ARTISTS & ELDERS

A Bridge, A Gift

COURT THEATRE X EXPERIMENTAL PERFORMANCE INITIATIVE

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO


We worked with Hyde Park Art Center to identify 10 elders who have ties to Chicago’s Southside. With the Experimental Performance Initiative and Court Theatre (University of Chicago), we identified 10 artists working across different disciplines. We paired those artists and elders together and offered creative prompts for their exchange. Drawing on dramaturgy from Court Theatre’s production of The Lady from the Sea (directed by Shana Cooper, choreographed by Erika Chong Shuch, and cancelled due to COVID), we looked for beacons of hope in our connections with strangers.


*Click thumbnail to see documentation of the exchange.

 
 

In addition to engaging in creative exchange, and drawing on imagery from Henrik Ibsen’s The Lady From the Sea, we asked each artist to produce a 30 second video portrait of their elder as a lighthouse. These short portraits will be displayed on digital kiosks throughout the University of Chicago campus.


The University of Chicago Virtual Opening | December 10th, 2020

A live streamed conversation to mark the culmination of our collaboration with Court Theatre, The Experimental Performance Initiative, and Hyde Park Art Center on Artists & Elders: A Bridge, A Gift. Featured speakers and topics included Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson discussing his work expanding community engagement at Court; Sarah Curran on the Experimental Performance Initiative at University of Chicago; Ryan Tacata and Rowena Richie from For You; Shana Cooper on how artists are shifting roles to meet the current moment; and several participants reflecting on their creative process.


 
 

 
 

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Court Theatre (University of Chicago)

Shana Cooper, Director, The Lady from the Sea

Angel Ysaguirre, Executive Director

Charlie Newell, Artistic Director

Aaron Mays, Community Programs Manager

Kelcie Beene, Associate Production Manager

Becca McCracken, Casting Director

Ron OJ Parson, Resident Artist

Brent Ervin-Eickhoff, Associate Director of Marketing for Content Creation

Experimental Performance Initiative (eXp; University of Chicago)

Sarah Curran, Curator

Hyde Park Art Center

Gregory Smith, Director of Partnerships

Participants 

Sheldon D. Brown, Brenda Butler, Melissa DuPrey, Gina Freed, Benjamin Lamar Gay, Delia Gray, Karen Hirsch, Vanissa James, Mark Jeffrey, Emily Hooper Lansana, Sarah Lauzen, Efé McWorter, Michael Pogue, Kelvin Roston Jr., Darling Shear, Kelli Simpkins, Shaila Small, Christopher Mad Dog Thomas, Sophia Watson, Larry Wolf