Off-Loop is coming to Imbibe Cinema Streaming on December 1, 2023. The feature-length comedy follows five recent college graduates as they move to Chicago to pursue a career in the performing arts. The film previewed at Cutting Hall Performing Arts Center, 150 E. Wood Street in Palatine, on May 9, 2009 ahead of the film’s premiere at The Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago, on May 20, 2009. Off-Loop then screened once again at the Naperville Independent Film Festival on September 22 that same year. These three screenings were the only opportunities to experience the film as it was never released on DVD or digital – until now.
The upcoming streaming release of the film will include a newly remastered sound mix, providing crystal clear dialogue from writer Nick Izzo and further highlighting Jon Negus’s energetic original score. “The new mix brings out more of the wonderful subtleties in each performance,” according to producer Michael P. Noens. Extras will also be included in the release.
Off-Loop is a comedic character study. The five recent college graduates find that things aren’t so safe and comfortable once they venture out into the real world to pursue a career in theatre. With a pact to move to Chicago and dive headfirst into the vibrant theatre scene, the future seems bright for this quirky band of friends. Unfortunately, after a year goes by they find they have yet to connect, having gone separate ways, dealing with various “day jobs,” an oddly intrusive neighbor, or theatre productions gone horribly, and hilariously, wrong. It takes the playwright in the group, who has finally developed enough angst to complete his latest work, to persuade them to take a risk, get the band back together, and produce his original play.
The project was not originally intended to be a feature-length film, but instead a nine episode first season to a series. Director and producer J. Spencer Greene shared this with Patrick McDonald in an interview for Hollywood Chicago back in 2009.
“As it happened, we just couldn’t sustain the cast and crew commitment for the entire series,” Greene told McDonald. “So we looked at the footage we had, and formulated a film based on the story. We took what we could from the footage we shot, brought it back to Nick [Izzo], and had him write a screenplay based on what we had. Then we shot the new stuff that would make it a new story.”
Read the full interview in the archives on HollywoodChicago.com.
The film stars Jason Economus as Barry, Jonathan C. Legat as Dennis, Stephanie Wyatt as Carol, Jeremy Kruse as Joe, and Melanie Stanton as Alice. Off-Loop will be available to stream online for free beginning Friday, December 1. To help elevate the film, share your reactions to the film on Letterboxd, IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes.
