Gapers Block has ceased publication.
Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
✶ Thank you for your readership and contributions. ✶
TODAY
Wednesday, April 24
Slowdown
BY DAY
Sunday, March 05 2006
House Theatre Potluck @ Viaduct Theater
The House Theatre of Chicago presents its third Potluck tonight, after the performance of its current show Valentine Victorius at the Viaduct Theater (3111 N. Western). No food is involved; the Potluck is an hour of short plays, scenes from the upcoming House production Ellen Under Glass, and karaoke by the House company. The Potluck is free and open to the public, and begins around 9:00 tonight.
6th Annual Polar Plunge
Think you've got the balls to jump in the lake in the middle of March? (My guess is you won't after you do it...what with shrinkage and all.) Join the Chicago Polar Plunge and freeze your butt off while raising money for the Chicago Special Olympics. It's craziness for a cause. Show up at North Avenue Beach at 8:45am for registration (early registration here). Costumes are judged at 10am and you take the plunge at 10:15am. End it all with a Melt Down Party at North Avenue Beachhouse. Call 312-527-3743 for more information.
State of Emergency CD Release Party
Head to Elbo Room at 2871 N. Lincoln to take part in the CD release party for State of Emergency, a music and spoken word CD benfitting The World Can't Wait. CD artists performing at the party include Nadir's Distorted Soul, Tristan James, Itch 13 and more. Doors open at 7pm, $7 requested donation. Email info[at]proletariatproductions[dot]com for more information.
Louder Than a Bomb Teen Poetry Slam (Prelims)
This marks the 6th year for Young Chicago Authors' Louder Than a Bomb Teen Poetry Slam competition in Chicago. You can attend and see some of Chicago's best young literary talent bout word for word over the weekend's preliminary competitions, or you can volunteer [PDF application] and help out the event. Bouts take place all day at HotHouse and Columbia College Chicago. See times and more information on the YCA site. Tickets to these preliminary rounds are $3/bout or $5/day for students and $5/bout and $10/day for adults and are sold at the door. The finals will take place on March 12 at the Metro (tickets available at the Metro or at any of the preliminaries this weekend).
Youth and First Amendment Rights @ Columbia College
As part of the Louder than a Bomb teen poetry festival, the Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council and Young Chicago Authors sponsor this panel discussion about young artists and free speech. 4 PM, Hokin Hall, 623 S. Wabash. Free.
Chicago360 documentary collaboration
Split Pillow and Chicago Filmmakers bring you Chicago 360, a collaborative film project all this weekend. The film features: a time-lapsed history of Logan Square, a performance art group that turns discarded toys into musical instruments, a look at how lives and space intersect in Lakeview, the role of race and class in the changing landscape of Pilsen and the thought-provoking public art of a late night El rider (ahem, Our Fallen Spacemen) which intersect in this unique 60-minute creative documentary collaboration by filmmakers Jim Vendiola, Nick Martin, CJ Dugan, Jill Bzibziak, Casy Clark and Erik Gernand. Chicago Filmmakers is located in Andersonville, at 5243 N. Clark. Screenings take place at 8pm, from March 3-5. The film is 60 minutes long.
Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors
Fangoria magazine presents the Chicago Weekend of Horrors. Two days of horror movies, horror movie starts, horror movie directors, and horror movie fans. See the Website for a full schedule and ticket purchase. The Weekend winds up today at the Wyndham Chicago O’Hare Hotel (6810 North Mannheim Road, Rosemont).
LISSENUP6
LISSENUP6, the sixth installment of Julie Shapiro's periodic presentation of audio pieces from around the world (often culled from Third Coast Audio Festival submissions), moves to the Corbett vs. Dempsey gallery space, 1120 N. Ashland, 2nd floor, today from 11am to 1pm. It's free. More details here.
Oscars 2006 Benefit at Circuit
Given the nominees in high profile categories, this year's Oscars is already shaping up to be one of the, well, gayest in the awards show's history. To celebrate the festivities, the Center on Halsted is hosting a benefit at Circuit, 3641 N. Halsted. Tickets are a bit steep ($50), but they go to support both the GLBT community center and the NAMES Project...and they include 5 drink tokens. The fun starts at 6pm; more details here.
Opening: Angels in America: Millennium Approaches @ Bailiwick
Tonight is the opening night for the troupe The Hypocrites' production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. (They will produce parts 1 and 2, but "Perestroika" opens April 8). You may have seen the star-studded cast on HBO, but nothing's more powerful than seeing it live. The show starts tonight at 7:30pm at the Bailiwick Theatre located at 1229 W. Belmont. This is another in a long and quite successful series of director Sean Graney's Hypocrites productions, so you shouldn't wait to go see it. The show runs through May 7th with different parts showing on most nights (see the website for a full schedule). Tickets are $25.
