Mi Kang Archives - Chicago Reader

A red-headed woman in a pale checked dress and a brocade vest stands left, looking left. Next to her is a woman with dark hair in a long gray cloak who is holding a black-and-gold valise. The wall behind them is covered in old cursive writing resembling a letter.

Take that, Jane!

by Kimzyn Campbell February 23, 2023February 22, 2023

Lookingglass Theatre Company’s world premiere of Villette, a modern adaptation (written by Sara Gmitter and directed by Tracy Walsh) of Charlotte Brontë’s novel, explores the travails of a woman determined to stand on her own and not live in a fairy-tale world of romance. Graced with a rock-solid work ethic, Lucy Snowe is unwilling to […]

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 […]

An Asian man in a green jacket, blue trousers, and a black baseball cap sits left next to an Asian woman in black trousers and top with a pink blouse. Her hair is in a ponytail. They are looking at each other quizzically.

Arts & Culture

‘Afong Moy was a real person’

by Irene Hsiao May 11, 2022May 11, 2022

The year was 1834. Indigenous communities were being displaced from their ancestral homelands on the forced march known as the Trail of Tears. Over two million people of African descent were enslaved. And America’s first model minority, Afong Moy, was imported to New York: a 14-year-old girl with bound feet, made to perform for the […]