The Belmont Theater District Continues Virtual Entertainment in July and August
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jun. 30, 2020
The Belmont Theater District, Chicago's largest theater district located in the Lakeview West and Lakeview East neighborhoods, is offering a wide variety of entertainment options all ONLINE this summer. Belmont Theater District is funded and maintained by the Lakeview Chamber of Commerce and the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce.
Productions include (in alphabetical order by company name):
NOTE: Event details may change without notice, please go to BTDChicago.com for the most up to date listings and information.
Bluebird Arts
Smart People: A Virtual Reading & Fundraiser
Thursday, July 2 at 7 p.m.
Available on Bluebird Arts' Facebook Page and YouTube Channel
Please join Bluebird Arts for a live reading to raise funds for Chicago's Brave Space Alliance, the first Black-led,Trans-led, LGBTQ Center located on the south side. In Smart People, it is the eve of Obama's first election. Four of Harvard University's brightest; a surgeon, an actress, a psychologist, and a neuro-psychiatrist, are all interested in different aspects of the brain, particularly how it responds to race. But like all smart people, they are also searching for love, success, and identity in their own lives. Lydia Diamond brings these characters together in this sharp, witty play about social and sexual politics. Smart People by Lydia Diamond and directed by Monet Felton, featuring Kirra Silver as "Valerie," Andi Muriel as "Ginny," Kevin Tre'von Patterson as "Jackson" and Sam Cass as "Brian" with stage directions read by Susanne McDonald.
FREE - donations to Brave Space Alliance encouraged
Eclectic Full Contact Theatre
Mother Goose Lost!
Saturdays and Sundays, July 11 - August 2 at 1 p.m.
Available on the Eclectic Full Contact Theatre Facebook Page
Eclectic Full Contact Theatre presents its first virtual theatre production! Written and directed by Eclectic Artistic Director Andrew Pond, Mother Goose Lost! is a TYA production utilizing live-editing technology to present an online theatrical event for families. Live-streamed on its Facebook Page, Mother Goose Lost! tells the story of what happens when Mother Goose retires and the evil Solomon Grundy takes over rewriting her rhymes! Can her friends Nancy and Frank, along with Detective Joe Saturday, stop the chaos and reinstate Mother Goose to her rightful place?
FREE - but donations welcome
Hell in a Handbag Productions
THE GOLDEN GIRLS: The Lost Episodes, Vol. 4 - LOCKDOWN!
Through August 15, 2020
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hell in a Handbag Productions is kicking-off summer with its very first digital online production: THE GOLDEN GIRLS: The Lost Episodes, Vol. 4 - LOCKDOWN!, written by Artistic Director David Cerda and directed by Spenser Davis. Blanche returns from SantaCom with souvenirs, wild tales - and possibly Legionnaires disease! The doctor orders a 30-day quarantine. Will the girls make it out before they kill each other? Don't miss the newest episode in Handbag's long-running parody of the beloved TV sitcom.
$20
Infinity Arts Academy, LLC
Summer Camp
In-Person Teen Theatre Intensive "As You Like It" by William Shakespeare July 12 - August 1 (Ages 13-18)
In-Person Session 4: Best of Broadway July 27 - August 7 (Ages 7-18)
Virtual Private Acting & Dance Lessons (1 hr/week) (Ages 7-18)
https://infinityartschicago.com/2020-summer-camp-registration-1
Join Infinity Arts Academy, LLC for an unforgettable summer filled with filmmaking, music, acting, Musical Theatre songs, costume making, Shakespeare and so much more! The camps will be adhering to CDC Safety Guidelines to ensure everyone has a safe and fun summer with Infinity Arts Academy, LLC.
Pricing varies per session.
Otherworld Theatre Company
GenreThon
July 10 at 7 p.m. through July 12 at 10 p.m.
Available on Otherworld Theatre Company's YouTube Channel
Be There. Be Square. A full weekend of Geeky Comedy on Otherworld's YouTube Digital Platform! Headliners include Out On A Whim's, Improvised Dungeons and Dragons, Improvised Jane Austen and BATSU!
FREE
Otherworld Theatre Company
Stupid Shakespeare's PickleRickicles
Available online on Patreon and YouTube
Enjoy a recording of the recently closed production of Stupid Shakespeare's PickleRickicles: It's just Pericles with Rick and Morty characters. The bard's most convoluted play, Pericles, gets an intergalactic spin.
Recommended for Ages 16 years +
FREE
Otherworld Theatre Company
Super Richard World III
Available online on and YouTube
Enjoy a recording of Stupid Shakespeare's Super Richard World III. Nominated for Chicago Reader's Best New Play 2019. Set in the Mushroom Kingdom, Duke Luigi and Bowserham scheme against Mario and Princess Peach. Meanwhile Diddy Kong sails the high seas to come reclaim his father's throne. A tale of deception and vengeance, "Super Richard World III" decimates the context of the Bard's most famous history play and replaces it with 90 minutes of smiles.
FREE
Otherworld Theatre Company
Medusa Undone
Available online on Patreon and YouTube
Enjoy a recording of Otherworld Theatre's production of Medusa Undone. Before she was one of the greatest mythical monsters of all time, Medusa was a kind, beautiful sea-nymph in Athena's service. Unparalleled in both her beauty and devotion to the Gods, Medusa catches the eye of the charming but narcissistic Poseidon. Interested only in the passions of the spirit, and not the flesh, Medusa has no choice but to reject the greedy God. She not only suffers violence at the hand of Poseidon, but also unknowingly incites a deep-seated jealousy in Athena, with horrific and disturbing consequences. Medusa Undone explores the social problem of rape culture, our tendency to victim blame, and the great injustice suffered by female victims of abuse of all kinds.
FREE
Otherworld Theatre Company
Improvised Dungeons and Dragons
Every Sunday at 7 p.m.
Available online on YouTube
Enjoy a pre-recorded, brand new performance of Improvised Dungeons and Dragons. Improvised Dungeons and Dragons brings classic tabletop RPGs to life in this 90 minute improvised show! Each week, the audience selects a core cast of adventurers to embark on an epic quest guided by a guest Dungeon Master! Watch as heroes endure triumph and tragedy, romance and revenge, all while reckoning with the whims of the almighty D20!
FREE
Otherworld Theatre Company
Theatre of Ted Digital Open Mic
Every Saturday from 5 - 7 p.m.
Available online on Facebook
Everyone may submit 3-5 minute video performances to james@otherworldtheatre.org to be featured on our Theatre of Ted Digital Open Mic. This isn't limited to comedy; all performance art welcome!
FREE
Otherworld Theatre Company
The Rogue Aviator
Available online on Patreon
Join Otherworld Theatre as they take you to "The Diamond in the Sky!" in this Dieselpunk adventure! In an alternate history of the 1930s, the floating city of Olympus has been built among the clouds of America. Rogue Aviator Ellie McCloud navigates the perils of her time. Once raised among the elites of Olympus, Ellie now fights for the freedoms of those they oppress. In a world of fanatical rulers and nearly forgotten masses living in the bowels of the city, Ellie must wage a war on two fronts: the Sky Pirates who lay their claim to the city, and her moral battle within.
Access to all stage productions recordings: $5
Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Directing Dissected Class and Theatre's Greatest Moments
Directing Dissected Class
Wednesdays and Fridays, July 15, 17, 22, & 24 from 1 - 2:30 p.m.
How to join, link, and access information will be sent by email.
What exactly does a stage director do? And more importantly why do they do it? Follow a play's journey from first reading to opening night with Remy Bumppo Associate Artistic Director and Jeff Award-Winning Director, Ian Frank, as he takes you through how a director builds a vision, a team, and a process. Enrich your theatre-going experience with unique insights and explore the fascinating story-behind-the-story with a group of fellow theatre-lovers.
$60
Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
Theatre's Greatest Moments
Wednesdays and Fridays, August 19, 21, 26, & 28 from 1 - 2:30 p.m.
How to join, link, and access information will be sent by email.
Ever wonder how theatre first became theatre? Or when the first dialogue was spoken in front of an audience? What playwright first wrote an original story? Or how the Romans changed the way stories told on stage simply by using a curtain? In this course, led by Core Ensemble Member, Peter A. Davis, you will explore the greatest historical and literary moments that changed both the theatre and humanity. Where we look at the complex ways art and history merged on stage to enlighten us and ultimately defined just how theatre became theatre.
$60
Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
2 Class Summer Pass
Wednesdays and Fridays, Directing Dissected: July 15, 17, 22, & 24 / Theatre's Greatest Moment's: August 19, 21, 26, & 28 from 1 - 2:30 p.m.
How to join, link, and access information will be sent by email.
Interested in taking both Directing Dissected AND Theatre's Greatest Moments with us this summer? Purchase the two Class Summer Pass and SAVE $20!
$100
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