "outtakes," below...
See you on the road!
Love,
Tim
Discoveries: Some of my lightest-attended shows have had some of the most positive impact on my career. * The longer you do this kind of thing, the more that the coincidences seem to pile up in quick succession: chance encounters, people who know the same people, old friends who know other old friends, that by rights, shouldn’t know each other. * If you want to get a project done fast, move up your deadlines. * Sometimes, you have to go with the ending that is staring you in the face, rather than the ending that everyone around you expects.
-->
Temperature: A global-warming high of 60 degrees in Colorado today.I zoomed down to Kingsville, visiting with my friend, Michael, who I knew from several Kingsville performances, before pushing on to Laredo, Texas, where I was going to give the first public preview of "Breakneck Julius Caesar." Over the course of the workshop, I'd had no time to rehearse the lines for "BJC," so I was "waking a show back up" that I'd never performed on stage before. I had a scheduled performance of "Breakneck Hamlet" that same night, but I had to trust my ability to "wake up" Hamlet in the several hours between the morning preview and the evening show.
David C. Jensen's latest! |
And, "Breakneck Hamlet" was also pretty good. One teacher e-mailed me to describe his reaction as "utterly delighted... left me in stitches."
I pressed north, driving in brief stints, writing my blog, organizing the fundraiser, and putting a video together. While you may see the official fundraising video at Generosity.com, you can see my collection of "outtakes," below...
See you on the road!
Love,
Tim
Discoveries: Some of my lightest-attended shows have had some of the most positive impact on my career. * The longer you do this kind of thing, the more that the coincidences seem to pile up in quick succession: chance encounters, people who know the same people, old friends who know other old friends, that by rights, shouldn’t know each other. * If you want to get a project done fast, move up your deadlines. * Sometimes, you have to go with the ending that is staring you in the face, rather than the ending that everyone around you expects.
Miles on Molieremobile #3: 29,000
On the nightstand: Mind Hacking by John Hargrave
On the I-tunes: Anything by Caravan Palace
Next shows: Feb 7, Concordia High School (KS); Feb 8-9, Chadron State College (NE)
Timothy Mooney Repertory
Theatre Tour Schedule
(Already-booked dates in GREEN; Tentative bookings in RED; Probable bookings in BLUE)
MTT = “Moliere than Thou”; LoS = “Lot o’ Shakespeare; GSAT =
“Greatest Speech of All Time;” SH – “Shakespeare’s Histories” BH –
“Breakneck Hamlet”
WINTER /
SPRING 2017
Feb 7: Concordia High School, Concordia, KS (Workshops)
Feb 8-9: Chadron State College, Chadron, NE (MTT & Workshops)
Feb 8-9: Chadron State College, Chadron, NE (MTT & Workshops)
Feb 10-11: KANSAS, NEBRASKA, OKLAHOMA, South/North Dakota
Feb 12: ARKANSAS, LOUISIANA
Feb 14: MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA, GEORGIA
Feb 15-16: New College of Florida, Sarasota, FL
Feb 17: SOUTH / NORTH CAROLINA, VIRGINIA
Feb 18-22: NACA Conference, Baltimore, MD
Feb
22: Rutgers University, New Brunswick,
NJ (Julius Caesar)
Feb
23: College of Wooster (Workshop)
Feb
24: Kenyon College (MTT)
Feb 24-25: PENNSYLVANIA, NEW YORK
Feb 26: PENNSYLVANIA, WEST VIRGINIA
Feb 27: OHIO, WEST VIRGINIA
Feb
28 Urbana University (BH)
Mar 1: KENTUCKY
Mar
2-4: SETC, Lexington, KY (BJC)
Mar 6: INDIANA, MICHIGAN, OHIO
Mar
7: Illinois Wesleyan University,
Bloomington, IL (MTT)
Mar 8: MICHIGAN, OHIO
Mar 9: OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA
Mar 10: Lincoln University, Lincoln, PA
Mar 11-12: NEW YORK, NEW ENGLAND
Mar 12: English Speaking Union (high school
students), Boston, MA
Mar 13-14: NEW ENGLAND
Mar 15: NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY
Mar 16: NEW JERSEY, DELAWARE, MARYLAND, D.C.
Mar 17-19: MARYLAND
Mar 20: VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA
Mar 21: NORTH / SOUTH CAROLINA
Mar 22: SOUTH CAROLINA, FLORIDA
Mar 23-24: FLORIDA
Mar 25: Winthrop
University, Rock Hill, SC (Workshop)
Mar 26: FLORIDA, GEORGIA
Mar 27: Webb
School, Bell Buckle, TN
Mar 28: University
of the Cumberlands, Williamsburg, KY (BH)
Mar
29: Northern Kentucky U, Highland
Heights, KY (MTT)
Mar
30: Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY
(Workshop)
Mar 31: OHIO, MICHIGAN, INDIANA
Apr 1-3: INDIANA, ILLINOIS, WISCONSIN
Apr 4: WISCONSIN, MINNESOTA
Apr 5: IOWA, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI
Apr 6-7: NORTH / SOUTH DAKOTA, NEBRASKA
Apr 8: MONTANA, WYOMING
Apr 9: WYOMING, MONTANA, IDAHO
Apr
10: Moscow High School / U of Idaho,
Moscow, ID
Apr
12: Troutdale High School, Troutdale,
OR
Apr
13: Mount
Hood Community College, Gresham, OR (MTT & BH)
Apr 11-13: WASHINGTON, OREGON
Apr 14-16: CALIFORNIA
Apr
16: Vanden High School, Fairfield, CA
Apr 17: CALIFORNIA, NEVADA
Apr 18: NEVADA, UTAH
Apr 19: UTAH, WYOMING
Apr 20: UTAH, WYOMING, COLORADO
Apr 21: COLORADO, KANSAS, NEBRASKA
Apr 22: KANSAS, NEBRASKA
Apr 23-24: KANSAS, MISSOURI, Texas
Apr 24: Springdale High School, Springdale, AR
Apr 24-28: TEXAS, IOWA, ILLINOIS
SUMMER, 2017
May
11-14 : Tampa Fringe Festival
May
17-28: Orlando Fringe Festival, Orlando, FL
June
5: Chattanooga, TN
June
19-24: International Thespian Festival, Lincoln, NE
June
26-July 1 AACT Festival, Rochester, MN
July
17-18: American Assn of Teachers of
French, St. Louis, MO
July
20-30: Kansas City Fringe Festival, KC,
MO
August
3-6: ATHE Conference, Las Vegas, NV
Aug
4-12: Calgary Fringe Festival, Calgary,
AB
Aug
11-20:Edmonton Fringe Festival, Edmonton, AB
FALL, 2017
Sep 5-10: ILLINOIS
Sep 11: INDIANA, MICHIGAN
Sep 12: MICHIGAN, INDIANA, OHIO
Sep 13: OHIO, KENTUCKY, WEST VIRGINIA
Sep 14: KENTUCKY, WEST VIRGINIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Sep
14-17:EdTA Conference, Nashville, TN
Sep 15-17: PENNSYLVANIA, NEW YORK
Sep 16: NEW YORK, NEW ENGLAND
Sep 19: NEW ENGLAND
Sep
20: Massachusetts College of Liberal
Arts, North Adams, MA (SH)
Sep 21-22: NEW JERSEY, DELAWARE, MARYLAND, D.C.
Sep 23-24: MARYLAND
Sep 25: D.C., VIRGINIA
Sep 26: VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA
Sep 27: NORTH / SOUTH CAROLINA
Seb 28-30: NACA South Conference
Sep 28: SOUTH CAROLINA / GEORGIA
Sep 30-Oct 1: FLORIDA
Oct 2: FLORIDA, GEORGIA, ALABAMA
Oct 3: Tougaloo College, Jackson, MS
Oct 4: LOUISIANA, TEXAS
Oct 5: Southeast Oklahoma State U, Ada, OK
Oct 6: Richardson High School, Richardson, TX
Oct 7: AWTY International School, Houston, TX
Oct 8: NEW MEXICO, ARIZONA, NEVADA
Oct 9: Cupertino High School, Cupertino, CA
Oct 10: CALIFORNIA
Oct 11: CALIFORNIA, OREGON
Oct 12: CALIFORNIA, OREGON, WASHINGTON
Oct 12-14: Rocky Mountain Modern Language Assn,
Spokane, WA
Oct 13: OREGON, WASHINGTON
Oct 14-15: WASHINGTON, IDAHO
Oct 16: IDAHO, MONTANA
Oct 17-18: MONTANA, NORTH / SOUTH DAKOTA
Oct 19-21: NACA Central Conference
Oct 19: MINNESOTA
Oct 20: MINNESOTA, WISCONSIN
Oct 21: WISCONSIN, ILLINOIS
Oct 22: ILLINOIS
Oct 23: ILLINOIS, INDIANA
Oct 24: INDIANA, KENTUCKY
Oct 25: KENTUCKY, TENNESSEE
Oct 26-28: NACA Mid-America Conference
Oct 26: TENNESSEE, ARKANSAS
Oct 27: ARKANSAS, OKLAHOMA, MISSOURI
Oct 28: OKLAHOMA, MISSOURI, OKLAHOMA
Oct 29: MISSOURI, KANSAS
Oct 30: KANSAS, COLORADO
Oct 31: COLORADO, UTAH
Nov 1: UTAH, NEVADA
Nov 2: NEVADA, IDAHO
Nov 3: IDAHO, WYOMING
Nov 4-5: COLORADO, NEBRASKA
Nov 6: Iowa Wesleyan University
Nov 7: MINNESOTA, IOWA, MISSOURI
Nov 8: MINNESOTA, WISCONSIN, ILLINOIS
Nov 9: ILLINOIS, INDIANA
Nov 10: MICHIGAN, INDIANA
Nov 11: WEST VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA
Nov 12: VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA
Nov 13: NORTH / SOUTH CAROLINA
Nov 14: SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA
Nov
15: Marietta Senior Center, Marietta
Georgia
Nov 16: TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY
Nov 17: INDIANA, ILLINOIS
Nov 18-22: ILLINOIS
WINTER/SPRING
2018
January 5-9: APAP Conference, NYC
January 5-8: MLA Conference,
Philadelphia
Jan 10-Mar 3: OPEN FOR RESIDENCY
Feb 17-21: NACA Conference
Mar 7-10: SETC, Mobile, AL
Mar 11-12: FLORIDA
Mar 13: FLORIDA, GEORGIA
Mar 14: GEORGIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
Mar 15: SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, ALABAMA
Mar 16: ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI
Mar 17-18: LOUISIANA
Mar 19: LOUISIANA, TEXAS
Mar 20: TEXAS, OKLAHOMA
Mar 21: TEXAS, NEW MEXICO
Mar 22: NEW MEXICO, ARIZONA
Mar 23: ARIZONA, NEVADA, CALIFORNIA
Mar 24-25: CALIFORNIA
Mar 26: CALIFORNIA, NEVADA
Mar 27: CALIFORNIA, OREGON
Mar 28: OREGON, WASHINGTON
Mar 29: WASHINGTON, IDAHO
Mar 30-31: IDAHO, MONTANA
Apr 1: Easter
Apr 2: MONTANA, WYOMING, UTAH
Apr 3: NORTH / SOUTH DAKOTA, NEBRASKA, WYOMING
Apr 4: MINNESOTA, IOWA
Apr 5: MINNESOTA, IOWA, WISCONSIN
Apr 6: WISCONSIN, ILLINOIS
Apr 7-8: ILLINOIS
Apr 9: ILLINOIS, INDIANA
Apr 10: INDIANA, MICHIGAN
Apr 11: MICHIGAN, OHIO
Apr 12: OHIO, WEST VIRGINIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Apr 13: PENNSYLVANIA, NEW YORK
Apr 14: NEW YORK, NEW ENGLAND
Apr 15-16: NEW ENGLAND
Apr
17: Blair Academy, Blairstown, NJ
Apr 18: NEW JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA, MARYLAND, DELAWARE, D.C.
Apr
19-20: Geneva College, Geneva, PA
Apr 19: WEST VIRGINIA, MARYLAND, DELAWARE, D.C.
Apr 20: NORTH CAROLINA, VIRGINIA
Apr 21-22: MARYLAND
Apr 23: VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA
Apr 24: NORTH / SOUTH CAROLINA
Apr 25: SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA
Apr 26: GEORGIA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY
Apr 27: TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY
Apr 28: KENTUCKY, ARKANSAS, MISSOURI
Apr 29: MISSOURI
Apr 30: MISSOURI, KANSAS
May 1: KANSAS, COLORADO
May 2: COLORADO, UTAH
May 3: COLORADO, NEBRASKA
May
4: Northwestern College, Orange
City, IA
May 5-6: MINNESOTA
May 7: MINNESOTA, IOWA, WISCONSIN
May 8: WISCONSIN, ILLINOIS
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May 9-11: ILLINOIS
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