Friday 16
Dyslexics of the world, untie! The Illinois branch of the Orton Dyslexia Society–a nonprofit group that studies the affliction and its treatment–sponsors its sixth annual fall conference this weekend at the McDonald’s Hamburger University, 2715 Jorie in Oak Brook. It’s a two-day workshop that costs $130 or $100 for members; things get under way today and tomorrow at 8:30 AM. Call 708-799-3089 for more info, and see you three.
The “historical, theoretical, and aesthetic modes of feminism” is the subject of Re-Visions, an exhibition and accompanying slate of discussions opening tonight at the Randolph Street Gallery, 756 N. Milwaukee. There’s a “context talk” with curator Carole Tormollan and some of the artists in the show at 5; a reception follows at 6. It’s free; for a complete list of panels or other info call 666-7737.
More woman news, or Womanews, as the Trib would call it: Three-million copies sold is nothing to scoff at, particularly when the audience of the book in question is by definition limited to about half the population. Our Bodies, Ourselves is back again, in a third edition, with updates on such up-to-the-minute stuff as AIDS, chronic-fatigue syndrome, Norplant, and RU 486. Boston Women’s Health Book Collective founder Judy Norsigian will take part in a free panel discussion on women’s health and activism at 7:30 tonight at Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark. Call 769-9299 for more.
Saturday 17
If you think you have a future making beautiful music for the movies, check out today’s free Music in the Movies seminar, sponsored by the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers, at DePaul University’s Schmitt Academic Center, 2323 N. Seminary. The panel includes Terence Blanchard, who composed the scores for Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever, Mo’ Better Blues, and Malcolm X, Emmy Award-winning TV composer Jim DiPasquale, and various industry types. They’ll dispense info and advice from 2 to 5. Call 527-9775 for details.
If the idea of seeing a movie in a venue reminiscent of its on-screen locale appeals, check out the renowned 1923 silent The Hunchback of Notre Dame, accompanied tonight by live organ music, in the Gothic confines of the University of Chicago’s Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn. The 7:30 show caps the university’s annual Arts and Humanities Open House, a full day of free lectures and events on campus. Also on the agenda: Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Shulamit Ran speaking at 4 at Mandel Hall, 5706 S. University, and concerts at noon and 3 by the University Symphony Orchestra at Goodspeed Recital Hall, 5845 S. Ellis. You must register for the lectures at the Reynolds Club, 5706 S. University. Call 702-9192 for more.
More goings-on at Randolph Street Gallery: a video screening and panel discussion called Ricochet: Rebellion’s Daughters will take a one-year-later look at the status of women in the aftermath of the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. The Women’s Action Coalition, NOW, and the African American Women in Defense of Ourselves are sponsoring; there’ll be a showing of Video of Dissent, a chronicle of WAC’s recent activist ventures, as well. It’s at 8 PM at the gallery, 756 N. Milwaukee. It’s $7, $5 for members; call 666-7737.
Sunday 18
Aficionados of Indian classical music and dance have a couple of things to choose from today; unfortunately, they’re at the same time. Dancer Pranita Jain, a product of the Center for Indian Classical Dances in New Delhi and director of the Nrityanjali dance school in Hinsdale, will perform for free at 3 at the Skokie Public Library, 5215 Oakton in Skokie. Call 708-673-7774 for more. The other event is a nagaswaram concert sponsored by the India Classical Music Society. The nagaswaram is a reedlike instrument with a big sound, usually accompanied by a bunch of tavel drums. Mambalam M.K.S. Siva leads the six-man orchestra in a program of traditional music at 3 in the auditorium of Park Junior High school, at the intersection of Ogden and Brainard in LaGrange Park. Tickets cost $15, $7.50 for students and seniors. Call 708-983-7887 for more.
Monday 19
Philip Agee, patron saint of all those who think that America’s intelligence agencies are way out of hand, will speak at Rosary College tonight on Intelligence in the 21st Century. Agee is the former CIA agent whose 1975 book, Inside the Company: CIA Diary, chronicled the agency’s scandalous work in South America, Africa, and Vietnam and put him on a permanent government shit list. He’ll give a free talk at 7:30 in the school’s Fine Arts Recital Hall, 7900 W. Division in River Forest. Call 708-524-6771 for more.
J.M. Coetzee, author of Age of Iron, Waiting for the Barbarians, and the Life and Times of Michael K. and perhaps South Africa’s most noted writer, will be hanging around at Northwestern University for the next few days, and you’ve got three chances to see him. Tonight at 7:30 he’ll speak on “the writer in the world” in room 217 in Fisk Hall, 1845 Sheridan in Evanston. Tomorrow night at 7:30 Marjorie Nelson will perform a scene from Age of Iron, followed by a discussion with Coetzee; that’s in room 107 in Harris Hall, 1881 Sheridan. Finally, on Wednesday night, he’ll read from his work at 7:30 in room 107 of Harris Hall as well. The events are free; call 708-467-1545 for more.
Tuesday 20
Here’s yet more Womanews: The Feminist Writers Guild holds an open mike tonight, with emcee and special guest reader Whitney Scott, author of Listen to the Moon. You’ll also get fiction, nonfiction, poetry, miscellaneous works in progress, and even performance art from whoever shows up. It’s at the Matrix Gallery, on the fourth floor of the South Loop Arts Building, 1255 S. Wabash. It’s $2; things get under way at 7. Call 708-672-6630 for more.
Wednesday 21
The city’s annual banner auction takes place in Daley Plaza today and tomorrow. The banners, which can be seen adorning light poles throughout the year promoting this or that event, will be sold by live auction at noon both days in the plaza, Dearborn and Washington. Prices can be as low as $25 or, as in the case of a Bulls banner signed by Michael Jordan last year, higher than $1,000. It’s free to go watch; call 744-3315 for details.
Memoirist, actor, activist, and gay figurehead Quentin Crisp is back with The Return of Quentin Crisp, a sequel to his one-man show of wit and reminiscence, An Evening With Quentin Crisp. He’ll be at the Halsted Theatre Centre’s Secondstage, 2700 N. Halsted, through Sunday with nightly shows at 8 save Saturday, with shows at 6 and 9:30 and Sunday at 7:30. Tix range from $20 to $25; call 348-0110 for more.
Lollapalooza–the traveling carnival of alternative rock bands that sold out across the country this summer–had one major problem: a big overdose of testosterone. An antidote, of sorts, is offered tonight in Homopalooza, a collection of gay performance art at Bistro Too, 5015 N. Clark. Comedian Memory Lane hosts, with performances by Suzie Silver, Iris Moore, and Lawrence Steger; video from Chuck Hyde and Pat O’Donnell; and a special performance by presidential candidate Joan Jett Blakk and her (Can’t-Keep-A) Secret Service Band. It’s a benefit for the Test Positive Aware Network, which says it’s the midwest’s largest nonprofit support and information network for those infected with HIV. The show’s at 9; admission is $10. Call 404-8726.
Thursday 22
Free Inquiry Network, the “humanist organization” headquartered in Oak Park, presents Indiana University prof Philip Appleman heading a talk and discussion called “Science, Belief, and Poetry” at 7:30 tonight at Guild Books, 2456 N. Lincoln. Appleman has written poetry and essays for the likes of Harper’s, the Nation, and the New York Times, and his Norton Critical Edition volume, Darwin, is a college textbook that’s gone through 30 printings. His newest book of poems is Let There Be Light. It’s free; call 708-386-9100 for more.