The Chicago Actors' Studio, one of the Midwest's most prestigious actor training institutions, understands that starving artists don't always have the money in their budget to improve their craft. That's why the organization gave away dozens of classes last year and hopes to offer even more freebies for performing arts students this year.
On Sunday, November 16th, the CAS will hold a fundraiser to support those scholarship efforts. In addition to fundraiser staples of raffles and silent auctions, you'll have the opportunity to do some performing of your own on the karaoke stage. There will also be free beer for all attendees, starving or not.
Admission is $15 at the door, $12 in advance, and $10 for performers with headshots and resumes. All of the proceeds from the evening will benefit the scholarship program.
- Jamie Smith |
Dance Thu Oct 02 2008
Chicago is home to so many modern dance companies that it can sometimes get overwhelming. Thank goodness for Chicago Moving Company's OTHER Dance Festival. CMC has both the artist and the audience in mind in providing a venue for local modern dancers, and a one-stop-shop for dance lovers to see 16 companies on one stage over three weekends. Forgive the late notice, but tonight and tomorrow are your last chance this year, so be sure to get on out there and take a look at some local artists. Who knows, maybe you'll find your favorite little Chicago company!
Thursday (10/2) and Friday (10/3), 7:30 p.m., $15 ($12 students/seniors), Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, 3035 N. Hoyne. Click here for tickets or call BrownPaperTickets at 800.838.3006.
- Rachel Zanders |
Theatre Tue Sep 23 2008
In Lifeline Theatre's production of The Picture of Dorian Gray -- a world premiere of the adaptation by Robert Kauzlaric from Oscar Wilde's novel -- the eponymous character (played by Nick Vidal, pictured here, left, with the elder Lord Henry [Sean Sinitski]) manages to stay forever young by sloughing off the painful consequences of his many and increasingly detestable sins onto a painting of himself. Everyone around him ages, and everyone he touches is drawn into "the depths of depravity," but he remains unchanged. It seems that in such a story, the audience must be fascinated with Dorian, but I found myself focusing on everyone but. I left the theater feeling that the play was an extraordinary success, but I never felt Dorian's charisma, which is really the linchpin of the story. In theory, nothing makes sense without understanding the world's unshakable adoration of Dorian Gray; but Lifeline certainly pulled through.
Continue reading this entry»
- Rachel Zanders |
Review Wed Sep 17 2008
In the auditorium of the MCA, I'm literally on the edge of my seat. I want desperately to leave -- and it's because the presentation is so good. Environmental advocate and attorney Robert F Kennedy Jr. is giving the most dynamic talk I've ever seen. He has literally lost his voice and is croaking out every syllable, but the whole place is hanging on his every word about the pillaging of America's forests and rivers. And he's so convincing that I can't believe we're all sitting in this auditorium instead of leaping to our feet and throwing our bodies in front of the nearest strip-mining operation or mercury-spewing factory.
This feeling of inspiration and, well, wanting to sprint out of the auditorium and make some change happen, permeated the entirety of the Cusp conference, held over two days last week at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Ostensibly about "the design of everything," it was really a super collider for innovative, creative thought, bringing genius-y over-achievers from all sectors to deliver their wisdom to the assembled masses.
Bryan Anderson, an Iraq war veteran who lost three limbs (yes, three limbs) spoke about his new state-of-the-art microprocessor-controlled appendages and about how, thanks to a relentless determination to pursue his dreams, he's now a movie stunt man. Paul Jenkins spoke about growing up poor in England, landing in Times Square in his early 20s, and falling in with the guys who started the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - and that's just the prelude to his career as the writer of the Spiderman comic books. Journalist Quinn Norton presented how she hacked her own body, getting an implant of a tiny magnet in her middle finger that allowed her to sense electromagnetic fields. Paul Polak advocated designing for the "other 90%" of the world's population, creating cheap but innovative devices for the third world, like water pumps that can significantly increase the output of crops for a small farmer. Plus a whole lineup of other rockstar mover/shakers. And then there was the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speech that brought the whole place to its feet.
The conference was sponsored by design firm SamataMason, and in talking to some of the designers from the firm, I got the sense that it became a passion project for all involved. No wonder. The whole place thrummed with an enthusiasm that even the most jaded design hipster couldn't deny. Tickets are pricey. This year's conference was about $1,700 a ticket. But if you can get your employer to foot the bill, or if you've got extra rainy-day cash that you want to spend on pure inspiration, sign up for next year's event.
- Lindsay Muscato |
(*This post's author co-produces Chicago Underground Comedy.)
Every Tuesday at 9:30pm, the Beat Kitchen (2100 W. Belmont) takes a break from the rock and punk bands that grace the stage every other night of the week to host Chicago Underground Comedy, an independent artist-produced stand-up showcase featuring Chicago's best and brightest alternative stand-up comedy talent. It's a lot of smart funny for only $5.
The show began several years ago with 16 core cast members, but few of those original comedians remain. The group is constantly refreshed with up-and-coming new talent, as every few months, another comedian leaves the training ground of Chicago for New York or L.A.
Among the show's current cast members, favorite guests, and returning ex-pats are an impressive tally of credits: new writers for Saturday Night Live, new cast members on MADtv, and performances on Comedy Death Ray, Comedy Central's Premium Blend and Live at Gotham, the Craig Ferguson Show, Last Call With Carson Daly, and more.
Highlight video from May and more photos from last Tuesday's Chicago Underground Comedy show after the jump!
Continue reading this entry»
- Elizabeth McQuern |
Dance Sun Aug 24 2008
We could get into a long conversation on the subject of why I'm not usually drawn to dance that promises to "de-mystify" and "de-titillate" the "objectification of women." But when Breakbone DanceCo promises to mock themselves, mock a lot of the heavy-handed social commentary out there, and encourage the audience to laugh during this de-titillation, my interest is piqued. The "De-evolution of MUDWOMAN (an evening of dance exile, fashion, and humor)" begins with a "superficial poptart diva"--representing today's female role models--who de-evolves into the primordial female, complete with head-to-toe mud. The show is filled with entertainment, including a couture fashion show and videography, and is punctuated by commentary from three "expositors" who critique the goings-on throughout the evening.
Breakbone uses a unique, athletic style, and the MUDWOMAN choreography explores a movement-as-language standpoint with diverse sources, from sign language to "primal body posturing" to more standard dance techniques. The concert features work by award-winning choreographers Colleen Halloran and Atalee Judy, and former Hubbard Street Chicago dancer Cheryl Mann.
So if you want to participate in a high-energy and humorous journey toward the appreciation of the female form in its "most beautiful, raw, and primal state," go check out Breakbone at the Viaduct Theater, 3111 N. Western Ave., Chicago. It's running for two more weeks: August 28, 29, 30, and September 4, 5, 6, all shows at 9:00. $18 ($15 students and seniors). Click here for tickets or visit Breakbone's website for more information.
- Rachel Zanders |
Art Thu Aug 14 2008
Walking by St. Paul's Cultural Center on North Avenue, it's hard not to notice the steady stream of bike messengers decked out in brilliantly pink attire flowing in and out of the cathedral basement. Ducking in, a voice booms out from the back:
"WELCOME TO PINK! ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH OUR SERVICES?"
Created by Austin artist Jaclyn Pryor, Pink: A (Love) Courier Service is a community-based, interactive art installation that encourages Chicagoans to share their love with one another through hand typed, hand delivered love letters delivered around Chicago by an army of pedaling volunteers.
"I wanted to create something that engaged people in an unexpected way," says Pryor, who first began the service as a public art project in 2006. "People go to museums and decide they want to see this or that, and it's very one-sided. I wanted to get people involved without their knowing it, as well as to encourage communication and expression."
The expressions are loud and clear: participants sending off their love letters hook their messages up to a revolving clothesline and, with the aid of a jumpsuited "Lovefactory" worker, scream out "LOVE ON THE LINE!" as their typed letter is sent down to be bottled, bowed and biked out to its lucky recipient.
The 85 volunteers who keep Pink running work in full view of the visitors, hand sewing tags and mapping out routes as the Lovefactory churns along. "I wanted people to see the process behind the product," says Pryor, who is known as Heffi McHefferson while on duty. Core members work about five days a week, though residing at the Cultural Center can make it difficult for factory workers to remove themselves from the environment. "We checked out sixty poetry books from the Chicago Public Library," says Pryor, "but now there are only fifty-seven...we really needed to get ourselves some movies."
"It's pink everywhere, always," says messenger Tuesday, nee Emily Jantzen, part of the core Austin group working and living at the Lovefactory. "I love it, though. I've gotten some interesting reactions from people, going out in my jumpsuit trying to find local businesses willing to support us. Riding in elevators in these outfits has been particularly fun. Chicago's been pretty receptive to us, though. It's been great."
With only one day left before the Lovefactory closes up shop, Pink was still taking on volunteers, training newbie Untitled 2008 (Whitney) at 5:00pm on Thursday afternoon. "They found me at the farmer's market in Logan Square," she says, pulling on a hot pink vest and smiling for her courier headshot. "All I could think was, oh, I want to do this."
Pink: A (Love) Courier Service will be open from 11am - 10pm tomorrow, after which it will close its doors to Chicago - but not before a massive potluck dinner, to which any and all are invited. Bring a dish, open your heart and share the love as fast as you can - Pink is here to help you put your love on the line.
Pink is stationed at the St. Paul's Cultural Center, 2215 W North Ave. Hours at 11am - 10pm. Potluck dinner will take place on Friday, August 15th. Bring a dish, share the love.
- Jaime Calder |
Dance Wed Aug 13 2008
There are so many opportunities to see dance in Chicago, but the Chicago Dancing Festival really stands out. As if by magic, the Chicago Dancing Company pulls together some of the country's most renowned dance companies and presents them to the Chicago public for free. No strings attached. The founders of CDC believe that "good dance cultivates more dance," and that a free performance of some of the best dancing out there will create a greater audience for the art form. Regardless of the philosophy, get out there and take advantage of the opportunity!
The first night of this three-night festival is already sold out (er, "reserved out"), although there's a way to get stand-by vouchers. It just might be worth it, since some of the greatest dance companies in U.S. history (including the Limon Dance Company and the Martha Graham Dance Company, as well as Chicago's own Joffrey Ballet) are performing on the same stage.
Monday, August 18, 7:30 p.m., Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Dr. (See link above for stand-by vouchers.)
If you're interested in learning about the origins of modern dance from some people who would really know what the heck they're talking about (imagine learning physics from Einstein's #1 student), reserve your spot for Artists Up Close, where dancers and the respective artistic directors of the Limon and the Martha Graham Dance companies will present a multimedia lecture and demonstration exploring the birth of modern dance.
Tuesday, August 19, 6 p.m., Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave. Call 312-397-4010 for reservations.
On the third and final night, "A Celebration of American Dance" in Millennium Park is an evening of performances by some fantastic companies, including the American Ballet Theater (performing the Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake--you can't get any better than that), Chicago's Hubbard Street Dance, and Muntu Dance Theater. It's not often you get the opportunity to see all of this dancing in one night, for free, while taking advantage of the best part of Chicago summers: sitting outside with your friends and a bottle of (ahem) grape juice with the skyline rising above you.
Wednesday, August 20, 7:30 p.m., Pritzker Pavilion, Michigan Ave. and Randolph St. No reservations necessary, but get there early for a good spot!
- Rachel Zanders |
WNEP Theater's latest venture, Metaluna and the Amazing Science of the Mind Revue will inject some good old-fashioned Dada into your buttoned-up, nailed-down, over-scheduled world. It's written by Joe Janes, a Chicago writer and teacher, and (while a plot summary is pretty much impossible) it's based around a European Dada troupe's psychological experiments on an unwitting group of small-town folk. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of Dada, here's Joe's list of how to add a little Dada to your own life.
- Lindsay Muscato |
Last night, theater boosters gathered for a meeting to discuss a potential performing arts museum here in Chicago. In case you missed out on the action, Don Hall gives a quick round-up of the meeting on his blog and says most talks centered on finding funding rather than on making sure it's a museum that Chicagoans are actually interested in. Background here.
- Lindsay Muscato |
Dance Fri Aug 01 2008
Some people watch a dance performance and wonder what it would be like to be on stage. And some people take it a step farther. Open House Dance Collective, a division of HouseHold Arts Collective, invites community members--regardless of training or skill level--to come rehearse with professional choreographers. They perform professionally every summer, and this weekend's "OHD 5" is this year's culmination.
The Collective has been successful for five years running--increasing the number of dancers from 30 in '04 to 70 in '07. Their shows keep on sellin' out, which is fantastic since a portion of the proceeds always go to charity. This aligns with the dual mission of HouseHold Arts: to bring Chicago artists together, and to use that art as a vehicle to educate audiences and further the causes of local charities. "OHD 5" will benefit Inspiration Cafe, which provides restaurant-style meals, life skills training, case management, and other services at their Uptown location to help men and women overcome the causes of their homelessness.
Want to come see your neighbors-cum-professional dancers? You'll also get to see an appearance by Jump Rhythm Jazz Project. Shows continue tonight and tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. at the Vittum Theater, 1012 N. Noble St., Chicago. Tickets are $15, and reservations are highly recommended. Click here or call 773-342-4141.
- Rachel Zanders |
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Millennium Park are joining forces this August to bring you some distinctive sonic experiences. Come to the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park on selected Monday nights throughout August to hear programs featuring The AFTRA/SAG Senior Radio Players, episodes from popular radio sitcoms from the 1940s, local and international sound artists, and selections from local Chicago labels such as Thrill Jockey Records. The events begin on August 4th at last from 6-8pm.
- Laura Mayer |
Art Wed Jul 23 2008
Performance and installation artist Sara Schnadt -- whom we featured in a March 2008 Q&A -- has been invited to show her piece "Connectivity" at the Sea Arts Festival at the Busan Biennale, held Sept. 6-Nov. 15 in Busan, South Korea. Schnadt will install and perform her piece during the first two weeks of September.
- Lauri Apple |
In early June, a blog by Albert Williams at The Chicago Reader asked: "Why can't Chicago have a performing arts museum?" And about a bajillion commenters responded with, "Dude. YES! We should have a performing arts museum!" Well, that's paraphrasing. But the response was overwhelmingly positive, and the Chicagoland Theater and Dance Foundation was born. Their mission: "Fund the preservation of Chicago's rich and diverse performing arts history, with the specific goal of developing a performing arts museum and archive in downtown Chicago." The first meeting of like-minded supporters takes place on Monday, August 4th at 7 p.m., The Mercury Theater. Details here.
Other resources for Chicago theater history include a project by sound designer Nick Keenan and actor Dan Granata, who teamed up to create the Chicago Theater Database. Plus there's the Chicago Theatre History Project, run by a professor at Valparaiso University.
Personally, I think it's admirable that so many people want to memorialize Chicago theater. As long as we keep paying an equal or greater amount of attention to keeping Chicago theater alive and well.
- Lindsay Muscato |
Van, airplane hangar, bathroom, ballpark -- if you've got space, a local dancer/musician duo will venture out on a "microgig" and create a performance especially for your non-traditional venue.
Their first performance foray happens on July 15; see their MySpace page for more info and to RSVP.
- Lindsay Muscato |
Dance Tue Jul 08 2008
If you're curious about an art form that is more than the sum of its parts (its parts being dance and martial arts), then Gingarte Capoeira Chicago has your weekend all planned out for you. In capoeira, what starts off looking like a partnered dance turns into an improvised fight--both aggressive and graceful--with kicks, throws, and acrobatics. The music is also instrumental (ha) in this art form that originated (arguably) in the sixteenth century with African slaves in Brazil who wanted to disguise their self-defense training. Today's capoeira dancers are disciplined and spiritual and, as with martial artists, consider it to be a way of life.
Gingarte has been around since 1991, teaching and promoting capoeira, as well as Brazilian music and language. They have an Academy in Pilsen where you can take advantage of their classes year-round, but July 10 through 13 is their 14th Annual Batizado e Troca de Cordões, where you can participate in workshops on capoeira, music, maculelê, and samba. Click the link for the weekend event schedule, registration information (register by July 9), and fees for adults and youth.
Of course, the weekend wouldn't be complete without an opportunity to see the artists at work. Gingarte Capoeira's "Resistência" performance is at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, at the University of Illinois Chicago, Performing Arts Theater, 1044 W. Harrison St. Tickets are $10 in advance (online ticket sales end Friday), $15 at the door, $5 ages 16 and under.
- Rachel Zanders |
Links Hall, one of Chicago's long-standing dance and performance hubs, still has openings for some of its summer intensive workshops:
SITI Company Suzuki and Viewpoints Intensive
Mondays-Fridays, July 7-18, 9:30am-1:30pm; $595
Or, check out:
One-day intro to Suzuki and The Viewpoints Method with SITI Company; Saturday, July 12, 10am-2pm; $40
The New York-based SITI Company comes to Links Hall to facilitate a one-day introduction and a two-week intensive workshop in the physical vocabularies and basic theories of two distinct methods of actor training, the Viewpoints and the Suzuki Method. The Suzuki Method is a rigorous physical and vocal discipline designed to focus the perceptive abilities and powers of the human body. The Viewpoints is a technique of improvisation that grew out of the post-modern dance world. For details or registration for either workshop, call Links Hall at 773-281-0824 or e-mail emott@linkshall.org.
Charged Bodies/Borders: A Solo Performance Intensive with Tim Miller
Monday-Thursday, July 21-24, 1pm-5pm; Saturday, July 26, 11am-3pm; Student Performance Sunday, July 27, 7pm; $150
Renowned performance artist, writer and teacher Tim Miller explores modes of movement and performance-making. The workshop will culminate in an ensemble-generated piece and will be performed in conjunction with Miller’s own solo performance. For more on Tim Miller, see hometown.aol.com/millertale. Call Links Hall at 773-281-0824 or e-mail emott@linkshall.org for details or to register.
- Lindsay Muscato |
Women & Children First in Andersonville, one of the nation's oldest and largest feminist bookstores, is looking for: "provocative lesbian-identified queer artists and scholars to present their work at our new, monthly Sappho's Salon series. We're looking for poets, writers, spoken word artists, comedians, visual artists with slides who can talk about their work, queer academics with provocative lectures, queer burlesque performers, musicians, performance artists, filmmakers and/or others we haven't thought of. Sappho's Salon will occur from 7 to 9 on the third Saturday of every month." For more info, see the salon's MySpace page.
- Lindsay Muscato |
Radio Ephemera is a new project from Third Coast Audio Festival that seeks short audio stories based on some of the works in San Francisco's Prelinger Library. Titles include The Stork Didn't Bring You! (facts of life for teenagers) and Trees as Good Citizens (dunno what it's about, but trees do make stalwart neighborhood watch captains). More info on how to enter your short audio masterpiece.
- Lindsay Muscato |
Dance Tue Jun 17 2008
Every once in a while, Chicago Dance Crash holds a "Battle for the Belt" in which dancers battle it out to earn the title of Keeper of the Floor (KTF), complete with an enormous gold-plated ("forty pounds of gold") Championship Belt. Of course, the whole thing is more or less tongue-in-cheek, but this is a great chance to see some fantastic dancers improvising in styles as diverse as ballet, tap, and breaking. This is a high-energy competition where the audience picks the favorite. Check out CDC's performance footage to get a taste.
Friday 6/20, 10:30 p.m., $10, Lakeshore Theater (their KTF page has more info about the show) 3175 N. Broadway.
- Rachel Zanders |
A year ago, two Chicago improv performers moved to Portland, Oregon to start their own theater company. Follow along on their blog as they buy their own space and make it all pretty.
- Lindsay Muscato |
Dance Mon Jun 02 2008
If you've ever wondered about artists' creative process, if you enjoy watching great dancing and cutting-edge choreography--or if you're the type of person who relishes the opportunity to say, "Yeah, I knew about that way before it became so popular, ugh!"--then you'd best be heading over to the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago this weekend. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, one of our city's most popular dance companies, will be putting on its annual "Inside/Out" Choreographic Workshop Performance, an evening of works-in-progress that could eventually become part of the company's repertoire.
Every year, HSDC offers its dancers the opportunity to set choreography on their compatriots, and these dancers-turned-choreographers have created several of of today's fan favorites. (And I must say from personal experience, it does feel snarkily good to sit in the theater a couple months later to see a World Premiere that you saw in its infancy at "Inside/Out.") Of course, regardless of the works-in-progress nature of the evening, this is still Hubbard Street, so you know you're going to see a high-quality, accessible performance. They sold out last year, so be sure to reserve your seat!
June 6 @ 8:30, June 7 @ 6:00 and 8:30, Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave. $20 general admission ($35 reserved section). To guarantee your seats, call 312-850-9744 (ext. 166), or visit the website for an order form.
- Rachel Zanders |
Dance Thu May 29 2008
I bet you didn't know that you missed National Tap Day. No kidding. Check out the U.S. Joint Resolution. The holiday was officially on May 25, the agreed-upon birthday of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. (If you've never seen the master at work, you've been missing out.) The supporters of the bill that brought National Tap Day into being have likened tap dancing to jazz music as far as its contribution to the national cultural and artistic heritage.
There was already one big celebration here in Chicago last weekend, put on by the Chicago Human Rhythm Project. But never fear! There's still plenty of hoofin' going on this Saturday at the Old Town School's National Tap Day Festival. Tappers from Chicago and beyond will be on stage, including grand marshals Reggio “The Hoofer” McLaughlin and nonagenarian tap man Ernest “Brownie” Brown.
May 31, 8 p.m., Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave. Tickets are $20 ($18 for Old Town School members; $16 for students and seniors) and can be purchased via the box office (773.728.6000) or on the Web.
- Rachel Zanders |
Dance Thu May 22 2008
If you like the idea of ballet, but get a little squeamish by Act II of those classical "masterpieces," then Elements Contemporary Ballet might be just what you're looking for. Mike Gosney, the founder and artistic director of this Chicago company, has been creating dance that is truly ballet (the ladies wear pointe shoes, the movements come from a ballet vocabulary), yet truly contemporary (hey, ballerinas aren't supposed to stick out their hips like that!) since the company's inception three years ago.
This weekend, ECB presents its Spring Concert, featuring premieres of "Baroque Compositions" (set to Bach) and "Angel," as well as performances of some of the company's repertoire. A reception (free and open to the public) will follow the Saturday show, and will include an opportunity to meet the dancers, staff, and board of ECB, a wine and cheese tasting, and a raffle. Performances are May 23 and 24, 7:00 p.m. at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn. $17.50 general admission ($15 students and seniors). Click here for tickets, or call the box office at 312-337-6543.
- Rachel Zanders |
Dance Fri May 16 2008
This weekend and next, you'll get the chance to see some acrobatic dancers create a story in the air using ... giant lampshades. And picture frames and clotheslines and boots, oh my! Aloft Aerial Dance presents The Dinner of our Discontent, in which they tell the story--which "veers from heartbreaking to hilarious"--of five estranged sisters returning home after the sudden deaths of their parents. The company has spent some time in China since their last full-length show, and they picked up some tricks from Chinese acrobats who make use of every-day objects to create their art.
The show is May 16-18 and 23-25, 8:00 p.m. at the Aloft Loft, 941 N California Ave. (down the alley, in the back). Go to Brown Paper Tickets for...well...tickets at $20-$30.
As a side note--if you've ever wanted to join the circus but don't want to leave Chicago, you can learn how to be a trapezist right here! Check out the Aloft Loft for all the classes Aloft has to offer.
- Rachel Zanders |
If our earlier coverage of the Event Promoters’ Ordinance here and here hasn’t scared you into contacting your local representative to protect live music, consider this: the law will also affect those producing and promoting live theater. Save Chicago Culture points out that if the ordinance passes our vibrant performance community may dwindle to Wicked and Jersey Boys. Please help prevent that dystopian image from ever becoming a reality by contacting your alderman and asking him or her not to support the law. It worked last time!
- Jamie Smith |
Dance Mon May 05 2008
On the first Thursday of the next three months, dance critic Lucia Mauro will be hosting the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs series "About Dance," now in its fourth year. Each event in the series will feature a performance by a local choreographer or dance company, accompanied by a discussion with Mauro about that performer's artistic process. This month's contribution is sure to be entertaining. Matthew Hollis will perform "Let's Go Love!" in which he utilizes modern dance and his faux-self-help technique, the Power of Cheer (as in cheerleading) to pick apart and celebrate everything that is Love.
All of this entertainment is FREE at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, at the Chicago Cultural Center's Dance Studio, 78 E. Washington St. For more information, call 312-744-6630.
- Rachel Zanders |
Dance Thu May 01 2008
In keeping with the company's goals of inspiring "new perceptions of movement," Inaside Chicago Dance has created an evening of dancing inspired by the drip period of Jackson Pollock's artwork. In the Painting will be a "multimedia dance experience," beginning with a short film by Pedro Brenner (Inaside's photographer and award-winning film director) about Pollock's life and art, and continuing with choreographed works that include a multimedia element.
May 2 @ 8:00, May 3 @ 2:00 & 8:00. Ruth Page Center for the Performing Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn. $20 general ($15 student/dancer/senior). Purchase tickets at the Ruth Page box office (312.337.6543).
- Rachel Zanders |
Dance Sun Apr 20 2008
If your daydreams resemble Fame, then Open House Dance Collective might help you turn your fantasies into reality. On Sunday, May 4, the nonprofit holds its "Reverse Auditions," which link professional choreographers with aspiring dancers to "train" for a three-month period -- regardless of skill level -- in anticipation of performing. Seven different choreographers show their style of movement, with participants choosing their choreographer (instead of the other way around) by movement preference and rehearsal schedules. Just by virtue of showing up, you're in!
Participants get to dance in a professional-quality concert (to be held July 31-Aug. 2 at the Vittum Theater), with a portion of ticket sales going to two local charities.
3-5 p.m. Menomonee Club,1535 N. Dayton Street. For more info, contact info@householdarts.org.
- Lauri Apple |
If you haven’t cleared your calendar for the MCA’s upcoming Hip Hop Live + Reel, you might want to get on that. Born of New York City’s Hip Hop Theater Festival, Live + Reel is a four-day bonanza of hip hop culture. Artists from both coasts – including New York’s Reggie Watts and Bay Area lyricists The Suicide Kings – will be joining forces with local performers like Deja Taylor, whose work from Louder Than a Bomb has been recorded for Chicago Public Radio, and Teatro Luna, Chicago’s all-Latina theater company.
“This new format – two days of film and two days of live performances – creates a mini-festival atmosphere,” says MCA House Manager Surinder Martignetti. “The strength of combining local artists with national performers offers people such a great opportunity to see what’s happening out there and to really get involved.”
With all four days boasting a packed line up of spoken word performances, outstandingly original films and, of course, music (and only $5 for tickets to the films! Five! For the whole night!), the MCA is encouraging everyone to try to make the whole series. If you can only make one, though, I recommend aiming for Saturday, when The Suicide Kings’ In Spite of Everything, a startlingly timely play revolving around a school shooting, will be performed. Louder Than a Bomb 2008 winner Kuumba Lynx will also perform, and beatboxer Yuri Lane will close the night with an excerpt from his show From Tel Aviv to Ramallah: A Beatbox Journey.
Film night tickets are $5 for all screeings; performance nights are $16 member/$20 non-member. Student pricing is available. To see the full list of performances or to buy tickets on line, visit the MCA’s website, or call the box office at 312.397.4010 for more information.
- Jaime Calder |
The 2nd Story Festival brings together Chicago's finest writer/performances for three weekends of great stories and great wine at Webster's Wine Bar. Personal and true, the stories run the gamut: some will knock you on your ass laughing, some will start the teardrops a-welling. Stories also integrate the aural stylings of a DJ/sound designer. And between each tale, there's enough downtime to chat with friends or your date and sip/chug a flight of wine. (Full disclosure: I'm a storyteller with the festival this year, which means I've been lucky enough to hear some of these performers in rehearsal and seriously cannot wait to hear the final versions.) Check out a preview performance this Sunday, and then the festival kicks into high gear on April 24. More information and tickets at www.storiesandwine.com.
- Lindsay Muscato |
Dance Mon Apr 14 2008
For the next two weekends, the Chicago company (of which yours truly just happens to be a part) Innervation Dance Cooperative will present its contemporary dance interpretation of the play Everyman, set to music by Led Zeppelin. For those of you who might be familiar with your 15th-century morality plays, this rendition is stripped of religion and focuses on the "you can't take it with you" aspect of what's important in life. Everyman receives a visit from Death and begs for more time to find a companion to join her (it's an all-female cast) on that final journey. After her friends, family, Wealth, Beauty, Strength, and other less loyal compatriots turn their backs on her, she finds that her long-neglected Good Deeds and Conscience are the only support she can bring along. Of course, the ever-present Robert Plant and Jimmy Page refuse to allow the show to get preachy, and push the dancers to moments of passion and hilarity.
Performances are April 17, 19, 24, 25 at 7:30, and April 20, 27 at 2:30. Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, 3035 N. Hoyne. $15 ($10 students/seniors). Purchase tickets at the door or contact Innervation at info@innervationdance.org or 773-230-2168.
- Rachel Zanders |
Tonight (April 11) marks the kick-off of comedienne/writer/actress Sarah King's new one-woman show, "good crazy/bad crazy," which runs at the Apollo Studio Theater every Friday until May 2. In addition to dancing, lots of audience interaction, and a general exploration of the idea that "everyone is crazy, but some people are just better at hiding it," the show features words of wisdom from King's parents, who hail from Sugar Land, Texas (whose Town Crazy isTom DeLay) and provide their own insights on what "crazy" means. For a preview, here's a video featuring King's mom and dad, clad in matching pink sport shirts, chatting about "bad crazy drivers" and picking up cans. 8 p.m. $12, $10 for students. 2540 N. Lincoln Ave. For more info, call 773-935-6100 or visit the Website.
- Lauri Apple |
Dance Thu Apr 10 2008
This weekend at the MCA, you can see what one of America's great modern dance companies has to say about our "mediatized" world, touching on morality, humanity, and violence, the judicial process, and prison. The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company has been a major force in American modern dance for nearly 25 years. In this visit to Chicago, they will be presenting Chapel/Chapter, a performance that retells two "high-visibility" news stories and one company member's "reminiscence/confession." The music is performed live, the set plays a role, and video and spoken words are involved, all contributing to the choreographer's desire to create a "self-enclosed world." The show promises to be both intellectually and visually fascinating.
Shows are at the MCA, 220 E. Chicago Ave., on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30. Tickets are $35-$40 ($28-$32 for MCA members). For tickets and more information, including a video preview, visit the MCA's website.
- Rachel Zanders |
Art Wed Apr 09 2008
If you're the kind of person who walks by municipal garbage cans piled high with empty Starbucks cups and winces at all the waste, then Monument, a new dance theater work by local multidisciplinary arts collective The Seldoms, is for you. The 50-minute work, which combines dance, music and video, addresses our culture's apparent addiction to consumption and waste, in which the landfill has become an "accidental social sculpture." Recently Monument choreographer Carrie Hanson took a few minutes out of her busy schedule to answer some questions about the performance, which runs April 10-12 at 8pm at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn. (For more info, call 312-328-0303.)
How did the idea for Monument develop?
The Monument project has been developing for over a year. The idea began broadly: The initial choreographic, sonic and imagistic impulses emerged from a consideration of the acts of preservation, creation and destruction. We started from several points of inquiry: in balancing concerns for short-term prosperity/survival with long-term prosperity/survival, what do we preserve? What are the economic forces and cultural ethos that influence our behavior and decisions as consumers? What tensions exist between our dual identities as consumer and citizen, and between private goods and the public good? And finally, what are the personal, social, and environmental effects of our collective and individual acts of production, consumption, and disposal?
As we began our research before going into the dance studio, we easily found a lot of information relating to consumption and waste. The facts, offering mind-blowing figures about the quantity of plastic bottles and tons of refuse, were impressive and daunting, but weren’t readily imaginable. It wasn’t until Doug Stapleton, The Seldoms’ artistic associate, found an article about the immense Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island that our understanding moved from statistics to a physical reality. The article stated that the landfill is visible from space, which helped us to grasp the scale, impact and monumentality of our collective practices of consumption and waste. The work’s title – Monument – makes reference to the landfill as accidental monument.
Continue reading this entry»
- Lauri Apple |
Jared Logan, 2007's Best Comedian at the Chicago Comedy Awards, is going to be famous, and then you can be one of those annoying people who says, "That guy? Man, I saw him back in the day, when he used to perform in the back of this bar on Belmont." You can talk about how you "like his old stuff better." Don't you want to be one of those annoying people?
Jared is performing a 45-minute set tonight at the Beat Kitchen -- for free -- at 9:30. For stand-ups, a 45-minute set is something like an artist getting their own gallery show, except it is considerably less annoying, and about two-thirds drunker. How about another clever metaphor -- a 45-minute set for a comic is like bragging to all your friends that you're going to bowl a perfect game. So when you come to the Beat Kitchen to support one of Chicago's funniest humans, hold him to the standard of bowling a perfect game. Not really.
The set is presented by my heroes at Chicago Underground Comedy. Jared is a member of the fearsome Blerds. Come, drink, laugh, and flirt with the comics at the bar.
- Ramsin Canon |
Roman Mars, producer of Re:sound on Chicago Public Radio, was asked to write pieces involving messages left on a cell phone for the Third Coast International Audio Festival's Listening Room.
Mars says: "...Debt collectors immediately sprang to mind because they are the only messages I consistently receive. Most of my friends just hang up or text when they get forwarded to voice mail. These days the collectors are always automated, and even though the text being spoken is identical every time, they feel more and more menacing with each call. Guilt alters perception. That's how the story started, and then it evolved from there. Since the messages from collectors are relentless and abusive, it seemed only natural to develop that into an archetypal abusive relationship, with intense rage followed closely by abject contrition. Throw in a creepy, phone-based score, and a sci-fi melodrama is born! My wife did the voice of the computer. She read each word in the script backwards with varied inflection to get the right (or rather, slightly wrong) tone. I then cut the words out individually and constructed the sentences."
Check out the final product at Steppenwolf Garage on Wednesday, April 9th, in conjunction with scenes from Dead Man's Cell Phone, a new play by MacArthur “genius” Sarah Ruhl. Details in Slowdown.
- Lindsay Muscato |
Dance Thu Mar 27 2008
Here are some options for this weekend (starting tonight!).
- Chicago Moving Company presents Dance Shelter, CMC's annual artist-in-residence concert. March 27, 28 and April 3, 4 @ 7:30. $15 ($12 students), Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, 3035 N Hoyne Ave. Click here for more info and to purchase tickets.
- Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Spring Series opens tonight. If you were to see only one Chicago company this year, I'd say these are the folks to see. Consistently fantastic performances, consistently accessible to a wide audience. Various dates, tonight through April 5. Their site has all the info you could need.
- The final event in Links Hall's Choreographing Coalitions (see earlier GB entries about the series here and here) is Denise Uyehara's Big Head, an interdisciplinary performance piece that "revisits the treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II and considers current-day treatment of those perceived as 'the enemy now.'" March 28, 29 @ 8:00, March 30 @ 7:00. $15 ($12 students). 3435 N. Sheffield, #207
- Rachel Zanders |
Dance Sat Mar 15 2008
Choreographing Coalitions: Dancing the Other in the Self, Links Hall's and the Dance Center of Columbia College's month-long festival, continues this week. (See last week's GB entry, Voguing Demystified.) The festival brings together local and national "body-based artists" who base their work on themes of social justice. They assume that "the dancing body is a uniquely qualified instrument with which to explore the complexities of the social world."
In that vein, this weekend's performance by Victoria Marks is titled Not About Iraq. Rather, Marks says it's about "dancing, heroics, valor, and truth," and where the body fits into all of that. What does it mean to be a citizen and an artist? How can dancing speak about the human experience? There will be a post-show discussion after each performance where I'm sure these and many other socially relevant questions will be discussed.
The last two shows are tonight (3/15 at 8:00) and tomorrow (3/16 at 7:00) at Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield, #207. Tickets are $15 ($12 students and seniors). To reserve tickets, call Links Hall at 773.281.0824.
- Rachel Zanders |
Music Fri Mar 14 2008
While the Chicago Opera Theater's 2008 season is still more than a month away from opening, it already announced its 2009 season, which includes La Clemenza Di Tito, La Tragedie de Carmen and Owen Wingrave. Oh, and if you want to hear a preview of the 2008 season, tune into WFMT or listen online from 9am to noon on Saturday.
- David Schalliol |
This weekend, nine companies and artists will present their interpretation of this year's Full Circle Danztheatre Festival theme, Milestones. Performing new works will be: Kate McIlvain, Shabam! Productions, The Core Project, Shahina, Christy Munch, Soul Theatre, Perceptual Motion, Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, and Wannapa Pimtong-Eubanks.
The festival aims to "blend all forms of art, dance, text, music, and visual art into performances that capture and stimulate the mind." And media isn't the only diverse aspect of the festival. Take a peek at the subject matter. McIlvain's "dance for the camera," Three Men in Two Parts, follows three young men through a night in a bar. Shabam!'s West Side Story Redux views today's racism and division through the lens of the eponymous musical. Munch's Rubber Coated Chlorine takes a stab at "political speak" while the audience hears recordings of Adlai Stevenson at the United Nations in 1962. Performances will range from political and serious to light and warm-hearted, while subjects range from a Baptist church, to mid-life discovery, to death. There are even promises of belly dancing and traditional Butoh dancing!
Tickets are $15 ($10 students). Shows are March 13 and 14 at 7:30 at the Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, 3035 N. Hoyne. 773-486-8261
- Rachel Zanders |
Host Claire Zulkey brings Funny Ha-Ha back to the Hideout this Thursday, March 6, from 6 to 8pm. Trib columnist-blogger Eric Zorn, author John Sellers and RedEye columnist Mark Bazer read, sketch group Schadenfreude performs and Steve Delahoyde shows more of his deadpan-funny short films. A well-spent $5 gets you in the door.
- Andrew Huff |
Dance Mon Mar 03 2008
Chicago Dance Crash has been pushing the boundaries of the Chicago dance world since 2002. In one of their many innovative schemes, “The KTF Championship — Battle of the Belt,” they created an improv dance showdown in which CDC dancers competed for the title of KTF (“Keeper of the Floor”), complete with a forty-pound, gold-plated championship belt. The show was competitive dance meets improv comedy, right down to the audience participation. Talk about making quality dance that’s accessible to an enormous audience beyond the local dance snobbery!
They’re at it again on March 7, 8, 14, and 15 at the Viaduct Theater. One look at the rock-concert-poster-esque intro page for CDC’s website will give you a flavor of what’s on tap at “The Standing Room,” a “rock concert for dance.” And they mean rock concert, right down to the live music, the hand stamp, the coat check, and the standing-room-only. Honestly, I’m still not sure exactly what to expect, but that only attests to the originality of this idea. Will there be choreography in CDC’s ballet-capoeira-acrobatics-breakin’-hip-hop style? Will there be improv? Will the dancers be among the crowd? Can’t wait to find out!
- Rachel Zanders |
