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Free Street Theater Performance Index 1992-2012
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Spudnikz
2012- Directors D-Nick Stockman & Araceli Arroyo Created by the Little Village Free Street Ensemble. Dax is a boy who can’t seem to find himself in a place where everyone is perfectly satisfied with themselves. Amaya is a girl who can’t seem to figure out what she wants in a world where people want for nothing. The two come together as traveling companions--Sputniks-- as they travel through strange lands looking for themselves. |
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Between These Walls
2011- Director Ron Bieganski */ Musical Director Stone Damon* / Ast. Dir. Anita Evans * Rock-and-Roll version of Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs. Scenes and music progress through Physiology, Safety, Love & Belonging, Esteem, to Self-Actualization. Ensemble: Sofia Connor*, Chance Damon*, River Damon*, Dani Davis*, Sophia de Oliveria*, Ola Faleti*, Shamerria Howard*, Stanta'sha Howard*, Amber Smith*, Gabriella Mangione*, Sergio Pedrote*, Michael Phillips*, Miata Ramos*, Arrise Stephens*, Jamila Tyler (*designates NeuroKitchen Founders ) Video Clip: Matches Keep Burning - Audio Tracks |
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Damaged Psyches
2011 - Director D-Nick Stockman Little Village High School Free Street Ensemble A hip hop and spoken word composition about breaking the myths on sexual violence in order to start the path to regaining self-worth. |
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To Kill a Teenager: seven sins of the juvenile mind
2010 - Director Ron Bieganski / Ast. Dir. Anita Evans Spring 2010: Free Street Studio Spring 2010: Makhampom Theater, Chiang Dao, Thailand Exploring the emotional minefield of adolescence, untangling seven contemporary challenges to becoming adult. (1) Emotional Driving (2) Suicidal Pride (3) Sacrificing Identity to Ease Pain (4) Perfection (5) Validation Junky (6) Invincibility (7) Thinking Life is Elsewhere Ensemble: Ashley Echevarria, Ola Faleti, Giovanni Gonzalez, Karina Gonzalez, Ashley Johnson, Mark Poore, Celina Rivera, Petra Smaradzja Photos - TimeOut Article - Reader Review |
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Abe's In A Bad Way 2010 - Director Anita Evans / Musical Director Stone Damon An ensemble production immersed in the last moments of Abraham Lincoln’s life depicting him going through five stages of grief in his final moments: shock, anger, bargaining, loneliness and acceptance. The ensemble explored Abraham Lincoln's struggle with depression, a life fraught with failure and a steadfast determination that led him to become president at a time when the country was unraveling. Research, creative writing, and character explorations led to the creation of a performance emerging from our collective imagination of the intimate thoughts of one miserable man who made one nation indivisible. The performance takes place within a string based musical installation with accompanying vocals. Ensemble: Chance Damon, River Damon, Dani Davis, Sophia de Oliveria, Summer Edmonds, Giovanni Gonzalez, Karina Gonzalez, Arden Harris, Linda Millan, Nemeh Morrar, Amber Smith, Brittany Ward. Video Clips - Photos - Reviews - Audo Tracks |
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Sub - Prime Youth
2009 - Director Ron Bieganski / Ast. Director Anita Evans Sub-Prime Youth is an ensemble created performance developed as a creative reaction to the current economic crisis and rise in foreclosures. Sub-Prime Youth weaves the brutal realism of a Mexican-American family facing foreclosure with the emotional surreal music of the Muses of Destruction. Ensemble: Dina Ahmetspahic, Cheryl Doyle, Ashley Echevarria, Giovanni Gonzalez, Karina Gonzalez, Ashley Johnson, Abraham Mendoza, Chiagoziem Nwakanma, Celina Rivera, Petra Samardzija Photos - Reviews |
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Skeptics : the movie
2009 - Director Ron Bieganski / Cinematographer Anita Evans The premiere of Skeptics was shown at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Skeptics is Free Street’s first full-length feature film. It was adapted from a stage play created and performed by the teen ensemble directed by Ron Bieganski, which was selected to tour in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Skeptics was created in the off-kilter time that followed in the wake of the September 11th attacks. It tells the story of girl starving herself close to death in a quest to understand what it means to be alive. Bony: Andrea Long Dolly: Alicia Townsend Angelo: Robert Rodriguez P. Boy: Paul Green Maria Marie: Jackie Rodriguez Newton: Araceli Arroyo Tyler: Alexandra Mikros Music: Brendan Faloona and Alicia Townsend Produced by Free Street and the Center for Community Arts Partnerships at Columbia College |
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Church Peace
2009 - Directors Ron Bieganski, Fannie Hungerford, Joy Conway Performed at Epiphany Episcopal Church. Movement and stillness, vocals and silence, as delicate as a dragonfly's wings Photos |
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Stirred
2009 - Director Fannie Hungerford / Ast. Director Dar Fieburg An ensemble play based on detailed explorations on the Civil Rights Movement, South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, with the play centering on the history of the U.S. education system and the academic disenfranchisement that students of color have faced dating as far back as slavery. Photos |
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Juxtaposed
2008 - Director Ron Bieganski /Ast. Directors Joy Conway, Anita Evans, Fannie Hungerford, Shanel Jackson. Ritual and Conceptual Performances happenings in public spaces. . |
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Where Do We Go From Here?
2009 - Directed by Luis Crespo, Bryn Magnus, Shawn Reddy with assistance by Jayita Bhattacharya, Daniel Jacewicz, and Mariusz Tarnozek. Association House of Chicago teen performance ensemble Voces Ansiosas/ Anxious Voices in collaboration with Free Street Theater explore a landscape that might be a poem, a game, or a dream. Who is the Evil Teddy Will? Will Victor ever get to play the saxophone? Is Sandy truly dead? Leonardo DaCaprio might be dreamy, but who promises to 'never let go' and then LETS GO? |
photo: Anita Evans
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Revenge With A Twist
2008 - Directors D-Nick Stockman & Jeanine Vaughn Two tribes fight for peace in an ensemble generated performance developed with teens at Hamilton Park. Two tribes fight for peace in an ensemble generated performance developed with teens at Hamilton Park. Ensemble: Artasha Davis, Dani Davis, Patrice Freeman, De'Andre Gibson, Shaquita Hill, Rosie Lewis, Tatiana Phillips, Kennetha Pitchford, Najee Shields |
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Had Enough
2008 - Director Daniel Jacewicz & Mariusz Tarnozek A collaborative performance developed by youth in Chicago's Polish community with a visiting director from Teatr Brama in Poland. Daniel Jacewicz (director) and Mariusz Tarnozek (music director) from Theatr Brama of Goleniow Poland developed a performance with Free Street youth over the course of a five month residency. It was performed in English with Polish subtitles |
photo: Anita Evans
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Ugh My Kidneys!
2008 - Directors Luis Crespo & Bryn Magnus Association House of Chicago and Free Street Theater collaborate to create a play written and performed by Voces Ansiosas youth |
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Mad Joy
2008 - Director Ron Bieganski / Choreographer Diana Campos / Ast. Dir & Projection Design Anita Evans Mecca is aging in reverse. Her memory is backwards too. Mecca awakens as an 85 year-old woman with a full "memory" of what the life ahead of her will be as she gets younger. As soon as Mecca has lived an experience, she can no longer recall anything about it. She does not know who she has been, only who she is becoming. Ensemble: Cheryl Doyle, Crystal Doyle, Giovanni Gonzalez, Karina Gonzalez, Sandra Gonzalez, Breeanna Greska, Ashley Hart, Stephanie Herrera, Stanta'sha Howard, Richard Juarez, Stanton Long, John Martinez, Abraham Mendoza, Chhaya Moorman, Chicagoziem Nwakanma, Dewayne Perkins, De'ja Reed, Paris Reed, Celina Rivera, Petra Samardzija, Alexis Waterford |
photo: Anita Evans
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Encounter Culture
2007 - Director Jenny Magnus / Assistants: Araceli Arroyo, Christophe Horton, Simone LaPierre, LaTia Thomas Unexpected happenings in public spaces. Director Jenny Magnus and the ensemble explore what it means to create unexpected performances. The ensemble is creating sequences they can take out in the world and make people think "what is going on?" They do Bus Stop Duets, Group Movement Phrases, Stranger Dialogues and CTA Cacophonies all designed to spark some curiosity. Ensemble: Jasmine Arias, Charles Doyle, Cheryl Doyle, Christopher Flynn, Slayton Goodman, Jeweline Hale, Robert Hill, Ashley Johnson, Kayla Mabry, Calvin Moore, Antwane Murff, Mark Poore, Roosevelt Scott, Kawana Tharps, Aileen Tie, Sadeea Wilson |
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Snow Beauty and Jack Diddle
2007 - Director Jeanine Vaughn Free Shows and workshops for children in Chicago Park Daycamps. The story of Snow Beauty and Jack Diddle is touring all over Chicago and performing free shows for children in Chicago Park Daycamps. This is no ordinary sit-down-and-be-quiet-show. Children warm-up with the actors, and are depended upon to add their voices, mooing, oinking, meowing, and barking to help Snow Beauty and Jack Diddle figure out what to do with the magic-hat cat. For older children, there is also theater workshop in which they participate in theater games with director Jeanine Vaughn and the cast.. Ensemble: John Cohen, Jacki Hale, Sylvia Hobson, Nick Stockman, Nathan Truman, Jeanine Vaughn |
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Origami Wings
2007 - Directors Paul Kuttner and Margaret Conway Students, Angels & Demons just trying to graduate High School. Created and performed by the Roberto Clemente Ensemble: Jazmine Davis, Khristisha Esquivel, Giovani Gonzalez, Stanta'sha Howard, Andrew Jones, Roceial Leonard, Kimberly Lewis, Deandre Nolen, Jorge Santiago |
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Harold is Burning
2007 - Director Shawn Reddy Inspired by studying former the Mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington and questioning issues of race, poverty, and education. Performed at the Free Street Studio, DuSable Museum, South Shore Cultural Center, Theatre Building, and at the Chase Tower Auditorium as part of Looptopia. Ensemble: Christophe Horton, Cecilia Leon, Stanton Long, Abe Mendoza, Victoria Pettis, Whitney Pipes, Julia Ruiz |
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Genetics Films: I Hate Mendel
2007 - Director Ron Bieganski / Cinematographer Anita Evans 3 shorts (I Hate Mendel, Probabilities, and Without) commissioned by the Illinois Humanities Council for the Future Perfect conference about genetics
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Skeptics : the movie
2007 - Director Ron Bieganski / Cinematographer Anita Evans How do you know you are really Alive if you've never tested the theory? Bony: Andrea Long Dolly: Alicia Townsend Angelo: Robert Rodriguez P. Boy: Paul Green Maria Marie: Jackie Rodriguez Newton: Araceli Arroyo Tyler: Alexandra Mikros Music: Brendan Faloona and Alicia Townsend Produced by Free Street and the Center for Community Arts Partnerships at Columbia College |
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E.C.H.O.
2007 - Directors Helen Achanzar, Joanna Klonsky, Rebecca Fox Every Choice Her Own. Young women poets mixing ideas and ink. |
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The Peacock King
2006 - Director Shawn Reddy / Ast. Director Araceli Arroyo Created by teenagers in summer After School Matters ensembles.. Performed for free to children in Chicago Park District daycamps all over the city. The Peacock Princess marries a Flamingo. Cluck Cluck |
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The Puppetmaster
2006 - Director Paul Kuttner Created by teenagers in summer After School Matters ensembles.. Performed for free to children in Chicago Park District daycamps all over the city. A bullied boy dreams of controlling his tormentors. |
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Attack of the Super Zeros
2006 - Director Mica Cole / Ast. Director D-Nick Stockman Created by teenagers in summer After School Matters ensembles.. Performed for free to children in Chicago Park District daycamps all over the city. A bunch of misfits work together to save the world. |
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Unsullied
2006 - Director Ron Bieganski / Ast. & Projections Anita Evans "But I'm a virgin....just like my mother." |
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Her Notorious Quill
2006 - Shawn Reddy / Ast. Dirs Paul Kuttner & Chung Vu / Projections ensemble with Anita Evans The haunted eulogies of Edgar Allen Poe, Henry Wadsworth, Tupac Shakur, and Notorious B.I.G as told by the women who served as their muses. Ensemble: Brittany Beasely, Ashley Johnson, Cecilia Leon, Raymond Luna, Kayla McCloud, Whitney Pipes, Joshua Sanitago |
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Mahogonny
2006 - Directors Ron Bieganski, Franz Josef Hödl, Daniel Jacewicz, Ulrich Hardt / Projection Design Anita Evans A theater cooperation between Metropolis Theater (Kreutzburg- Berlin Germany), Teatr Brahma (Goleniów Poland) and Free Street Theater (Chicago USA). Adapted from Brecht, performed in Berlin, created in collaboration with German and Polish youth, performed in English, Polish, and German. |
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eternal return
2005 - Director Ron Bieganski / Ast. & Projection Design Anita Evans / writing instruction Bryn Magnus Spring 2005 - Free Street Studio Fall 2005 - Free Street Studio Fall 2005 - tour in Germany & Poland Fall 2005 - opening TCG conference in Atlanta, GA a group of girls who find themselves living in the eddies of time that ripple from the epicenter of a tragic event. The show incorporates movement, bluesy country-death vocals, video images and a structure that ebbs and flows like memory. Ensemble: Araceli Arroyo, Samantha Bailey, Carmella Berthia, D'ana Hamilton Andrea Long, Alexandra Mikros, Jackie Rodriguez, Alicia Townsend "The Sun-Times' top theater critic Hedy Weiss recommends, "If you are feeling at all cynical these days - you might want to pay a visit to Free Street." This ensemble has consistently produced provocative, creative, and original works for years. Oh... and they're high school kids, too." Video Clip - Reviews - Photos |
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Recyclone
2005 - Directors Bryn Magnus and Brian Shaw Columbia College Chicago and Free Street announce a dynamic environmental re-use theater project called Recyclone. This college/community ensemble-created production began its life on the closing night of a mainstage Columbia show. The Recyclone crew took the set of that play and used those scenic bones to build an entirely new play exploring issues of regeneration, revitalization, reutilization and reorganization and kept a dumpster full of lumber out of the local landfill. Recyclone is an outdoor performance spectacle with puppets, bikes, and catapults. Created and Performed by: 10 Columbia College Theater students and 10 Free Street youth artists: Janel Bensich, Helene Achanzar, Whitney Davis, Jason Bailey, Rachel Kuhn, Brittany Beasley, Octavio Lara, Devin Kenny, Sam Luchsinger, Eric Krietz, Sean Miller, Stephan Love, Cari Snodgrass, Alex Luevano, Jeanine Vaughn, Whitney Pipes, Josh Weckesser, Alexander Randall, Sylwia Wieczorkiewicz, Nathaniel Viets-VanLear |
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Blindfolded
2005 - Director: Robert Karimi / Ast. Dir Jeanine Vaughn / Ast Dir & Video Projections Anita Evans Blinfolded is an ensemble created multi-media show examining misperceptions between US and the Middle East in light of the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis and the attacks of 9/11. These events were explored by an ensemble of emerging artists who weren't alive for the first event but have vivid memories of the second. Ensemble: Jason Bailey, Brittany Beasly, Usra Ghazi, Eric Krietz, Lashanna Lewis, Alex Randall, Aatifa Sadig, Bryant Vinson, Ashely Wolford Also .... Free Street was invited to the Capital Forum to perform Blindfolded on March 10, . Free Street received the Lawrence W. Towner Award, an honor presented annually to an Illinois Humanities Council project which has demonstrated venture and risk-taking in the development and fulfillment of a public humanities project. Blindfolded was performed at Oakton Community College in DesPlains on May 10 for a special presentation arrangened by cast member and honor society member Usra Ghazi. link to resources and process (we were so grateful to be visited by former hostage Kathryn Koob!) |
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Pluto 2005 - Playwright: Idris Goodwin / Director: Tony Sancho /Music by: Justin J. Mayer / Additional music: Franco De Leon & Alo A Hip-Hop Opera. A Free Street / Hermit Arts collaboration written and directed by NEA.TCG playwright in residence Idris Goodwin. Welcome to Pluto / Midwest / where time is unreal/ Where music moves things along/ like factory steel / Where people speak poetry / and sing lyrics / all days / From natives on soil to concrete industrial haze / Ten moments / show the batttles and slivers of silence / The love, the villians, the leaders, the violence / The shifts in population, raace, gender and faces / This opera about connections between people and places. Also performed at PAC/edge Festival. |
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Shut Mouth Karaoke
2004 - Facilitated and Directed by NEA/TCG playwright in residence Idris Goodwin / Music Mashed by Franco de Leon There's a riot going on and a radio tower is knocked over trapping people inside of a bus station. As humanity crumbles outside, inside a group of strangers debate faith, the future, and sing karaoke. Remixing and blending lyrics from Elliot Smith to 50 cent to Cole Porter to TLC. Ensemble: Tarisha Williams, Keith Perez, Carmella Berthia, Varrick Douglas, Brittany Gordon, Kaneisha Gayles, Chauntevia Henry |
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PANG: play/dead jugar/muerte
2004 - Director Jenny Magnus / Musical Direction Jamie O'Reilly / Accompaniment Rich Ingle This ensemble-created music-theater piece employs personal histories, poems, and songs from the archive of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of American antifascists who fought in the Spanish civil war. The production, directed by Jenny Magnus with music direction by Jamie O'Reilly, is a collaborative effort of Free Street Programs, the Music Theater Workshop, and the Columbia College Chicago Theater Department. BLAM: What does your heart hear, Poet? What songs unfurl? Performed at the Free Street Studio and the Duncan Y-Chernin Center for the Arts Ensemble: Helene Achanzar, Angelica Flores, David Harewood, Lakeisha Hill, Sandra Perez, Abram Rabinowitz, Yvonne Soong, Mark Valencia, Dave Watkins. |
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PANG: The Angel in Moloch
2004 - Director Bryn Magnus / Video Projections Director Anita Evans / Choreography Asimina Chermos Collaboratively created performance explosion of natural ecstasy induced by Allen Ginsberg's "Howl." It draws together the aesthetics of Word, Hip Hop, Jazz, Beat, Video Images, Performance Art, New Movement. Moloch, I'm with you, Holy. Performed at PAC/edge Festival at the Athenaeum Theater Ensemble: Helene Achanzar, Corey Keiloloe, Vincent Deamon, Angela Dedenbach, Sarah Gottlieb, Diana Hamilton, Andrea Long, Lamon Manuel, Rashan Martin, Alec Meredith, Steven Monk, Jeanine Vaughn Videos created by Jasmine Harris, Dorothy Jarwoska, Rashan Martin Sound by Alec Meredith |
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PANG: Deep Wholeness
2004 - Director Robert Karimi / Projections Anita Evans The 'Hero's Journey' in myths from around the globe are smashed into patterns, standards, and images reflected in the lives of contemporary urban youth. Facilitated by HBO Def Poetry Jam performer, Robert Karimi, the ensemble of emerging artists break down traditional mythologies and create new stories. Ensemble: Jason Baiey, Brittney Beasly, Roxanna Garciduenas, Niemah Herron, Lakeshia Hill, Akilah Perry, Laquana Picket, Siree Saboor, Nathanial Viets, Bryant Vinson |
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PANG: Sonic Ardor
2004 - Director Luis Crespo / Writing facilitation Bryn Magnus / Audio facilitation Elliot Scott / Structural design facilitation Kirk Irwin Association House Arts department (AHC), Columbia College of Chicago department of Audio Arts and Acoustics (CCC) and Free Street Programs (FS) present you with this performance based on 'sound'. This interdisciplinary performance project has directly challenged youth artists to expand their conceptual abilities to work creatively using sound and space as departure points. Hear now. Ensemble: Brittany Beasley, William Brown, Ivan Delgado, Roxana Garciduenas, Niemah Herron, David Rivera |
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PANG: Mad Joy Cinema
2004 - Director Ron Bieganski / Ast. Dir. & Cinematographer & Editing Instructor Anita Evans Short films written, directed and edited by teens in the ensemble Ensemble: Ailene Cheng, Vincent Deamon, Jasmine Harris, Dorota Jarworska, Jerrell Johnson, Andrea Long, Alexandra Mikos, Matthew Williams, Stephany Stovall Special Thanks to Chris Peppey & Ailene Chor for so generously sharing their expertise and Columbia College's equipment |
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Mixed Up |
Inanimate |
Unknowing Laughter |
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Skeptics |
The Week |
Outtakes |
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The Dizzy Birds and Somersalt Flowers Have a Race
2004 - Director |
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The Day the Earth Stood Still
2004 - Director |
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Where Do You Want Me to Be?
2004 - Director Ron Bieganski The conflict between progress and preservation brought to life in the context of the relocation of the historical Maxwell Street market. |
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Undergoing Therapy for the Entire World
2003 - Director Ron Bieganski / Projection Director Anita Evans / Writing Instructor Bryn Magnus Spring 2003: Free Street Studio Fall 2003: Free Street Studio Fall 2003: Kampnagel Theater, Hamburg, Germany A jazz-laced pyromaniac exploration of political and personal revolution Ensemble: Helene Achanzar, Aileen Cheng, Vincent Daemon, Jasmin Harris, Antar Morrar, Stephany Stovall, Marisa Wallin Music: Camille Altay (turntables), Alex Purcell (sax), Brendan Faloona (drums), Alicia Townsend (vocals) Projection videographics: Mariko Charvat, Paul Green, Jasmine Harris, Dorothy Jaworska, Xia Magnus, Corey Person Review - Photos |
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Null / Zeros
2003 - Director Ron Bieganski / Ast. & Projections Anita Evans / Writing Instruction Bryn Magnus |
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StareWell
2003 - Director Ron Bieganski / Ast. & Projections Anita Evans |
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PANG: Flip the Hip Hop Script
2003 - At the Fireside Bowl |
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PANG: Up to the Sky
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PANG: Underground Progressions
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PANG: Tough
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PANG: And You Don't Stop
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Skeptics
2002 - Director Ron Bieganski / Ast, Dir, & Projection Director Anita Evans / Writing Instructor Bryn Magnus May 2002 - Free Street Studio, Chicago, IL Summer 2002 - Tour in Germany, Austria, and Netherlands Sept. 2002 - Rhino Fest at Prop Theater Sept. 2002 - Free Street Studio a dangerously curious body-phrased performance Ensemble: Brendan Faloona, Christine Gandia, Paul Green, Jojo Klonsky, Andrea Long, Melissa Pabon, Robert Rodriquez, Kylah Williams Video Projections: Helene Achanzar, Aileen Cheng, Anna Funderburgh, Shabazza Hameed, Ian Maza "mind-bending multifaceted theater that tackles the great leap form adolescence to adulthood with jaw-dropping sophistication and courage" - Nick Green, Reader Critic's Choice Skeptics web highlights (reviews, photos, script samples) |
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PANG: AboveGround
2002 - Hip Hop show coordinated by Franco de Leon AboveGround is where Chicago's hiphop underground emerges as a new theatrical form. Sound/movement fusionist Franco de Leon turns the DJs, Bboys, MCs, and Graffiti Artists into a single sensory performance of cool opticbeats and hot earheats. Performed at the Storefront Theater Features: The Platter Pirates, DJ Crew, Family Jewels MCs, Chicago Tribe Breakdancers, Videoist Konee Rok, and Muralist Won Yup Kim |
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PANG: Old School / New School
2002 - Kent Foreman, Regie Gibson, and Christopher Longoria Kent Foreman, Chicago's jazz-poetry elder statesman and Carl Sandburg Award winner presents a repertoire as versatile as the poets and musicians he has collaborated with including Allen Ginsburg, Maya Angelou, Max Roach, and Oscar Brown Jr. Reggie Gibson's rythmystical style of spoken-word and deft beats won him the '98 National Slam Championship in Austin. Christopher Longoria, San Fransico word griot is currently working on an EP release with Future Primitive Sound Collective DJs Faust and Shortee Romanowski. |
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PANG: "Si La Gente Quiere Comer Carne, Le Damos Carne"
2002- written and performed by Antonio Sacre Antonio Sacre's new show "If People Want to Eat Meat, Let Them Eat Meat" is the remarkable story of his tri-athlete/petty criminal brother. Antonio Sacre animates 15 tweaky and hilarious characters who bridge the gaps between the successes and failures of his brother's life. Antonio has performed his true life comedy at the HBO workspace, the Knitting Factory, the New York International Fringe Festival, and the Rhinoceros Festival in Chicago. The Village Voice confirms that "Sacre is a serious artist." |
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PANG: Quartets for Six
2002 - Score by Michael Hartman / Choroegraphic Direction by Asimina Chermos A fascinating collaboration between three dancers and three musicians investigating extremes of the "quartet." Three minutes to think, three minutes to move. Performed by TV Pow: Music: Todd Carter, Brent Gutzeit, Michael Hartman Dancers: Asimina Chermos, Lauri Stalings, Mario Zambrano |
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PANG: hobo love stories
2002 - Shirka Urechko and Erin May unfortunately this performance was canceled at the last moment as the artists were blocked from traveling to the US from Canada due to travel visa issues. |
photo: Anita Evans
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Zeros
2001 - Director Ron Bieganski / Ast. & Projections Anita Evans / Writing Instructor Bryn Magnus Ensemble: Chameka Cole, Joy Conway, Christine Gandia, Tramine Ford, Jerrell Johnson, Andrea Long, Robert Rodriquez, Alicia Tauchander, Kylah Williams May 2001 - Free Street Theater in Pulaski Park, Chicago, IL September 2002 - Rhino Fest at Free Street October 2001 - Getz Theater, Columbia College a play about love, non-existence, and a boy building a bomb in his basement "cuts straight to the bone of teenage angst...writing remains consistently sophisticated ...eye-popping performances abound" - Nick Green, Reader Critic's Choice |
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Rhino Fest 2001
2001 - Chicago's longest running fringe festival, Rhino Fest, held performances at Free Street SAIC on the Chicago Fringe: Rhino Fest "Storefront theater is where a lot of the most innovative and risk-taking work in writing is happening in Chicago," said Beau O'Reilly, one of the co-coordinators of the festival more commonly known as Rhino Fest." |
photo: Anita Evans
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The Mystery of a Rumor
and When Pong Meets Pang 2001 - Cindy Henkin |
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PANG: Eric Bogosian
2001 - Eric Bogosian read from his new book Mall at a special PANG event after being invited by PANG teen producer Leo Asuncion. Ensemble member Robert Rodriguez opened the event by performing a monologue from Bogosian's play Suburbia. |
photo: Ann Boyd
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Five Summer TeenStreet Companies
2000 - |
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Cotingle
2000 - Director Ron Bieganski / Ast. Anita Evans / Writing Instructor Bryn Magnus May 2000 - Free Street Theater in Pulaski Park , Chicago, IL October 2000 - Getz Theater, Columbia College June / July 2001-Tour in Germany Ensemble: Chameka Cole, Luis Collins, Joy Conway, Carmen Corral, Franco-Mango P. DeLeon, Tramaine Ford, Jerrell Johnson, Jazelle Kirkwood, Tina Powell, Robert Rodriquez Additional Writing: Marianna Barajas, Devondra Bryant, Laurie Grauer, L'Maya Holley, Ina Houston, Guadeloupe Rivera, Tamika Rogers, Christopher Thomas, Deanna Torres Story and Arrangement: TeenStreet Company with Bryn Magnus & Ron Bieganski cotingle: to get excited from other people's pain "a jaw-slackening, hip-hop, beat poetic abstract teen melodrama...amazing sensual choreography" - Darryl Cater , Chicago Journal |
photo: Joel Wanek
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Four Summer TeenStreet Companies
1999 - Ann Boyd, Kimberly Senior, Beth Bailey, Amanda Lichtenstein, Tom Jansson, Carmel Sanders, Tanya White, Carolyn Hoerdemann |
Fun Fact: The baby in this picture grew up to be a NeuroKitchen founder!
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Cog in the Freak Plan
1999 - Director Ron Bieganski / Ast. Anita Evans / Writing Instructor Bryn Magnus / Guest Movement instructor Bob Eisen Ensemble: Leopoldo Asuncion, Cullen Bosworth, Chameka Cole, Luis Levell Collins, Jeanine Chuchan, Franco P.DeLeon, Tramaine Ford, Jazelle Kirkwood, Brett Korn, Keewa Nurullah, Tina Powell, Joanna Ricco, May 1999 - Free Street Theater in Pulaski Park, Chicago, IL June 1999 - Tromso, Norway chosen to represent USA at the ASSITEJ World Theater Congress October 1999 - Getz Theater, Columbia College, Chicago IL November 1999 - Fish Creek Auditorium, Door County, Wisconsin Summer 2000 Internation Youth Theater Frestival in Germany an unborn child living life all at once in a dj remixed play "....unlike anything you might imagine teen-generated theater to be. Cog in the Freak Plan could easily hold its own in any cutting-edge theater festival aimed at adults. And that is precisely why it holds its young audience; it never panders, it never preaches and it never explains things in literal terms. Yet there is no mistaking its visceral impact and its ability to generate thought." - Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times Reviews - Photos |
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Bump in the Night
Parenteen Theater in YTCC festival at Steppenwolf 1999 - |
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BoOom
1998 - director Ron Bieganski / musical director Ken Vandemark / Ast. Anita Evans / Writing Instructor Bryn Magnus Ensemble: Leo Ascuncion, Onome Djere, Tatyana Ejsmont, Meka Hayes, Shanel Jackson, Cole Johnson-Vinion, Suhalia Madison, Keli Stewart, Justine Turner, Tiffany Turner 1997-1998 May 1998 - Free Street Theater in Pulaski Park, Chicago, IL November 1998 - Northlight Theater , Skokie, IL November 1998 - Fish Creek Auditorium, Door County, Wisconsin somewhere different - someone else - here - me "The true power of the piece comes from the cast, who unselfishly create one woman's fractured life through startlingly pure moments of joy, humor and rage." - Nicole Bernardi-Reis, New City |
photo: Joel Wanek
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Five Summer TeenStreet Companies
1998 - Beth Bailey, Manny Bances, Debi Buzil, Tom Jansson, Tracy Livingston, Abby Sherer, Rene Torres, Tanya White, Tina Marie Wright, Jennifer Viets |
photo: Kristine Wolff
Mad Joy recorded at WTTW studios
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Mad Joy
1996 - Director Ron Bieganski / Ast. Anita Evans / Writing Instructor Bryn Magnus March, April 1996 - Free Street Theater in Pulaski Park, Chicago, IL June, July 1996 - European Tour (7 cities) September 1996 - co-produced at Steppenwolf Theatre February 1997 - WTTW Public TV. Video Production Ensemble: Tameka Flowers, Tomeka Hayes, Valarie Hildebrand, Trulawn McCray, Joshua Mitchell, Theresa Nazario, Keli. Stewart, Brian Vines, Happi Price, John Paul Pacino, Barbara Sit, Karla Galva, and additional writers Chanta Jackson and Kim Johnson Mecca is living her life backward. She begin old and full of memories, as she gets youger she has fewer memories. 1996 - Best of the Year in Chicago Theater: "Mad Joy is one of the riskiest, most innovative and sophisticated pieces of original theater I've seen" - Gabrielle Kaplan, Reader "Take the absurd spirit of Eastern-European literature, from Kafka to Kundera. Spin it together with the funky, sometimes dissonant marching music of a New Orleans funeral. And you may just get a hint of what awaits you in TeenStreet's haunting, hugely imaginative work about what it means to be alive." - Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times Chicago Reader: "Mad Joy is one of the riskiest, most innovative and sophisticated pieces of original theater I've seen in Chicago in the last three years." Chicago Sun-Times:" Take the absurd spirit of Eastern European literature from Kafka to Kundera. Spin it together with the funky, sometimes dissonant marching music of a New Orleans funeral. And you many just get a hint of what awaits you in TeenStreet's haunting, hugely imaginative production, "Mad Joy," now in a brief engagement at the Steppenwolf Studio Theatre," Chicago Tribune: "Mad Joy," however, goes beyond the semidocumentary to become an almost avant-garde work of art-house sophistication." |
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Held Captive by Daydreams
1995 - Director Ron Bieganski / Musical Director Winston Damon Ensemble: Meagan Downey,Tameka Flowers, Valentina Gamboa, Tomeka Hayes, Valerie Hildebrand, Helena Marie, Melissa Marrero, Trulawn McCray, Erica Miller, Fatima Mustafa, Jeffery Price, Antonio Suide, Melina Vezquez, Brian Vines March, April 1995 - Free Street Theater in Pulaski Park, Chicago, IL June, July 1995 - European Tour (6 cities) November 1995 - International Youth Theater Festival, Bremen Germany "I keep thinking about that boy that fell from the window. I think about the dangling part a lot." "Held Captive daringly interweaves cathartic dance numbers, eerie songs, and intensely personal stream-of-consciousness monologues" - Adam Langer, Reader Chicago Tribune: "Bieganski, who approaches his mission with an almost evangelical zeal, believes deeply in the power of the theater to add meaning to cast members' lives. Whether rehearsing or just sitting around talking, he prods and encourages, cajoles and listens, teaches and learns, drawing upon his years in the theater to push the cast to places they might not have even dreamed about. "People go to the level you ask them to. I only ask that they go to the level of their highest intelligence," he says." Chicago Reader: "What makes this production so engaging is its complex, sophisticated treatment of these issues: it daringly interweaves cathartic dance numbers, eerie songs, and intensely personal stream-of-consciousness monologues." |
photo: Suzanne Plunkett
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Learning to Breathe in a Box
1994 - Director Ron Bieganski Ensemble: Tameka Flowers, Valentina Gamboa, Valerie Hilderbrand,.Chris Kowalski., Mira Mayfield, Joshua Medley, Erica Miller, Tru McCray, Jeffrey Price, Antonio Suide, Brian Vines -- Additional Writers: Ama Apua, Chausse Manning, Felisha Ricks March 1994 - Free Street Theater in Pulaski Park, Chicago, IL April 1994 - Madame Walker Center, Indianapolis, IN May 1995 - Quad City Youth Conference, Iowa Chicago Reader Critics Choice: "The 12 members of the ensemble, Free Street Theater's youth troupe from all over Chicago, do more than a bit of soul mining--they conjure up their own spirit through poetry, dance,and rhythm. The poems they write aren't pretty, their dances aren't joyful: Learning to Breathe in a Box is about death, fear, and irrefutable faith. But the group, working with director Ron Bieganski and percussionist Winston Damon, creates a beautiful collage of raw emotion." - Maura Toester "what can be more dangerous than death?" (Photo from Help Captive by Daydreams) |
photo: Suzanne Plunkett
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Standing Out in a Drive-by World
1992/1993 - Director Ron Bieganski Ensemble: Claudia Arias, Clara Danes, Atlas Anderson, Ama Apua, Chausse Manning, Trulawn McCray, Jeffrey Price, James Jenkins ''Standing Out (in a Drive-by World),'' Free Street`s two neighborhood summer performance companies, from Edgewater and Cabrini-Green, join forces in a show that, like Free Street`s musical ''Project,'' portrays the lives of ''America`s most endangered species-inner-city teenagers'' in song, dance, poetry and story. Ron Bieganski directs." (listing in Chicago Tribune) Hopes and Dreams Still Rise from the Streets Chicago Tribune, Richard Christiansen Chicago Reader Review: "Uncensored, in-your-face, and spiked with song, the show represents a small triumph of art over life--or imagination over AIDS, drugs, gangs, joblessness, guns, and rats." - Lawrence Bommer "Heaven is a place where I can walk freely. A place where I can stand out in this drive-by world without being touched" (Photo from Held Captive by Daydreams) |
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Strugglers for a New World and The Kayotic Order-TKO
1992 - Ron Bieganski and Betty Jackson |
