Look For ChiIL Mama This Weekend: Home Depot Kids Workshop, The Cabinet,

Come on out to your local Home Depot today from 9-noon for free family crafts.   

 
We'll be making a rain gauge to see how all those April showers measure up.

We finally made it out to see Red Moon Theatre's remounting of The Cabinet last night, and it was phenomenal.   What's not to love about murder and madness in an ominous armoire.   I was amazed and amused to see a good segment of the crowd came in costume, ala Rocky Horror Picture Show.   We sat behind a dark haired girl in a long, white lace gown and a well padded boy with wrinkles drawn on his face and hair gelled straight up and whitened with baby powder.  Dr. Caligari lives!

It's been five years since we were first impressed by Frank Maugeri and company's stage adaptation of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari".   Both then and now, we went to Facets Multimedia and rented the German Expressionist classic from 1919, right before heading out to Redmoon.   The characters and sets bear an excellent resemblance to their cinematic inspiration.  Redmoon's addition of narration, played on a scratchy, old Victrola, adds a whole new dimension to the violin heavy silent film.   

None of the puppeteers from the original production are in this one, but all came back at least once and consulted.   And Vanessa Stalling has risen from puppeteer to the position of director, this time around.   Another is currently involved in Looking Glass Theatre's Alice.   Despite different puppet masters, the same puppets from 2005 starred in this reincarnation, and they haven't aged a day.   After the show, be sure make use of Redmoon's open invite back stage, to check out the amazing sets, props and characters--live and created.

Through March 7th, 2010

    Thursdays 8:00 PM Price: $15
    Fridays 8:00 and 10:00 PM Price: $20
    Saturdays 6:00 and 9:00 PM Price: $25
    Sundays 3:00 PM Price: $20
Through April 4th, 2010

    Thursdays 8:00 PM Price: $15
    Fridays 8:00 PM Price: $20
    Saturdays 6:00 and 9:00 PM Price: $25
    Sundays 3:00 PM Price: $20

TICKETING INFORMATION:

Group Rate Ticket Price (Parties of 10 or more)—Call the Box Office to order your group discounted tickets!

A $1.50 service fee is applied to each ticket for all online and phone orders. If you would like to avoid the service fee, you may stop by our Box Office during business hours to purchase.

Box Office Hours:
    Monday (9am-5pm)
    Tuesday (9am-5pm)
    Wednesday (9am-5pm)
    Thursday (9am-9pm)
    Friday (9am-11pm)
    Saturday (2pm-10pm)
    Sunday (12pm-4pm)

Sold Out/Wait List Policy: Patrons may join the waitlist by coming to the Box Office in person up to one hour prior to the performance start time.

PERFORMANCE AND VENUE INFORMATION:

The running time is 60 minutes with no intermission.
The Box Office will open for ticket purchases and Will Call one hour before the performance. The Bar will open one hour before curtain. The Bar is cash only and serves snacks and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The House will open for seating 30 minutes before the performance.
Tickets are general admission. Patrons are advised to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to curtain for a seat of their choice. No late seating available. Those arriving after curtain will not be admitted.
Redmoon Central is located at 1463 W Hubbard Street near the corner of Grand and Ashland in Chicago’s West Town. Please look for Redmoon’s sign in front of a small parking lot. Walk through the parking lot. Redmoon is located on the left. Ample street parking is available, and handicapped parking is available in our parking lot.
Directions:
From 90/94 northbound: take Lake St (exit 51A) west; take a right on Racine and a left on Hubbard; Redmoon Central will be on your left.
From 90/94 southbound: take Ogden Ave (exit 50A) southwest to Hubbard; take a soft right on Hubbard; Redmoon Central will be on your left.
Via El: Harlem/Lake Green Line train to Ashland; walk north on Ashland, under the Metra tracks; turn right on Hubbard and walk 1.5 blocks; Redmoon Central will be on your right.
Via Bus: #65 (Grand) bus to Armour Street; walk one block south on Armour; turn left on Hubbard; Redmoon Central will be on your right. #9 (Ashland) bus to Grand Avenue; walk one block south on Ashland; turn left on Hubbard and walk 1.5 blocks; Redmoon Central will be on your right.

Again, this is not recommended for children under 13, or you might give your kids a lifetime fear of murderous marionettes!   But for a parents' night out, it can't be beat.

Look For ChiIL Mama This Weekend: Home Depot Kids Workshop, The Cabinet, Vegan Bake Sale For Haiti

Saturday
Home Depot Kids Workshop 9am-Noon.   Tomorrow, we'll be making fun, checkerboard patterned, car displays.  It's free, fun and educational.   We've had a blast making a bean bag toss, wagon, trivets, and a firehouse bank during past months.   We're looking forward to making birdhouse shaped rain gauges in March.

One member of our Olympic curling team, Deb, works a day job at a Home Depot in Wisconsin.   So, your little Olympic hopefuls can sport their orange smocks proudly, as they follow their dreams and learn useful life skills.   You never know who you might meet at your local hardware store!

DATE NIGHT

The Cabinet opens this weekend at Redmoon Theatre and it's highly recommended.   We saw their first production of The Cabinet years ago, and are eager to go back.   This makes a better adult evening out, as it's too intense for young children.

The Cabinet is not suggested for audiences under age 13. Parental discretion is recommended for younger audience members.
The Cabinet received this rating because it contains acts of violence and a dark story line.

February 5th to March 7th, 2010
Thursdays 8:00 PM Price: $15
Fridays 8:00 and 10:00 PM Price: $20
Saturdays 6:00 and 9:00 PM Price: $25
Sundays 3:00 PM Price: $20

Sunday
Second Chicago Vegan Bake Sale to raise funds to help with the tragedy in Haiti. Come on out and enjoy some tasty baked goods! Vegan brownies, cookies, cupcakes, and much more, including some gluten-free options! 

They'll be at Renegade Handmade, located at 1924 W. Division in Chicago, from 11:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. on February 7th. All proceeds benefit Food For Life, a charity supplying healthy, pure vegetarian food in Haiti and worldwide.

The first one raised over $1,300.00, but that’s just a drop in the bucket.  Treats galore!   Philanthropy never tasted so good.  If you're interested in donating your time or baking skills to the event, please email Marla at marla@veganstreet.com.

Finally, we're off to Bloomingdale for another gymnastics meet for both kids.   If they both place high enough, we're off to STATE in two weeks!!

Look For ChiIL Mama This Weekend: Whoop De Doo, Home Depot, The Hundred Dresses

It is our pleasure to invite you to join us at the Experimental Station on Friday, October 2, 5-10pm, for Whoop De Doo ,a faux-public access, traveling kids show.  We will collaborate with the Experimental Station, the Smart Museum, and Chicago TV's Chic-a-go-go!   Whoop Dee Doo will be bringing this kid-friendly show to the South Side for one evening only.

Whoop Dee Doo features pre-planned performances accompanied by active audience participation. Structured like a high school talent show, Whoop Dee Doo highlights a diverse array of performers from the community in which it temporarily resides, and engages audiences of all ages and cultural backgrounds. Program components have also included skits, game shows, contests, and dance intermissions. 

This event is free and open to the public. Audience seating will be limited. Kids and adults in costume will be given seating priority.

Whoop Dee Doo has performed with such venues as the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, The Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Deitch Projects in New York, Rocket Projects in Miami, and our most recent show was with Loyal Gallery in Malmo, Sweden.

Our performers ages have ranged from three years of age to sixty-five, and acts performing on the show itself have ranged from professional drill teams to opera singers, break-dancers, Celtic bagpipers, drag queens, punk bands, science teachers, tap dancers, and dog trainers. We have highlighted twelve year-olds in game shows on the same stage as Amanda Lapore, and pancake-eating contests follow live R&B music videos in-the-making. Civil War re-enactors cut off faux bloody limbs as educational tools, while West-African dance troupes, bloodhounds, and Christian Mimes await their turn on stage.

One of Whoop Dee Doo’s main goals is to promote diversity in every show and display talent from all ages, backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities, often times collaborating. The unlikely combination of performances and bold set design creates a fantastically original experience.

Whoop Dee Doo has brought together hundreds of members of the community, and has a place for anyone and everyone to contribute. Because it is a kid-friendly show, Whoop Dee Doo embraces a huge range of tastes and sensibilities, which strips away all divisions between high and low art. Whoop Dee Doo is a truly inclusive event, it invites a cross-generational dialogue, and the project itself blurs the lines between curating, art-making, performance and community, without sacrificing content for the project to be made more accessible.

This is the first Saturday of the month, which means Home Depot Kids Workshops from 9-noon.    Come on by and make a firehouse bank.  

All workshops are free.

Finally, Sunday afternoon we're looking forward to reviewing The Hundred Dresses by Chicago Children's Theatre.   It's on The Royal George Theatre Mainstage for a limited run, from Sept. 25 - Nov. 1.

The show is a new musical by Ralph Covert (Ralph's World) & G. Riley Mills, based on the Newbery Honor Book by Eleanor Estes and recommended for ages 6 and up.

Check out Chicago Children's Theatre's Website for interviews, video excerpts, and show study guides for teachers.  There's even a blog for children to share their personal stories of experience with bullies.  Here are the details from their site.

Share Your Story

Have you ever been a Maddie, a Willie Bounce, a Peggy, a Wanda, or a Jack? Have you ever had an experience with a bully, either as a target or a bystander? Tell us about it, and we'll post some of them on our blog for the whole Chicago Children's Theatre community. Everyone has an experience to share. We especially want to know:

- What did you do?
- What do you wish you had done?
- What will you do next time?

Each week, we will select a few submissions to post on our blog. Email your stories to shareyourstory@chicagochildrenstheatre.org, and view other stories at http://www.chicagochildrenstheatre.org/blog. Be sure to check back each week for more stories, including submissions from the cast and crew of The Hundred Dresses!

The Hundred Dresses is the perfect complement to the elementary curriculum, based on the Newbery Honor Book by Eleanor Estes. Give your students the opportunity to see the story come to life on stage! We also provide student discussion guides, bullying prevention tips and post-show talk backs. For more information or to book tickets, call GroupTix at 877.447.7849, or visit them online.