Ada and the Engine

Ada and the Engine by Lauren Gunderson
(Chicago Premiere)

Scenic and Props Design – Eleanor Kahn
Costume Design – Zach Wagner
Lighting Design – Cat Wilson
Sound Design/Composition – Petter Wahlback
Waltz Choreography – Matt Orlando
Assistant Director – Kayla Adams

Featuring: Laura Coleman, Brookelyn Hebert, Rich Holton, Carolyn Kruse, John LaFlamboy, and John Mossman.

Produced by the Artistic Home, Chicago (June 2019) – JEFF AWARD WINNER for Performer in a Principal Role – Brookelyn Hebert as Ada Byron Lovelace

Press:

“Directed with heat and clarity by Monica Payne, the in-the-round production unfolds in an ingenious modern environment of sharply angled neon tubes devised by Eleanor Kahn and Cat Wilson, with handsome period costumes by Zachery Wagner. And this juxtaposition of eras cleverly suggests the insightful past, present and future envisioned by Lovelace (as does the play’s haunting final scene that should not be disclosed here).” – Hedy Weiss, WTTW

“Director Payne does a stunning job of staging Gunderson’s inventive history; it’s a love story about numbers and logic as well as about people.” – Nancy Bishop, Third Coast Review

“…one reason why we are absolutely captivated from beginning to end is because the actors all are top shelf, with perfect but easy to understand accents, and the direction by Monica Payne is tight down to seconds.” – Amy Munice, Picture This Post

“Director Monica Payne, working on a futuristic set by Eleanor Khan that is beautifully lit by Cat Wilson, keeps the action (such as it is in this fairly static play) moving along.” – Karen Topham, ChicagoOnstage.com