Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble

Chicago Stories:

Voices Project: Chicago has at its core true stories reflecting the diversity of experience within the city. Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble has teamed up with the Neighborhood Writing Alliance (NWA) and their The Journal of Ordinary Thought (JOT), which “provokes dialogue and promotes change by creating opportunities for adults in Chicago’s low-income neighborhoods to write, publish, and perform works about their lives,” says Carrie Spitler, Executive Director, quoting their mission statement.

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble presented Chicago Stories conceptualized and adapted by CDE core members Ellyzabeth Adler, Morgan Christiansen, and Beth Czechanski featured writings by The Neighborhood Writing Alliance and writer-director Paul Braile and was the first project under their new name.

Chicago Stories has at its core true stories reflecting the diversity of experience within the city. “We are very excited that our first production under the name Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble is about the city of Chicago and it’s people,” says Artistic Director Ellyzabeth Adler, “we truly feel that what makes Chicago a unique place to live in is it’s neighborhoods and the people who live in them.” Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble has teamed up with the Neighborhood Writing Alliance (NWA) and their The Journal of Ordinary Thought (JOT), which “provokes dialogue and promotes change by creating opportunities for adults in Chicago’s low-income neighborhoods to write, publish, and perform works about their lives,” says Carrie Spitler, Executive Director, quoting their mission statement.

Exploring the concept of “home;” why people have made Chicago their home by choice or circumstance; what is the experience of calling Chicago home; when does Chicago cease to feel like home? The company will also be working with writer and director Paul Braile, who will guide us through the history of Chicago including, the Abby Hoffman trial, touching on the cities gentrification, and giving his own reflections of Chicago to help weave these stories and poems together. Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble’s Artistic Director, Ellyzabeth Adler, will be adapting, choreographing and directing the stories and poems of the Neighborhood Writing Alliance, integrating them into a seamless hybrid performance of music, dance and theatre. In addition to NWA’s poetry, Company member Morgan Christiansen, will be adapting the famous Abbie Hoffman trial and Paul Barile will be our tour guide/playwright through the neighborhoods of Chicago. “We see the performance as snapshots of the city and of course, we can not leave out a tribute to Ms. O’Leary and her cow,” said Adler with a smile. Adler and Christiansen researched at length and interviewed the members of the Pilgrim Baptist Church, which burnt down in 2006, and have included a moving tribute, with music by Pilgrim’s very own Mahalia Jackson, to the parishioners who in their own words “did not skip a beat” when the tragedy struck. show benefit on the 7th and a post show talk back on the 8th.

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