With vaccination rates soaring, our lives are beginning to feel more like they did in 2019 than they did in 2020. The best part (at least to us here at Green Shirt) about the mask mandates and occupancy limits becoming less strict is that we are finally finding new shows, not only virtually, but in-person too!

Below is a list of five must-see shows this summer (both live outside and virtual).

Have a look and find out if there’s anything you’d like to see!

Spring Fling – Stage Left May 27th, 28th, & 29th at 7:00pm

Northcenter Town Square (4100 North Damen Ave) – Outdoor Theater

This is our favorite on the list! And it starts this week! A group from Green Shirt is going to attend Saturday May 29. If you’d like to come too email jack@greenshirtstudio.com for more details. It’s a new annual short play festival where seven playwrights are presented with a prompt to write a 10-minute play addressing a specific question.

This year, they were asked to answer, “How has the world changed?”

It is sure to be a show with variety as you get to witness brand new stories by multiple upcoming playwrights.

$5-$25 Tickets

Tartle at the Duke – Monthly Event First Sunday Every Month

Northcenter Town Square (4100 North Damen Ave) – Outdoor Theater

If you are a fan of live storytelling and spoken poetry, then this show is a great option for viewers and contributors alike.

This is a monthly live lit show started by Chicago humor writers and storytellers, Gina DeLuca and Sarah Ashley in December 2019. Storytelling is unique in that it provides a great opportunity to understand extreme circumstances and how people engage with them.

You can catch Tartle at the Duke every 1st Sunday in the Northcenter Town Square!

Free Attendance

Make/Believe 2021: A Festival for Young Audiences – Ghostlight Ensemble

June 5th & 6th at 2pm

Virtual

A curated festival featuring six short plays written for audiences 10 and under that can be enjoyed by all ages. The perfect live theater experience for the family that also features stagecraft classes virtually throughout the festival.

And it features Green Shirt Alums Roxy Adviento and Jonathan Saucedo!

$10 Suggested Donation

Lettin’ The Good Times Roll – Northlight Theatre

July 9th & 10th at 7:30pm

Parking Lot (9501 Skokie Blvd) – Outdoor Theater

A comedy cabaret performed by local stage divas Felicia P. Fields and E. Faye Butler in the parking lot of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts.

With a full band and enough energy to power the city, this show is said to have you, “rocking, reeling, laughing, and shouting your troubles away.”

Spots are assigned first come first serve, so be sure to reserve yours soon!

$35-$45 Tickets

Physical Theater Festival – Chicago

No dates announced yet!

In-Person/Virtual

Physical Festival Chicago (PFC) has made its mission, “to make Chicago a home for local, national and international physical theater,” and it has delivered on its promise for the last eight years.

As a pillar of Chicago’s acting community, this festival pulls in a diverse mix of productions ranging from local dramatists to international comedy duos that are certain to leave a lasting impression

Dates are still TBD, but this is an event that you cannot miss.

Free Admission

Chicago’s local theater scene is a great source of inspiration and witnessing these actors perform in real time is one of the things we’ve missed most during the pandemic. We always encourage students in our Meisner Acting Program to go see shows so they can see how our lessons are used (or not used) in a performance. It’s so exciting that our students can finally start to go back to the theatre!

While you are more than welcome to simply enjoy yourself, supporting these shows will also help you get acquainted with all different types of performance which will help you to discover your place as an actor. We always encourage our community to get out there to see what other people are saying with their art to further reflect on our personal artistic mission. It’s so easy to sit and think about what we want to be or what we want to do or what we want to say but nothing really gets done until we’re in community with each other.

So when you’re ready – get out there!

Have fun and let us know what you think!