Media Contact:
Tory Davidson, Community Engagement Manager
tdavidson@storycatcherstheatre.org | 949.525.6824
544 W. Oak Street, #1005
Chicago, IL 60610
Storycatchers Theatre’s Court-Involved Youth Premiere Play at New Arts Space
Chicago, IL – Storycatchers Theatre is proud to invite Chicago audiences to the world premiere of their newest musical in February. The musical, entitled Light in My Darkness, is written and performed by youth who have been involved with the justice system. Based on their true stories, this play offers rarely heard narratives of young people’s experiences growing up in Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods, overcoming their pasts, and reimagining their futures.
Light in My Darkness will be presented as a staged reading of works-in-progress at the new Washington Park arts space Green Line Performing Arts Center. Green Line is a much-needed $5.5 million professional theater on Chicago’s South Side. It is committed to elevating the community’s talented artists and fostering a new generation of professional creators and technicians. Storycatchers is thrilled be one of Green Line’s first events.
Through Storycatchers’ award-winning writing process, the youth in the Changing Voices program write true personal stories and transform them into bold theatrical scenes and songs. These young people, who are re-entering society after experiencing arrest and/or incarceration, are employed to work with Storycatchers 30-hours per week to transition into meaningful careers and become agents of change within their communities.
Crafted with nuance, hope, and heart-wrenching circumstance, this production transports audiences from the frontlines of protestors standing up for Laquan McDonald to the devastation of a daughter witnessing her father shot to death. By telling their real stories, these youth prove their bravery to forge ahead.
Come out and listen to Chicago’s most important voice: its future.
What:
- Experience a play written and performed by court-involved youth in a new intimate venue.
- Opportunity for conversations with Executive Director, Founder/Artistic Director, and youth performers.
Performance Information:
- Location: Green Line Performing Arts Center, 329 E Garfield Blvd, Chicago, IL 60637. [map]
- Date: Thursday, February 7th, 2019.
- Time: 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
- RSVP and tickets (for general public): go to event site.
- RSVP and tickets (for media interest): email Tory Davidson.
- Attendance is free.
Changing Voices Ensemble video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYe86f3U65w&t=76s
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About Storycatchers Theatre:
For 34 years, Storycatchers Theatre has been empowering court-involved youth to craft and perform musical theatre from their own personal stories of growing up in Illinois’ underserved neighborhoods. Using an award-winning and transformational writing methodology, these youth develop the skills needed to successfully re-enter society and move beyond their histories to become peer mentors, civic influencers, and agents of change in our community.
Programs include three cohorts inside detention and incarceration facilities and “Changing Voices,” a post-release employment program of participants aged 17-24 who write, rehearse, produce, and tour their original musicals to civic leaders, Illinois judges, at-risk youth, and other influential audiences to create space for crucial conversations.
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