Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

About Face crossing its 'T's
SCOTTISH PLAY SCOTT
by Scott C. Morgan, Windy City Times
2012-07-03

This article shared 2414 times since Tue Jul 3, 2012
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


With a title like What's the T?, it would be safe to assume that About Face Theatre's biennial Youth Theatre show would focus on the fourth letter representing the transgender community within that inclusive catch-all acronym LGBTQ. But as playwright Sara Kerastas pointed out, there's so much more to the show.

"What's really interesting about this particular project is that it has evolved a lot from our original idea," said Kerastas during a telephone interview.

The process began last summer when About Face Theatre held intensive workshops to create a youth-theater piece from the ground up to explore trans-identity issues. It was time, Kerastas said, since previous About Face Youth Theatre shows like Queertopia and Fast Forward respectively focused on youth violence and sex education.

So About Face Theatre made an effort to get a lot of organizations from the transgender community to work with Kerastas and the young actors to find a way to dramatize a show that would be performed the following summer not only as part of About Face Theatre's regular season, but also so it could be adapted later for outreach performances in area schools.

However, midway through the summer process, there came all sorts of tension within the community regarding LGBT youth hanging around Chicago's Boystown neighborhood and the accusations that they were the cause of increased levels of violence and crime.

"That really was the climax of all of this community tension with the CAPS meeting and the stabbings," Kerastas said.

Since so many of the LGBT workshop youth felt directly affected by the issues at hand, Kerastas and About Face decided to bring these issues into play for the creation of the show.

"We didn't let go of our original theme, but we funneled it through this lens to use youth art to address what was going on in our own community," Kerastas said. "It's definitely a multi-perspective play with youth and adult characters coming from very different viewpoints and it's really a fast-paced snapshot of a lot of different characters inhabiting the very same space."

Most prominently featured are two trans-identified characters that have an interesting dialogue and relationship online. First there's the trans-woman Ms. Ma, who is an upbeat Internet personality famed for creating online videos about creating safe spaces for trans-identified people. Then there's a young trans-man named Shaman, who has just been kicked out of high school and creates an online rebuttal to Ms. Ma.

"Really, a part of the play is this narrative between Ms. Ma and Shaman that takes place entirely through making online videos for one another," Kerastas said. "So there's also this theme of how the Internet and new forms of media can be a catalyst for community as well."

Also unique about this About Face Theatre production is that director Eric Hoff ("Hit the Wall") and designer Tom Slazinski have developed What's the T? to play in two different venues: the Red Tape Theatre space in St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Boystown, and at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood.

"Slazinski has really put a great deal of thought into the space of the play, so seeing this play is going to be a really exciting and immersive experience where the audience is going to be really much part of it," said Kerastas, noting how the seating arrangements will play up different levels of status, privilege and proximity as reflected in the play. "Just having the play in two different spaces with two different surrounding communities will be an adventure for us."

As for About Face Youth Theatre performers Jade Ryian, 20, and Julian Alvarado, 17, they're both enjoying being part of the collaborative process and bringing up issues tied to race, class, gender and sexuality.

"My character is very stereotyped," said Alvarado about his Boystown hairdresser character Mic. "His complexion is white, but he is of Hispanic background and he's given a bit more privilege by the way he looks. But he does what he can to try and prevent conflict."

As for Ryian, she plays a butch Latina teenager named Jude who is confused about her attractions toward her best friend.

"For me, it's mainly a support thing as an ally where I figured I could use my talent to showcase issues that are actually happening," Ryian said, happy to participate in the whole play-development process. "And just to be there for my friends and people I care about and put on a great piece of art."

About Face Youth Theatre's world premiere of What's the T? plays at two different locations from July 13 to Aug. 4. The production first plays the Red Tape Theatre at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 621 W. Belmont Ave., with previews beginning July 13 and an official press opening July 20. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and Sundays at 3 p.m. through July 29. What's the T? then moves to the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St., for performances at 7 p.m. Aug. 3, and at 3 and 7 p.m. Aug. 4. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for students and $25 for Youth Theatre supporters. Visit www.aboutfacetheatre.com or call 866-811-4111 for tickets.


This article shared 2414 times since Tue Jul 3, 2012
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

SHOWBIZ Dionne Warwick, OUTshine, Ariana DeBose, 'Showgirls,' 'Harlem' 2024-03-29
Video below - Iconic singer Dionne Warwick was honored for her decades-long advocacy work for people living with HIV/AIDS at a star-studded amfAR fundraising gala in Palm Beach, per the Palm Beach Daily News. Warwick received the "Award of ...


Gay News

WORLD Israel court, conversion therapy, death sentences, Georgia bill, fashion items 2024-03-29
- Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Population Authority must register female couples as mothers on the birth certificates of their children they have together, The Washington Blade reported. The decision was made following a petition ...


Gay News

City Lit Executive Artistic Director Brian Pastor talks theater, comics, queerness 2024-03-26
- City Lit Theater has announced its programming for the 2024-25 season—which will be the company's 44th. It will also be the first season to be programmed under the leadership of Brian Pastor (they/them), who will assume ...


Gay News

The Jeff Awards announces the 50th anniversary awards for non-equity theater 2024-03-26
--From a press release - A complete list of recipients can also be found online in the Non-Equity and News and Events sections at www.jeffawards.org. (March 25, 2024 - Chicago) — Celebrating its 50th anniversary awarding recognition for Non-Equity theater, the ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar' 2024-03-21
- Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...


Gay News

Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18
- Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05
- Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05
- Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

Center on Halsted hosts 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show 2024-03-03
- On the evening of Feb. 29, Center on Halsted held its 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show in front of a packed audience at the Hoover-Leppen Theater. The event brought together participants of the Center's youth and senior ...


Gay News

THEATER When growth is paramount: Jim Corti helps fuel Aurora theater expansion 2024-03-01
- Out actor/director/choreographer Jim Corti made his Broadway debut in 1974, in the ensemble of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. Director Harold Prince's acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival is often cited as a ...


Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical 2024-02-19
- Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

'West Side Story' gets a sex-positive spin with new burlesque show 2024-02-19
- In partial observance of National Condom Day, which was Feb. 14, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented A West Side Story Burlesque at the Harris Theater for two hour-long performances on Feb. 17. The show, ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

Carisa Hendrix mesmerizes as Lucy Darling in Teatro ZinZanni 2024-02-12
- Since 2019, Teatro ZinZanni has gathered together amazing performers from all over the world to create an experience in Chicago under the Spiegeltent in the Cambria Hotel building, 32 W. Randolph St. Over the years, ticket ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.