Today we’d like to introduce you to Neha Chawla.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Neha. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The company got started because I didn’t land my audition for some of the other theatre companies at DePaul. So, I decided to start my own. I love farcical theatre and sketch, so I made those the two areas of comedy the company focuses on. We started in January 2017 and our first show was held at the Second City this past June. We’re planning on holding auditions for our next play within the next few weeks and the show will be up and running by mid-March!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
A smooth road? Absolutely not. As founder and director of the company, I had to relearn a lot of things I thought I already knew about running a play. I had to buy my own play rights (which aren’t cheap!) for the first time. I had to find a way to engage my actors and earn a level of respect from them that they would normally have for a director who’d be much older. Since our show in June was our first ever, we did not have a lot of members participating in GMTC at that time. So, I had to handle duties that the tech and stage managers would have usually dealt with.
At one point, the entire first cast quit the show a little less than a month before opening weekend at the Second City. Honestly, I was thinking about dropping the show altogether because I thought it would be impossible to start the show from scratch with such a small timeframe. But, I realized that the actors don’t decide if the show will happen or not, the director does. I recast the entire show in a week and the new actors learned their lines in the remaining time we had. Although we had little time to recover, I was very impressed with how quickly the new cast memorized their dialogue and fell into their roles. I’m grateful that the second cast was just as committed to the performance as I was. It was a lot of hard work, but seeing the show finally make it to the stage was definitely worth it.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Grease Monkey Theatre Co. – what should we know?
We are a theatre company at DePaul University. We specialize in farcical plays and sketch. Although, we have not had much activity in the “sketch” area of our company. I’m still looking for a fellow director who can help out with writing and casting the sketches. I have more experience with theatre, so I direct the plays for GMTC.
We’ve only had one show so far and that was held in June. Even though it’s the only one we’ve done so far, I’m really proud that it was at the Second City. It’s a great starting venue and I hope we continue to hold more shows there. While I’m still at DePaul, I’d like for the company to expand and perform at other comedy venues too!
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I’d like to thank the producers at Second City for letting GMTC perform at their venue. I want to thank Anna Marck and Shelley DeHosse for remaining dedicated to the company until the very last performance. I am forever grateful to my parents for giving me the opportunity to study in Chicago and to do the things I couldn’t do in the suburbs of Maryland. Finally, I want to thank my good friend, Timmy Roesler, for his never-ending support and for helping me out when everything hit rock bottom.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2250 N Sheffield Ave,
Chicago, IL 60614 - Email: nchawla783@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gmtheatreco/
Image Credit:
Neha Chawla, Sameer Chawla
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
