thinkTank programming features dramatic works with a focus on provoking timely conversation about a social, political or economic issue in which Chicago citizens have a stake. For the production of The Island, thinkTank discussions focus on the broadest subject of Fugard’s play: civil disobedience. Exploring many permutations of civil disobedience through focused discussions after every performance, each discussion is led by a member of the Chicago community.

The Island runs from January 27 – March 6, 2010.  Click here for details…

Lisa Wagner founded the Stillpoint Theatre Collective in 1993, motivated by a strong desire to combine ministry and theatre. For more than fifteen years, she has toured the country and overseas with Haunted by God: The Life of Dorothy Day. While researching the play, she met the St. Catherine of Genoa Catholic Worker community. After volunteering in the house for six months, she became a full-time Catholic Worker, and lived in the community for two years. Ten years ago, Lisa began a theatre program for women at Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), and recently expanded the program to two other Illinois institutions. Lisa is also the founder and co-director of The Imagination Workshop, a theatre company for adults with developmental disabilities based at Esperanza Community Services. The company has produced original theatre works for more than fifteen years.

This post-show discussion immediately followed the performance of The Island, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company’s current mainstage show. Athol Fugard’s daring drama is set in an unnamed prison based on the one where Nelson Mandela was held. John and Winston are cellmates who spend their days doing back-breaking labor, and their nights rehearsing Sophocles’ Antigone to present to their fellow inmates. When John learns his sentence is being reduced, the men’s friendship is tested. Fugard plays the parallels between Antigone’s fight against political and patriarchal boundaries off of the imprisoned men’s fight for their dignity. The Island is a testament to the resiliency of the human heart.

Recorded Thursday, February 04, 2010 at The Greenhouse Theater.