The Temporary LockDown Ensemble of the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (CCJTDC) presents SHOULD I ANSWER THE CALL? on Friday evening, May, 2 and Saturday afternoon, May 3, 2014.
Created from the writing of 23 resident participants in the Storycatchers program at the CCJTDC, SHOULD I ANSWER THE CALL? melds together real life stories of gang confrontations and the power of family. Inspired by a participant’s true story, with echoes of Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET, two young lovers must navigate the complex politics of gang warfare while dealing with a major family crisis.
Zeus, a talented young artist, is in love with Kiki, the sister of his rival gang member, TJ. After TJ forbids Kiki to see Zeus, he tells his gang members, the B-5’s, to follow her home from school to make sure she obeys. Kiki and Zeus continue to meet in secret, and on the eve of the tryouts for the Junior All Star Basketball Team, TJ discovers that Kiki is pregnant with Zeus’s child.
Storycatchers produces Temporary LockDown in partnership with CCJTDC and Nancy B Jefferson School. The program is supported by the Arts Infusion Initiative of the Chicago Community Trust.