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Thursday, March 9, 2023

Congo Square Theatre Hosts 'Celebration of Healing' - Free Community Events Exploring Healthcare Inequality

Congo Square Theatre Company hosts Celebration of Healing programming in conjunction with 

World Premiere of How Blood Go

The Chi’s Yolonda Ross hosts FREE expert-led community events that raise awareness of racial disparities in health care.

Congo Square Theatre Company (Congo Square) proudly announces the latest iteration of its Celebration of Healing programming initiative, to be held in conjunction with the World Premiere of How Blood Go by Cleveland-based playwright Lisa Langford, presented at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater (1700 N. Halsted Street) as part of Steppenwolf’s LookOut Series March 11 - April 23, 2023. How Blood Go analyzes the past, present, and future of racial inequality in America’s healthcare system; the Celebration of Healing programming, will examine the real-world implications of the biases articulated in the play.

Founded during Congo Square’s production of What to Send Up When It Goes Down in Fall 2022, Celebration of Healing is an initiative that collaborates with Congo Square’s annual productions to provide audiences with a curated space geared toward individual and community healing. The Celebration of Healing is one of five artist projects commissioned by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events for We Will Chicago – the first citywide plan since 1966. We Will is the first-ever plan to be rooted in equity and resiliency and to be drafted by residents and community leaders. The Celebration of Healing connects to the goals residents shared addressing systemic inequities in public health, and exemplifies how artists and cultural organizations bring attention and resources to the issues most important to Chicago communities.

These free in-person and digital events will take place during the run of How Blood Go and include film screenings, panel discussions and community conversations led by experts in the field. All Celebration of Healing events are free and open to the public, registration is required for all events. For in-person events, attendees without access to transportation can arrange to have free transport to the events through the registration link. To register for a Celebration of Healing event, visit steppenwolf.org/howbloodgo.

Celebration of Healing Events:

In-person Film Screenings + Community Conversations

 

Power to Heal

Date: March 29, 6:00 PM

Location: Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington St., Claudia Cassidy Theater

Host: Yolonda Ross (The Chi & How Blood Go Cast)

Facilitator: Jhmira Alexander, MPH (Executive Director, Public Narrative)

Panelists: Barbara Berney, PhD (Producer, Power to Heal), Paris Thomas, MS, MCHES, PhD (Executive Director, Equal Hope at RUSH Medical University), Margie Schaps, MPH (Executive Director, Health and Medicine Policy)

Power to Heal is an hour-long public television documentary that tells a poignant chapter in the historic struggle to secure equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans. Central to the story is the tale of how a new national program, Medicare, was used to mount a dramatic, coordinated effort that desegregated thousands of hospitals across the country in a matter of months.


The Healthcare Divide

Date: April 5, 2023, 6:00 PM

Location: Equal Hope, 300 S Ashland Ave #202

Host: Yolonda Ross (The Chi & How Blood Go Cast)

Facilitator: Jhmira Alexander, MPH (Executive Director, Public Narrative)

Panelists: Laura Sullivan (Correspondent, NPR Investigates), Sista Yaa Simpson (Community Epidemiologist and Bioethicist, TACTS-The Association of Clinical Trials Services), Paris Thomas, MS, MCHES, PhD (Executive Director, Equal Hope) 

FRONTLINE and NPR investigate the growing inequities in American healthcare exposed by COVID-19. The Healthcare Divide examines how pressure to increase profits and uneven government support are widening the divide between rich and poor hospitals, endangering care for low-income populations.


Aftershock

Date: April 12, 6:00 PM

Location: TBD

Host: Yolonda Ross (The Chi & How Blood Go Cast)

Facilitator: Jhmira Alexander, MPH (Executive Director, Public Narrative)

Panelists: Anya Tanyavutti (Executive Director, Changing Worlds), Lakeesha Harris (Executive Director, Chicago Volunteer Doulas), Kalynn Dunn, MA, LPC (Assistant Executive Director, Caris Pregnancy Counseling and Resources), Jeanine Valrie Logan (Midwife & Lead Steward, Chicago Southside Birth Center)

Aftershock––Following the preventable deaths of their loved ones due to childbirth complications, two families galvanize activists, birth-workers and physicians to reckon with one of the most pressing American crises of our time – the US maternal health crisis.

 

Virtual Webinars

From March 23 – April 27, every Thursday at 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM, Public Narrative will present a webinar series dedicated to holistic public health conversations that generate solutions to improve health systems in Chicago. In this 6-part webinar training series journalists, researchers, care givers, patients and other community members will explore findings of Chicago-based community engaged research studies for communities experiencing health disparities and other implications to public health. To register for the webinar series, visit publicnarrative.org/events


Talk Forwards

In addition to these public events, audience members attending Sunday matinee performances of How Blood Go on March 26, April 2, and April 9 can participate in Talk Forward discussions with artists and community members immediately following the performance.

 

Partnerships

Celebration of Healing events are made possible through partnerships with DCASE, DPD, We Will Chicago, Public Narrative, Equal Hope at RUSH Medical Center, and the Center for Health Equity Transformation at Northwestern Medicine. How Blood Go and the Celebration of Healing are partially funded by The Celebration of Healing are partially funded by the Venturous Theatre Fund of the Tides Foundation. Additional funding for the webinar series comes from the MacArthur Foundation and Northwestern Medicine.

 

About How Blood Go

How Blood Go weaves the present and past together to explore the strained relationship between the healthcare system and African Americans in this country. Just when Quinntasia is ready to take her wellness program, Quinntessentials, to market, she learns that her healthy body is not the product of her hard work, but of a futuristic experimental device—activated without her consent—that makes her appear White to doctors and nurses. She must decide if she’s willing to give up her Blackness to make her dream come true. Meanwhile, Bean and his brother, Ace, experience unethical medical treatment in the American South (the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment 1930-1970). Under the direction of Tiffany Fulson, the How Blood Go cast features Congo Square Ensemble Member Ronald L. Conner (Ace) and The Chi star Yolonda Ross (Didi). I'll be out for the press opening March 19th, so check back soon for my full review.

How Blood Go will be performed March 11 - April 23. Tickets, priced at $25 for preview performances and $35 for all other performances ($20 for seniors and students), are now on sale by calling 312-335-1650 or visiting www.steppenwolf.org/

Congo Square continues its radical generosity model partnering with community organizations throughout the city to donate up to half of all tickets for every performance. To learn more about discounted community partner tickets, please email communitypartner@congosquaretheatre.org

 

About the organizations

Congo Square Theatre Company is an ensemble dedicated to producing transformative work rooted in the African Diaspora. Congo Square is a haven for artists of color to challenge and redefine the theatrical canon by amplifying and creating stories that reflect the reach and complexities of Black Culture. https://www.congosquaretheatre.org

Public Narrative is a Chicago-based nonprofit that facilitates training, programming and resource building focused on cultivating media literacy, uplifting community voices in media, and shifting narratives around public health, public safety, and public education. https://publicnarrative.org

LookOut is Steppenwolf’s performance series that presents the work of artists and companies across genre and form, emerging artists and performance legends, quintessential Chicago companies and young aspiring ensembles, familiar Steppenwolf faces and new friends. steppenwolf.org/lookout

We Will Chicago is Chicago’s first citywide plan since 1966. The plan is a strong, community-driven, and data-informed 10-year vision for Chicago that is rooted in the principles of equity and resiliency. Drafted by hundreds of residents, community based organizations, and city staff, the plan was adopted unanimously by the Chicago Plan Commission in February 2023. “We Will Chicago” consists of more than 40 goals and 150 objectives to guide the City’s governance across eight “planning pillars” for the next decade. The pillars include Arts & Culture; Environment, Climate & Energy; Housing & Neighborhoods; Lifelong Learning; Public Health & Safety; Transportation & Infrastructure; Civic & Community Engagement; and Economic Development. To learn more and read the plan, visit wewillchicago.com.

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

FLASH GIVEAWAY: WIN Tickets To The Chicago Circus and Performing Arts Festival March 9-12, 2023, at Wicker Park’s Den Theatre

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar   

Chicago Circus and Performing Arts Festival

FLASH GIVEAWAY: 

ENTER AT THE END OF THIS POST FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A Pair of Tickets to Any Adult Circus Act! and/or 

A Family 4 Pack of Tickets to Any Family Show 


March 9-12 at Wicker Park’s Den Theatre, Opening Gala March 9

Chicago-Based Ensembles Offer Circus, Burlesque, Dance & Comedy

Chicago Circus & Performing Arts Festival, the Windy City’s newest multidisciplinary fest, will run March 9-12, 2023, at Wicker Park’s Den Theatre at 1331 N. Milwaukee. Thirteen unique performances from Chicago-based companies include traditional circus acts, avant-garde sideshow and burlesque offerings, family-friendly juggling and clowning shows, queer-themed work, plus several evening-length pieces that also include dance. Several shows are double features: twice the fun for the same price!

Single tickets are $15-40 and are available online or at 773-697-3830. The lobby features cashless cocktails from the newly renovated Haven Lounge before and after performances. The Opening Gala is on March 9, from 6-10 PM and includes vendor tables from local businesses and Chicago circus schools, door prize giveaways, and a silent auction. Exclusive previews for media and donors will be performed throughout the night. Metered street parking is available, and the apps ParkChicago, Spot Hero, Park Whiz, and Parq Ex are recommended to secure a spot. The venue is also accessible to the Blue Line (north of Division, south of Damen stops) and via various bus routes. The Festival’s media sponsors are The Actors Gymnasium and CircusTalk.

 

SCHEDULE

Thursday, March 9

Heath Mainstage & Lobby: 

6:00-10:00 pm Opening Gala: Show previews for media and donors, silent auction, local vendors.

 

Friday, March 10

Bookspan Stage: 

6:00-7:30 pm Creature Double Feature by Such Creatures (circus + dance fusion, queer-themed)

7:45-9:15 pm BIPOC Circus Alliance Midwest (classic circus cabaret, all BIPOC cast)

9:30-11:00pm the Back Side Show by Yes Ma’am Circus (side-show, burlesque, circus, ages 18+)

 

Saturday, March 11 

Bookspan Stage: 

12:45- 2:15 pm Distillations & Don't Try This At Home- Double Feature by Luther Bangert & Dinder Brothers’ Circus (juggling solo show, family circus troop, side-show, family friendly)

2:30- 4:00 pm Double Feature- Poised & The Reluctant Mind Reader by Raphael Entertainment (solo juggling + solo magic, family friendly)

4:15- 5:45 pm BIPOC Circus Alliance Midwest (classic circus cabaret, all BIPOC cast)

6:00- 7:30 pm Autobiography of a Late Bloomer by Lucid Banter Project (dance, queer-themed, ages 13+)

7:45- 9:15 pm Circus Dungeon Crawl by Yes Ma’am Circus (circus cabaret, burlesque, nerd-themed, ages 18+)

9:30- 11:00 pm Queer Double Feature: And They Were Shipmates, A Queer Pirate Romance Adventure & Queer Dance Freakout by Counterfeit Combat & Gender Fucked Productions

 

Sunday, March 12 

Heath Mainstage: 

10:30 am- 12:00 pm Serious Cirque by Duo Refraction+ (circus, clown, family friendly)

12:15- 1:45 pm Circus Cabaret of Wonder by the Amazing Prizzini Brothers (classic circus cabaret, clowning, family friendly)

 

Bookspan Stage: 

12:15- 1:45 pm Double Feature- Poised & The Reluctant Mind Reader by Raphael Entertainment (solo juggling + solo magic, family friendly)

2:00- 3:30 pm Distillations & Don't Try This At Home- Double Feature by Luther Bangert & Dinder Brothers’ Circus (juggling solo show, family circus troop, side-show, family friendly)


SHOWS/ENSEMBLES

The Amazing Prizzini Brothers’ Circus Cabinet of Wonder: The Amazing Prizzini Brothers’ classic circus cabaret features family-friendly circus acts and clowning. The goal is simple: to make the audience complicit in the mischief. 

Autobiography of a Late Bloomer: Lucid Banter Project presents Autobiography of a Late Bloomer, a collection of work created over a span of 15 years, following the choreographer's coming-out journey. Following Paula, Lucid Banter Project's director, through professional growth, family drama, religious realizations, sexual awakenings, relationship highs and lows, injury, and emotional abuse, the audience is brought along through the experiences, emotions, and growth of a late bloomer lesbian.



BIPOC Circus Alliance Midwest Showcase: This circus cabaret features circus artists of Color as they share individual stories that depict human emotions and unique challenges faced by POC in contemporary America. Disciplines will include rope, straps, aerial hammock, diabolo, and silks. For ages 13+


The Back Side Show: Produced by Yes Ma'am Circus, the Back Side Show features burlesque, sideshow, and variety acts from around Chicago. For ages 18+

Circus Dungeon Crawl: Yes Ma’am Circus’ longest running cabaret! Come see the Chicago debut of Circus Dungeon Crawl, previously only shown to the elite crowd of gamers at GenCon in Indianapolis! Journey with Marcus the Bard as they attempt to drink, seduce, and thieve their way through the Multiverse, along with a cast of aerialists, clowns, and burlesque dancers.


Creature Double Feature: Creature Double Feature brings you not one, but TWO new works by Such Creatures Co-Directors Luke Greeff & Ashaand Simone. Missile Kid by Luke Greeff shows a punk-rock apocalyptic horror movement suite on unmasking the Autistic soul within the confines of an Allistic world … or a dancey existential crisis to good tunes… you decide. intimate youniverse by Ashaand Simone transports the audience into an 8-bit arcade world where they’re in charge of helping the protagonist’s disparate parts work towards some amount of peace. In doing so, they will learn firsthand what it looks like to re-wire the brain away from the impacts of (Complex) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and towards acceptance of intimacy and connection.

Distillations & Don't Try This At Home- Double Feature: A family friendly double feature. A solo contemporary juggling show performed by Luther Bangert, Distillations takes the audience on a multimedia and multidimensional journey through the anatomy of a moment, investigating causality, and emerging into the ground state of the juggling universe. Dinder Brother's Circus is proud to present the "DONT TRY THIS AT HOME SHOW!!!" Seen across the midwest since 2015 this blend of circus, magic, and danger is sure to entertain anyone ages 4 and up!  With mystifying aerials, feats of death, and astounding illusions everyone will find something they enjoy.

Double Feature- Poised & The Reluctant Mind Reader: A funny and dazzling 1-man duo show! Welcome to an experience that aims to have you question the absolute limits of what is humanly possible. Brought to you by one of Chicago's top jugglers, Poised is a family friendly show full of laughs and amazing feats of balance and coordination. Then stay and watch as someone with the ability to read minds shows off his powers while talking about the pains and annoyances that come with always hearing what people are thinking. The Reluctant Mind Reader showcases how some gifts aren’t what they’re cracked up to be.

Serious Cirque: Serious Cirque is a not so serious deconstruction of contemporary circus performance. It transparently and unabashedly reveals the hilarity, failures, successes and discoveries that come out of circus creation. What happens when Siri tries to third wheel your adagio duet opener? What if the duo trapeze porter loses his flyer and must perform only with sock puppets?

Queer Double Feature- And They Were Shipmates, A Queer Pirate Romance Adventure & Queer Dance Freakout: First, Counterfeit Combat presents a gay pirate show full of fights and fun that you can’t miss! Join us onboard Calico Jack’s ship, The Ranger, as we follow the tale of the infamous female pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. This occasionally true story based on historical facts will have you laughing, sighing, and gasping, oh aye! Then stick around for Queer Dance Freakout, an interactive, choose your own adventure spectacle produced by Gender Fucked Productions. This company of queer, trans, and nonbinary choreographers and storytellers will perform up to 30 dances that will have audiences booty shaking, grooving, and connecting with the queer community.

*Click HERE for your chance to WIN a FREE Family 4 Pack of Tickets to your choice of any family friendly show at the 2nd Annual Chicago Circus and Performing Arts Festival!

**Click HERE for your chance to WIN a FREE Pair of Tickets to your choice of any Adult Show at the 2nd Annual Chicago Circus and Performing Arts Festival!

Winners announced at noon Thursday, March 9th.

ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows are thrilled to partner up with the 2nd Annual Chicago Circus and Performing Arts Festival to give away A Family 4 Pack of Tickets to Any Family Show and/or A Pair of Tickets to Any Adult Circus Act!

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

SAVE THE DATES: Refracted Theatre Company's 2023 Season Announced

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

Refracted Theatre Company Announces 2023 Season:

 

LA Drama Critics Circle "Outstanding New Play" Winner!

TAMBO & BONES

By Dave Harris

Directed by Mikael Burke

 

Workshop Production!

A PLAY ABOUT DAVID MAMET WRITING

A PLAY ABOUT HARVEY WEINSTEIN

By Mathilde Dratwa

Directed by Co-Artistic Director Tova Wolff

 

Plus “Role Call,” Free Monthly Reading Series

 

 

Refracted Theatre Company’s 2023 Season playwrights and directors include 

(left to right) Dave HarrisMikael BurkeMathilde Dratwa and Tova Wolff

Refracted Theatre Company is pleased to announce its 2023 season, featuring Dave Harris’s dark comedy (and rap concert) Tambo & Bones, directed by Mikael Burke; a workshop production of Mathilde Dratwa’s cerebral dark comedy A Play about David Mamet Writing a Play about Harvey Weinstein, directed by Co-Artistic Director Tova Wolff; and “Role Call,” a free, community-centered, monthly reading and discussion series.

 

Co-Artistic Director Graham Miller comments, “In our fourth season, Refracted is looking to the unabashed, unafraid, unmatched voices of thrilling American playwrights who use comedy and pathos to illuminate what it means to be an individual inside a system, particularly when that system edits and silences the voices it uses to meet its own definition of capitalistic success. By centering the playwright’s experience with respect to the relationship to the institution of theatre, we examine both sides of what it means to be any marginalized identity working within the larger system that is America. What’s working and what isn’t? When is it easy for us to take shots at what’s broken, and when are we actually the ones contributing to making holes in what would serve everyone? The shows are wild as hell. We can guarantee that nowhere else in Chicago will you see anything quite as next-level, ‘oh my god is this happening’-vibes as what we are putting on stage this year. And we are so restless to get into the nuanced throughline of challenging, riveting discourse that this season of projects is bound to inspire with our audiences and collaborators, discourse that we think sharpens and heals us all.” 

 

Refracted Theatre Company’s 2023 Season includes:

 

Role Call

Third Space Chicago, 716 W. Addison, Chicago

Presented the last Tuesday of every month beginning March 28, 2023

 

In partnership with Third Space Chicago, Refracted is proud to launch Role Call, a monthly, free program that casts the community in deeply Refracted plays. Members of the community are welcome to BYOB and enjoy some light snacks as they take part in the reading of known, unknown and classic plays. Following the communal reading of these plays, Refracted will facilitate guided discourse about the work, asking questions of the participants which will allow them to gain a deeper understanding of some of the thematic underpinnings of the play.

 

Third Space Chicago is a community hub in the heart of Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood where people can gather, learn, grow and form meaningful relationships. There is a theory in sociology that everyone needs three places to live a full and fulfilled life: a home, a workplace, and a third space. Third Space aims to become a much needed third space in order to enhance the physical, emotional, and social well-being of its community.

 

Spring/Summer 2023

A Play about David Mamet Writing a Play about Harvey Weinstein – Workshop Production!

By Mathilde Dratwa

Directed by Co-Artistic Director Tova Wolff

Location to be announced (limited performances)

 

Francesca is writing a play about David Mamet. Who actually wrote a play about Harvey Weinstein. And she wants to burn it all down. In this cerebral dark comedy, dauntlessly hilarious playwright Mathilde Dratwa confronts THEATRE, Inc.’s institutionalized misogyny, its predators and her own complicity as a white woman in the world of storytelling. When it comes to processing motherhood, generations of rage and sexism, nothing is too satirical, too violent,or too taboo in the safety of Francesca’s mind.

 

Fall 2023

Tambo & Bones

By Dave Harris

Directed by Mikael Burke

Location to be announced

 

Tambo and Bones find themselves in a tricky situation: they are trapped in a minstrel show. How do you get out of that? Might have to attack the playwright who put you there. Might need to become a famous rap legend. Might need to start something. Def need to let them know you’re a real person. You’re a real person. You’re a real person? From the fearlessly defiant, fresh American voice of playwright Dave Harris, Tambo & Bones is a dark comedy (and a rap concert) that pulls back the curtain on every theater experience the audience has had before.

 

For upcoming announcements and ticket information, visit refractedco.com or follow @refractedco

 

About the Artists:

 

Mathilde Dratwa’s (Playwright, A Play about David Mamet Writing a Play about Harvey Weinstein) plays include Milk and Gall(Theatre503, London, 2021), A Play about David Mamet Writing a Play about Harvey Weinstein and Dirty Laundry, an Audible commission (released this March). Her work has been developed and presented by the Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep, Rattlestick, LAByrinth Theater Company, the Great Plains Theater Conference, the Playwrights' Center, and in London at the Young Vic. Mathilde is a 2021-2024 Core Writer at the Playwrights’ Center, a member of Dorset Theater Festival’s Women Artists Writing Group and a two-time Pulitzer center grant recipient. Recently, she was a member of the Orchard Project's Greenhouse, a Dramatist Guild Foundation Playwriting Fellow and a member of New York Foundation for the Arts' Immigrant Artist Program. On the film and TV side, Mathilde has written for Picture Start, Endeavor, LuckyChap, Dirty Films, FX, Red Wagon, Sony/TriStar, Chernin Entertainment and wiip.

 

Tova Wolff (Director, A Play about David Mamet Writing a Play about Harvey Weinstein) is a director and producer based in Chicago. Her recent directing credits include I Couldn’t Tell You Why (Refracted Theatre Company), Clearing House (The Swell), Contrition: A Long Voicemail (The Swell), The King’s Speech (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre & National Tour, Associate Director), Monica: This Play Is Not About Monica Lewinsky (59E59 Theaters & Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019), Security (Secret Theatre), A Bad Night (The Frontier), Fade (Victory Gardens, Associate Director), For the Loyal (Interrobang Theatre Project, Associate Director), Still Rising (The Tank), Pam’s Key (Gallery Players) and Bachelorette (Walkerspace at Soho Rep.). In 2016 ,Tova won Best Director for her production of Between Men at the Midtown International Theatre Festival. She was a 2017/2018 Directing Fellow at Victory Gardens Theater and a 2017 participant in the Director’s Lab Chicago. She is a co-founder and Artistic Director of Refracted Theatre Company. Tova received her BA from Northwestern University. www.tovawolff.com.

 

Dave Harris (Playwright, Tambo & Bones) is a poet and playwright from West Philly. Selected plays include Tambo & Bones (LA Drama Critics Award "Best New Play", Playwrights Horizons, Center Theatre Group, 2022), Exception to the Rule (Roundabout Theatre Company, 2022) and Everybody Black (Humana Festival 2019). His first feature film, Summertime, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was released in 2021. Selected honors include: the 2019 Ollie Award, The Lorraine Hansberry Award and Mark Twain Award from The Kennedy Center, The International Commendation for The Bruntwood Prize, the Venturous Fellowship from The Lark and a Cave Canem poetry fellowship amongst others. Dave is currently writing the feature adaptation of The Fortress of Solitude amongst several other feature and television projects for AMC (Interview with the Vampire), ABC Signature, Goddard Textiles and Amazon. His first full-length collection of poetry, “Patricide,” was published by Button Poetry. Upcoming: Incendiary (Woolly Mammoth, 2023), Tambo & Bones (Royal Stratford East, London Premiere, 2023).

 

Mikael Burke (Director, Tambo & Bones) is a Chicago-based director, deviser and educator. A Princess Grace Award-winner in Theatre and Jeff Award-nominated director, Mikael’s worked with Goodman Theatre, About Face Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Northlight Theatre, Raven Theatre, Jackalope Theatre Company, First Floor Theater, American Theater Company, Chicago Dramatists, The Story Theatre and Windy City Playhouse in Chicago, and regionally with Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Geva Theatre Center and Phoenix Theatre Indianapolis. Recent credits include Two Mile Hollow by Leah Nanako Winkler; the American premiere of Routes by Rachel De-Lahay, The Wanderers by Anna Ziegler, Shakespeare’s Richard III, The Magnolia Ballet by Terry Guest (2022 Jeff Award Winner – Production, Short Run); Fireflies by Donna R. Love (Black Theatre Alliance Award – Best Direction of an Ensemble). mklburke.com

 

About Refracted Theatre Company

 

Refracted’s mission is to disrupt socially accepted narratives by telling the “other side of the story.” By upending audience expectations through innovation and adaptation, Refracted inspires meaningful discourse centered on empathy and humanity.

 

Refracted is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that was founded in 2019 in New York City by Graham Miller and Tova Wolff. As a four-year old company, Refracted is proud to have been one of the only theaters in the country that produced two full seasons of live theatre during the pandemic, harnessing its powers of creativity and innovation. Now in its fourth season in its new home of Chicago, Refracted invites you to get involved as it redefines what theatre can be in order to build a world fueled by curiosity and compassion. Please visit www.refractedco.com for more information and follow Refracted on social media @refractedco.

 


Thursday, March 2, 2023

INCOMING: Nathan Graham, The Pinkerton Raid and Nicholas Johnson at SPACE March 6, 2023

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Nathan Graham, The Pinkerton Raid and Nicholas Johnson at SPACE next Monday, March 6: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nathan-graham-the-pinkerton-raid-and-nicholas-johnson-tickets-517896290747 

ALL AGES

Evanston, IL // Doors: 6pm | Show: 7pm // Tickets: $12 - $20

The Pinkerton Raid is "a towering forest of indie rock with a timbre of folk that shadows Langhorne Slim, Cold War Kids and The Killers," says THE SPILL.

The Pinkerton Raid PinkertonRaid
Photo Credit: Kendall Bailey 

2022’s THE HIGHWAY MOVES THE WORLD begins two decades ago in band leader Jesse James DeConto’s childhood basement, where he learned The Beatles and first turned a songwriter’s eye on his own rich and complicated family life. "Radiant," says AMERICAN SONGWRITER. 

"Poignant," claims ROLLING STONE. "Anthemic," according to AMERICANA-UK.

Since the lockdowns, DeConto is back on the road with a totally new Pinkerton Raid lineup but, as always, they are a gang of friends with a full-band sound.

The Highway Moves the World: https://pinkertonraid.bandcamp.com/album/the-highway-moves-the-world

https://www.pinkertonraid.com/ 


Tuesday, February 28, 2023

THE REVOLUTIONISTS Via Oil Lamp Theater March 16-April 30, 2023

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

THE REVOLUTIONISTS

Written by Lauren Gunderson

Directed by Elizabeth Mazur Levin



PLOT: Imagine if four badass, very real women, who lived boldly in France during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror had met and exchanged ideas before losing their heads? What if former queen Marie Antoinette,  playwright Olympe De Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle, uncensored and full of ideas, grappled together with how to change the world? Oh…and it’s a comedy!

CAST (in order of appearance):

Olympe De Gouges: Hannah Hammel

Marianne Angelle: Noelle Klyce

Charlotte Corday: Ksa Curry

Marie Antoinette: Lisa Dawn

Olympe De Gouges (understudy): Abby Gilster

Marianne Angelle (understudy): Jasmine Robertson

Charlotte Corday (understudy): Maddie Powell

Marie Antoinette (understudy): Emma Soden


CREATIVE TEAM:

Director: Elizabeth Mazur Levin

Stage Manager: Reina McGonigle

Assistant Director: Ashley Greenwood

Costume Designer: Emily N. Brink

Lighting Designer: Trey Brazeal

Properties Designer: Ellen Markus

Technical Director: Greg Korak

Scenic Designer: Liz Hadden

Sound Designer: Jay Pastucha

Wig Stylist: Karen Procopio


DATES:

March 16 - April 30


SHOWTIMES:

Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 7:30pm

Saturday, Sunday: 3:00pm


PRICE:

Previews (March 16, 17, 18 3:00pm): $30 adults / $20 student

Run (March 18, 7:30pm - April 30): $45 adults / $28 student

Buy tickets HERE

The performance runs approximately two hours with an intermission.


ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Now serving as the Artistic Director of Oil Lamp Theater, Elizabeth Mazur Levin's Oil Lamp Theater directing credits include Now and Then, Bad Dates, Beau Jest, Love, Loss, and What I Wore, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (2017 & 2020), Motherhood Out Loud, and two seasons of On the Road—Oil Lamp’s touring series. She will also be directing this summer’s production of Collected Stories by Donald Margulies. Other credits include work with Theater D, Taslitz/Reichenbach Productions, Citadel Theatre, Ouroboros Big Noise Theatre, Bowen Park Theatre, Phoenix Ascending, Centerlight Sign and Voice Theatre, Weathervane Repertory, and Apple Tree Theatre. Proud graduate of Miami University (B.F.A and B.A.) and Loyola University Chicago (M.Ed.) Many thanks to the “E’s”.


"You may notice that there is a blend of historical and contemporary elements throughout [The Revolutionists] from themes, to language, to design choices. While these women are people from long ago, what they are saying and feeling is eerily current to the times in which we are living. They laugh, and share bonds, and live in the moment. If you listen closely, their struggles are similar to the plights we are facing today. These figures are smart, and witty, and authentic, relatable, and all too human."

-- Elizabeth Mazur Levin

Where Theater Welcomes You Home

Oil Lamp Theater is an award-winning sixty-seat storefront theater located in the heart of downtown Glenview. We produce six mainstage theatrical plays per year, and offer special events such as our Speak Easy Nights. When you arrive at the theater, you are personally welcomed by our friendly box office staff. Our lobby features warm decor and comfortable seating, reminiscent of a home. Our theater’s intimate space and ambitious productions connect the audience and performers to create a truly unique experience. To top it all off, we offer complimentary cookies at all mainstage shows.

Monday, February 20, 2023

LOST REALMS: IMPROVISED MUSICALS FROM BEYOND VIA OTHERWORLD THEATRE Every Friday Starting March 3, 2023

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

OTHERWORLD THEATRE ANNOUNCES CAST, DETAILS FOR “LOST REALMS: IMPROVISED MUSICALS FROM BEYOND”

A Different Genre Musical Performance Every Friday 

Starting March 3, 2023


Otherworld Theatre Company, the premier science fiction and fantasy production company in North America, today announced casting and details for its brand new recurring improvised musical show, LOST REALMS: IMPROVISED MUSICALS FROM BEYOND. Opening March 3, 2023, the show is performed every Friday night at 10 p.m., with no two performances the same.

Each week, LOST REALMS visits a different genre of sci-fi and fantasy, transforming audience suggestions into an entirely original full-length musical packed with comedy, drama, otherworldly spectacle, and epic melodies, featuring live music from in-house band The Lost Band.

Creator and director Keenan Camp has deep experience in the Chicago musical theatre and improv scenes, having performed in productions including THE VERSE: AN IMPROVISED FIREFLY STORY and WHOPROV: IMPROVISED DOCTOR WHO, as well as co-writing and directing ALL THAT JAWS! A SHARKTASTIC MUSICAL, the musical adaptation of cinema classic JAWS. Most recently, Camp has been using his show RIFF: CHICAGO’S MUSIC IMPROV PARTY at iO Theater as a vehicle to teach improv and musical skills to aspiring performers. 

“I don’t believe there’s any type of comedy or theatre out there that’s more difficult to do than an improvised musical. Not only are the performers responsible for creating the plot, characters, and dialogue as they go, but they’re also creating lyrics, melodies, and harmonies all on the spot,” said Keenan Camp, creator and director of LOST REALMS: IMPROVISED MUSICALS FROM BEYOND. “Otherworld has offered us a great opportunity to showcase the profound talents of the LOST REALMS cast, letting us really dive deep into some niche areas of sci-fi and fantasy, all through a musical lens.”

The cast of LOST REALMS rotates from week to week, and includes Austin Packard, Barb Jackson, Ben Hebert, Carlos Rivera, Christian Torres, Cosmo Coniglio, Derek Demkowicz, Hayley Karlson, Hugh Walker, Jono Mammel, Kaitlyn Nibbelin, Kimberly Perry, Lily Ludwig, Margaret Hunsicker, and Will Nicholson. 

LOST REALMS: IMPROVISED MUSICALS FROM BEYOND opens March 3, 2023, and is performed every Friday at 10 p.m. at Otherworld Theatre (3914 N. Clark St.) before being streamed on Otherworld’s YouTube page. Each performance is approximately 90-100 minutes with one intermission. Tickets are $20, with some Pay-What-You-Can tickets available for each performance. Tickets are available online at www.otherworldtheatre.org

ABOUT OTHERWORLD THEATRE COMPANY

Otherworld Theatre Company (3914 N. Clark St.) was founded in 2012 to bring a theatrical experience to the science fiction and fantasy genre. The Company’s work celebrates the depth of human imagination by engaging spectators in high quality storytelling. Otherworld Theatre Company stages original works in its pay-what-you-can Chicago, Illinois venue, presents virtual programming online, and produces immersive Live-Action Role Playing events through its partner company, Moonrise Games. For more information: www.otherworldtheatre.org.


More Fun Otherworld Shows On Our Radar:

Friday, February 17, 2023

REDTWIST THEATRE ANNOUNCES THE CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM FOR JACQUELINE GOLDFINGER’S BABEL, MARCH 23 – APRIL 30, 2023

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Redtwist Theatre Presents

Jacqueline Goldfinger's dark comedy 

Babel

MARCH 23 – APRIL 30, 2023



Redtwist presents the winner of the Smith Prize For Political Theater and the Generations Award, the dark comedy Babel, written by Jacqueline Goldfinger and directed by Redtwist Associate Artistic Director Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary, March 23 – April 30, at Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. I'll be out for the press opening on March 26th, so check back soon for my full review.

Redtwist Theatre, currently presenting the world premiere of The Great Kahn through February 26, announces the second production of its 2023 season, Babel, written by Jacqueline Goldfinger and directed by Redtwist Associate Artistic Director Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary, March 23 – April 30, at Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. The current running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. Previews are Thursday, March 23 - Saturday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. 

The performance schedule is Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for previews and $40 for all other performances with student, military and senior discounts available at RedtwistTheatre.org or by emailing reserve@redtwist.org.

Jacqueline Goldfinger’s Babel paints a dystopian society in the not-so-distant future. Provocative and unsettling, Babel follows two couples as they try to get pregnant in a world in which eugenics is the reality. This dark comedy explores the value society places on a child, on one’s free will and the future generations of the human race. Goldfinger dares to ask questions that press the audience to think deeply about what is really important: our imperfect humanity or the progression of a perfect society? How far are we willing to go and what is the cost of perfection?

Babel Cast includes:

First row: (L to R) Monique Marshaun and Shannon Leigh Webber

Second Row: (L to R) Michael Sherwin and Soleil Pérez


The cast of Babel includes Monique Marshaun (she/her/hers, Renee); Shannon Leigh Webber (she/her/hers, Dani); ensemble member Michael Sherwin (he/him/his, Jamie) and Soleil Pérez (she/her/hers, Ann).

The current creative team of Babel includes Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary (she/her/hers, director); Eileen Dixon (she/her/hers, assistant director); Haley Willits (she/her/hers, dramaturg); Jonathan Berg-Einhorn (he/him/his, scenic designer); Jeff Brain (he/him/his, property designer and technical director); Kathleen Gardin (she/her/hers, costume designer); Cat Davis (she/her/hers, lighting designer) and Jake Sorgen (he/him/his, sound designer).



Babel playwright Jacqueline Goldfinger


ABOUT JACQUELINE GOLDFINGER, playwright

Jacqueline Goldfinger (she/her/hers/them/they/theirs) is a playwright, librettist, poet and dramaturg who grew up in rural North Florida with a love of music and storytelling. Today, they are an artist who seeks out unique collaborations, working across disciplines to create singular works of theater and opera. They began their career as a teaching artist and teaching/mentorship is still a significant part of their process.


Babel director Redtwist Associate Artistic Director Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary

ABOUT RINSKA CARRASCO-PRESTINARY, director

Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary (she/her/hers) is a Dominican-American who is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and Gray Talent Group. Carrasco-Prestinary’s previous Redtwist credits include: Isaac’s Eye, Death Tax and Between Riverside and Crazy. Other credits include Firefly Love (Something Marvelous); The River Ride (Halcyon) with other past selected production credits: Taming of the Shrew (assistant director, Barbara Gaines, director, Chicago Shakespeare) and Romeo and Juliet (directing intern, Marti Lyons, director, Chicago Shakespeare). When she is not directing you can catch her being silly with her baby. 

ABOUT REDTWIST THEATRE

Redtwist is an award-winning theatre company that stages up close and personal contemporary dramas annually in its intimate black box theatre housed proudly within the heart of Edgewater’s Bryn Mawr Historic District.

Intimate performances at Redtwist are designed to place the theatre patron in the midst of the stories being told, making them accessible and riveting. Redtwist strives for excellence with every project and proactively endeavors to take risks while offering opportunities for up-and-coming actors, designers and directors to work with established talent. Redtwist provides the very best Chicago storefront theatre experience from excellence on stage, to warm hospitality in a clean, friendly environment.



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