ChiIL Live Shows will be there... will you? We're presently working out the details, but we hope to review and run a book giveaway for our readers as well! Of course, if you follow us much, you know we cover the local and international circus community thoroughly here at ChiIL Live Shows and our family friendly site, ChiIL Mama. We've done multiple features on CircEsteem, Aloft, 500 Clown and major touring acts like Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Eloise, Cirque Shanghai, Ringling Brothers, and many more as well. In fact, my own kids who will soon be 10 & 12, have been studying circus arts for close to 3 years now and perform with CircEsteem. We plan to shoot stills on Monday and will have a photo filled recap up shortly. As always, nothing compares to being there. So what are you waiting for. Get your tickets today.
Think you know the circus? Think again.
Whether it's your first time in a long time, you're a fan, or a successful circus professional, come out to celebrate the diversity & artistry of today's circus.
Join us on March 11 at City Winery for Circus Now: anevening celebrating contemporary American circus and the recently released book TheOrdinary Acrobat, hosted by Duncan Wall with presentations and performances from the Chicago circus community.
Join CircEsteem's Executive Director Maribeth Joy as she presents on how CircEsteem uses circus as a tool for social change. Also performing will be CircEsteem juggling instructor, Brian Dailey and CircEsteem graduate Will McGowan.
City Winery is a sweet place to see a show. We've shot everything there from the lightning fast gypsy brass of Fanfare Ciocarlia, to PlayCHIC, the Chicago Toy and Game Fair's fashion show!
Long, communal tables and assigned seats pair you up with new friends, the sound is great, and the libations even better. Check it out.
Chi, IL Live Shows on Our Radar:
Chris Greene Quartet
$10
5:30 doors/ 7:30 start
1200 W Randolph St Chicago , IL 60607 (312)-733-WINE
About:
Chris Greene Quartet
When the Chris Greene Quartet takes the stage, jazz and rock audiences alike notice something different – something besides the fact that they’re seated next to each other. Jazz fans can’t help but sense the charisma and electricity, not always seen in a jazz band, that emanates from the quartet even during the saxophonist’s most committed solos. And fans accustomed to rock’s high energy and loose hi-jinks suddenly find themselves diving deeper into improvised music than they might have thought possible.
At a time when jazz continues to seek new audiences, CGQ sits poised on the future’s cusp. In much the way that classical composers have historically used native folk elements as the basis for their art, the CGQ uses familiar modern materials – the funk and hip-hop a a youth – as a bridge between jazz and other genres. It’s that ability to retain that tradition, expanding it at the same time, that makes the Chris Greene Quartet something different on the modern jazz scene.
Chris Greene on saxophones, Damian Espinosa on piano, Marc Piane on bass, Steve Corley on drums.
Think you know the circus? Think again. Whether it's your first time in a long time, you're a fan, or a successful circus professional, come out to celebrate the diversity & artistry of today's circus.
On Monday, March 11, 7pm with Book Cellar. Circus Now: an evening celebrating contemporary American circus and THE ORDINARY ACROBAT, hosted by Duncan Wall with presentations and performances from the circus community. Local support from Midnight Circus, Aloft Loft, Circesteem, Chicago Boyz Acrobatics Team, Trapeze Chicago, Aerial Dance Chicago, 500 Clown, and Mucca Pazza.
Under the Gaslight, Aloft's student show on February 25th, was truly impressive. Check out our original show shots above. It's exciting to see aerial acts within a larger story line or plot, rather than just an exhibition of skills. We were especially excited that they chose to explore the subjective elements of mental illness.
Gaslighting, by definition, is a term for psychological abuse where the victim is led to doubt their own memory and perception. Here's the Wikipedia definition:
Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse in which false information is presented with the intent of making a victim doubt his or her own memory and perception. It may simply be the denial
by an abuser that previous abusive incidents ever occurred, or it could
be the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim.
The term "gaslighting" comes from the play Gas Light
and its film adaptations. In those works a character uses a variety of
tricks to convince his spouse that she is crazy, so that she won't be
believed when she reports strange things that are genuinely occuring,
including the dimming of the gas lamps
in the house (which happens when her husband turns on the normally
unused gas lamps in the attic to conduct clandestine activities there).
Since then, it has become a colloquial expression that is now also used in clinical and research literature.
Earlier that night, I was shooting Emilie Autumn's amazing show at The House of Blues. It was an eerily appropriate pairing, as Emilie's concerts are a music/ performance art hybrid that take place in a Victorian era asylum! She even performed a song entitled...you guessed it, Gaslight! Our photo filled recap is coming soon.
Here's Aloft's show premise:
Under the Gaslight
The Aloft Loft Chicago, IL
The Aloft Student Ensemble Performance group presents a full length
contemporary circus show exploring the line between sane and "crazy".
Aloft's signature style of using traditional circus apparatus in new and
surprising ways, and spinning clear narrative through movement and risk
come alive again through this group of 10 up-coming acrobats, studying
at the Aloft Loft, the Midwest's premiere contemporary circus school.
Trained by some of the top instructors in the country, and directed by
Aloft's Artistic Director, Shayna Swanson, the performers have created a
show based in consensus building which questions weather mental illness
is just one tragedy away from everyone.
All proceeds from the seat reservation fee for this show will go into a new scholarship fund to assist current Aloft Loft students who lose their incomes due to the economy in continuing their acrobatic training. Some money will also be
directed into mirco-grants to help professional artists-in-residence at
the Aloft Loft develop new work.
We were back there tonight to shoot El Circo Cheapo and celebrate Du-Jay's 11th birthday with family. They've been doing the show for 3 years and sell out every show! Some of their talented performers also work as teachers at CircEsteem, so the kids were extra stoked to see folks they know perform. We caught El Circo Cheapo back at Brilliant Corners Fest and were thoroughly entertained. They run a fabulous, monthly circus at Aloft's space, on the first Saturday of every month for just $10 floor seats & $15 for a chair. Tickets tend to be in high demand and sell out, so plan ahead. Check out Aloft's main site here for more details.
El Circo Cheapo!
“The only thing cheap is the admission!”-Santa Fe Reporter
Like circus? Like awesome things that are crazy cheap? Then have we
got just the thing for you. El Circo Cheapo Cabaret is an amazing circus
show like nothing you have ever seen. An ever changing cast of some of
the world’s most talented circus performers, as well as other
performance artists, ensures no two shows are ever the same…and seat
reservation fees are low!
Make your seat reservation for El Circo Cheapo Cabaret now by heading here.
*The 7 PM show is family friendly. The 10 PM is 18+. Both are BYOB.
In the opening scene of This is a Damage Manual, the ensemble is in suspended animation, frozen in space and time, as the audience filters in. Take a good look, as this is one of the last moments of calm before a storm of political, passionate, intense dance. We adored this surreal look at damaged souls, making the best of an insane world. Damage Manual had the whole audience laughing and cringing in turn. The music was fantastic and the message right on target. This show is a must see for self help addicts, skeptics, and nonconformists. Is the message hitting a little too close to home? You can even duck out for a hypnotically suggested tranquilizer, in the form of a well stocked lobby bar, over intermission.
I was blown away by the excellent, multimedia presentation, and the way BONEdanse organically melds into the space. They made great use of the varying textures in The Wit walls, projecting giant images on the black cinder block back wall and throwing visually stunning shadow play across the brick and metal end walls. The voice overs of Earl Nightingale, self help guru, were even more disturbingly wonderful with the vintage scratch of a record running throughout. Atalee Judy and the ensemble take us on a vital journey through the eyes of a driven, unbalanced ballerina, an over medicated 50's houswife, a nazi, and more. The audience is propelled on a journey through dream treatment, tranquilizers, and other attempts to numb people into acquiescence in an unbalanced world.
Conceptually, this is an adult piece, or recommended for mature tweens and teens. Although there isn't anything objectionable or over the top, if you're considering bringing underagers.
Here are our post show shots. Be sure to stick around for snacks and a bit of shopping therapy after the show! The multifaceted women of BONEdanse not only choreograph, write, and kick butt on stage, but they design amazing, affordable eco-friendly clothes too!! Instead of a fundraiser, BONEdanse is selling Bone Ware. Damage Manual was drop dead delicious, but it's well worth the ticket price to get to the goodies. T's are only $5-$15. Fleeces are $15. One of a kind Upcycled T-Shirt dresses are $30-$40.
Check out photographer, Chrystyne, modeling one in our shots above. I snagged the awesome black & orange one with excellent text on the back "I will not be a victim...I will not be a perpetrator....above all I will not be a bystander & PEACE...it's what matters.
BONEdanse is
one of our favorite Chi-town dance troupes. Check out their creative
and ferocious theatre. These women are all about being smart AND
mighty, and they create some mighty fine, thought provoking pieces of
modern dance. We've been loving their weekly Danse Skitz. Check 'em all out on YouTube where Danse Skitz #1-10 are all archived. They were all shot around Chicago last June through August.
Don't miss the opportunity to see them live. This is a Damage Manual has just 6 performances left!
this is a DAMAGE MANUAL february 2-12, 2012 th/fri/sat 8pm, sun 3pm theater wit 1229 belmont tickets $15-$24
BONEdanse PRESENTS This
is a DAMAGE MANUAL THIS WINTER. WHERE THE SUB-TRASH PROPAGANDA OF THE
80S CLASHES WITH THE FEAR OF EVERYTHING 50S WHERE THERAPY PROMISES TO
HELP, BUT MORE OFTEN DESTROYS... WHAT’S YOUR DAMAGE?
BONEdanse’s (simplified from its former Breakbone DanceCo), evening length version of This is a Damage Manual premieres
this February; a satirical, witty, and humoured performance that offers
as many absurd questions about the idiosyncrasies of human behavior as
it answers.
With its title
sourced directly from the industrial post-punk music entity The Damage
Manual featuring 80s punk era icons Martin Atkins (Public Image Ltd
[Pil], Killing Joke), Chris Connelly (Murder, Inc), Geordie Walker
(Killing Joke) and Jah Wobble (PiL), BONEdanse’s Damage Manual, also
draws largely from the world of vintage instruction manuals and
self-help vinyl records to explore how universally damaged we all are
and how many of us stay that way.
Once again, here's the basics:
WHAT:
Damage Manual, a darkly comedic dance theater work examining vintage
self-help books and recordings through dynamic physicality.
WHO: BONEdanse. A solo created by guest choreographer Jyl
Fehrenkamp Choreography by Atalee Judy with performances by Janna Barta,
Anita Fillmore, Atalee Judy & Mindy Meyers. Lighting Design: Jacob
Snodgrass Costumes, Video, and Soundscore: A. Judy
WHEN: Thursdays-Sundays, February 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11 and 12;
Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3: 00
pm
WHERE: Theater Wit is located at 1229 W Belmont, Chicago, 60657 in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.
HOW: Ticket prices are Th/Fr $15, Sat $24, and Sunday matinee
$20. ALL tickets are available at walk-up or call-in box office:
773.975.8150 (no service fee online or by phone) www.theaterwit.org
Follow BONEdanse on Facebook and join their email list for exclusive
discount ticket offers at www.bonedanse.com
This is a Damage Manual & Punk Rock are both playing at Theater Wit!
Kid
alert-Punk Rock Contains Adult themes NOT suitable for kids. Damage
Manual is appropriate for all ages, but recommended for an adult night
out or possibly savvy tweens & teens--conceptually.
Political, passionate, accessible dance. This is a Damage Manual is a
must see! Stick around for the Bone Ware--awesome, affordable up
cycled clothes. We'll be seeing
and reviewing Punk Rock tomorrow.
Visiting Company Griffin Theatre
Punk Rock
By Simon Stephens
Directed by Jonathan Berry
Now playing through March 04, 2012
The American Premiere of Simon Stephens' powerful and critically
acclaimed drama about a group of high school age students preparing for
their final exams and nearing the end of their school lives. When the
whole world opens up before you, there’s a danger it’ll swallow you up,
there’s danger all around in this shattering new play that explores the
volatility of adolescent life.
*Strong Adult Content
There is no late seating available for this production.
****NOTE: If you loved This is a Damage Manual.....In a similar vein, check out Under The Gaslight, coming soon at Aloft.
The Aloft Student Ensemble Performance group presents a full length
contemporary circus show exploring the line between sane and "crazy".
Aloft's signature style of using traditional circus apparatus in new and
surprising ways, and spinning clear narrative through movement and risk
come alive again through this group of 10 up-coming acrobats, studying
at the Aloft Loft, the Midwest's premiere contemporary circus school.
Trained by some of the top instructors in the country, and directed by
Aloft's Artistic Director, Shayna Swanson, the performers have created a
show based in consensus building which questions weather mental illness
is just one tragedy away from everyone.
All proceeds from this
show will go into a new scholarship fund to assist current Aloft Loft
students who lose their incomes due to the economy in continuing their
acrobatic training. Some money will also be directed into mirco-grants
to help professional artists-in-residence at the Aloft Loft develop new
work.
