International Voices Project (IVP) is proud to announce this year's five-week celebration of international plays. The 10th anniversary season of play readings by playwrights from around the world takes place at Instituto Cervantes, 31 W. Ohio, May 2 - June 4. Performances continue on regular weekly schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. The series is presented in collaboration with consulates and other cultural institutions in Chicago. A reception follows each evening's reading. The International Voices Project is the largest event of its kind in the country and introduces Chicago audiences to some of the most exciting voices on the international theater scene. Performances are free to the public and reservations are requested. Additional information and updates about the 2019 IVP festival will be available onIVPChicago.org.
IVP 2019 Schedule is below and can also be viewed by clicking here.
Thursday, May 2 at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m.
In Events Horizon, Olga is stuck in a studio apartment, which has a wall with many doors and cupboards, a front door which doesn't open, and no windows. She cannot figure out what has happened. She only knows that she cannot escape. When she tries to open one of the doors on the wall, she immediately comes back from another one and continues to stay there. At some point, however, she realizes that time is messed up and that every time she leaves, she enters a different time of her life.
Thursday May 16 at 6:30 p.m.
From United Kingdom
Spun, in collaboration with Rasaka Theatre
Written by Rabiah Hussain
Directed by Alka Nayyar
Spun is the story of best friends, Safa and Aisha, both from working-class British Pakistani families in Newham, London. We meet them as they finish university and, for the first time, are forging different paths. Safa is going off to work at a large organization in central London and Aisha is staying in Newham to become a teacher, but both with the promise that they will meet every Thursday. However, when London is attacked one day in July, Safa and Aisha feel the whole world spinning. As extremes from all sides take hold of the city, they each find themselves on the receiving end of questions. Aisha is asked by her Muslim students why they are all blamed for the actions of a few, and Safa is on the receiving end of microaggressions from her colleagues about where she stands as a British Muslim. As Safa tries to distance herself from her working-class
Muslim roots, Aisha embraces her identity in order to defend her own. Safa starts to drink and Aisha starts to wear a headscarf and, when police shoot someone in Forest Gate, Aisha takes to the streets to march for an apology but Safa doesn't join her. As they each redefine who they are, cracks in their friendship start to appear and the debates happening in the outside world seep into their day-to-day conversations. When their priorities shift against the backdrop of politics and social change, their friendship ends in a dramatic way.
Gardenia, by Elzbieta Chowaniec, is a story about four generations of women from one Polish family who are fighting with their belief systems, personal experiences, and heritage. They all exist at the same age simultaneously: great grandmother, grandmother, mother and daughter are all 33 years old, a pivotal age for a woman, but they are able to easily reach across space and time to encounter one another. Gardenia allows each woman's personal drama to unfold, while viewing those issues in the context of WWII, Communism, and contemporary Polish culture.
Aliens With Extraordinary Skills
Inching Towards Yeolha, in collaboration with Token Theatre
A nearly-fossilized village in a desert suddenly goes into turmoil when Yeon-Ahm, a "four-legged beast," starts talking about the world outside. When an inspector from the Emperor arrives, her talking makes her the scapegoat to save the village from being "erased."
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL VOICES PROJECT
The International Voices Project champions the work of global playwrights by creating opportunities to experience new and contemporary international plays in urban settings and on stages throughout Chicago. We celebrate the mother tongue, and foster work that brings native languages to the forefront. From its inception, Chicago was conceived as the crossroads of the country. The rail lines that crossed the city now symbolize the role that Chicago will play in the future: as the center of international dialogue and design, creating opportunities for artists and audiences alike to experience the most engaging and provocative new plays from around the world. We foster new translations, support the work of translators, and create ongoing relationships with playwrights from the five continents.
International Voices Project (IVP) is proud to announce this year's five-week celebration of international plays. The 10th anniversary season of play readings by playwrights from around the world takes place at Instituto Cervantes, 31 W. Ohio, May 2 - June 4. Performances continue on regular weekly schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. The series is presented in collaboration with consulates and other cultural institutions in Chicago. A reception follows each evening's reading. The International Voices Project is the largest event of its kind in the country and introduces Chicago audiences to some of the most exciting voices on the international theater scene. Performances are free to the public and reservations are requested. Additional information and updates about the 2019 IVP festival will be available onIVPChicago.org.
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