This spring, Free Street merges its Pulaski Park and Storyfront Youth Ensembles to create the moving production 57 Blocks. This immersive play explores issues of education, immigration and incarceration in the city, directed by directors Katrina Dion, Marilyn Carteño and Sebastian Olayo.
Public performances are Wednesday June 1 and continue June 2, June 8, 9, 13, 16, 17 all at 7:30 p.m. with an additional matinee on Saturday June 18 at 2 p.m. Opening night is Friday, May 27 at 7:30 p.m. All performances begin at Pulaski Park, 1419 W Blackhawk St. Production begins at Pulaski Park before audiences board the bus and walk down Ashland Ave., se ending at Storyfront, 4346 S. Ashland.
Tickets can be purchased at http://57blocks.eventbrite.com. For more information, visit https://freestreet.org. Additionally, ticket purchasers who wish to be transported from The Storyfront to Pulaski Park can request this option on site at check-out.
57 Blocks has nine actors and has been created over the past two years with more than 30 young participants to create the scenes for this original and one-of-a-kind immersive experience. The public will arrive at Pulaski Park and be welcomed on their first day, not as spectators, but as accomplices of Chicago’s youth in their mission to change the face of education as we know it. During this two-hour “orientation”, members of the public will learn about the history of education in our city and will be invited to listen to the personal stories of the young people who guide them, while being taken on a school bus reflecting the life of storytellers. By the end of the play, Free Street hopes audiences will find themselves dreaming of radical possibilities for Chicago and its education system. The play concludes at The Storyfront where spectators can stay at the back of the yards or be bussed back to the original Pulaski Park location.
In August 2020, after Free Street produced two separate digital youth productions (WASTED and Essential), created by their two youth ensembles (the Pulaski Park and Storyfront ensembles), Free Street’s teaching artists and directors had a great question to ask: does this pandemic give us the opportunity to do?” No longer facing the challenges of geographic location, but wanting to build towards a great comeback show that would acknowledge the connection, they decided to merge the two sets.
In October 2020, the company launched the 57-block process. The play revolves around three main questions: “What pathways are being set up for young people in Chicago? What pipelines do we wish to dismantle? And if we could create portals to new realities, what would we wait there?” To create this piece, they conducted research, reading books like “Ghosts in the Schoolyard” by Eve L. Ewing and “We Do This Til’ We Free Us” by Mariame Kaba, as well as interviewing dozens of community members and a partnership with Liberation Library. , to elevate the work they do for youth currently incarcerated.
Over the two years, the young people met three to five times a week, chatting, trying out new scenes, learning immersive theater techniques through production mentorship from Birch House Immersive, and even producing a digital version of the show, which was presented to the public. in May 2021.
“57 Blocks is a love letter to Chicago students, a cry for sweeping change across Chicago, and a reminder of how we got to where we are today,” said Katrina Dion, director of education and co-director of the Free Street Theatre.
“For me, 57 Blocks is an incredibly important culmination of youth voices at a time when our country and our school systems are facing social injustices. It is not enough to be an ally, we must be accomplices with young people, and This show shows us what It’s a firm reminder that young people know firsthand what they need and teach us how to imagine a world where education is in their hands Every educator, mentor and youth worker must see this and commit to giving young people a seat at the table of decisions that affect them, said co-director Sebastian Olayo.
“Growing up in Chicago, I felt like I always saw patterns of problems happening in my community. I could see the gaps in resources and I could see there was a clear path that my peers and I was pushed, but I also felt like it was all in my head that no one was talking about what was going on, so maybe it wasn’t real.Through their own process of thinking and research, all 57 Blocks have been able to articulate the systemic issues that they experience and are embedded in their school systems and they also know what they want for their schools and their own future. listen to what they share with us and do something about it,” said co-director Marilyn Carteno.
This spring, Free Street merges its Pulaski Park and Storyfront Youth Ensembles to create the moving production 57 Blocks. This immersive play explores issues of education, immigration and incarceration in the city, directed by directors Katrina Dion, Marilyn Carteño and Sebastian Olayo. Public performances are Wednesday June 1 and continue June 2, June 8, 9, 13, 16, 17 all at 7:30 p.m. with an additional matinee on Saturday June 18 at 2 p.m. Press opening is Friday, May 27 at 7:30 p.m. All performances begin at Pulaski Park, 1419 W Blackhawk St. Production begins at Pulaski Park before audiences board the bus and walk down Ashland Ave., ending at Storyfront, 4346 S. Ashland. Tickets can be purchased at http://57blocks.eventbrite.com. For more information, visit https://freestreet.org. Additionally, ticket purchasers who wish to be transported from The Storyfront to Pulaski Park can request this option on site at check-out.
