ShawChicago This series of staged readings of plays by Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries revives a Chicago tradition established in 1956 by Lois Weisberg, now Cultural Affairs Commissioner. Launched in 1994, the productions have earned critical acclaim as well as wide-spread popular support. Directed by Shaw Chicago's Artistic Director Robert Scogin, the casts include both Equity and non-Equity performers under a special agreement with Actors' Equity. Discussions of the featured plays are conducted by the Great Books Foundation. Programs are presented Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm and Mondays at 7pm, Studio Theater.
Admission is free but reservations are required.
The Studio Theater, an intimate black box venue located on the first floor of the Chicago Cultural Center, provides a showcase for some of Chicago's best off-Loop companies. Among the companies performing in the Studio Theater are Shaw Chicago, Journeymen theater Company, Roadworks, and Eclipse Theater. Studio Theater will also be a venue for the citywide Puppetropolis Chicago Festival of puppet theater. The Chicago Cultural Center is one of the venues for an 11-day celebration of puppet theater that features dozens of performances, workshops and exhibitions by local, national, and international puppetry artists at locations throughout the city. Chicago's newest festival will showcase a wide range of puppetry styles, from giant shadow puppets to intimate toy theater, with shows for all ages.