DG National Reports: Chicago by Cheryl Coons
Chicago Presents Banned Together
On September 26, the night of the first presidential debate, Dramatists Guild members in the Chicago Region, theatre professionals, educators, and the next generation of theatre artists from colleges and universities were engaged in another type of public conversation. We gathered to present Banned Together: A Censorship Cabaret, an event designed to raise awareness about censorship in the theatre as part of Banned Books Week.
Sponsored by the Dramatists Guild Legal Defense Fund, and with contextual commentary by DLDF president John Weidman, the cabaret featured songs and scenes from works that have been challenged across the country, including Almost, Maine, Angels in America, Cabaret, Chicago, Fun Home, My Name is Rachel Corrie, Picasso at the Lapine Agile, Rent, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You, and Spring Awakening. The Chicago presentation of Banned Together also included a scene from Dramatist Guild member Elaine Romero’s The Fat Free Chicana and the Sno Cap Queen, which was banned, along with the entire curriculum of the Mexican-American Studies program, by the Tucson Unified School District.
Dramatists Guild members Paul Amandes, Russell Coutinho, Ryan Cunningham, Georgette Kelly, J. Sebastian Fabal, and Susan Pak shared emcee duties for the evening, along with the Michigan Regional Rep, Anita Gonzalez. Guild member Diana Lawrence was the musical director, and Guild member Laura Stratford opened the evening by singing “Class” from Chicago. Chicago Region Young Ambassador, Annie Brennen, a student at Northwestern University, performed the monologue from My Name is Rachel Corrie.
Ray Frewen, Associate Professor of Theatre at Roosevelt University, Barbara E. Robertson, Columbia College faculty member and award-winning actress, and Paul Amandes, Associate Chair of the Theatre Department Columbia College, used the event as an opportunity to engage student writers and performers in a larger conversation about censorship and artistic freedom.
Paul Amandes emphasized the importance of including students, the next generation of theatre professionals. “Almost all of the actors from Columbia are also playwrights; they came to playwriting by first being performers. And they genuinely felt the spirit of community last night.”
Familial feelings pervade special events in our close-knit Chicago theatre community, but our presentation of Banned Together featured an actual father-and-son acting duo, Guild member James Sherman and his son, T. Isaac Sherman, who performed a scene from Angels in America. Roosevelt University professor Ray Frewen introduced his students’ presentation from Spring Awakening, and his daughter, Alyssa Frewen, a young Chicago theatre professional, performed “Changing My Major” from Fun Home.
Columbia College student Arthur Kraus performed a scene from Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You with his professor Barbara E. Robertson. “Thank you for letting me be a part of such an amazing project! Not only did I have a blast performing, but I felt so honored to be in a room filled with so much talent and passion. It’s nights like yesterday that remind me that the theatre community really is one big family.”
Columbia College student Arthur Kraus and Barbara E. Robertson in a scene from Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All to You
Roosevelt University students Evan Wilhelm, Cody Ellsworth, Kaleb van Rijswijck singing "Totally F*cked" from Spring Awakening
