Latest news with #LaGrange-based
Chicago Tribune
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
La Grange's LATTE Theater updates Jane Austen's ‘Sense and Sensibility'
For its summer show, La Grange-based LATTE Theater will bring Jane Austen's first novel to life in a stage adaptation of 'Sense and Sensibility.' The production will run July 24 to July 26 at the ensemble's usual venue, Plymouth Place Senior Living. 'It's as if Monty Python and Jane Austen had a baby,' LATTE founder and artistic director Felicia Pfluger said. The plot in this version of the story revolves around the dying Henry Dashwood making his son John promise to provide for his stepmother Elinor and half sisters Marianne and Margaret from his inheritance. But his wife talks him into cutting them off and leaving them significantly less affluent. John's wife's family and other friends become involved in romantic schemes and counter-schemes familiar to any Jane Austen fan. Weaving through the narrative are themes involving the patriarchal nature of the period's inheritance laws, the unfair marginalization of women, and the value of female prudence represented by mother Elinor and Marianne's impetuosity or 'sensibility.' While Pfluger normally adapts LATTE's productions herself, drawing from various sources, this time she paid royalties for the published version created by actor and writer Kate Hamill. Hamill adapted the book for the stage and played the younger sister, Marianne, in a 2014-2016 production of the play at New York's City's Bedlam Theater Company. 'I was actually planning on writing a version, but when I read this I just felt like I stepped outside in a renaissance fair where it was just so vibrant and so fun,' Pfluger said. 'You knew that something was coming and you didn't know what it was, but you just wanted to have fun and watch it happen … it's just so life-like that it balances the mirth and I think that really helps you feel the story more.' Another new approach by LATTE for this production is bringing more college students into the cast. One is Tomas Kowalchuk, 23, a Willowbrook resident and student at the College of DuPage, who plays the son, John, and two other characters. He talked about acting in this show and how different it was from other parts he had performed. 'I would say mostly the dialogue,' he said. 'It's just a different way of speaking compared to modern language, so there can be some strange tongue twisters, but that helps me learn, too.' Offsetting that was the enjoyment of playing the bad guy. 'It was pretty fun playing my role, since I get to be a bit of a cad and villain,' Kowalchuk said. Another college student, 19-year-old Brookfield resident Cassidy Monti, a student at Western Michigan University, plays the younger daughter, Marianne. 'This show is different to perform, with a lot of scene changes, and quick thinking,' she said. 'My character is always moving, always speaking, always on stage, even when she's down and out for the count, so it's a lot of remembering what I have to do next.' Monti said her character felt familiar. 'Marianne is a character who I really connect with,' she said. 'She reminds me of myself and it's new and exciting to play a character that has so much of me in it. As soon as I read for Marianne the first time, I felt at home.' While college students are an increasing presence in LATTE productions, the group still has plenty of parts for teens of all ages. Isla Baker, 14, of Downers Grove, plays Mrs. Dashwood, the kindly mother of the girls, and two other characters. 'I have multiple roles in this play and this is the first time I've had that experience,' the veteran of other LATTE productions, said. 'This is the first romantic show I've performed in and it has taught me a lot about balancing reason and emotion in romantic and platonic relationships.' Felicia Pfluger talked about her approach to directing. 'We started by watching the beautiful version of the movie that Emma Thompson wrote, and discussing the book and the character. We talk about what makes each character tick, every action and reaction, and what makes each character real,' she said. The La Grange LATTE Theater's production of Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility' runs from July 24 to 26, with evening performances Thursday and Friday, and a matinee and evening show on Saturday. The performance will be in the Plymouth Place for Senior Living's auditorium, 315 N. La Grange Road, La Grange Park. Information is at
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Breath of Abundance Author Tricia Dimon Releases Transformational Book Inspiring Personal Growth and Possibility
Tricia Dimon, founder of Breath of Abundance, releases her debut book What If... Everything Is Possible (It Is), inspiring readers to reconnect with their inner power through breath and reflection. Hamilton, Georgia, May 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tricia Dimon, a longtime LaGrange business owner and founder of Breath of Abundance, has officially released her debut book, What If... Everything Is Possible (It Is)—an empowering collection of insights and practices designed to help readers reconnect with their innate potential and rediscover what is possible in their lives. Tricia DimonThe book invites readers to look inward, listen deeply, and follow what Dimon refers to as the quiet breadcrumbs of personal guidance. Drawing on years of personal transformation, entrepreneurial experience, and spiritual awakening, Dimon shares an authentic and deeply personal journey intended to inspire others to recognize the light within themselves. 'I wrote this book to remind people of what's already within them,' said Dimon. 'It's not about adding more to your life, it's about remembering your own light and living fully from that space.' The release of the book marks a new chapter in Dimon's life after stepping away from a successful 30-year career as the founder of a LaGrange-based showroom and trade business. Despite the achievements of her previous business life, Dimon felt a deeper calling—one that gradually revealed itself through a series of personal awakenings, spiritual downloads, and breathwork experiences that shaped her new mission. Breath of Abundance What sets Dimon's book apart is not only its content but the way it came into being. She describes the writing process as a collaboration with something greater than herself, receiving daily insights through intentional breath and allowing the download to come through. 'Much of what came through was messages I didn't even fully understand at the time. I'd sit, breathe, and the words would arrive. Later, when I read them back, I'd be in awe of the depth of what had been written,' she explained. The book, now available on Amazon, offers readers a unique structure. It is not only meant to be read linearly but explored intuitively—flipped open to any page for a daily message or insight. A companion workbook and journal, What If… You Went Deeper (You can) is also launching alongside the book, intended to support deeper reflection and group exploration. Dimon recently spoke at an event in Palm Desert, California, where she guided businesswomen through a full breathwork session and inspired them with the central question she now lives by: 'What if everything is possible?' The experience was transformative for many, reinforcing the impact of both her teachings and the practical power of breathwork. Next, Dimon will bring the message to the world's largest HR event—the SHRM Conference in San Diego—where she and her partner, Debbie, will introduce breathwork as a corporate wellness solution. Their presence at SHRM underscores Dimon's vision of bridging spiritual and emotional well-being with professional environments. 'Workplaces are finally waking up to the idea that people don't have to leave parts of themselves at the door,' Dimon said. 'When people are invited to bring their whole selves into work—to breathe, to reflect, to feel—they become more alive. That benefits them and the organizations they're part of.' The Breath of Abundance booth at SHRM will offer information about corporate breathwork trainings and include copies of Dimon's book and workbook. Tricia and Debbie will be available to answer questions and help companies envision how breathwork can be integrated into their employee wellness programs. The SHRM appearance is only the beginning. Dimon's long-term vision includes leading transformational retreats, publishing additional volumes of daily downloads, and continuing to support individuals and organizations alike in reconnecting with joy, clarity, and purpose. 'This is not about me,' Dimon emphasized. 'It's about helping people remember who they are—what they're capable of—and giving them tools to access that every single day. Breath is our birthright. It's the one thing we've had since the beginning and the last thing we'll do before we leave this life. It's time we start using it with intention.' Media Contact: Name: Tricia Dimon Email: tricia@
Chicago Tribune
04-02-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Point in Time census offers glimpse into suburban homelessness
After years of conducting annual counts to gauge how many people in the area are experiencing homelessness, the team from La Grange-based BEDS Plus have a good idea where to look. 'We come up with hot spots, where we've either met with people in the past or areas where we think people might be,' said Zac Catrambone, BEDS Plus manager of street outreach. Those hot spots include hospital emergency rooms, libraries and gas stations, as well as less obvious places, Catrambone said. 'Twenty-four hour laundromats, park district buildings, or parking garages, like the La Grange Parking Garage on the third floor,' he listed. 'In the winter they rope off that top deck and it's heated up there. (If) they're not able to go to any shelter, or they don't want to go to a shelter … it's a place where they can get out of the elements.' Catrambone was advising volunteers taking part in the annual Point in Time Count on Jan. 29. Sponsored by the Alliance to End Homelessness, the effort serves as a 'homeless census,' on both a national and a local level, giving various organizations solid information on how many people in the area are experiencing homelessness and where they are. 'The Chicagoland area started doing this in about 2013,' Catrambone said as volunteers were assigned to areas throughout the west and southwest suburbs. 'Our areas that we are responsible for tonight are basically La Grange, La Grange Park, McCook, Hodgkins, then we go down to Oak Lawn, Chicago Ridge, Bridgeview, Summit, Justice … all the way down to Orland Park.' Catrambone said the amount of people contacted during the Point in Time count has varied from year to year, 'especially during years where it's really cold, people tend to go to warning centers and might not be found.' While the BEDS Plus home base is in La Grange, the organizing point this year was at the nonprofit's Linda Sokol Francis Summit Service Center at 7666 W. 63rd Street in nearby Summit, Illinois. Opened in 2023, the center in Summit has 18 beds and provides acute and post-acute medical care for homeless people who are too ill or vulnerable to recover on the street, but don't qualify for further hospitalization or nursing home care. Besides the La Grange facility and the Summit Service Center, Beds Plus also has a triage shelter on Cicero Avenue in Chicago, and provides temporary housing at the American Inn in Countryside. The group also has several 'bridge units' that are leased in the agency's name where people can stay until they are matched to a housing program. Catrambone said that these units were typically used for families and people fleeing domestic violence. BEDS Plus had 22 volunteers out for the Jan. 29 count, including four people with the lived experience of being housing challenged. 'It was a good event last night,' Catrambone said the following day. The volunteers began canvassing their territories around 6:45 p.m. and finished around midnight, making contact with eight people and interviewing four of them, who BEDS Plus representatives will follow up with. Point in Time also provided an opportunity to check in with people who've been on the streets for a while, including one person near La Grange Village Hall who 'we know pretty well.' 'The person at Village Hall was usually in the parking structure, but was outside today, ' he said. Once BEDS Plus is able to make contact, they can offer help. 'I do housing paperwork for them and try and connect them with programs throughout suburban Cook County,' said Rick Maltese, who's been with BEDS Plus for four years as an assessor. 'So the paperwork gets uploaded into our system and they become eligible to get the program matches.' Volunteer Jack Rudzinski said the importance of gauging the extent of homelessness is vital because it illustrates the need for funding and programs nationwide. 'The point is to determine funding for the next year's homeless programs,' he said. 'Hey, this is how many homeless we have, and this is why we need to allocate funding. So it's super important to have people out here doing this, as many as we can out canvassing, looking for folks. Not only are we helping the folks that we find tonight, but we're also helping the entire country by making the government aware of how widespread the problem is, and how much needs to be done.'
