CHICAGO, IL — Victory Gardens Theater presents the Ignite Chicago reading of exercise your demons: a play on the trauma of a gay male body written by Gage Tarlton and directed by Ryan Dobrin, with movement direction by Breon Arzell. exercise your demons: a play on the trauma of a gay male body will be presented on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 3pm at Hardware Strength and Conditioning, 1834 W. Balmoral Ave, Chicago.
exercise your demons: a play on the trauma of a gay male body is the fourth Ignite Chicago reading this season, presented as part of The Ignition New Play Program. Tickets are FREE but very limited and must be reserved through the box office at 773.871.3000 or online atwww.victorygardens.org/event/exercise-your-demons .
Max wants to be healthy. Brooks is his personal trainer. Russell is a gym rat. Wiley makes money using OnlyFans. Looming amongst them is The Demon, an amalgamation of their greatest desire and fear—and there's much more than exercise at stake when these men meet up at their local gym. In the aftermath of suicide, a group of artists must grapple with grief, sex, identity, body image, performance, and the demons that live inside all of us.
"We're excited to bring our first Ignite Chicago Reading of 2022 to Hardware Strength and Conditioning in Andersonville, whose mission to create a welcoming space for everyone aligns with our own," shares Victory Gardens Artistic Director Ken-Matt Martin. "It provides the perfect setting for the first reading of this show, and we hope theater-lovers in the neighborhood will join us for this opportunity."
Ignite Chicago is part of The Ignition New Play Program (formerly the Ignition Festival of New Plays),and is sponsored by The Pritzker Foundation and The Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation. The Ignition New Play Program consists of two events for the 2021/22 season: the Ignite Chicago reading series, offering six free readings of new works between October 2021 and July 2022, and the 20/50 Festival in June 2022, featuring three new works by playwrights over 50, staged by VG Directors Inclusion Initiative Fellows. Ignite Chicago readings will take place throughout the season, both at Victory Gardens' home in Lincoln Park, the Biograph Theater, and at partner locations throughout the city, to bring new plays into Chicago's many communities.
Additional upcoming Ignite Chicago readings include:
- April 2022: Primary Trust by Eboni Booth
- July 2022: Nancy by Rhiana Yazzie
All readings are free to attend, but reservations will be required, as capacity for each reading is limited. Registration for Ignition New Play Program events will be available at victorygardens.org approximately one month before each event.
Casting for all Ignite Chicago readings is managed by The Chicago Inclusion Project.
Victory Gardens Theater 2021/22 Mainstage Season
The Victory Gardens Theater 2021/22 Mainstage Season includes Queen of the Night by travis tate,directed by Ken-Matt Martin, January 29 - March 13, 2022; the World Premiere of In Every Generation by Ali Viterbi, directed by Devon de Mayo, April 2 - May 1, 2022; and the Regional Premiere of cullud wattah by Erika Dickerson-Despenza, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, June 11 - July 17, 2022.
Flex Passes to the 2021/22 Season are currently on sale at victorygardens.org or by phone at 773.871.3000, and offer 20% savings over single ticket prices. Single tickets will go on sale later this fall, and range from $29-$62.
For complete details on the 2021/2022 Season and artists, Flex Passes, and the Ignition New Play Program, please visit victorygardens.org .
Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Allstate Insurance, Alphawood Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, Exelon Corporation, Illinois Arts Council, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Prince Charitable Trusts, The Pritzker Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation.
Victory Gardens also receives support from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, Coffman Law Offices, Conant Family Foundation, Golden Country Oriental Food, Goldman Sachs, a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Mayer Brown LLP, The Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, and The Charles and M.R. Shapiro Foundation.
Victory Gardens Theater COVID-19 Attendance Policy
To protect the health of all who attend Victory Gardens productions, the following policies are in place for all in-person events for the 2021/22 Season: All audience members must be masked for the duration of their visit. Masks will be available for purchase onsite if needed. All audience members must show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, and those ages 16+ must also show a matching, valid photo ID. These documents must be shown at the door to be admitted. And remember…there is an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 at any public gathering. Those visiting Victory Gardens Theater voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19. These policies follow state and local guidelines for safe operation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
About Victory Gardens Theater
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Ken-Matt Martin and Acting Managing Director Roxanna Conner, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals. Victory Gardens Theater is committed to the development, production and support of new plays, which has been the mission of the theater since its founding, set forth by Dennis Zacek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater, and continued by former Artistic Director Chay Yew.
Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theater work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens' core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city's and nation's culture through engaging diverse communities, and, in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city's active student population.
Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Zacek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 259-seat mainstage, and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.
For more information about Victory Gardens, visit www.victorygardens.org . Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens, Twitter @VictoryGardens, and Instagram @victorygardenstheater.
