Sheri Flanders, author at Chicago Reader

The author sits in a chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and looking at the camera. An empty chair sits beside him.

David Razowsky wants to set “yes, and” on fire

by Sheri Flanders January 27, 2023January 27, 2023

Improvisers from around the globe flock to Chicago to learn the “right” way to improvise, yet veteran actor (actor, not improviser) David Razowsky’s new book throws “yes, and” in the trash, sets it on fire, composts it, and plants a tree with it. He’s earned the right, after ten years on Second City Chicago’s mainstage […]

Pictured are side-by-side headshots of two Black women, both leaders of theater companies in Chicago. On the left is Charlique Rolle of Congo Square. She is wearing black, and is seated with her hands clasped in her lap. She is smiling. On the right is Myesha-Tiara of Perceptions Theatre. She is wearing an orange top.

Arts & Culture

The strength of community

by Sheri Flanders January 25, 2023January 27, 2023

At the end of September 2020, I wrote a piece for the Reader titled “Black artistic leaders take charge at several Chicago theaters,” which framed the influx of new (and preexisting) Black leadership in Chicago theater against the backdrop of a historic disruption in the industry. That disruption was powered in part by COVID-19 leading […]

Theater Review

Apartheid and Antigone

by Sheri Flanders November 23, 2022November 23, 2022

Exquisitely paced and intellectually explosive, The Island at Court Theatre is a profoundly moving work of art. From the first moment, this production (directed by Gabrielle Randle-Bent, Court’s associate artistic director) seizes the audience and thrusts them into the world of two political prisoners of apartheid and doesn’t let go, even long after the play […]

a Black woman dressed in all black with gold earrings looks out toward the open water

Film

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

by Sheri Flanders November 10, 2022November 10, 2022

A thoughtful and mature exploration of communal grief in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a fitting tribute to the legacy of Chadwick Boseman.

two performers and a band with a screen behind them

Arts & Culture

The theme is love at Pop-Up Magazine

by Sheri Flanders October 27, 2022October 27, 2022

On October 28, Pop-Up Magazine will be staged at the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture.

Four Black women stand in a contemporary kitchen. The woman in the foreground holds out a piece of paper that she appears to be reading, while a woman behind her grabs for her arm. The other two women stand in the background looking on.

Theater Review

Family recipes

by Sheri Flanders September 22, 2022September 22, 2022

If you’re looking for a play to prepare you for the Thanksgiving season, you might want to check out STEW, staged by Shattered Globe and now playing at Theater Wit. Written by Zora Howard and directed by Malkia Stampley, STEW tells the tale of the Tucker women, all gathering (and bickering) at the family home […]

two Black people in gold, royal blue, and brown, looking off to the side

Film

The Woman King

by Sheri Flanders September 19, 2022September 19, 2022

Director Gina Prince-Bythewood films through the lens of Blackness, highlighting the beauty, strength, and fierceness of Black people, unlike most stories about the slave trade that wallow in Black trauma and are filmed as education for white audiences.

a well-dressed Black couple stand below a Welcome Back sign on a Baptist church

Film

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.

by Sheri Flanders September 1, 2022September 1, 2022

For those who grew up with any personal proximity to the Black church or religious homophobia, this movie will hit incredibly close to home.

Film

‘Little things make a huge difference’

by Sheri Flanders August 18, 2022August 18, 2022

Produced by Beti Films, Any Given Day follows the story of three Chicagoans struggling to succeed despite mental health challenges.

Film

Ms. Marvel

by Sheri Flanders June 10, 2022

Marvel does a great job of spotlighting facets of American culture that often go underrepresented, and Ms. Marvel’s spotlight of Islam is incredibly well done.

A young Black woman sits on a sofa, wrapped in a purple blanket. A young Black man leans on the sofa on the left, and another young Black man stands behind her. A photo of an older Black woman is on the side table next to the sofa.

Theater Review

New generation, old family stories

by Sheri Flanders June 2, 2022June 2, 2022

Change is afoot at Black Ensemble Theater as it prepares to embark on a new era, leveraging a $5 million grant to implement founder and CEO Jackie Taylor’s longtime vision of a Free To Be corridor, which would expand the footprint of the theater campus and provide housing and support opportunities for artists and community. […]

An Asian man sits left, looking at a Chinese woman. Both are in what appears to be traditional Chinese clothing of the 19th century.

Theater Review

The price of exposure

by Sheri Flanders May 20, 2022June 7, 2022

In Viola Spolin’s seminal work Improvisation for the Theater, the very first exercise listed is named “exposure.” During this exercise, a group of actors are divided into halves and instructed to simply look at others and allow others to look at them. This deceptively difficult task often challenges new performers greatly; not only do they […]

A white man in a burgundy shirt and gray vest sits left at a table in a bar, across from a Black man in a Cleveland Cavaliers T-shirt and baseball cap

Theater Review

King James explores basketball and male bonding

by Sheri Flanders March 16, 2022March 21, 2022

I’ve always been ambivalent about the use of land acknowledgements in the arts sector, but as I am not of Indigenous descent, I can’t speak for Indigenous opinions on the matter. At the world premiere of King James at Steppenwolf, the audience was treated to not only a land acknowledgement, but also to what I […]