From suburbs to city: Theater artists light up Chicago stages

One thing about the suburbs, they're brimming with talent. Many theater artists who got their start in the suburbs make their professional homes in Chicago storefronts. We introduce you to three of them:

Mary Williamson

Mary Williamson has a particular set of skills.

An actor and visual artist, the Crystal Lake native also designs gore. That's right, gore: the gruesome byproduct of a violent confrontation.

A self-described horror movie buff with a flair for making things with her hands, Williamson took undergraduate courses in makeup design at DePaul University in Chicago but learned to create gore mostly on her own. A member of The Inconvenience, Williamson designed the splatter for that company's 2011 revival of "The Earl," Brett Neveu's play about the violent relationship between three brothers. In 2013, she designed "all the gross stuff" for The Hypocrites' "Sophocles: Seven Sicknesses," Sean Graney's adaptation of Sophocles' seven surviving plays.

But Williamson is an actor first and foremost. She returned to The Hypocrites to play Olga, the oldest of Anton Chekhov's "Three Sisters," in a revival adapted and directed by Geoff Button.

The play, she says, is about making the wrong decisions.

"Everybody can relate to that," said Williamson, 29. "You get an opportunity and you don't take that opportunity. You make that decision that stops you from taking the opportunity."

In hindsight, Williamson made the decision that would set her professional course when she signed up for her kindergarten talent show.

More school productions, summer theater and community theater followed, capped off by an application to DePaul's theater school. Among 52 students admitted from a pool numbering hundreds of applicants, she also survived a cut after freshman year that eliminated half the acting students. Through it all she had the support of her family, including her mother and sister (both artists) and her father and brother (both teachers).

"They knew they couldn't stop me," said Williamson. who also works as a voice-over actor.

After college, she moved into a loft with a group of artists who formed The Inconvenience.

"We started doing shows there, throwing rock concerts and dance shows, small theater festivals," said Williamson, who compared the experience to graduate school. "It was a crash course in making art the way you want to, on your own."

Their mission, she says, was "to make art in a community, for a community." Seven years later, they're still at it and Williamson couldn't be happier.

"I can't say enough how lucky I am," she said.

• "Three Sisters" runs through June 6 at The Den Theatre, 1329 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. See the-hypocrites.com.

Bryan Bosque

There are certain roles for which Bryan Bosque can count on getting an audition.

"I will always be invited to audition for urban youth or a specifically Asian role. And it's great I can depend on that," said Bosque, who is Filipino and a native of Glendale Heights. "But I feel more and more we're making progress in opening up opportunities in nontraditional casting."

A member of The Chicago Inclusion Project, a collective that promotes diversity in Chicago theater, he'll participate in a staged reading of William Saroyan's "The Time of Your Life" on June 1 at Victory Gardens Theater. Currently, the Ruckus Theatre and Barrel of Monkeys ensemble member is playing multiple roles in Shattered Globe Theatre's "The Grown-Up," directed by Krissy Vanderwarker.

He's come a long way from Glenbard North High School, where he starred in "The King and I" his sophomore year, the result of a childhood spent attending dinner theater, including Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, with his parents and sister. Playing the role lured him from math and science to the performing arts.

"It became my focus," said Bosque, 30, who majored in theater at College of DuPage before finding his niche in the city's vibrant storefront scene.

"I've seen the value of the risks that can be taken in storefront theater in terms of (taking on) nontraditional roles I normally wouldn't be invited to audition for," he said.

That's what excites him about Chicago theater and what keeps him here.

"I can stretch all of my muscles within the Chicago theater scene. There's so much improv and physical theater happening here," he said. "There's so much I've been able to see ... so many opportunities to perform."

• "The Grown-Up" runs through May 23 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150 or shatteredglobe.org.

Max DeTogne

Acting is in Max DeTogne's blood.

Both his parents graduated from Northern Illinois University with degrees in theater. One sister is an actress in New York City. Another teaches voice. His mom founded Setting the Stage Children's Theater where a then 4-year-old DeTogne made his stage debut as Toto in "The Wizard of Oz."

"At summer camp I barked like a dog for two weeks," said the Arlington Heights native, who performed with his mom's company, in school productions and in community theater alongside his dad.

"Any opportunity to perform, I took it," he says.

The John Hersey High School graduate went on to study theater and speech communications at Naperville's North Central College.

Playing Jesus in an NCC production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar" proved prophetic. Two years after graduating, DeTogne landed the role again in Theo Ubique Cabaret Theater's acoustic and oft-extended revival, which also marked his Chicago professional debut.

"Working with Fred (Anzevino, the director) and Jeremy (Ramey, the music director) has been a wonderful experience," DeTogne said, adding that the emphasis has always been on singing the show as colorfully and as prettily as possible. "It's a lot more intense than NCC ... this is a whole different monster to tackle.

"It's such a treat to play every night. It never gets old," he said. "The more we run the show, the more little nuances we find."

Although DeTogne hopes to join his sister in New York some day, he's in no hurry. For now, he happily works in the city he loves.

"Any opportunity I have to learn and grow as a performer is great," he said.

• "Jesus Christ Superstar" runs through May 17 at No Exit Cafe, 6970 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. (773) 347-1109 or theoubique.com.