8:46 (BREATHING ROOM) Will Be Performed at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble This Month

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (RTE), Chicago's only Equity theatre dedicated to producing new work with women at the core, announces 8:46 (Breathing Room), a new play festival of four commissioned plays each 8 minutes and 46 seconds long, in association with The Breath Project. The festival is curated by RTE Associate Artistic Director Denise Yvette Serna.

8:46 (Breathing Room) runs for three in-person performances, October 21-22 at 7:30pm and October 23rd at 4:00pm at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago. The festival concludes on November 1 at 7:30pm with a special streaming event in remembrance of the lives lost to brutality, negligence, and ecological apartheid of the last two years.

8:46 (Breathing Room) is developed in partnership with The Breath Project, a national archive of original, 8 minute and 46 second works by BIPOC artist created in response to the murder of George Floyd. Through art, action and advocacy, The Breath Project seeks to build a more equitable theatre community and actively dismantle structural racism in the American Theater.

Denise Yvette Serna comments, "Rivendell is inviting our community back to the theatre, but not back to business as usual. Our liberated future includes celebrating, commissioning, contracting, and cultivating women of the global majority. Our forward momentum is intertwined with time spent in community - to grieve, to question, to hope, and to breathe. Poco a poco. We hope you will join us. The Breath Project is only the beginning."

The festival features the work of Mari DeOleo, Tina Fakhrid-Deen, Gloria Imseih Petrelli and Risha Tenae. The creative team includes RTE Associate Artistic Director Denise Yvette Serna (curator), Miranda Anderson (production manager), Yeaji Kim (production design) and RTE Artistic Director Tara Mallen.

Tickets for 8:46 (Breathing Room), priced $15-30 for the live performance and the virtual event, are available by calling 773) 334-7728 or at www.RivendellTheatre.org. A limited number of Pay What You Can tickets are available on a first come, first served basis by contacting trisha@rivendelltheatre.org.