Podtalk: Cassidy Russell on ‘It’s Christmas, Goddamnit!’ at Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre

CHICAGO – With a goal to put some poignancy and “fun” in a dysfunctional family holiday story, Cassidy Russell directs the annual “It’s Christmas, Goddamnit!” at Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre, Saturdays from November 23rd through December 28th, 2019. Click here [22] for more details and tickets.

At the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago
Photo credit: The Annoyance Theatre

This year’s annual Christmas celebration at the James’ family home has a macabre twist. Along with the traditional passive-aggressive silences and sniping, Dad has surprising news … he’s been dilly-dallying with the next door neighbor. Now, throw in the accidental murder of a loathed uncle – with the neighborly sweetheart’s “slow” son as the culprit – and you have a Christmas Eve decorated with dysfunction, distrust, and disaster, but also a holiday that’s damned funny.

Cassidy Russell is a veteran improvisation artist, actor and director in Chicago.She performs weekly with the improv group Sight Unseen at the Annoyance Theatre, as well as is a member of The iO Theater’s longest running improv team, Deep Schwa. Outside of Chicago, Cassidy was a performer with the Village Theatre main stage team in Atlanta and house teams at the Washington Improv Theater in DC, has performed internationally at improv festivals, and teaches comedy for the Sitka Fine Arts Camp in Alaska. In addition to film and television work, she once appeared in a commercial “where all four of the other actors were cats.”

Director Cassidy Russell of ‘It’s Christmas, Goddamnit!’
Photo credit: CassidyRussell.com

In a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, Director Cassidy Russell of “It’s Christmas, Goddamnit!” observes the fun in dysfunctional, her style of directing and her improv career.

[24]	By PATRICK McDONALD [25] Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com [24]