Days after the February 1848 revolution, Fryderyk Chopin is teaching a piano lesson in Paris. Set in the Polish pianist-composer’s intimate salon, Chopin shares with his students secrets about the piano and secrets about himself—as well as playing some of his most beautiful and enduring compositions. In a tour de force performance, virtuoso actor/pianist Hershey Felder brings to life the romantic story and music of the man once called the “Poet of the Piano.”
https://www.writerstheatre.org/hershey-felder-s-chopin-in-paris
Watch the city breathe life into the stories of ten local young filmmakers. From documentaries to music videos, this program represents the city’s long-term love affair with art and culture.
Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages.
Virtual Screening
Available to stream globally April 22 @ 12:00pm CT through April 28 @ 11:59pm CT for a 48-hour watch window with Closed Captions.
https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/film/cineyouth2024-chicagolens/
Run Time: 2 hours, including intermission
Child Policy: Recommended for ages 8+. To help determine whether this performance is appropriate for your child, we encourage you to seek additional information about the themes in this program. All children attending a performance must have a ticket and be seated next to an adult.
Audio Description will be available on Saturday, November 11 / 2:00PM
Choreographer and director Akram Khan’s eponymous dance company makes its long-awaited Harris Theater debut with the Chicago premiere of Khan’s Jungle Book reimagined, a deeply personal interpretation based on the original story of Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale. Khan, whose background is rooted in classical Kathak training and along with contemporary dance, reinvents the journey of young Mowgli and her animal friends.
In a near future world, a family is torn apart as they escape their homeland, devastated by the impact of climate change. Arriving alone in a deserted modern city, and with wild animals claiming the streets as their own, Mowgli soon discovers unlikely allies in this strange new jungle.
Featuring an original new score and state-of-the-art animation and visuals, Jungle Book reimagined is a compelling and vital piece of storytelling about our intrinsic need to belong and bond with others while connecting with and respecting the natural world around us.
https://www.harristheaterchicago.org/performance/jungle-book-reimagined
It’s just another (omg, wtf, lmfao) day at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. When a White House PR nightmare spins into a legit sh*tshow, seven brilliant and beleaguered women must risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble. POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive is a bawdy and irreverent look at sex, politics and the women in charge of the man in charge of the free world. Who knew that global crisis is always just a four-letter word away.
Free Dance Day brings together people of all ages and experience levels to enjoy a day filled with dance classes, performances, and festivities, all for free!
This annual open-house style event is a chance to try out dance classes in a relaxed, communal setting. Visit Synapse’s home studio as an Arts Partner in Residence with the Chicago Park District to try out a free movement class, bring kids to try ballet and hip hop classes, and see the Synapse Performance Troupe perform.
Come for Free Dance Day, then stay for the free Boo! Bash presented by Loyola Park, which includes a DJ dance party, crafts, snacks, and a Halloween-y photo booth.
Schedule and registration details available at www.synapsearts.com.
Accessibility: ASL interpreter, large print programs, quiet spaces
Emmy-nominated actress Millie Bobby Brown can now add author to her list of accolades with her debut novel, Nineteen Steps. Set against the backdrop of World War II London in 1942, Brown’s main character, Nellie Morris, grapples with a world constantly threatened by conflict. Her chance meeting with American airman Ray broadens her horizons, yet tragedy strikes during an air raid, shattering her world. Brown sits down with Greta Johnsen (of WBEZ’s Nerdette podcast) to talk about her creative process both as an actor and writer, her evolving beauty brand florence by mills, and her new novel about a brave young woman who proves the enduring power of love in the face of adversity.
This event will have open captions and assistive listening devices with t-coil available at the Box office.
To buy tickets press on the link below: https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/millie-bobby-brown/
Pro wrestling bursts onto the stage in a high-octane, immersive, 90-minute thrill ride.
It’s a night in the theater that you’ll never forget. Experience the heart-pumping action ringside, as the Goodman transforms into a professional wrestling arena—a perfect backdrop for the high drama and rich cultural history of lucha libre. Originally developed with Prism Movement Theater and produced in partnership with CLATA as part of 2023 Destinos Festival, actors and luchadores (wrestlers) in masks representative of Aztec gods play out an exciting wrestling story about family, honor, tradition and redemption.
Touch Tour and Audio-Described Performance
Saturday, October 28
12:30pm Touch Tour & 2:00pm Performance
Use code AUDIO for $30 tickets
Spanish Subtitles Performance
Saturday, October 28 at 7:30pm
Use code SPANISH for $30 tickets
Open-Captioned Performance
Sunday, October 29 at 2:00pm
Use code OPEN for $30 tickets
Aida presents a riveting love triangle, which unfolds in an alluring Egyptian setting. At Lyric Opera of Chicago, each of the five principal artists boasts not only a sumptuously beautiful voice, but also the charismatic presence to bring these characters vividly to life.
This event will have audio description, braille programs, large print programs, assistive listening devices, and is wheelchair accessible.
Cinderella (La Cenerentola) tells the story of the downtrodden daughter of a selfish father, Don Magnifico. When Prince Ramiro (disguised as his own valet, Dandini) meets her, they fall instantly in love, leading — after a few complications — to a heartwarming happy ending.
This event will have audio description, braille programs, large print programs, assistive listening devices and is wheelchair accessible.
https://www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2023-24/cinderella/
Marie, the lovable, irrepressible spirited heroine — a foundling, raised by soldiers — loves handsome Tonio. Things get complicated when the Marquise carts her off to refine her with a “proper” education. In one exhilarating number after another, Marie throws off coloratura flourishes like shooting stars, while her tenor sweetheart pops out nine high Cs in a single aria!
This event will have audio description, braille programs, large print programs, and assistive listening devices.
https://www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2023-24/daughter-of-the-regiment/
DIRECTED BY Uberto Pasolini
SYNOPSIS
Thirty-five-year-old window cleaner and single father John has dedicated his life to raising his son. Given only a few months to live, he traverses Belfast, visiting homes of the working class and wealthy alike. He has a singular goal: to find the perfect family to raise his toddler Michael. How can he carry out this impossible task? Inspired by true events in the UK, Nowhere Special is a tender tale of pure love, profound heartbreak, and parenthood.
https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/film/nowhere-special/
Accessibility: ASL interpreted, assistive listening devices, captioning, large print program, wheelchair accessible
DIRECTED BY Joseph Amenta
SYNOPSIS
Three friends fall in love with summertime Toronto’s lively nightlife. Young, queer, and unapologetically self-confident, the trio spends their days holding court and plotting to sneak into a nightclub. When one of their caregivers goes missing under suspicious circumstances, reality comes crashing in and their seemingly unbreakable bond is tested. Featuring remarkable performances from its young actors, Soft is a tender portrait of youth, friendship, and life on the city’s margins.
Accessibility: ASL interpreted, assistive listening devices, captioning, large print program, wheelchair accessible
SYNOPSIS
In Sydney, Gabi and Patricia train to compete in Destructive Steps, Australia’s largest street dance competition. Both are pushing themselves mentally and physically in hopes that winning the contest will open new doors and possibilities for a better life. The film spans seven years and provides viewers with intimate access to the breathtaking artform of street dancing. Keep Stepping illuminates the multicultural, passion-filled subculture and tells a moving story about love, obsession, and the transformative power of dance.
Summer Screenings is Cinema/Chicago’s annual free film series that casts a spotlight on a different country’s national cinema each week all summer. DIRECTED BY Luke Cornish
Cinema has always been fascinated with the city as a “character”— a living, breathing organism that shapes the world around it. This program showcases the myriad ways in which cities are depicted in cinema and how people live, love, move through, and seek connection in urban spaces.
Featuring stories set in cities all around the globe—from the bustling cafes of Bogotá to the seaside cityscapes of Gothenburg and Galway to glittering black and white portraits of Taipei and Seoul to the streets, skyways, rivers, and trains right here in Chicago—these films express the rich, diverse personalities of cities on screen and how they mold and influence how we live.
Films are unrated. Viewer discretion is advised.
Tickets are available to claim 2 weeks before the screening.
SYNOPSIS
Thirty-five-year-old window cleaner and single father John has dedicated his life to raising his son. Given only a few months to live, he traverses Belfast, visiting homes of the working class and wealthy alike. He has a singular goal: to find the perfect family to raise his toddler Michael. How can he carry out this impossible task? Inspired by true events in the UK, Nowhere Special is a tender tale of pure love, profound heartbreak, and parenthood. DIRECTED BY Uberto Pasolini
Summer Screenings is Cinema/Chicago’s annual free film series that casts a spotlight on a different country’s national cinema each week all summer.
Cinema has always been fascinated with the city as a “character”— a living, breathing organism that shapes the world around it. This program showcases the myriad ways in which cities are depicted in cinema and how people live, love, move through, and seek connection in urban spaces.
Featuring stories set in cities all around the globe—from the bustling cafes of Bogotá to the seaside cityscapes of Gothenburg and Galway to glittering black and white portraits of Taipei and Seoul to the streets, skyways, rivers, and trains right here in Chicago—these films express the rich, diverse personalities of cities on screen and how they mold and influence how we live.
Films are unrated. Viewer discretion is advised.
Tickets are available to claim 2 weeks before the screening.
Limited capacity. Advanced registration is required.
Masking is required for this performance.
Using the pain scale as a primary source material, Scale places medicalized methods of quantifying pain in conversation with alternative ways of reading and attending to pain emerging from the disability community, ultimately proposing new ways of caring for the bodymind in dance. These complex interactions between medicalization, care, and community are explored through movement, video, and the use of access tools for both performers and audience members. Scale invites audience members to attend to their own embodied experience of the piece, offering pillows, blankets, and other care objects as tools for curating the way they engage with and experience the work. Scale poses questions around the ways that we perceive pain, ultimately reaching toward a more compassionate and disability-informed way of creating and performing dance.
Each performance is followed by a Crafting Care event that serves as a sort of informal “talk back” with some of the artists, as well as an opportunity to join in the crafting practice that informed much of the work of Scale. Audience members are encouraged to bring their own crafting projects, participate in a group embroidery project, or simply share space and chat about Scale in community with the artists and other audience members.
COLLABORATORS
Performers: Maggie Bridger, Jordan Brown, Joán Joel, Alex Neil-Sevier, Robby Lee Williams
Costumes and Visual Art: Reveca Torres
Sound Design: Shireen Hamza
Crafters: Margaret Fink, Sandy Guttman, Alison Kopit, Ashley Miller
Access information
ACCESS DURING PERFORMANCE
Captions, American Sign Language, audio descriptions, opportunities to rest, and sensory notes are incorporated into the performance in ways that we hope generate a unique, thoughtful experience for each audience member. The methods we’re using to incorporate these elements into the performance are experimental and may differ from the ways these tools are encountered in other arts spaces. We are continuing to learn, develop, and experiment alongside our community and welcome feedback on these elements, particularly from members of the community that rely on these various tools to access performance.
COVID Protocols:
Masking is required in the performance space. Mana Contemporary, though, is a shared building that does not require masking and there may be unmasked people outside of the performance space. You are welcome to bring your own mask or grab one of the high quality masks available to audience members in both adult and child sizes at the building’s entrance. All performers will be masked, though there is a moment in the work where performers layer masks one on top of the other, which may cause their masking to be less effective for a short period of time.
Arriving at Mana & Wayfinding:
All audience members will enter the ramped entrance to Mana Contemporary located on the west side of the building near the Throop street entrance to the parking lot. Audiences will then be guided through the building to the performance space by the performers, two of whom use ASL and will be able to guide Deaf and hard of hearing audience members. The first 30 minutes of the performance time is dedicated to audience arrival and getting situated in the performance space, so there is no need to rush or worry about arriving precisely on time. There is time to rest, chat, and get settled.
A library around the corner from the performance space will be used as a “quiet space” that folks can use to get a break from the performance, if needed.
Access Tools and Sharing Space:
The show runs about an hour and a half with the first half hour dedicated entirely to audience members arriving and getting settled for the performance. Upon entering the space, audience members will be offered access devices and care tools to help them feel as comfortable as possible throughout the performance. Some of the tools we have available are:
4 blankets
3 small weighted blankets
9 pillows
2 large beanbags
Yoga mats/exercise mats
Instant hot and cold packs
Stim tools
3 ear defenders
In addition to these, you are very welcome to bring your own tools/devices. We invite you to move, stim, rest, and generally make yourself comfortable during the performance. Our tools/devices will be cleaned with scent-free detergent/cleanser between each performance.
We ask that audience members refrain from wearing any scented perfume, cologne, lotion, etc. However, Mana Contemporary is a shared space where tenants will sometimes burn incense or use other scented products. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee a fully scent-free environment.
Alonzo King LINES Ballet returns to the Harris stage for the first time since 2015. The celebrated contemporary ballet company, whose mission is to nurture artistry and the development of creative expression in dance, through collaboration, performance, and education, will perform in a matinee program for children and families.
Accessibility: ASL interpreter, assistive listening devices, large print programs, sensory-friendly, quiet spaces, wheelchair accessible
https://www.harristheaterchicago.org/alonzo-king-lines-ballet/family
Patti Smith is one of America’s most acclaimed singer-songwriters, and she is also a beloved photographer and poet. In A Book of Days, Smith shares over 365 photographs – inspired by her wildly popular Instagram – to take readers through a year in the legendary life of this visionary poet, writer, and performer. Join Patti Smith for an intimate performance and conversation charting Smith’s life, music, and passions.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/patti-smith/
It’s often said that social media is bad for our mental health, and while that can be true, the full story isn’t so cut and dry. At CHF, Nicole Wetsman, Health Tech Reporter for The Verge moderates a panel between Dr. Megan Moreno, a leading researcher on adolescent social media, and Margot Lee, a high-profile young adult influencer about how curating public images affect our well-being.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/verge-social-media/
You probably know that algorithms play a huge role in what we see online, but what happens to society when this type of curated content begins to influence our real lives? Join The Verge Deputy Editor Alex Heath and a special guest for a conversation about how personalized and relatable content on social media is redefining our feeds and creating a new lens through which millions view the world.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/future-feed/
We’ve all been told too much social media is bad for us, but why is that? At CHF, New York Times investigative reporter and author of The Chaos Machine Max Fisher explains how, through the pursuit of unfettered profits and maximum engagement, Big Tech has rewired our minds, and instigated a cultural shift toward polarization and misinformation. Join him and David Pierce (editor at large at The Verge) for a behind-the-scenes look at how social networks prey on psychological frailties, driving people to extreme opinions and actions.
A book signing will follow this program.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
Join Reza Aslan (No god but God and Zealot) for the spellbinding tale of a martyr for democracy. Howard Baskerville was a 22-year-old missionary who went to Iran in 1907 and died fighting in the Persian Constitutional Revolution. Was he the “American Lafayette of Iran” or a naive “white savior”? In this talk, Aslan explores what Baskerville’s story illuminates about how seriously we take our democratic ideals and whose freedom we actually support.
Pre-order your book and gain access to a book signing and meet and greet with Aslan following this program.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
In the wake of the midterm elections, join former presidential candidate, political activist, and spiritual thought leader Marianne Williamson for an intimate conversation with Sen. Nina Turner about the state of American politics. In an era of divisiveness, Williamson comes to CHF with a new vision for American politics built on social responsibility, democracy, and deep human values.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/marianne-williamson/
Despite the isolation, degradation, and cruelties of the criminal justice system, American prisons are filled with the art of the people incarcerated in them. At CHF, Nicole R. Fleetwood (Marking Time) is joined by interdisciplinary artist Maria Gaspar for a conversation about how these artists use limited supplies in harsh conditions to create elaborate works with an important political message.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/nicole-r-fleetwood-maria-gaspar/
In 2010, Chelsea Manning disclosed thousands of classified US military and diplomatic records to the public while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. Since her initial sentencing and conviction, followed by early release, Manning has become a globally recognized whistleblower and activist. Join her in conversation with Nadya Tolokonnikova (of the feminist protest and performance art group, Pussy Riot) for a conversation about Manning’s memoir README.txt; and her journey fighting for institutional transparency, political activism, government accountability, and trans rights.
A book signing will follow this program.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/chelsea-manning/
Jim Jarmusch isn’t just the director and screenwriter for classics of independent cinema, including Stranger Than Paradise, and star studded films like The Dead Don’t Die, he’s also a prolific collage artist. At CHF, Jarmusch chats with writer Jonathan Ames (creator of HBO’s Bored to Death and author of You Were Never Really Here, A Man Named Doll, and The Wheel of Doll) about being a dilettante and art in its many forms.
A book signing will follow this program.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/jim-jarmusch/
You’ve probably seen Devin Allen’s photography on the cover of TIME magazine, featuring images of protests in response to the police murders of Freddie Gray (2015) and George Floyd (2020). At CHF, join Allen—who has spent nearly a decade documenting the Black Lives Matter movement—for a conversation with Michal Raz-Russo, Programs Director at the Gordon Parks Foundation, about No Justice, No Peace, Allen’s latest book honoring the connection between past and present racial justice activism.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/devin-allen/
Picture an art critic, and you probably think of Jerry Saltz: a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer on the importance of art in our cultural lives. At the top of his field, Saltz has a knack for making contemporary art cool and accessible in a way few critics have before. In a conversation with Michael Darling, Saltz looks at how visionary artists have documented and challenged our culture, our times, and our lives.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/jerry-saltz/
Join Saturday Night Live alum, standup comedian, and caricature artist Kevin Nealon for an evening of stories: from backstage at SNL with Chris Farley and Dana Carvey to hanging out in Tiffany Haddish’s vegetable garden. At CHF, Nealon will chat with former SNL castmate Tim Meadows about his new book I Exaggerate: My Brushes with Fame (Abrams), a collection of original, full-color portraits drawn by Nealon himself alongside endearing personal stories of his famous friends.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
A book signing will follow this program.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/kevin-nealon/
What happens when people get their news from the pulpit? At CHF, Bonnie Kristian (author of Untrustworthy and columnist at Christianity Today), Russell Moore (Editor in Chief at Christianity Today), and David French (senior editor at The Dispatch) unpack this question. Join them for a discussion about the power the evangelical church wields in shaping the political ideologies of its worshippers and the impact of this on America’s already prevalent knowledge crisis.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
A book signing will follow this event.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/church-state-information-crisis/
Heralded as the “best short-story writer in English” by Time, and winner of the Man Booker Prize for Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders is the perfect author to help us make sense of our era through fiction. At CHF, Saunders sits down with Peter Sagal for a chat about his latest collection Liberation Day, featuring timely short stories exploring power, ethics, and justice through his trademark prose.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/george-saunders/
“If a law can’t protect a person from lynching, isn’t lynching the law?” asks Margaret A. Burnham, director of Northeastern University’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, in her new book By Hands Now Known. At CHF, Burnham and Courtney Pierre Joseph (Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies at Lake Forest College) explain the ways America’s legal system allowed and encouraged racial violence during the Jim Crow era, how those atrocities extend into today, and what we can do to repair a broken system.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/margaret-burnham/
Seymour Hersh has been at the forefront of investigative journalism ever since his Pulitzer Prize-winning exposé of the Vietnam War’s Mỹ Lai Massacre. At CHF, Hersh sits down with David Greising, President of the Better Government Association, to talk about what Hersh has learned over the course of his storied career—from Vietnam to Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison and beyond—and why the public service of a free press is so important to protecting democracy.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/seymour-hersh/
The public has always been fascinated by conspiracy theories, but lately more people have started believing in them: from speculations about John F. Kennedy’s assassination to notions that 9/11 was an inside job. At CHF, Michael Shermer (founding publisher of Skeptic magazine) talks with Meghan Daum (The Problem With Everything, The Unspeakable Podcast) about the personality traits and societal factors at play in conspiratorial thinking and how we can counteract these narratives.
Open captions and assistive listening devices are available.
A book signing will follow this program.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/michael-shermer/
We often hear the legends of a musician’s “big break,” but what happens before that? In her memoir Maybe We’ll Make It, Grammy-nominated country singer-songwriter Margo Price gets real about the struggles to survive and succeed in a music industry that is often unkind to women. Aspiring musicians, join Price and CHF at the Old Town School of Folk Music for an intimate chat with Jes Skolnik about building a career, followed by a solo performance.
A book signing will follow this program.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/margo-price/
Jeff Garlin is a man of many talents: he is a writer, producer, director, actor, photographer, and stand-up comedian. His impressive filmography includes: Curb Your Enthusiasm, WALL-E, Toy Story 3 & 4, and Paranorman, among others. At CHF, Garlin returns home for a chat with fellow comedian Susie Essman about his career, his city, and his stand-up special: Our Man in Chicago, which features his signature style of storytelling and improv.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/jeff-garlin/
America is witnessing a frightening trend: the rise of extremist groups, like the Proud Boys, infiltrating our politics. At CHF, leading extremism reporter Andy Campbell (author of We Are Proud Boys: How a Right-Wing Street Gang Ushered in a New Era of American Extremism) sits down with Michael Fanone, a former Trump supporter, DC Metropolitan police officer, and author of Hold the Line. Together with Kathleen Belew (Associate Professor of History at Northwestern University and author of Bring the War Home), they’ll discuss how extremist groups have influenced violence in America and abroad, and what we can do to organize against the radicalism they espouse.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/extremism-america/
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Will Bunch calls higher education the great political and cultural fault line of American life. Join Bunch and Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Anthony S. Chen, as they explore the central question of Bunch’s latest book After the Ivory Tower Falls: How has the fracturing of American people into two groups (one educated and the other not) contributed to political, cultural, and economic unrest; and what can we do to bridge the divide?
At CHF, renowned legal scholar Daniel S. Medwed explains how America’s judicial system is stacked against the innocent. Join him and Lake Forest College legal studies professor Stephanie Caparelli for a conversation demystifying the procedural rules, systemic bias, and court culture that make up the barriers to exoneration. We’ll discuss how our justice system operates, what justice actually looks like, and possible solutions for the future.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/daniel-medwed/
Miranda July has gained a cult following over the span of her award-winning career as a filmmaker (Me and You and Everyone We Know and Kajillionaire), writer (No One Belongs Here More Than You), and artist (her latest project, Services, is both a sculpture and a book). Chill with July at CHF for a chat about her life so far – as recently highlighted in the release of her mid-career retrospective.
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/attend/miranda-july/
For artist and MacArthur Fellow Rick Lowe, art doesn’t only hang on walls in museums, art is all around us. Art is street murals celebrating Black-owned businesses. Art is the Project Row Houses in Houston’s historic Third Ward. Art is the act we take as members of our communities. At CHF, Lowe reflects on community-based creative practices and the power of art to remake our public lives.
Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks presents ShakesFest: A Chicago Shakespeare Community Cabaret with FREE pop-up performances in neighborhood parks. Performers, musicians, and dancers take center stage in this exuberant musical revue of songs riffing on familiar (and not-so-familiar) lines from Shakespeare! From pop to musicals, hip hop, and the blues, Shakespeare’s words find joyful new life in unexpected ways.
This FREE, fun-for-all-ages event celebrates community-building, connection, and the magic of experiencing live performance together with family, friends, and neighbors.
Featured arts partners include: Jose “iasEL” Gonzalez, DJ Jeremy Heights, James Heitz, Emma Lyons, Noelle Klyce, Move Me Soul, Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center, and Yin He Dance.
https://www.chicagoshakes.com/plays_and_events/explore_season/parks2022
Now in its eleventh year, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks is an important component of the Theater’s Community Practice, a year-round community connectivity program rooted in engagement with neighborhoods and collaborations with local artists.
Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks is following the health and safety guidelines of Chicago’s Night Out in the Parks program. For any weather-related performance delays or cancellations, check @chicagoshakes on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram
Chicago Shakespeare is committed to making its performances accessible to all patrons. ASL Interpretation and Audio Description are available for select performances. Assisted Listening Devices and large print programs are available at all performances.
Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks presents ShakesFest: A Chicago Shakespeare Community Cabaret with FREE pop-up performances in neighborhood parks. Performers, musicians, and dancers take center stage in this exuberant musical revue of songs riffing on familiar (and not-so-familiar) lines from Shakespeare! From pop to musicals, hip hop, and the blues, Shakespeare’s words find joyful new life in unexpected ways.
This FREE, fun-for-all-ages event celebrates community-building, connection, and the magic of experiencing live performance together with family, friends, and neighbors.
Featured arts partners include: Jose “iasEL” Gonzalez, DJ Jeremy Heights, James Heitz, Emma Lyons, Noelle Klyce, Move Me Soul, Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center, and Yin He Dance.
https://www.chicagoshakes.com/plays_and_events/explore_season/parks2022
Now in its eleventh year, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks is an important component of the Theater’s Community Practice, a year-round community connectivity program rooted in engagement with neighborhoods and collaborations with local artists.
Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks is following the health and safety guidelines of Chicago’s Night Out in the Parks program. For any weather-related performance delays or cancellations, check @chicagoshakes on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram
Chicago Shakespeare is committed to making its performances accessible to all patrons. ASL Interpretation and Audio Description are available for select performances. Assisted Listening Devices and large print programs are available at all performances.
Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks presents ShakesFest: A Chicago Shakespeare Community Cabaret with FREE pop-up performances in neighborhood parks. Performers, musicians, and dancers take center stage in this exuberant musical revue of songs riffing on familiar (and not-so-familiar) lines from Shakespeare! From pop to musicals, hip hop, and the blues, Shakespeare’s words find joyful new life in unexpected ways.
This FREE, fun-for-all-ages event celebrates community-building, connection, and the magic of experiencing live performance together with family, friends, and neighbors.
Featured arts partners include: Jose “iasEL” Gonzalez, DJ Jeremy Heights, James Heitz, Emma Lyons, Noelle Klyce, Move Me Soul, Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center, and Yin He Dance.
https://www.chicagoshakes.com/plays_and_events/explore_season/parks2022
Now in its eleventh year, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks is an important component of the Theater’s Community Practice, a year-round community connectivity program rooted in engagement with neighborhoods and collaborations with local artists.
Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks is following the health and safety guidelines of Chicago’s Night Out in the Parks program. For any weather-related performance delays or cancellations, check @chicagoshakes on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram
Chicago Shakespeare is committed to making its performances accessible to all patrons. ASL Interpretation and Audio Description are available for select performances. Assisted Listening Devices and large print programs are available at all performances.
Join us for a popup event for disability pride. The event will have art-making, creative writing, a pop up book shop, open mic and book talk.
About this event
Disability Pride Pop-Up Event with Women & Children First
Join Access Living and Women and Children First for an afternoon of celebration in honor of disability pride!
Women and Children First Bookstore is having a Pop-up book shop, where you can find books authored by disabled writers and books that talk about disability experiences and culture. You are invited to join our creative art stations, where you can make personalized wearable buttons and participate in the Re-Wired Project (see description below)
Program:
1:00-6:00pm Pop-up book shop and creative stations where participants can:
– make buttons
– create personal narratives of disability identity and pride; and
– be a part of the Re-Wired Project
4:00-4:30pm Featured readers & open mic for those who self-identify as a member of the disability, Deaf, neurodivergent or psychiatric survivor community to share short personal narratives of disability
4:30pm Book talk, Q&A session, and book signing with Liat Ben-Moshe, author of Decarcerating Disability: Deinstitutionalization and Prison Abolition
5:30pm Book talk from disabled artist Riva Lehrer, author of GOLEM GIRL
Please note that masks are required for entry into the Access Living building and must be worn at all times.
What is Re-wired Project?
THE RE-WIRED PROJECT is inspired in part by the moving and powerful expressions of solidarity that emerged as chalky sidewalk slogans and impassioned murals throughout the City in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. The walls, sidewalks, front yards, and windows of Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods have long served as a canvas, reflecting individual and community values.
Join us and create texts and wire sculpture that represents our disability and/or Deaf community, culture and values.
Dates and Times:
Monday, 7/25, 1:00-6:00pm
Location:
Access Living
115 West Chicago Avenue, 4th floor
Chicago, IL 60654
Who can participate?
This event is open to the public. All members of the disability community and allies are welcome to attend. Participants do not need any art/craft experience or skills.
Cost:
The event is free to attend. All art-making activities will be no cost. There will be books available for purchase.
Ready to sign up?
Space is limited due to Covid safety precautions, please sign up soon by using the Eventbrite link, or email Beth Bendtsen at bbendtsen@accessliving.org. You can also call Beth at (312) 640-2156 with any questions, concerns or access needs.
Access Information:
Access Living is a scent free building. Please refrain from wearing scented products, such as scented lotion, perfume and cologne. All areas of the building are wheelchair accessible. ASL interpretation services and CART will be provided during the open mic and book reading. Please contact bbendtsen@accessliving.org with other access requests.
Organizers’ Information:
This event is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, and the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL), a teaching lab housed under the department of art therapy and counseling at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a platform for creative disability art and advocacy projects, DCAL uses a peer support and collective care model in which disability community members and art therapy graduate students collaborate as disability culture makers for social change.
The contents of this event were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90RTCP0005). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this event do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks presents ShakesFest: A Chicago Shakespeare Community Cabaret with FREE pop-up performances in neighborhood parks. Performers, musicians, and dancers take center stage in this exuberant musical revue of songs riffing on familiar (and not-so-familiar) lines from Shakespeare! From pop to musicals, hip hop, and the blues, Shakespeare’s words find joyful new life in unexpected ways.
This FREE, fun-for-all-ages event celebrates community-building, connection, and the magic of experiencing live performance together with family, friends, and neighbors.
Featured arts partners include: Jose “iasEL” Gonzalez, DJ Jeremy Heights, James Heitz, Emma Lyons, Noelle Klyce, Move Me Soul, Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center, and Yin He Dance.
Now in its eleventh year, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks is an important component of the Theater’s Community Practice, a year-round community connectivity program rooted in engagement with neighborhoods and collaborations with local artists.
Shakespeare in the Parks is following the health and safety guidelines of Chicago’s Night Out in the Parks program. For any weather-related performance delays or cancellations, check @chicagoshakes on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram
Chicago Shakespeare is committed to making its performances accessible to all patrons. ASL Interpretation and Audio Description are available for select performances. Assistive Listening Devices and large print programs are available at all performances.