A PLAY EACH DAY FOR A YEAR COMES TO CHICAGO!
by Jason Loewith on 11/09/2006 03:27:00 PM 

How cool is this?

Back on November 13, 2002, Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks decided to write a play a day for a year. Yes, for real! And starting on November 13, 2006, over 600 theaters across the country are going to present the world premieres of these plays, a week's worth at a time, in the largest theater collaboration in American history.

The project has gotten a TON of press lately: just today in the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and earlier this month in the magazine American Theatre. And next week, TimeOut Chicago carries a big feature about it, too.

Long-faithful Next subscribers and friends remember that we mounted the first professional production of a Suzan-Lori Parks play in Chicago back in 2003, with IN THE BLOOD, directed by Lisa Portes and starring Karen Aldridge. Suzan-Lori's Pulitzer-winner, TOPDOG/UNDERDOG, went on to be produced at Steppenwolf in the following year. So it's only natural that Next and Steppenwolf should be taking the lead in making Chicagoland's contribution to this national festival happen.

So in June, I met with Suzan-Lori and her producing partner, Bonnie Metzgar, at a conference in Atlanta to discuss how Next could play a role. It was at that conference that Next took the lead, bringing in six other local theater companies (Steppenwolf, Goodman, Writers', The Hypocrites, Congo Square, and Uma Productions) to create a "Hub Council" charged with gathering 52 Chicagoland companies - one for each week of the year - to produce our part of the festival... and let me tell you, it's going to be fantastic!

Suzan-Lori's plays are adventures in theatrical creativity. They're short (some only two lines!), insightful, vivid, and they're going to be FREE TO EVERYONE. I can't think of a more exciting gift to the people of Chicagoland than a year of free world premieres by one of the country's greatest living playwrights.

I'll be updating more as the Festival goes on, but for now, check out our website, www.365chicago.org... the Hub Council (with the great help of the Joyce Foundation) has put it together, along with a fabulous brochure that comes out next week.

And if you can't wait for the whole year to unfold, you can always buy the book of all 365 plays, coming out on November 13, available in the lobby at Next, and also online at www.tcg.org. Of course, if you buy it at Next, we make some money, so wait if you can!

More soon. Can't wait to hear what you think about this amazing Festival...

Labels: 365 Days/365 Plays

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