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Tickets

Improv. Opera. Nuff said.

Take six cups of opera singers, mix with three tablespoons each of recitative, aria, and chorus.  Season with audience suggestions as desired.  Allow to marinate for twelve weeks.  Bake for seventy minutes and serve hot.  Feeds forty.

Op*erratic is a fully unscripted operatic improv spectacle, where the plot, music, and mayhem are created in real time. Armed with classical voices and a flair for the absurd, our cast transforms audience suggestions into spontaneous stories full of soaring arias, tragic misunderstandings, and unexpected finales.

It’s one part opera, one part improv, and all parts hilarious. No script, no safety net — just high notes and higher stakes.

After a sold-out summer run, Op*erratic returns to the stage this fall.

The show starts at 7.30 pm with a set of short-form improv games, followed by a fully-improvised thirty-minute opera.  (Doors open at 5 pm.)

While the content of the show changes every week, the show’s material is consistently rated PG-13 (but, like, ’80s PG-13), and is intended for audiences in high school and above.

Venue

Borelli’s Pizzeria
2124 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago
Full menu and bar available
$15 suggested donation at the door; no advance ticket sales

This venue is fully accessible.

Transportation

CTA El: Damen Brown Line
CTA Bus: 50 Damen, 81 Lawrence
Divvy Bike
Metered street parking

The Op*erratic title was developed by Rachel Girty, and the logo designed by Molly Clementz.

Special thanks to creative consultants Karl Bradley, Nic Castoro, and Jen Connor.

This project is supported, in part, by grants from the Chicago chapter of the Awesome Foundation, and the Alumnae of Northwestern University.

Run Time
75 min  /
Tickets
$15
  /
Cash Bar
Cash Bar

Cast

Each show features six improvisers, taken from our roster of artists (listed alphabetically, below).

Improviser

Alannah Spencer

Alannah Spencer

Improviser

Alannah Spencer is a Chicago singer equally at home in solo, choral, and chamber repertoire. Recent operatic credits include Marie/Marietta (Die tote Stadt) with Chicago City Opera; Tooty Fruity (Beauty and the Beast) with Opera for the Young; and Barbarina/Contessa cover (Le nozze di Figaro) with Madison Opera. Alannah sings with the choruses of the Chicago Symphony, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Grant Park Music Festival, and with Consonance. She is the current Vocal Fellow with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago and will debut her solo recital Waiting and Weaving with CAIC in November 2026. When not singing Alannah works in public relations for arts and non-profit organizations. In her free time she enjoys reading, playing D&D, and attempting to craft the perfect cheese plate.

Improviser

Allison Mann

Allison Mann

Improviser

Soprano Allison Mann hails from small-town Red Oak, IA. Known for her multi-
dimensional vocal prowess, her repertoire spans everything from Handel to Holiday
(Billie, of course), Mozart to Menken, and Gershwin to Grant. This season, she makes
her debut with the Chicago Symphony Chorus for Verdi’s Requiem Mass. Recent
Credits include: Featured Ensemble for The Hunchback of Notre Dame in Concert with the
Highland Park Players and Isabel in The Pirates of Penzance Sing-Along with Great Lakes
Operetta. Other Professional Credits include: Dodo/Valencienne u/s in The Merry
Widow (Loveland Opera Theatre) and Annina/La traviata (Opera Classica Europa).
Allison also serves as the Music Director of Edgewater Presbyterian Church. She
holds degrees in Vocal Performance from Nebraska Wesleyan University (B.M.) and
the University of Northern Colorado (M.M.)

Improviser

E Rudolph

E Rudolph

Improviser

E Rudolph holds bachelor’s degrees in vocal performance and music composition from St. Olaf College, where they sang in the world-renowned St. Olaf Choir. Rudolph then attended Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of the Performing Arts for Opera Performance, and was a finalist in CCPA’s annual concerto competition. Rudolph attended the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria where they were a semi-finalist in the AIMS 2010 Meistersinger competition. They have served as a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and is a current member of several Chicago-local vocal groups. Rudolph is also a composer and many of their compositions have been performed or recorded.

Improviser

Evita Trembley

Evita Trembley

Improviser

Mezzo-soprano Evita Trembley holds a Master of Music in Voice Performance and has been described as “possessing [a] strong and beautiful voice.” She has performed the roles of Vera Boronel in The Consul, Ma Dowling in Patience and Sarah, Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana, Arnalta in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Eva in Comedy on the Bridge, Third Spirit in Die Zauberflöte, Kate in Madame Butterfly, and Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance. Currently, Evita owns and operates Ravenswood Music Academy and performs throughout the Chicagoland area. She is thrilled to be making her debut with Chicago Fringe Opera as an Opera Improviser.

Improviser

Gabrielle Goudard

Gabrielle Goudard

Improviser

French born soprano, Gabrielle Goudard is a multidisciplinary artist with operatic credits including Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte, Beirut, Lebanon), Despina (Cosi fan tutte, Rome, Italy), Paoluccia (La Cecchina, Rome, Italy), Zerlina (Don Giovanni, Lima, Peru) Gianetta (L’Elisir d’Amore, Stavanger, Norway), Lola (Cavalleria Rusticana, Palermo, Sicily), Suor Infermiera (Suor Angelica, Palermo, Sicily), Cherubino (Three Little Pigs feat. music by W.A. Mozart, Chicago, IL), The Princess (L’enfant et les sortilèges), and soon Nella (Gianni Schicchi, Chicago, IL).

She participated in Opera Laboratorio di Roma Sinfonietta in 2017 a professional training program for talented young artists in Italy.

Her training and experience includes in-depth work with choreographers and stage directors, allowed by her long time practice of theatre and dance since she was a child.

Throughout her path, she has committed to sing music of living composers in various settings from melodies to chamber music, choir and orchestra pieces or pieces including electro acoustic elements like Et verbum caro, cantata by Gregorutti, 2011; Wind songs, by Nils Henrik Asheim, 2005;  including world premieres like Aliments Blancs, Lior Eytan, 2016 and Wild Geese, Elider DiPaula, 2024.

In the Chicago area she is a soloist, section leader and ensemble member for companies such as the Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, Consonance (Chicago Choral Artists), Chicago Summer Opera, The Savoyaires, Lira Ensemble, Sinfonietta Bel Canto or Lincoln Chamber Orchestra.

She has sung recitals of XXth century French composers, Russian composers and original music by and with Elider DiPaula as an artist in residence for Project 88 in Berwyn Illinois.

Gabrielle is also a jazz band leader, percussionist with extensive experience in non-western traditional music and a music educator.

Improviser

Grace Zieman

Grace Zieman

Improviser

Grace Zieman is excited to make her Chicago Opera Fringe debut with Op*erratic. She holds a dual bachelor’s degree in Architectural Studies and Music from the University of Illinois Chicago, and is pursuing her Master of Music in Vocal Performance at North Park University Chicago. She has performed in both Musical theater and operatic roles, such as Jan-the-unnamed from Kotis & Hollman’s Yeast Nation, Servilia in Mozart’s La Clemenza Di Tito, and Mr. Black in Murder On The Titanic.

Improviser

Isabel Schmitz

Isabel Schmitz

Improviser

Isabel Schmitz (she/her), graduated from UChicago with a degree in Music and Human Development. She has sung with Consonance (Chicago Choral Artists), and recent credits include ensemble and Celia understudy in Iolanthe (The Savoyaires), the vocal quartet in Murder in the Cathedral at City Lit Theater, Ensemble in The Gondoliers (The Savoyaires), Zweite Knabe in Die Zauberflöte and Despina role study in Così fan tutte (BOA), Ensemble in HMS Pinafore (Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company), Chorus in Suor Angelica (Music on Site), Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro (AAMA Salzburg). Isabel also teaches voice and piano, and has worked as a vocal director for several UChicago student theater productions.

Improviser

Jonathan Cortez

Jonathan Cortez

Improviser

“A shining element…” Jonathan is excited to join Chicago Fringe Opera with its premiere improv team OP*ERRATIC! Jonathan received his degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He has recently been seen at South Shore Opera, previewing new works for their season, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Sister Act the musical as Curtis, Ensemble in Legally Blonde and in Humperdinck’s Hansel Und Gretel. Other credits include Young Artist Programs across the state in the chorus of Puccini’s La Rondine and Verdi’s Ernani, Leporello in Don Giovanni, and Fasolt in Das Rheingold. Jonathan also sings with the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus, and Chicago Choral Artists singing around the greater Chicago area, most recently as Judas and Pontifex in Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion.

Improviser

Molly Clementz

Molly Clementz

Improviser

Described by Opera Today as possessing a “wonderfully rich tone, gleaming top notes, and a vibrant lower register,” mezzo-soprano Molly Clementz brings versatility and depth to both classical and contemporary repertoire. She has performed nationally and across Europe, with companies including Pacific Opera Project, Opera Santa Barbara, and Chicago City Opera. A former Mosher Studio Artist, her roles include Mercédès (Carmen), La Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi), and Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro). In the realm of new music, she has premiered works by Paul Scherer, Joseph Turrin, and Jeremy Gill. Based in Chicago, Molly is a standing company member with the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company and the Lira Ensemble, artist-in-residence at Loyola University. She recently appeared as the alto soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and will reprise one of her favorite roles, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, this summer with Chicago City Opera.

Improviser

Kat Dalin

Kat Dalin

Improviser

Katherine Dalin has been hailed for her “exuberance” onstage, with credits ranging from musical theatre to opera to straight theatre and cabaret. Her favorite roles have included: Sara Jane Moore in Assassins, Maria in Twelfth Night, Zita in Gianni Schicchi and her signature role: Ruth in Pirates of Penzance. During 2020, her group BYO Shakespeare gathered online to read the entirety of the Bard’s work, both casually and in online performances. When not onstage, she enjoys teaching music and theatre to students of all ages and battling her husband and friends in board games and RPGs.

Improviser

Katrina Dubbs

Katrina Dubbs

Improviser

Katrina Dubbs has performed with several ensembles in Chicago, including Grant Park Music Festival, Music of the Baroque, and as a chorus member with Opera Festival of Chicago. In addition to her singing engagements, Katrina teaches with Music of the Baroque’s Strong Voices program. Before moving to Chicago, Katrina enjoyed singing in Los Angeles, where she completed her graduate studies at California State University, Northridge. Previous roles include Mrs. Nolan in The Medium, Lel in The Snow Maiden (Snegurochka), and Amastre in Serse.

Improviser

Lauren Ingebrigtsen

Lauren Ingebrigtsen

Improviser

Mezzo-soprano Lauren Ingebrigtsen graduated in May of 2019 from Millikin University with a Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance and minor in theatre. While there, she was the recipient of the Dr. Maria Klott Memorial Award for Achievement in Theatre and Music as well as the Mary B. Merris Award for Outstanding Voice Student. She also performed as Baba in Millikin Opera Theatre’s 2019 production of Menotti’s The Medium and was a member of the Math Club Improv Troupe. She has also sung Soeur Mathilde in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites as part of La Musica Lirica’s Young Artisit Program in Novafeltria, Italy in 2018, and has performed as Hippolyta in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival in 2019. As a member of Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity for women, she received first place in the Decatur Alumni Chapter’s Performance Scholarship Competition, as well as the Chapter Leadership Award. She is thrilled to be making her professional operatic debut with Chicago Fringe.

Improviser

Marie Sauze

Marie Sauze

Improviser

Marie Sauze is a French soprano whose versatile performances span opera, musical theater, and folk music across Europe and the United States. A graduate of Luther College and Paris’s Cours Florent theater program, she has portrayed roles including Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and Fantine in Les Misérables. She is also a Core Artist with QueerPOPERA, a company highlighting LGBTQ+ stories through opera. As half of the French-American folk duo The Maidans, she and her wife, Aidan Spencer, create genre-blending music inspired by folk, opera, and musical theater traditions. When not performing, Marie teaches music and supports choral organizations as a communications specialist. She also enjoys reading, photography, writing, and making comics.

Improviser

Rachel Girty

Improviser

Raji Venkat

Raji Venkat

Improviser

Raji Venkat, an Indian-American soprano from Atlanta, has recently performed in Sinfonietta Bel Canto’s production of Hansel and Gretel, Metropolis Theatre’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and took on the roles of Papagena in The Magic Flute at the Hawaii  Performing Arts Festival, Sophie in Werther, and Addie in The House Without a Christmas Tree, which premiered at William Jewell College.

Ms. Venkat holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from The New England  Conservatory in Boston, MA. Her artistry spans across classical music, Opera, and Jazz,  while also deeply embracing Bharatanatyam (South Indian classical dance) and Carnatic  music (South Indian classical vocal music), both of which she has been learning for 24 years and teaching for 12 years. She continues to find innovative ways to integrate these traditions into her  performances.

A trailblazer within the South Asian community, Ms. Venkat was honored as part of  Atlanta’s South Asian Empowered Women’s 2020 calendar, Saris to Suits. She has also  received numerous accolades, including winning Augusta University’s Concerto  Competition and received the Lucie C. Ruzieka Award. She has been a consistent finalist in  the Southeastern Regional NATS as well as National NATS.

Most recently, she placed 1st in the Kings Peak International Music Competition, 2nd in the Marker and Pioneer International Music Competition, and 3rd in the Medici International  Music Competition.

Improviser

SarahAnn Sutter

SarahAnn Sutter

Improviser

SarahAnn Sutter holds business degrees from the University of North Texas, where she also studied voice, conducting, operatic acting, and opera directing. She has trained in long-form improv at iOTheatre, acting and stage direction with Remy Bumppo Theatre, and multiple dance forms, including flamenco with Ensemble Español and in Sevilla, Spain. Selected credits – Opera: Amahl and the Night Visitors (Mother), Hänsel und Gretel (Hänsel, Hexe), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Berta), Carmen (Frasquita); Musical Theatre: Hello, Dolly! (Irene), The Sound of Music (Elsa), Nine (Mama Maddalena); Plays: Rumors (Cookie), Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Hermia); Dance: opening numbers for Bollywood legends Sonu Nigam and Govinda. SarahAnn has worked with Definition Theatre, Thompson Street Opera Company, The Savoyaires, and Victorian Lyric Opera Company. SarahAnn is especially  passionate about operetta: she has performed in 12+ Gilbert & Sullivan productions, is a Company Member of the Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, and is Artistic Director of Great Lakes Operetta.

Improviser

Stan DeCwikiel

Stan DeCwikiel

Improviser

Stan DeCwikiel is a lifelong Chicagoan, who first was caught performing Rhinestone Cowboy at the age of seven, and was subsequently punished by being recorded (lost, thankfully). Alas, he did not learn the lesson, and sang at church and school until making the unfortunate decision to study music at DePaul (not DePauw or Constantinople).

Stan has sung a number of roles such as Canio (loser), Pinkerton (loser), Jenik (lovable loser), and El Piraguero (shaved ice guy). He claims to play guitar, drums, and a little piano. He is ecstatic to have studied in Fringe’s initial Opera Improv program, and hopes you enjoy the rotting fruits of the team’s labor.

Stan’s comedy influences range from Monty Python and SNL, to standup comedians galore, and to the masters of musical comedy such as Tom Lehrer, Weird Al Yankovich, Mark Russell, and Modest Mussorgsky. Sit back, relax, and please, as always… no wagering.

Artistic Team

Creator
George Cederquist

George Cederquist

Creator

George is the Producing Artistic Director of Chicago Fringe Opera.  In addition, George has directed new productions and scenes with Opera Festival of Chicago, Chicago Dramatists, the Chicago Sinfonietta, Pittsburgh Opera, the Bay View Music Festival, Chicago Folks Operetta, Wolf Trap Opera, and Chautauqua Opera.

Digital opera shorts include ‘Telekinetik’ for Catapult Opera, later screened at the 2025 Prototype Festival, and called “a place where David Lynch would have felt right at home” by the New York Times.

An inspiring mentor, George is the Theatre Department Chair and Artistic Director of Opera at North Park University.  He also teaches at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, and has taught at DePaul University and Roosevelt University/CCPA.

Now in its tenth season, George is the executive producer of ‘Opera Box Score’, America’s Talk Radio Show About Opera, heard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and WNUR 89.3 FM Chicago.

George is the recipient of a National Opera Association award, a Best Music Video Award at the Aladerri International Film Festival, two American Prizes in Directing, Opera America’s 2013 Director-Designer competition award, and the German Chancellor Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

George’s training includes residencies with Pittsburgh Opera, the Merola Opera Program, the Staatstheater Darmstadt, and Wolf Trap Opera, and three improvisation intensives at the Annoyance Theatre.  He holds an MFA in Directing from Northwestern and a BA in Theatre Studies and English from Yale.  George is a member of Steep Theatre Company and the American Guild of Musical Artists, and is a dual US-UK citizen.

George lives with his wife, their two children, their cat, and their five chickens.

He proudly uses zero social media platforms.

Music Director & Pianist
Brian Rasmussen

Brian Rasmussen

Music Director & Pianist

Brian Rasmussen (he/him) is thrilled to make his debut with Chicago Fringe Opera. A versatile artist, Rasmussen is an active presence in the Chicago arts scene as a singer, actor, pianist, music director, and composer. Most recently, he served as composer and music director for the critically acclaimed Twihard: A Twilight Musical Parody at Otherworld Theatre. His original score for Twihard has received widespread praise from audiences and critics alike, including the Chicago Tribune, which described the music as “gorgeous” and noted that it “soars in a way you’d expect from a Broadway musical number.”

In addition to his work as a composer, Rasmussen enjoys a flourishing career as an opera singer. He most recently appeared in the world premiere of Wet Dirt with Thompson Street Opera Company. His other operatic roles include Sir Joseph in HMS Pinafore, Bastien in Bastien und Bastienne, Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, and Ensemble in Die Katrin among others.

Rasmussen is also excited to bring his improvisational experience to the opera field. As an improv pianist, he has performed extensively across Chicago, including engagements with Otherworld Theatre and iO Theater.

Associate Director
Alex Salas

Alex Salas

Associate Director

Alex Salas is a Chicago based soprano with a focus on new works. Alex was most recently seen in Chicago Fringe Opera’s “City of Works,” featured in Lincoln Square with music composed by Elizabeth Rudolph and text by Laura Stratford. Previous engagements with Chicago Fringe Opera include “Love Wounds” showcasing music composed by Christopher Cerrone in 2019, where Chicago Classical Review described Alex’s voice as “pure and lovely in tone.” Alex is a founding member of Forte Chicago, an operatic improv ensemble, last seen at the 2019 Chicago International Puppet Festival, performing “Distant Flight of Birds”, cabarets, and fully devised shows. Since Forte’s inception in 2015, Alex has been seen devising, directing, and performing in every show.  Alex holds a BA in Music Education from Florida Atlantic University, and an MM in Voice Performance from Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where operatic credits include Contessa di Folleville in  Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims, Novice in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and Daughter in Torke’s Strawberry Fields.  Alex is a soprano section leader at Church of the Holy Comforter in Kenilworth, IL.

Acclaim

"Depending on what night you go to 'Op*erratic,' the bodily fluids invoked may vary. But the laughs? Sempre forte."

Hannah Edgar | Chicago Tribune

Dates

September 17 @ Borelli’s Pizza:

$15 suggested donation at the door.  No advance ticket sales.
Doors open at 5 pm.  The show starts at 7.30 pm: two 30-minute improv sets, with a 15-minute intermission.

Sunday September 21 @ Navy Pier:

Free! Just show up.

The show starts at 1.30 pm: one 20-minute improv set.

Wed
Sep 17, 2025
Date
Wed, Sep 17, 2025
Time
7:30pm
Location
Borelli's Pizza
Sun
Sep 21, 2025
Date
Sun, Sep 21, 2025
Time
1:30pm
Location
Navy Pier
Supported by The CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture, the Illinois Arts Council Agency. Chicago Fringe Opera is member of Opera America, the nation's advocacy organization for the art form of opera.

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