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May 2019

Parched: Stories of Water, Pollution, and Theft

May 25, 2019 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)

An event every week that begins at 2:00 pm on Friday, repeating until May 24, 2019

An event every week that begins at 2:00 pm on Saturday, repeating until May 25, 2019

One event on May 16, 2019 at 2:00 pm

Free Street Theater, 1419 W. Blackhawk St. 3rd floor
Chicago, IL 60642 United States

The news of Flint's water crisis shocked much of the nation. However, for many, Flint is a chapter in a book about the water injustices that plague us. For centuries water has been stolen from communities; Chicago's water filled with toxins; Chicago waste water is sent down the Mississippi Rive to the Gulf of Mexico; the Lakota people of the Dakota's are still struggling to keep water sacred against DAPL; and places like California face a drought and consequently raging…

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June 2019

50 in 50! A City-wide Celebration

June 23, 2019
Free Street Theater, 1419 W. Blackhawk St. 3rd floor
Chicago, IL 60642 United States

On June 23rd, 2019 Free Street Theater will share their 50th year of radical joy across Chicago with a city-side theatrical pop-up! Wait, WHAT?! YES!!! Free Street will perform 50 plays in all 50 wards in ONE-DAY making it the largest live community engagement we have (or dare we say anyone) ever done. We hired 10 Chicago artists (no really, they FROM Chicago) to build 10-15 minute original pieces with a small ensemble about what it means to survive 50…

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July 2019

M.A.T.A. Make America Teen Already

July 3, 2019 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)

An event every week that begins at 7:00 pm on Monday, repeating until July 1, 2019

An event every week that begins at 7:00 pm on Friday, repeating until June 28, 2019

One event on July 3, 2019 at 7:00 pm

The Storyfront, 4346 S. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60606 United States + Google Map

Over 7 months, Free Street Theater directorial team Ricardo Gamboa, Sean Parris, and Keren Díaz de León worked with a group of south side teens to create MATA. The play explores coming of age in the era of Trump developed and written with teens whose high school experience has been marked by 45’s administration. An ensemble of Black, brown, immigrant, queer and trans teens share personal stories, explore harsh historical truths, and piece together the suppressed history of teens as…

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FS Storyfront Youth Ensemble Program

July 4, 2019 @ 3:30 pm - 7:30 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)

An event every week that begins at 3:30 pm on Thursday, repeating until December 19, 2019

What do you do after school? Want to save the world? Free Street's The Storyfront is launching an after-school program for young people 14-18 years old. (If you’re outside that age range but really passionate, let us know!) Young people will meet weekly  to learn how to act and make original performance about issues affecting their lives and communities. The program will culminate in the development of a public performance and touring production of The Paleta Project. Snacks and Stipend provided…

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August 2019

STILL/HERE: MANIFESTOS FOR JOY AND SURVIVAL

August 3, 2019 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)

One event on July 27, 2019 at 3:00 pm

One event on August 1, 2019 at 3:00 pm

One event on August 3, 2019 at 3:00 pm

The apocalypse is here… but it’s not what you think. In a Chicago that is being rebuilt again and again, who is the city designed to serve? How does our city’s past predict our future? And what would our city look like if it were truly designed for all of its people? Part manifesto, part history lesson, part fever dream of the future, Still/Here invites audiences to imagine a more just and joyful Chicago. Created and performed by an ensemble…

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Free Street presents “A Muppet Movie” at Millennium park

August 6, 2019 @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Prtizker Pavillion, 201 E. Randolph St.
Chicago, IL + Google Map
FREE

Persuaded by a Hollywood agent to audition for the chance of a lifetime, Kermit the Frog leaves his quiet life in a swamp to journey across America for his big break. Along the way, Kermit comes across several quirky new friends including comedic Fozzie Bear, beautiful but feisty Miss Piggy and the Great Gonzo. Created by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, The Muppet Movie is celebrating its 40th Anniversary. (1979, rated G, 97 minutes) Programmed in collaboration with Free Street…

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September 2019

Free Street Fifty: Celebrating 50 years of JOY and JUSTICE

September 14, 2019 @ 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park
Chicago, IL 60624
$150

The Free Street 50: The Golden Gala at Garfield Park- Come celebrate our big 5-0 at a family-style gala at The Garfield Park Conservatory September 14, 2019. The Gala ticket includes dinner, drinks, live performances throughout the conservatory, music and if you want to add a ticket for your little one ages 3-11, we have a JUNIOR GALA as well! Saturday, September 14, 2019Garfield Park ConservatoryChicago, IL Gala ticket price: $150Includes dinner, drinks, live performances, live music, and DJ’d dance…

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October 2019

STILL/HERE at Millennium Park Theater Series

October 6, 2019 @ 2:00 pm - October 12, 2019 @ 6:00 pm
Millennium Park Cloud Gate, 201 E Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60602 + Google Map
Free

As part of The Year of Chicago Theater, Free Street was selected to participate in the Millennium Park Theater Series at Cloud Gate October 6th-October 12th. Where: Millennium Park at Cloud Gate October 6th-12th PUBLIC WORKSHOPS Sunday 2pm-6pm Monday 5pm-8pm Tuesday 5pm-8pm Wednesday 5pm-8pm *Rehearsal open to the public PERFORMANCES Thursday 6:30pm Friday 6:30pm Saturday 4:30pm FREE and open to the public!

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December 2019

Good Grief by Melissa DuPrey, a Performance and Wellness Resource Exchange

December 21, 2019 @ 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)

One event on December 6, 2019 at 2:30 pm

One event on December 7, 2019 at 2:30 am

One event on December 12, 2019 at 2:30 pm

One event on December 13, 2019 at 2:30 pm

One event on December 14, 2019 at 2:30 pm

One event on December 16, 2019 at 2:30 pm

One event on December 19, 2019 at 2:30 pm

One event on December 20, 2019 at 2:30 pm

One event on December 21, 2019 at 2:30 pm

Free Street Theater, 1419 W. Blackhawk St. 3rd floor
Chicago, IL 60642 United States + Google Map

Good Grief is a warm, loving, and unflinching reflection of Melissa Duprey’s life on the road with her single mother, who struggled with bipolar disorder. DuPrey recounts her complicated path towards healing and survival in times where there were little-to-no resources for herself or her mother. Good Grief is a response to the trauma that perpetuates intergenerational violence in communities of color and demands new frameworks for self and community care.                  …

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June 2020

WASTED: World Premiere

June 29 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)

An event every week that begins at 7:00 pm on Monday and Friday, repeating until July 6, 2020

Something is happening in Chicago! Garbage cans stolen from Black neighborhoods, lead in the soil in Little Village, one of the highest rates of youth incarceration in the country. But why? In Free Street Theater’s , youth ages 13-19 ask: "What & Who does society make disposable?" After the successful run of PARCHED, WASTED continues the Free Street youth ensemble’s exploration of the environmental issues that shape youth experience in Chicago, particularly on the South and West side.  Wasted will…

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