Each week, Chicago Public Radio’s Matt Cunningham shares three intriguing events for our cultural calendars. This week, he’s all over the map.
Our first stop on this tour is in the historic Genesee Theatre in downtown Waukegan, Illinois. The four floors of this ornate building with its 18 foot Baccarat Crystal Chandelier, lush tapestries and rich marble are already reason enough to visit.
But beginning Saturday works from the permanent collection of Robert Morris College as well as new items by faculty and student artists-in-residence will be on display. Marissa Rossi is gallery curator at Robert Morris. She says you can really see what the college has to offer in the way of arts.
ROSSI: This is some of the best work we have in our collection from both our students and our artists in residence. And I’m very happy that the faculty stepped up and really decided that this was something they wanted to participate in because it is a lot of work for them to actually bring in new art work for them. Having them bring in new art work no one has seen yet.
So if you happen to be at the nearby Illinois Beach State Park, stop off at The Genesee Theatre and take a look.
From one community using landmarks to redevelop its downtown, to another which is celebrating its traditional housing stock, we head south and then west to Berwyn Illinois for Sunday’s Bungalow Tour.
For the third year in a row, the Berwyn Historical Society hosts a tour of this classic Chicago, uh Berwyn home. The simple housing stock dominates this west suburban community, containing one of the largest concentrations in the United States.
Trent Weable is on the Bungalow committee and is one of these year’s hosts. He says there is a distinction between the Chicago and Berwyn versions.
WEABLE: The Chicago Bungalows look very similar from the outside. But inside we found more, what we call built-in buffets in the dining room, a lot more intricate woodwork. We have an original oak colonnade that separates the living room and the dining room. There is a little bit more intricate detail in the interiors of these Berwyn Bungalows.
Bungalow enthusiasts have an opportunity this Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. to see if he is correct or his claims are laughable.
Speaking of what makes us laugh, beginning Monday, and running through out the week is the Chicago Improv Festival. Chicago is the epicenter of classic Improv, producing many of comedy’s most talented entertainers. And for 11 years now the windy city has played host to an Annual Improv Festival.
While the main stage is at Lakeshore Theater, Second City, The Playground, Comedy Sportz, Annoyance and IO are all hosting events throughout the week. Both National and local performers will take the stage. There will be performances inspired by quotes from Mike Ditka, and a Seattle based group, Election Night, takes you from the first announcements through debates and the election, which the audience votes.
Mark Sutton is the artistic director of the Improv Festival. He says the audience plays an integral role in shaping the art.
SUTTON: Improvisers feed off the audience. They depend on the audience. The audience helps tell you where the show’s going to go. And I think that’s really great and unique about improv.
You can tell these improvisers where to go, beginning Monday at various venues throughout Chicago.