Circus in Progress An Evening of Daring New Work

Following sold-out performances of Lost & Found: A Recycled Circus, the next production at The Actors Gymnasium focuses on the development of new acts.  Circus in Progress - An Evening of Daring New Work features professionals from the Chicagoland circus community as well as advanced students from The Actors Gymnasium's own classes.  Get a sneak peek at some of Chicago's most exciting new works of circus art.       Performers include Evanston Children's Choir, Evanston Dance Ensemble, Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi, Jill Heyser, Lauren Hirte, Will McGowan, Shaw Nigro, Matt Roben, and Meredith 'Tommy' Tomlins.
  Two Shows Only - Saturday May 19, 2012 - 4:30 and 7:30pm
 Tickets available online at www.actorsgymnasium.com or by calling 1-800-838-3006.     The Actors Gymnasium is located at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes Street, Evanston, IL - just off of the Noyes purple line 'L' stop. For additional information on The Actors Gymnasium's innovative programming, please visit www.actorsgymnasium.com or call 847-328-2795. Check out ChiIL Mama/ChiIL Live Shows photo filled feature and review of Lost & Found right here.   About The Actors Gymnasium The Actors Gymnasium is dedicated to bringing a new physicality to the American Theatre. Encouraging ground-breaking theatrical exploration, The Actors Gymnasium teaches circus arts, physical theatre and multi-disciplinary performance to children and adults; produces original, daring works of circus-theatre; and serves as a talent resource, providing performance opportunities to our students and innovative professional event entertainment for a wider audience. At The Actors Gymnasium, people Learn To Fly - physically, emotionally, intellectually and creatively. The Actors Gymnasium
at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center
927 Noyes Street ~ Evanston, Illinois 60201~ (p) 847-328-2795 ~ (f) 847-328-3495
©1995 - 2011 The Actors Gymnasium. All Rights Reserved

Talk Like Shakespeare Day TODAY-Great Contests And More #Theatre Review

Happy 448th Birthday to the bard! 

Today (Monday, April 23rd) is annual talk like Shakespeare day.

Talk Like Shakespeare Day, an occasion for citizens from Chicago and across the globe to celebrate Shakespeare's 448th birthday by bringing the spoken words of Shakespeare into their daily lives. The holiday, which originated in Chicago in 2009, became a worldwide sensation garnering extensive national and international media coverage and more than one million hits to TalkLikeShakespeare.org.

Celebrate by seeing Being Shakespeare:

  

ChiIL Live Shows had a chance to catch opening night of Simon Callow's show, and we recommend it.   Callow's strong stage presence among minimalist sets enhances the infamous words of the bard, interspersed with his life history.   Although much of the historical data he includes on Shakespeare's life is speculation, it's fascinating nonetheless to put the plays within a time frame of his life and outside influences.   

Tales of child deaths that plagued his birth family, and later the death of his own son, Hamnet, at age 11, lend a human air and compelling back story.   As the parent of an 11 year old son, that particularly struck a chord with me.   Since we've been doing a long form exploration on how theatre people, musicians and other creatives balance their work and parenting, and how the two worlds collide and influence each other, this was an interesting angle.   Simon Callow is a talented tale teller and a joy to spend an evening with.   The British film and stage actor is know for his roles in Shakespeare in Love, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Postcards from the Edge, A Room With a View and Amadeus.

*Tonight only, celebrated British actor Simon Callow's one-man show, Being Shakespeare will play a special Monday performance at the Broadway Playhouse, preceded by a birthday party for the Bard in the theater's lobby beginning at 5:30 p.m. 

ChiIL Mama's favorite words invented by Shakespeare: 

arouse amazement 
barefaced bandit besmirch bloodstained blanket bump buzzer
cold blooded critic
dauntless dawn deafening discontent dishearten drugged dwindle
equivocal elbow exposure excitement  
epileptic eyeball
flawed frugal fixture
gnarled grovel gloomy gossip
hurried hobnob
impede impartial invulnerable
jaded
laughable lonely luggage label lackluster
madcap marketable metamorphize mimic monumental moonbeam mountaineer
noiseless
obscene obsequious ode Olympian outbreak
panders premeditated puking
remorseless radiance rant
savagery scuffle swagger
tranquil torture 
unreal undress
varied
worthless
zany

Sure, some kids today (and adults, too, for that matter) think of Shakespearean language as stuffy, high brow and inaccessible, but nothing can be further from the truth.   It's not all thees and thous and M'Lord.  He wrote for the masses and in addition to his timeless archetypal characters, loads of word he made up are in common use today, like PUKING.   There's nothing snooty about puking.    

According to Shakespeare-Online.com, The English language owes a great debt to Shakespeare. He invented over 1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original.

Below is a list of a few of the words Shakespeare coined, hyperlinked to the play and scene from which it comes. When the word appears in multiple plays, the link will take you to the play in which it first appears.  


Incorporate these down to earth words for Talk Like Shakespeare Day, then click the links to see the source:

academe	accused	addiction	advertising	amazement
arouse	assassination	backing	bandit	bedroom
beached	besmirch	birthplace	blanket	bloodstained
barefaced	blushing	bet	bump	buzzer
caked	cater	champion	circumstantial	cold-blooded
compromise	courtship	countless	critic	dauntless
dawn	deafening	discontent	dishearten	drugged
dwindle	epileptic	equivocal	elbow	excitement
exposure	eyeball	fashionable	fixture	flawed
frugal	generous	gloomy	gossip	green-eyed
gust	hint	hobnob	hurried	impede
impartial	invulnerable	jaded	label	lackluster
laughable	lonely	lower	luggage	lustrous
madcap	majestic	marketable	metamorphize	mimic
monumental	moonbeam	mountaineer	negotiate	noiseless
obscene	obsequiously	ode	olympian	outbreak
panders	pedant	premeditated	puking	radiance
rant	remorseless	savagery	scuffle	secure
skim milk	submerge	summit	swagger	torture
tranquil	undress	unreal	varied	vaulting
worthless	zany	gnarled	grovel

 This graph can be found at http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/wordsinvented.html

Other Chi-Town Talk Like Shakespeare Contests and specials: 

Shakespeare is being celebrated around the world this week, from Chicago to London to Armenia, in recognition of the man who engineered more than 154 sonnets, 37 plays, 1,700 original words and innumerable phrases. On April 23 Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London will launch its Globe to Globe Festival, part of London's Cultural Olympiad, beginning a two month international event presenting all 37 plays from Shakespeare's canon in 37 different languages (including Chicago Shakespeare's Othello: The Remix, The Q Brothers' hip-hop adaptation of Othello, opening in London May 5).  

Talk Like Shakespeare Day has even sparked a movement, originating in Armenia, lobbying for the inclusion of "Shakespearean" alongside "Pirate" and "Upside Down" as an official language option on Facebook. 

Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 2008 recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, will be talking like Shakespeare throughout the upcoming birthday week. On the morning of April 23, Chicago Shakespeare's production of The Taming of the Shrew will be performed for Chicago Public School students at Sawyer Elementary School on the City's south side. 

At Chicago Shakespeare's home on Navy Pier, Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Tony-award winning actor Ian McDiarmid begin preview performances of Timon of Athens, while the cast of Othello: The Remix prepares for the world premiere of its new work in London the following week.    ChiIL Live Shows will be there to review opening night of Timon of Athens as well.

Photo courtesy of Chicago Shakespeare Theater. "William Shakespeare" (portrayed by David Wilhelm) celebrates his 448th Birthday on Monday, April 23, 2012 in Chicago, as part of "Talk Like Shakespeare Day" by taking in some of Chicago's best-known landmarks including the Ferris Wheel on Navy Pier.

Among the many visitors to Navy Pier, the Midwest's most visited tourist destination, on April 23 will be William Shakespeare himself. Those who talk like Shakespeare to "the Bard" will receive free rides on Navy Pier's iconic Ferris Wheel from 10 a.m. to noon. Shakespeare will dine at Harry Caray's Tavern on Navy Pier, where a special Shakespeare-inspired menu will be available from noon to 2:00 p.m. Diners who talk like Shakespeare at Harry Caray's Tavern will be entered into a raffle to win a $100 Harry Caray's Gift Certificate, four Pier Park Passes, free Navy Pier parking and four Tickets to Chicago Shakespeare Theater's summer musical Disney's Beauty and the Beast. 

TalkLikeShakespeare.org is the virtual home base for revelers. The site features activities for celebrating Talk Like Shakespeare Day at school, at the office and at home as well as videos of famous Chicagoans talking like Shakespeare. It also contains information about a video contest for internet comedians inspired by the Bard's words (deadline for submissions is Thursday, April 19 at noon) and tips on how to talk like Shakespeare such as:

• Instead of you, say thou. Instead of y'all, say thee.
• Rhymed couplets are all the rage.
• Men are Sirrah, ladies are Mistress, and your friends are all called Cousin.
• Instead of cursing, try calling your tormenters jackanapes or canker-blossoms or poisonous bunch-back'd toads.
• When in doubt, add the letters "eth" to the end of verbs (he runneth, he trippeth, he falleth).
• To add weight to your opinions, try starting them with methinks, mayhaps, in sooth or wherefore.
• When wooing a lady: try comparing her to a summer's day. If that fails, say "Get thee to a nunnery!"

For more information visit TalkLikeShakespeare.org. 

"William Shakespeare" (portrayed by David Wilhelm) celebrates his 448th Birthday on Monday, April 23, 2012 in Chicago, as part of "Talk Like Shakespeare Day" by taking in some of Chicago's best-known landmarks including Cloud Gate in Millennium Park and the bull statue at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Kindie Land: 4 Free Tickets To Candy Band-Instant Win Contest

Candy Band sings their original, "I'm A Monkey" LIVE at Beat Kitchen in 2011

Original video by ChiIL Mama

Happy Earthday & Record Store Day!   We have a special, super speedy give away for our readers.   The first one to correctly name just ONE of Candy Band's 5 CDs in the comments section wins FOUR FREE TICKETS to see Candy Band LIVE at Beat Kitchen THIS SUNDAY at noon!!   If you have to ask...you can find the answer on their main site right here.

ChiIL Mama's stoked to be a sponsor of the awesome Beat Kitchen Concerts for Kids Series.   Check in like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often for loads of original live concert videos, band interviews, give aways, photo filled reviews and upcoming funky, fun events.

Candy Band is one of our all time favorite kindie bands.   We've seen them rock Kidzapalooza twice and it's a rare treat for them to come in from Detroit...Motor City and play here in Chi-Town.   Don't miss your chance to see these rockin' Punk Mamas!!   They do a mean cover of Ironman and Godzilla as well as punked up versions of classics like Pop Goes The Weasel, for your punk kin.  Highly recommended!!

Beat Kitchen Kids Shows are just $6 and infants are free.   Shows are all ages with parents and aimed at birth through 10.   

We have loads of live Candy Band show footage and two video interviews on our YouTube and Vimeo Channel with more new clips to come veeery soon.  Check it out here, then check 'em out live! 

Candy Band-Skip To My Lou from ChiIL Mama and our Candy Band video Interview on Vimeo.

Sunday, 4/22  Candy Band--noon at Beat Kitchen  (all ages-aimed at birth-10 with parents) Do NOT miss these awesome Detroit punk Mamas!   Check out ChiIL Mama's 2 video interviews with the band and live concert footage on our YouTube and Vimeo Channels.    

SAVE THE DATE:

Sunday, 4/29  Mary Macaroni--noon at Beat Kitchen

Beat Kitchen's Concerts for Kids are winding down for the summer outdoor fest season.   So get out to the last few shows and rock out with your littles.   Then we'll see y'all back in the fall. 

Chi-Town is Kindie Land this weekend:
Other great family friendly shows on our radar 

Little Miss Ann at The Hideout today at 3:30pm

Little Miss Ann

Future Hits

Sat, April 21, 2012

Doors: 3:00 pm / Show: 3:30 pm (event ends at 5:00 pm)

The Hideout

Chicago, IL

$5.00 - $10.00

Tickets Available at the Door

Human Nature-The Motown Show-Dancing With The Stars 4/23 & Performing at Akoo 4/29!

AUSTRALIA’S #1 VOCAL GROUP – HUMAN NATURE – TO PERFORM ON ABC’S ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS,’ APRIL 23 “Human Nature: The Motown Show” at the Akoo Theatre, April 29

ChiIL Live Shows will be there.   Get your tickets today, for this award winning, family friendly, one night only appearance.
 
Human Nature, Australia’s #1 pop vocal group, is the latest artist scheduled to perform on ABC’s hit television show ‘Dancing With The Stars.’  On Monday, April 23, the chart-topping group will bring their distinctive vocal talents to next week's Motown-themed episode along with legends Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and Martha Reeves.
 
Exploring their passion for singing great harmony and inspired by the extraordinary music of Motown, brothers Andrew and Mike Tierney teamed up with high-school mates, Phil Burton and Toby Allen. They would go on to form the international pop vocal group sensation Human Nature, releasing nine albums, five of which went to No. 1 in their native continent, selling millions of records worldwide and garnering 23 platinum awards, 70 Top 40 hits and five Top 10 hits.
 
Human Nature will make its Chicagoland debut as part of  its first-ever U.S. tour for one performance only at the Akoo Theatre at Rosemont, 5400 North River Road, Sunday, April 29 at 7 pm.
 
Tickets for “Human Nature: The Motown Show” at the Akoo Theatre at Rosemont (formerly the Rosemont Theatre, 5400 North River Road) range from $29 to $57.50 and are available at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, by phone at 800-982-2787 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
 
Released last month, Human Nature’s first U.S. release, The Motown Record includes several tracks produced by Harvey Mason Jr. (Justin Timberlake, Elton John, Glee) and their DVD, Human Nature Sings Motown, was produced by longtime Grammy® Awards show producer Ken Ehrlich. The CD features 11 tracks offering Human Nature’s own authentic take on Motown hits and classics including the bonus track “Get Ready,” a song they recorded with the legendary Smokey Robinson.  The DVD also features a full concert by the group, a special appearance by Smokey Robinson, plus 40 minutes of bonus content.
 
For more information visit www.humannaturelive.com.

Nothing Says Spring Like Baby Robins! (photo feature)

 photo credit:  Richard & Judy Rosene

My parents have a nest full of baby robins on their back porch and have been snapping a series of shots for the grand kids.   Just thought we'd share!   Enjoy.

Here's the e-mail update they sent today along with the photo above:

Today our baby robins are 5, 6, and 7 days old. See how their feathers are growing and how large their beaks are! Dick climbed again on the step stool right under the next, and somehow did not get attacked by the parent robins.

Here's some of the past updates:  

Our resident robin built a nest on our downspout, safe from rain, wind and predators. Today she has newly hatched babies to take care of. We can only see them when Dick climbs up to take photos! 

1 egg and two baby robins (1 & 2 days old)

Baby robins--now 2, 3, and 4 days old! The only way we can see them is to climb up with a camera and aim it into the nest.

CHI, IL LIVE CIRCUS-SAVE THE DATES-Cirque Shanghai Year of the Dragon

 
ChiIL Live Shows original Cirque Shanghai shots from 2011   

"CIRQUE SHANGHAI: YEAR OF THE DRAGON"
COMES TO NAVY PIER PEPSI SKYLINE STAGE
MAY 24 - SEPTEMBER 3

MAYDAY...MAYDAY...Tickets Go On Sale Tuesday, May 1 at 10 a.m.
   Cirque Shanghai returns to Chicago's Navy Pier this summer with a magnificent new show "Cirque Shanghai: Year of the Dragon" beginning Thursday, May 24, 2012.  The production will run through September 3, 2012 (Labor Day), rain or shine, at the Navy Pier Pepsi Skyline Stage, the 1,500-seat, canopied, open-air theater on Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave.

Tickets will go on-sale Tuesday, May 1 at 10 a.m. and will be available via Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com/shanghai.

"Cirque Shanghai: Year of the Dragon" is a spectacle for audiences of all ages, featuring performers direct from China who are leaders in their craft of tumbling, juggling, balancing and more. This year's production features an incredible line up of awe-inspiring acts, including favorites such as Bike Balances and Hoop Diving, as well as an all-new Group Chair Stack, Teeterboard act and the Wheel of Death.

China's finest daredevil motorcycle troupe, "Imperial Thunder," returns with not two, not four, but five motorcyclists riding at break-neck speed within a steel globe - more than ever before in this death-defying feat.

Directed by Miao Miao Chen, "Cirque Shanghai: Year of the Dragon" is presented in this exclusive U.S. engagement by Navy Pier in conjunction with International Special Attractions, Ltd. (ISA) production headquarters in Shanghai, China.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE AND TICKET INFORMATION

"Cirque Shanghai: Year of the Dragon" will perform May 24 - Sept. 3, with regular run performances as follows:

Wednesday at 2, 6 and 8 p.m.
Thursday at 2 and 8 p.m.
Friday at 2, 7 and 9 p.m.
Saturday at 2, 6 and 8 p.m.
Sunday at 2 and 4 p.m.

There will be additional performances on Sunday, May 27 at 8 p.m., Monday, May 28 (Memorial Day) at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., Tuesday, July 3 at 2 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. and Monday, Sept. 3 (Labor Day) at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Tickets are $15.50 - $29.50 and will be available by calling 800-745-3000 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com/shanghai. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more are available by calling GroupTix at 773.327.3778 or visiting www.grouptix.net.

Chi, IL Live Dance-Multicultural-"From the Arctic to the Middle East (Broken Narratives by an American Flamenco Dancer)"

Shows on our radar this week:

This sounds like an amazing collaboration.   Check it out for 3 nights only!   Seating is limited and all proceeds will benefit Clinard Dance Theatre, a not-for-profit organization.

Clinard Dance Theatre is proud to present "From the Arctic to the Middle East (Broken Narratives by an American Flamenco Dancer)" on April 20 and 21 at 8:00 p.m. (CST), and April 22 at 7:00 p.m. (CST) at Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield Avenue, Suite 207, in Chicago. Artistic Director Wendy Clinard will lead audiences on a journey inspired by travels with her daughter to Syria while reading the Arctic travel epic, "Kaloona" The work fuses connections between the ancient and the modern, the spiritual and the physical and those between the essences of struggle and celebration. Clinard questions the forces that shape human history and interdependence. From the Arctic to the Middle East (Broken Narratives by an American Flamenco Dancer) is an interdisciplinary multimedia work that includes an original score by composer and music director Steve Gibons, performed on contrabass, guitar, oud, percussion, violin and voice. The work presents contemporary flamenco dancers in unique context with live video projections by Marco Ferrari. From the Arctic to the Middle East (Broken Narratives by an American Flamenco Dancer) uses the timeless tools of story, song, music and dance to provide an odyssey and a sense of transcendence, which gives the feeling that the journey has just begun. Find out why Lucia Mauro of the Chicago Tribune says "Clinard places the intricate presentational aspects of flamenco in a vital, contemporary context." Tickets are $20; $15 for seniors and students and are available through the Clinard Dance Theatre and Links Hall Websites.

Chi IL-Save The Date-Women's Health Fair 4/20

REP. BERRIOS TO HOST 6th ANNUAL WOMEN'S WELLNESS & RESOURCE FAIR 


With all the recent attacks on women's health care, it's great to see something positive.  
  
State Rep. Maria A. "Toni" Berrios (D-Chicago) and the 39th District Health Committee announced that the 6th Annual Women's Wellness and Resource Fair will be hosted on April 20th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Kosciuszko Park located at 2732 N. Avers Ave., Chicago, IL. The event is free and open to the public.
 
"As a woman legislator one of my top priorities are women's issues, specifically topics regarding women's health. I've hosted this event for six years now and helped hundreds of local residents, connecting them to local clinics and hospitals and ultimately helping them find good healthcare" stated Rep. Berrios. "The purpose of this fair is and will continue to be to address a woman's physical, mental, and emotional health" stated Rep. Berrios.
 
The Women's Wellness and Resource Fair will provide information and resources on a variety of social programs and services available to women. Attendees will have the opportunity to receive free blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol screenings along with information on accessing state, county and city health programs. Participants will learn health information from over sixty organizations and have the opportunity to win gift certificates and gift cards to local stores and restaurants.
 
This year the Women's Health fair will host a Pin-a-Sister/Examinate Comadre ceremony. This ceremony is done in conjunction with Access Community Health Network to promote, educate and improve Breast Cancer Awareness. Attendees will hear a survivors' true life story of her fight with Breast Cancer and will then be asked to pin another attendee to signify their commitment to Breast Cancer Awareness. Also for the first time ever, the 2012 winner of Miss Chicago, Marisa Buchheit will be joining the push for women's health awareness at the Women's Wellness and Resource Fair.
 
 "I feel it is my responsibility to help residents access affordable health care services, not only through state wide legislation, but also by providing services directly to  my community", added Rep. Berrios
 
For more information, please call Berrios' constituent service office at (773) 736-3939.