Thanks to The Joyce Foundation, Free Street’s Storyfront in Back of the Yards will be expanding its programming beyond Meet Juan-ito Doe. In the coming months, look for a new weekly comedy show, a reinas/drag queen story hour, and a range of community-proposed programming.
In May, The Joyce Foundation announced $1.2 million in Cultural Programming grants, including $75,000 to support The Storyfront, acknowledging “the critical need for more community-based theater venues on the city’s south and west sides”
The Storyfront grew out of Free Street’s 2017 The Joyce Award, which allowed us to commission Ricardo Gamboa to create Meet Juan(ito) Doe. (Read The Storyfront story here.) We are grateful to be able to continue the necessary work of supporting community narratives in Back of the Yards.