MADE POSSIBLE BY
Cabinet’s Board of Directors
Frank Maugeri
Karyn Pettigrew
Molly Truglia
Donna Sue Van Cleaf
Bonnie Tawse
Board EMERITUS
Sonia Evans
Bisi Williams
STAFF
Frank Maugeri – Artistic Director
Jillian Gryzlak – Interim Managing Director
Brandon Boler – Artistic Associate
Don Harder – Marketing Associate
Milam Smith – Staff Engineer
Yvonne Afable and Lorena C. Johnson – Engelman Finances
COVID SAFETY
All non-vaccinated people over the age of — are required to wear a mask. Masks are optional for those that are vaccinated. If you are experiencing symptoms on COVID-19, please let us help find you a different date to attend.
INCLEMENT WEATHER
For everyone’s safety, if there is inclement weather, we will need to cancel the show. We will work with you to find an alternate performance to attend. If no other dates/times work, your ticket price can be written off as a tax deduction.
Sea Change Mission
Sea Change focuses on the collective‘s ideas and experiences, of personal change, redemption, and the feminine divine, as understood through the lens of the ocean’s majesty, value, and power.
Originally designed to be an indoor spectacle, Covid-19 required us to return to the rigors of outdoor work. We decided that creating an experience emphasizing hope, redemption, beauty, and song with giant objects, and a transforming set, was exactly what our city and communities needed. Together, our team worked quickly and vigorously to develop a production that explored the idea of the feminine, the ocean, and mythology. The collaborations drove the event to new and unexpected places which began to explore many spiritual themes.
Cabinet has chosen a new model of theater-making, where Sea Change will operate as an initial workshop production, which we will then craft with many new collaborators creating iterations over the next three years. Thank you for joining us and we hope you enjoy the production.
SEA CHANGE
Created by (alphabetical order)
Sophia Balabanova-Gebreab
Seth Bockley
Brandon Boler
Olivia Rose Comai
Micheal Cotey
Kasey Foster
Sadie Rose Glaspey
Allison Grischow
Jillian Gryzlak
Manae Hammond
Hannah Jablonski
Shawn Ketchum Johnson
Rome Jones
Jamie Kreppein
Frank Maugeri
Jesse Mooney-Bullock
Kevin O’Donnell
Charlie Otto
Josh Ralph
Lizzie Schafer
Milam Smith
Jed Taylor
Shayne Taylor
Ellie Terrell
Ivy Waegel
directed by
Frank Maugeri and Michael Cotey
In collaboration with Kasey Foster, Sadie Rose Glaspey, Allison Grischow, Manae Hammond, and Jamie Kreppein
writers
A Merman’s Tail (If There is a God)
By Bethany Thomas 7
Music and Lyrics by Liz Chidester
Whale Song
By Lindsey Noel Whiting
More
By Kasey Foster
Music by Charlie Otto
The Lookout
By Seth Bockley
Fields of Fire
Because Cabinet of Curiosity is an ever evolving collective of like-minded artists, Brandon Boler was invited to assist in creating a team of people, who would create a three-year relationship with the community of Lawndale to develop exquisite and expressive outdoor rituals. This first year is called Fields of Fire and will be performed September 23rd-26th at Leo Roscoe Boler Sr. park in North Lawndale. This piece presents a series of glimpses at fictional lives set in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. Where the fantastical meets the everyday, and the spirit world intersects with human experience; each voice projecting a “grappling” with social legacies, and social mobility unique to this local environment. The call to “catch a fire” reflects both the well documented, and the unrecognized gestures of activism, and care that sustain this community across time. As a site-specific performance this piece hints at a restorative ritual, acknowledging the ongoing work and continued intentions of this public space. Fields of Fire is being created, and developed by poet and scholar Honey Crawford, designers Sydney Lynne Thomas and Frank Maugeri, performer Time Brickey and directed by Brandon Boler.
Cabinet’s Mission
Cabinet of Curiosity is composed of diverse project-by-project collectives who authentically collaborate on original celebrations and productions. Cabinet uses sophisticated puppetry and handmade devices to develop unique interactive experiences, productions and events. We focus on creating new types of gatherings, ceremonies, and rituals which promote community and interactivity amongst people who may not normally mix. Our intention is to support multi-cultural professionals in the field of theatre, visual arts, dance, sculpture and music, while mindfully training high school and college age apprentices to become the future creators of new meaningful rituals. All the objects and devices created by cabinet are engineered to expose their mechanical operations, so they are simultaneously educational, informative, and magical. We embrace commissions which require unique elements of ritual, ceremony, procession, and pageantry. These commissions create funding that establishes an innovative revenue stream, reduce the responsibility of sustainability from the board, audience, and foundations, trains apprentices through a unique scholarship apparatus, builds community, funds our free and greatly discounted public work. We are committed to social engagement — both grand and intimate. Our purpose is to promote curiosity, community and culture.
support us
Cabinet is a small, innovative, socially ambitious enterprise. We believe that artists and performers are essential and deserve to be fairly compensated for their craft, skills, and authorship. Help us continue to support the creatives that make this important work. You can do this with a donation, inquiring about board opportunities, or sharing other resources.
SPECIAL THANKS FROM FRANK
I want to thank Sue Haas, Samson Haas, and Frida Ann Maugeri.
Shawn Clark, who is a tremendous supporter of my work,
Nick Degenova, for his decades of wisdom and friendship.
And our board, who is greatly woven into our operations and mission.
Lastly, Jillian Gryzlak and Brandon Boler who have joined my side to help realize the mission of this enterprise.
And thank you to Otis Gibson and Heather Knapps lovely location, and Remy Bumppo for the donation of chairs.