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 […]
Tag: TimeLine Theatre
Posted inCity Life
These events ain’t for fools
Even though we’re posting this on April 1, we’re not foolin’: we think you’ll find something to enjoy in this week’s list of upcoming events. FRI 4/1 Chicago Repertory Ballet celebrates its tenth anniversary with a program called, appropriately enough, Ten. The lineup includes three world premieres: Transcending Quiet, a pas de deux and “study […]
Posted inTheater Review
History is Relentless
The year 1919 is having a theatrical moment this season in Chicago, even with Steppenwolf postponing the world premiere of Eve L. Ewing’s 1919 (which was originally slated to open this week as part of the Steppenwolf for Young Adults series) until fall of 2022. That watershed year in American history comes to complicated and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Tyla Abercrumbie is about more than The Chi
Playwright, actor, director, and artist Tyla Abercrumbie remembers when she was called to theater as clear as day. Blue lights beamed from a ceiling as Alvin Ailey dancers weaved and flowed with silk fabrics, making grade school Tyla feel like she was swimming in an ocean as the company of dancers performed their “Wade in […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A trilogy for times of terror
Three streaming productions give us plenty to ponder in the pandemic.
Posted inArts & Culture
Kill Move Paradise imagines an afterlife for victims of police killings
James Ijames puts the audience on trial in this TimeLine production.
Posted inArts & Culture
Rutherford and Son is Succession without the sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll
Githa Sowerby’s long-neglected drama has a strong cast at TimeLine, but drags at times.
Posted inArts & Culture
Give thanks for some promising November live performances
The table is set this month with theater world premieres, dance works in progress, and comedy with cured meat.
Posted inArts & Culture
Oslo paints a picture of the personal touch in international relations
The Tony-winning play gets a smart and timely local premiere from TimeLine.
Posted inArts & Culture
Too Heavy for Your Pocket weighs the cost of making a difference
A Black college student’s decision to join the Freedom Riders has unexpected consequences for his wife and friends.
Posted inArts & Culture
Cardboard Piano looks for hope and healing in Uganda
Hansol Jung’s drama takes on religious hypocrisy, the lives of child soldiers, and the connections between the personal and political.
Posted inArts & Culture
Janet Ulrich Brooks leads a superb Master Class
Her magnetic, mercurial performance anchors TimeLine’s portrait of Maria Callas.
Posted inArts & Culture
The Holocaust drama A Shayna Maidel takes the redemptive route
But the production’s happy ending feels unearned.
Posted inArts & Culture
To Catch a Fish re-creates a government operation gone terribly wrong
Brett Neveu’s play is not so much about the con, but the effect of the con.
Posted inArts & Culture
The Comedy of Errors, Marie Christine, and eight more new stage shows to see
A cartoon-inspired staging of the Bard and a creole update of Medea are among this week’s best bets.