Chicago is Most Segregated City in America. Or, How to Make Jokes About Unfunny Things
I’m a semi-regular contributor to Paper Machete, a live news magazine that happens (for FREE!) every Saturday at the Horseshoe Lounge here in Chicago. Basically, what it is is a bunch of mostly funny people getting together to perform short pieces about the news of the week, plus some cultural commentary and musical acts. The [...]
Take Your “Feelings” and….
Well, Amores, lately I’ve been a little bit on the down low. Oh sure, you can catch me live and in person in any one of about a zillion-trillion meetings, classes, panels, workshops, or rehearsals, but alas… the internets have been quiet for me lately. Someone even complained that I haven’t been posting on FB! [...]
Work With Me!
For the past few years, I’ve had the honour of working as the Lead Artist for the Poetry Performance Incubator at the Guild Complex. The Incubator brings poets together to create ensemble performance, merging my two great loves: poetry and theatre. Our last show, Tour Guides, was an off-center love letter to Chicago. It enjoyed [...]
Quick n’ Dirty Tour Guides Info
Amores, in case you don’t want to read my long post about Tour Guides (below, and totally brilliant, just saying), here’s the short version. Tour Guides. Opens Friday. Worth Seeing. Tickets and Information at guildcomplex.org.
Tour Guides: The Chicago No One Ever Puts on a Postcard
Chicago is… the lake I love/still can’t believe it ain’t an ocean. Chicago is… bipolar as projects next to million dollar condos. Chicago is… masochists and character builders knee deep in snow… Amores, The Americans closed on Saturday night and today I’m jumping in to tech for TOUR GUIDES v.3, which opens on Friday. Wait a second, [...]
The Americans Are Coming!
For the past year, I’ve been asking random strangers the same handful of questions: 1.) Are you an American? 2.) What does it mean to be an American? 3.) If you could tell 100 people one thing about being an American, what would it be? 4.) Fill in the blank: The Americans are __________. For [...]
The Americans
The Americans is in full swing, and yes – totally behind schedule. SOMEDAY I’ll work on a play that’s finished being written before we open! In the meantime, we’re in residence at the DCA Incubator and blogging about the process. Check it out here: http://www.dcatheater.org/blog/entry/flash_interviews/
Stay in the Moment, Paz!
Auditions for one of my fall shows start tonight. That’s right… ONE of my fall shows. I think I have set myself up for a month of panic attacks by agreeing to direct/develop two pieces that open within two weeks of each other in October. Luckily one is a remount and one is a workshop, [...]
Whoa! Fa$hion Has a Plot!
A couple of months ago, the Artistic Director of Halcyon Theatre invited me to write a play for their Alcyone ’11 Festival: Remixed. The conversation went something like this: Tony: We’re doing this festival where we ask contemporary female playwrights to remix/adapt plays written by women before 1850. Playwrights can do anything they want as [...]
Podcast! Talking About Chicago, Theatre, History, and My Job
I haven’t been posting much because I’ve been busy with things like writing a new play, chasing my two year old, and actually working. At my actual J-O-B. We’re hosting a Symposium on Chicago Theatre History: Past, Present, and Future that starts this week. I’ll be honest. The whole thing has been kind of a… [...]
Airing Our Dirty Laundry
Last month, I was invited to speak on a panel at the Goodman Theatre. The topic? Airing our dirty laundry – a discussion about what stories marginalized artists are allowed to tell, especially for “mainstream” audiences or institutions. Of course, the conversation turned to casting and representation in Hollywood. Listen here for an excerpt of [...]
TOUR GUIDES!!!!
Oh Whoa! I have been so busy writing about Target I forgot to tell you about my show that opens on December 3rd!!!!!! I have a show that opens on December 3rd! TOUR GUIDES is an insider’s peek at Chicago, written by 10 poets from across the city and directed by The Lovely and Talented [...]
The Americans
I started my new project today! The Americans is a piece about race and American identity during our current immigration crisis. I’m creating the piece based on interviews, community workshops, and archival documents (which includes newspapers, the Constitution, letters, etc). A big 20-30 minute chunk will be developed in collaboration with Halcyon Theatre* for the [...]
