The LIVINGroom to Host Block Party at Stage 773, 7/10

The LIVINGroom announces the lineup and details for the July installment of its 2016 solo performance series at Stage 773. Solo artists Mike Haverty, Jennifer Kiehl, Sarah McCarten, Tyler Anthony Smith, David Stobbe and Anna Wolfe return to The LIVINGroom. Kyle Hamlin joins the LIVINGroom lineup for the first time on Sunday, July 10. Live music by Van Ferdinand will underscore the performance, which is directed by LIVINGroom ensemble member Abigail Phelps.

Before the performance, a real block party will take place in the theatre, featuring a bake sale with treats by Rory Beckett, live music by busker Michael Kurowski, and caricatures by Evan Szewc. A photo booth, games of cornhole, hula hooping, and free popcorn will keep the party festive.

Onstage, this month's ensemble of solo artists performs a high-energy, DIY celebration of self through individual solo works. A man will try to get comfortable in a chair, a nuclear bomb explodes, a lesson in love and work (and why they can be the same) is learned, and topics as obscure but compelling dendrochronology (also known as tree ring dating) are explored.

The LIVINGroom: Block Party begins at 7:00 pm on Sunday, July 10 at Stage 773, located at 1225 W. Belmont, Chicago. Tickets are $10, $7 for students with valid ID, and are available at the box office and at http://stage773.com, or 773-327-5252.

About The LIVINGroom

The LIVINGroom is a? t?heatrical? a?ssembly of individual, autobiographical performances that blend spoken word, movement, spectacle, music, and any other device that bridges the personal and the universal. On the second Sunday of the month in the Box Theatre at Stage 773, the solo artists in The LIVINGroom engage the audience in as many points of the performance as possible, blurring the line between spectator and stage in order to find commonality with each other.

Some of the most intimate, truthful, and exciting moments happen in living rooms. In 2009, founders Laura Reitsma, Joel Reitsma, and Ian Randall, who are all Columbia College graduates, workshopped stories in their own living rooms before performing them at various festivals around Chicago. In 2014, the trio was invited to produce their unique take on solo performance at Stage 773.