Propaganda party, Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, and moreKerry Reid and Salem Collo-Julinon November 11, 2022 at 10:16 pm

Bombs at Home, a 2020 print by artist Ryan Griffis for Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative Credit: Courtesy Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative

About Face: Veterans Against the War is a group of post-9/11 service members and veterans advocating for an end of foreign policy that creates war and against the use of military weapons and tactics in communities across the U.S. This evening in observance of Veterans Day, the group hosts a Demilitarize and Abolish Propaganda Party, a gathering of organizations, activists, and artists that produce materials like flyers, stickers, buttons, and more. Groups and individuals are invited to attend, grab light refreshments, and load up on ephemera from About Face, the Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project, Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative, Instituto Gráfico de Chicago, and more. Stop by today between 4 and 7 PM at Co-Prosperity (3219 S. Morgan). (SCJ)

Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival presents a free open studio tonight 5-8 PM at the Fine Arts Building (410 S. Michigan, Ste. 433). This monthly event lets guests get a sneak peek into the creations of artists working with the festival; tonight’s featured artist is Jerrell L. Henderson, a puppeteer, director, and African American theater historian and archivist. Henderson is also this year’s recipient of the League of Chicago Theatres’s Samuel G. Roberson Jr. Resident Fellowship (named in memory of the late artistic director of Congo Square Theatre). He’ll be working with Free Street on an original shadow show entitled AmericanMYTH: Crossroads, described as a “genre-defying historic reckoning with five performers mixing live theatre, shadow puppetry, lights, and immersive sound.” Reservations not required for tonight, but you can find more information at chicagopuppetfest.org. (KR)

After being presented digitally last year, the Bridge Dance Festival returns live to Links Hall (3111 N. Western) tonight and tomorrow at 7 PM. The lineup includes Mari Fujihira and Kiyotaka Suzuki from Tokyo (the former was also part of last year’s festival), along with Chicago’s Shalaka Kulkarni, resident artist at Mandala Arts, and sound technician Takashi Shallow. As the name implies, the festival (a project of Asian Improv aRts Midwest in collaboration with Links; Yoshinojo Fujima is the creative producer and curator) aims to help build a “bridge” between Asian dance and performance artists around the world. Tickets are $20 at linkshall.org; proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken no more than 72 hours prior to curtain is required, and masks must be worn. (KR)

After what was supposed to be a permanent shutdown during the early days of the pandemic, Chicago’s legendary iO Theater (formerly known as ImprovOlympics, until some international sporting organization decided to get pissy about branding) is back with new ownership, a new look, and all-new shows. Performances right now in the multi-venue facility are mostly running Thu-Sun; tonight you have a choice of programming that includes Haunted: Improvised Ghost Hunters (8 PM); improv team Devil’s Daughter (10 PM), Friday Freaky (10:30 PM), a spoof of the beloved “Mom and teen change bodies” comedy; Sex and the Windy City (8 PM), where Carrie Bradshaw and her Manhattanite friends are transported to Chicago; and longtime local Latinx improv favorites Salsation! performing La Chancla Savage (10:30 PM), a fully improvised telenovela. You can check out the entire lineup of upcoming shows at ioimprov.com. (KR)

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