Redmoon Theater
Encyclopedia
Redmoon Theater is a Chicago
based not-for-profit theatrical company under the direction of Jim Lasko and Frank Maugeri that specializes in site-specific
productions, emphasizing visual spectacle
, pageantry
, elaborate sets, live music, puppetry, and physical theater. Productions are often out of doors, sometimes ticketed, sometimes freely viewable in public space
s. Redmoon also produces shows in traditional venues, and is involved in community projects in Chicago.
For eight years (1995–2002), Redmoon produced All Hallows' Eve, a ritual performance during Halloween in Chicago's Logan Square
neighborhood that in its final year brought together an audience of over 10,000 in a single evening.
All Hallows' Eve was followed by a trilogy of outdoor performances located in neighborhoods throughout Chicago from 2004–2006. These were:
2004 – Sink…Sank…Sunk: Performed alongside the river of Ping Tom Memorial Park
in Chinatown
,
2005 – Loves Me…Loves Me Not: Staged for an audience of over 9,000 in the lagoon behind the Museum of Science and Industry
's Jackson Park
, and
2006 – Twilight Orchard: which offered audiences the opportunity to wander through a delightfully mysterious playground of the imagination nestled in the landscape of the Jens Jensen designed Columbus Park in the Chicago neighborhood of Austin.
In 2007, Redmoon created a large-scale commissioned work for the newly created festival Looptopia
, a celebration of culture in downtown Chicago, which featured site installations throughout the Loop with a procession down Washington Street culminating in a performance in Daley Plaza for more than 20,000 spectators.
In 2010, co-produced by Redmoon Theater and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
, "The Astronaut's Birthday," a production reminiscent of a graphic novel, was projected onto the west façade of the MCA as audience members watched from the plaza.
Opening Ceremony, Art Institute Ground Breaking, the City of Chicago’s Looptopia
Festival, and the 2009 Halloween celebrations before the First family, their staff and guests at the White House in Washington, DC.
. In addition, the company has produced international projects in Holland, Ireland, France, and Australia.
Redmoon has also established an international reputation with artists recently traveling to Holland and Australia creating large-scale outdoor, site-specific public events in addition to this season’s production of Once Upon a Time traveling to the International Puppetry Festival in France; while continuing its community focused arts education programming to children and teachers in Ireland.
Highly influenced by contemporary art works and ancient theatrical forms, Redmoon Theater has created a performance style that is equal parts pageantry, gadgetry, acrobatics, and ephemera.
Since the first Winter Pageant in 1991, Redmoon has received public and critical acclaim for its spectacle productions that tap into the collective memory and imagination of audiences. Through its productions and events Redmoon brings audiences together for transformative experiences.
Through spellbinding original productions and a unique voice that speaks across cultural boundaries, Redmoon draws in Chicagoans like no other theater company. It has gained a national reputation for both its one-of-a-kind visual style and its civic-focused ability to build community through creating unexpected theater events in unexpected places.
It also offers independent classes and workshops in mask making and civic programs for the community, including Dramagirls and the highly successful, nationally recognized Neighborhood Arts Program led by NAP director, Angela Tillges.
Redmoon was founded in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago by the performance artist Blair Thomas and choreographer Laurie Macklin. Macklin was soon to leave and Jim Lasko, a theater maker and director, came to join Mr. Thomas. Mr. Lasko become the company's Founding Artistic Director, working alongside Blair Thomas until he left to found Blair Thomas & Company which is committed to "chamber puppet theater". In May, 2009 Mr. Lasko was named Artist in Residence to the City of Chicago's Office of Tourism, Department of Cultural Affairs and he took leave of Redmoon for a two year period during which Mr. Maugeri acted as Artistic Director. As of January, 2011, Mr. Lasko has returned from his stint with The City of Chicago to co-lead Redmoon with Mr. Maugeri.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
based not-for-profit theatrical company under the direction of Jim Lasko and Frank Maugeri that specializes in site-specific
Site-specific art
Site-specific art is artwork created to exist in a certain place. Typically, the artist takes the location into account while planning and creating the artwork...
productions, emphasizing visual spectacle
Spectacle
In general, spectacle refers to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates. Derived in Middle English from c. 1340 as "specially prepared or arranged display" it was borrowed from Old French spectacle, itself a reflection of the Latin spectaculum "a show" from spectare "to view,...
, pageantry
Pageantry
Pageantry is a colorful display, as in a pageant. It may refer to:*Beauty pageant*Drag pageantry*Medieval pageant...
, elaborate sets, live music, puppetry, and physical theater. Productions are often out of doors, sometimes ticketed, sometimes freely viewable in public space
Public space
A public space is a social space such as a town square that is open and accessible to all, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socio-economic level. One of the earliest examples of public spaces are commons. For example, no fees or paid tickets are required for entry, nor are the entrants...
s. Redmoon also produces shows in traditional venues, and is involved in community projects in Chicago.
Production history
Redmoon was established in 1990, by Blair Thomas and Laurie Macklin. Jim Lasko joined the company shortly after Macklin left, in its incipient stages. Thomas directed Redmoon's first show "You Hold My Heart Between Your Teeth" and established a distinct visual style that remained signature for years. Lasko and Thomas served as co-leaders of the Redmoon, collaboratively creating original theater productions, community collaborative events, and outdoor spectacles until Mr. Thomas left in 1998. Under Jim Lasko's direction the company emphasized free work in public spaces and its aesthetic moved more toward mechanical ingenuity and spectacle. During this period they mounted three signature outdoor events: 'The All Hallow's Eve Ritual Celebration', a community interactive ritual that brought over 10,000 people to Logan Square on a single evening; 'Sink, Sank, Sunk' which culminated on with a viking funeral down the Chicago River, and "Hunchback", an adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel that featured acrobatic performances which played in traditional theaters throughout the United States to critical acclaim. In 2008 Mr. Lasko took leave of the Artistic Director role and longtime associate Frank Maugeri took the healm. Under Mr. Maugeri, Redmoon continued to grow its reputation for creating theater in unexpected places. Characteristic of the scale and ambition of that work was 'The Astronaut's Birthday', a massive projected comic book that transformed the 66' x 33' glass facade of the Museum of Contemporary Art into a huge shadow screen with audience seated in the plaza. In 2011 Mr. Lasko returned to join Mr. Maugeri in order to co-lead Redmoon.Major works
See Redmoon: Production History for further details.For eight years (1995–2002), Redmoon produced All Hallows' Eve, a ritual performance during Halloween in Chicago's Logan Square
Logan Square, Chicago
Logan Square is one of the 77 city-designated community areas located on the near northwest side of the City of Chicago. The name, used here to describe the community area defined by U.S. census tracts, also applies to one of a number of smaller, more loosely defined residential neighborhoods...
neighborhood that in its final year brought together an audience of over 10,000 in a single evening.
All Hallows' Eve was followed by a trilogy of outdoor performances located in neighborhoods throughout Chicago from 2004–2006. These were:
2004 – Sink…Sank…Sunk: Performed alongside the river of Ping Tom Memorial Park
Ping Tom Memorial Park
Ping Tom Memorial Park is a public urban park in Chicago's Chinatown owned and operated by the Chicago Park District . Located on the south bank of the Chicago River, the park is divided into three sections by a Santa Fe rail track and 18th Street. Currently, only development in the area south of...
in Chinatown
Chinatown, Chicago
The Chinatown neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, is on the South Side , centered on Cermak and Wentworth Avenues, and is an example of an American Chinatown, or ethnic-Chinese neighborhood. By the [ftp://ftp2.census.gov/census_2000/datasets/demographic_profile/Illinois/2kh17.pdf 2000 Census], has...
,
2005 – Loves Me…Loves Me Not: Staged for an audience of over 9,000 in the lagoon behind the Museum of Science and Industry
Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)
The Museum of Science and Industry is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood adjacent to Lake Michigan. It is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
's Jackson Park
Jackson Park (Chicago)
Jackson Park is a 500 acre park on Chicago's South Side, located at 6401 South Stony Island Avenue in the Woodlawn community area. It extends into the South Shore and Hyde Park community areas, bordering Lake Michigan and several South Side neighborhoods...
, and
2006 – Twilight Orchard: which offered audiences the opportunity to wander through a delightfully mysterious playground of the imagination nestled in the landscape of the Jens Jensen designed Columbus Park in the Chicago neighborhood of Austin.
In 2007, Redmoon created a large-scale commissioned work for the newly created festival Looptopia
Looptopia
Looptopia was a dusk-to-dawn cultural event that was held in 2007 and 2008 in the city of Chicago. Billed as "Chicago's White Night", Looptopia was modeled after Nuit Blanche held annually in Paris. It premiered on the evening of May 11 through the morning May 12, 2007 in Chicago's central business...
, a celebration of culture in downtown Chicago, which featured site installations throughout the Loop with a procession down Washington Street culminating in a performance in Daley Plaza for more than 20,000 spectators.
In 2010, co-produced by Redmoon Theater and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues...
, "The Astronaut's Birthday," a production reminiscent of a graphic novel, was projected onto the west façade of the MCA as audience members watched from the plaza.
Special events
Recognized as a Special Events Producer, Redmoon has contributed to such projects as The Millennium ParkMillennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, USA and originally intended to celebrate the millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously...
Opening Ceremony, Art Institute Ground Breaking, the City of Chicago’s Looptopia
Looptopia
Looptopia was a dusk-to-dawn cultural event that was held in 2007 and 2008 in the city of Chicago. Billed as "Chicago's White Night", Looptopia was modeled after Nuit Blanche held annually in Paris. It premiered on the evening of May 11 through the morning May 12, 2007 in Chicago's central business...
Festival, and the 2009 Halloween celebrations before the First family, their staff and guests at the White House in Washington, DC.
Productions
The company has created theatre productions, community projects and large-scale, site-specific performances, that have been experienced across Chicago from Belmont Harbor and the Jackson Park Lagoon to the façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Redmoon has also worked in traditional theatre venues from the stage of Harris Theater to SteppenwolfSteppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from...
. In addition, the company has produced international projects in Holland, Ireland, France, and Australia.
Redmoon has also established an international reputation with artists recently traveling to Holland and Australia creating large-scale outdoor, site-specific public events in addition to this season’s production of Once Upon a Time traveling to the International Puppetry Festival in France; while continuing its community focused arts education programming to children and teachers in Ireland.
Style
With this unique visual language, Redmoon Theater aspires to transform streets and stages into places of public celebration, capable of speaking across cultural, ethnic, and generational boundaries that focuses on contributing to civic well-being and social exchange.Highly influenced by contemporary art works and ancient theatrical forms, Redmoon Theater has created a performance style that is equal parts pageantry, gadgetry, acrobatics, and ephemera.
Critical reception
The company has been hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “impossibly inventive” and “full of visual wit,” and described by the Chicago Sun-Times as “one of the only theaters that can keep a 2-year-old and a 50-year-old equally enchanted and filled with wide-eyed wonder.” Working outdoors in public spaces as well as in both established theaters and non-traditional venues, Redmoon blends elements of ritual and symbol, spectacular physical performance and live music with exquisitely crafted objects and machines, producing works of stunning originality that are capable of delighting non-traditional audiences and conventional theater-goers alike.Since the first Winter Pageant in 1991, Redmoon has received public and critical acclaim for its spectacle productions that tap into the collective memory and imagination of audiences. Through its productions and events Redmoon brings audiences together for transformative experiences.
Through spellbinding original productions and a unique voice that speaks across cultural boundaries, Redmoon draws in Chicagoans like no other theater company. It has gained a national reputation for both its one-of-a-kind visual style and its civic-focused ability to build community through creating unexpected theater events in unexpected places.
Community programs
Redmoon’s mission extends far beyond its production work, as neighborhood children and community members have been integrated into the artistic process since the company’s early beginnings in Logan Square. Through Neighborhood Arts Programs, Redmoon provides in-depth, art-making experiences to Chicago’s underserved populations via two distinct programs: the Redmoon School Partnership Program, which creates meaningful and effective learning opportunities for students and teachers by integrating spectacle theater into the classroom and the school community; and Dramagirls, which teaches adolescent girls to express themselves through performance and theater-making, enhancing their self-esteem at a critical time in their lives.It also offers independent classes and workshops in mask making and civic programs for the community, including Dramagirls and the highly successful, nationally recognized Neighborhood Arts Program led by NAP director, Angela Tillges.
Members
Redmoon has always been led by visionary Artistic Director(s) who emphasized a collaborative process of art making. The work is multi-disciplinary and generally includes artists from many fields. Designers, engineers, architects, dancers, acrobats, painters, composers and musicians, videographers, graphic artists, and others make up the collaborative team that create Redmoon's distinct brand of theater.Redmoon was founded in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago by the performance artist Blair Thomas and choreographer Laurie Macklin. Macklin was soon to leave and Jim Lasko, a theater maker and director, came to join Mr. Thomas. Mr. Lasko become the company's Founding Artistic Director, working alongside Blair Thomas until he left to found Blair Thomas & Company which is committed to "chamber puppet theater". In May, 2009 Mr. Lasko was named Artist in Residence to the City of Chicago's Office of Tourism, Department of Cultural Affairs and he took leave of Redmoon for a two year period during which Mr. Maugeri acted as Artistic Director. As of January, 2011, Mr. Lasko has returned from his stint with The City of Chicago to co-lead Redmoon with Mr. Maugeri.
Governance and funding
Redmoon is operated by a 25 member board of directors and is funded through various avenues including ticket sales and a business arm called Redmoon-for-Hire run by Associate Artistic Director Vanessa Stalling, which provides customized party entertainment for corporate events, conventions and private client parties. Corporate funding and grant/foundation contributions also provides the not-for-profit with financial assistance. As a result, Redmoon surpassed $1 million in revenue for the first time in 2002.Associated Artists
- Antonio SacreAntonio SacreAntonio Sacre is an American bilingual storyteller, author and performance artist. Born in Boston to an Irish American mother and Cuban father, he now is based in Los Angeles and performs in both English and Spanish....
- Mia Rovegno
- Jim Lasko
- Frank Maugeri
- Andrei Onegin