Pulitzer Prize finalist and visionary puppeteer headline bold fall lineup at Wirtz Center Chicago
- ‘Finding New Forms’ merges technology and live performance Oct. 3-5
- ‘Hang Time’ by New York’s Flea Theater, explores the interiority of Black men Oct. 17-18
- Ukrainian culture and memory are captured in ‘The Magic of Light’ Nov. 13-16
CHICAGO --- This fall, Northwestern University’s Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for Performing and Media Arts in Chicago will present three bold and genre-defying productions. The season kicks off with a cutting-edge symposium on technology and contemporary performance, followed by a poignant exploration of Black masculinity. The season concludes with a visually stunning theatrical work that blends puppetry, music and poetry to illuminate an artist’s spiritual awakening in 19th-century Ukraine.
“While these three works differ in form and subject matter — from a forward-looking exploration of technology and performance to a poetic meditation on Black masculinity, to a visually rich journey through Ukrainian cultural memory — they are united by a deep commitment to storytelling as a means of transformation. Each artist uses their medium to confront loss, reclaim identity and imagine new futures, reminding us of the power of performance to connect across time, culture and experience,” said Tanya Palmer, assistant dean and executive artistic director for Northwestern’s School of Communication.
The Wirtz Center Chicago is located at Abbott Hall, 710 N. Lake Shore Drive on Northwestern’s Chicago campus.
Six-admission Flexpasses and individual tickets are available through the Wirtz Center website, by calling the Wirtz Center box office at 847-491-7282 or by visiting the box office on the Evanston campus at 30 Arts Circle Drive in the Barber Theater lobby.
Media are invited to review any of the fall productions by emailing Stephen Lewis at stephen.j.lewis@northwestern.edu.
Fall 2025 programs at Wirtz Center Chicago:
“Finding New Forms: Technology and Live Performance”
Oct. 3-5
Co-curated by Tanya Palmer and Seth Bockley
Wirtz Theater (Room 203)
Gallery hours are 5 to 7 p.m.
Panel discussions begin at 7 p.m.
Oct. 3: “Digital Worlds: Virtual Reality and Live Performance”
Oct. 4: “Storytelling Frontiers: AI and Beyond”
Events are free; panel discussion RSVPs required
Bringing together cutting-edge thinkers and makers of live theatrical performance with their counterparts in the world of immersive and interactive digital art, the “Finding New Forms” events are inspired by the interplay between new technology (VR / AR / XR / installation / ‘immersion’) and contemporary performance practices. The weekend aims to begin conversations about how to shake up, challenge and cross-pollinate the fields of art and performance.
Featured guests include Robin McNicholas from the London-based experiential arts collective Marshmallow Laser Feast, and theatre director Annie Dorsen, who is working at the intersection of algorithmic art and live performance, amongst others.
Work displayed during gallery hours will be representative media pieces from some of the visiting guest artists, including McNicholas, and Ian Garrett from Toronto’s Toaster Lab and York University, as well as work from Chicago-based artists including Ozge Samanci, Stephan Moore, Jo Cattel and others.
“Hang Time”
Oct. 17-18
The Wirtz Center Chicago presents this Flea Theater production
Written and directed by Zora Howard
Three men chew the fat under an old wide tree. In “Hang Time,” we peek into the interiority — the great loves and bitter blues — of Black men in America. Setting the romantic and the macabre in sharp relief, the work invites the viewer to envisage the living Black body triumphant over the legacy of violence that it holds. Written and directed by Pulitzer Prize finalist Zora Howard in her directorial debut, “Hang Time” is a deeply moving and subversive work not to be missed.
“The Magic of Light”
Nov. 13-16
Created by Virlana Tkacz, Julian Kytasty and Tom Lee
“There are those who cannot see and who are not seen. But their music can open our eyes. Light pours in, like magic, and we are brought home…” – from “The Magic of Light.”
Yara Arts Group’s “The Magic of Light” interweaves puppetry, language, music and poetry to illustrate the cultural and spiritual awakening of an artist in the 1870s. Inspired by the haunting epic songs of Ukrainian blind bards known as kobzarí, a young man embarks on a lifelong quest to record, preserve and illuminate Ukrainian traditions against the tremendous pressures of history. The production is performed with an intimate, transforming puppet stage by puppeteer Tom Lee and features musician Julian Kytasty, a third-generation master of the bandura, a traditional Ukrainian stringed instrument.
About Wirtz Center Chicago
Located inside Abbott Hall on Northwestern’s Chicago campus, Wirtz Center Chicago is a state-of-the-art facility that fosters innovation among local and visiting artists, scholars and theatre makers. Minutes from the Loop and within walking distance of several of Chicago’s most renowned cultural and performing arts spaces, Wirtz Center Chicago offers two new black box theaters, an expansive lobby space and rehearsal rooms –– all much-needed resources for artists and small theater companies looking to create and showcase their work. Audiences can also take advantage of free parking in the lot adjacent to the theater.