Eclectic Full Contact Theatre founders to be featured on 'It's Showtime with Rikki Lee' Feb. 5
On Friday, Feb. 5, the episode of the radio show “It's Showtime with Rikki Lee” will feature an interview with two of the founding members of critically acclaimed Chicago theater company Eclectic Full Contact Theatre. Host Rikki Lee Travolta will be joined by Eclectic's artistic director Andrew Pond and casting director Jessica Lauren Fisher, both founding members.
“It's Showtime with Rikki Lee” is a weekly talk show focusing on stage, film, television, and music. It airs at 3 p.m. Central every Friday on 101.5 FM out of the Chicago suburb of Huntley. Those outside the broadcast range can easily listen via streaming by going to www.HuntleyRadio.com and selecting the “Listen Live” icon.
During the Feb. 5 interview, Pond and Fisher will field questions about the origins of the company that is now in its ninth season, how it got its name, past successes, and the bold new direction Eclectic Full Contact Theatre is taking, embracing audio dramas in the face of a pandemic that prohibits conventional live theater.
“I am always impressed when a theater company can reinvent itself to adapt to the times,” states Travolta. “Eclectic Full Contact Theatre has commanded respect from audiences from its infancy to today. This new chapter should prove to be another success for them.”
First out of the gate for Eclectic's audio entertainment podcasts is the “Half Hour Audio Hour,” a monthly anthology series featuring a different audio drama released on the second Sunday of every month. The podcast series focuses on the work of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ playwrights and is available on all major podcast sites.
Playing through Feb. 13 under the “Half Hour Audio Hour” umbrella is “Breakz” by Cris Eli Blak and directed by Christopher Sylvie. “Breakz” is about a rapper with mainstream popularity who deals with the repercussions of a public statement he made following the police shooting of an unarmed black man.
“Eclectic Full Contact Theatre is theatre run by people who love to create,” praises Travolta. “One of the greatest things about the Chicago theater community is the tenacity of its members. With their ‘whatever it takes' attitude, Eclectic Full Contact Theatre is destined to shine.”
For more information on Eclectic Full Contact Theatre, visit www.electric-theatre.com.
“It's Showtime with Rikki Lee” has been on the air on WHRU-LP since 2016. Originally conceived as a whimsical look at Broadway musicals, over the years the format has evolved to its present interview-based look at all things entertainment.
Long before he ever started in radio, Travolta originally came to Chicago in the 1990s as the first special guest star in the environmental theater hit “Tony n' Tina's Wedding.” After redefining the role of Tony and reviving ticket sales in Chicago, he branched out to boost ticket sales in other productions across the country. In addition to his stage credits, Travolta's film credits include “The Lurker,” “Old Advice from a Dead Friend,” “Fear Frenzy!,” “Crime Fiction,” and “Vampirus.” He also played a recurring character on the 2017 series “Upstaged.”
Past episodes of It's Showtime with Rikki Lee are available to listen to as podcasts at huntleyradio.com/hcr/its-showtime-with-rikki-lee/.