This weekend, more than 200 people joined our ensembles at Chicago Shakespeare Theater to be a part of RECONNECT.

It’s been almost 3 long years since we’ve been able to host a live event, and we were thrilled to celebrate our return to the stage in such a big way. 58 performers took the stage for 3 different events through the course of the day on November 19th and it was really something special! Join us for some highlights - including some incredible photos by event photographer Justin Barbin.

Devised Performances

Our ensembles' created two unique performances that wove personal stories and reflections with music, movement, and filmed performances from our virtual ensemble. Audiences called the shows "poignant", "timely", "so, so clever", and "100% from the heart."

Teaching Artist Lawrence Kern drops in actor Jake Solworth in front of a crowded audience.

Public Workshop

At 2pm, Our Teaching Artists and Creative Associates gave an inside look at our process through an interactive workshop. They took a group through our standard rehearsal format and shared some of our favorite games for devising new material. One participant said, "I was really, really nervous, but I'm so glad I did this. It was so much fun, and it helped me appreciate the play more because I understood the process."

Reconnecting with each other

As much as we love being onstage, some of the real magic happened in the lobby. We hugged friends we haven't seen in a long time, and said "hello" to some people we've only ever met through a screen. Between shows, families joined each other for meals, teaching artists took rides on the Navy Pier Ferris wheel, and we all took the opportunity to catch up on so much that we’ve missed since we’ve been apart.

Celebrating several A.B.L.E. firsts

Not only was RECONNECT our first time back onstage in 3 years, and our first ever festival, these events also marked several other firsts for A.B.L.E.:

We integrated our virtual ensemble into a stage performance. In total, the virtual ensemble filmed 17 different segments including monologues, scenes, and activities that were woven into the show. In this picture, Alena shares a monologue about what it feels like to be afraid while the onstage ensemble performs a soundscape of spooky sounds.

In addition to live open captioning, we offered ASL interpretation to increase accessibility for our audiences.

We invited our audiences into our process through the public workshop, and also interactive lobby displays. In the 7pm show, we even included an audience singalong, a surprise monologue from an audience member, and wove some audience reflections into the show.

This was the first time onstage for the many actors, facilitators, and Teaching Artists who joined us during the pandemic including Amy, Bill, Camila, Perry, Francesca, Mary Kate, Chloe, Noah, Haley, and Maggie, who is pictured here celebrating with her family in the lobby.

Thanks, and ever thanks

Theatre is a collaborative art form. So many individuals and organizations came together to make this day possible. You can read our team bios here, but we also want to give some tremendous thanks to:

All of our friends and collaborators at Chicago Shakespeare Theater for welcoming us into your home and sharing your time, talents, and resources to help us shine.
Faith Interpreting Services and Efficiency Reporting for coordinating our access services, and to Peter, Mark, Esteban, Veramarie, Tre’Neen, and Cathy for ensuring our performances were accessible for audiences of all abilities.
Our Front of House team who helped share more about our work and made sure our audiences felt welcomed.
Calvin Steinken and Justin Barbin for helping to capture the day through photos and videos.
Our foundation supporters - The Arts Work Fund, The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, The Illinois Arts Council, Innovation 80 The National Endowment for the Arts, the Paul M Angell Family Foundation - and to all of our donors large and small who make our programs possible.
And, most of all, our audiences for laughing, crying, and cheering with us all day long!