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Read the press release here.

Northwest Side School Memories to Take Center Stage at Filament Theatre

  A grant from the Illinois Arts Council funded the performance of "Crossing Six Corners."
School Memories to Take Center Stage
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PORTAGE PARK — The classroom memories of Northwest Side residents will take center stage during a new performance of the Filament Theatre Ensemble.

The fourth installment of the ensemble's "Crossing Six Corners" series will tell the stories of those who went to school on the Far Northwest Side, those whose kids go to school on the Northwest Side or who teach or volunteer.

Heather Cherone may contribute her own chapter, as her daughter starts kindergarten on the NW-side today:

Members of the Filament Theatre Group will craft the performance, set for September, by using memories, anecdotes detailed by Portage Park residents in interviews scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

The first installment of "Crossing Six Corners" in February 2013 was the theater group's first performance in its new home at Six Corners, which was once one of the most prestigious shopping districts in the city.

The second installment focused on stories based at the Sears store at Irving Park Road and Cicero and Milwaukee avenues as part of the 75th anniversary of the mammoth retailer.

The third installment told the stories of the places where Portage Park residents live, work and play by bringing the buildings at Six Corners center stage.

Filament plans to stage performances of "Crossing Six Corners" twice a year for the foreseeable future, thanks to an $1,800 grant from the Illinois Arts Council, each with a different focus, group members said.

The group received a $50,000 Small Business Improvement Fund Grant from the city of Chicago to fund the renovation of its performance space, which was a long-vacant furniture warehouse, and raised $25,000 to finish the project, according to its website.

Work began earlier this month on a project to raise the first-floor performance area's ceilings.

The group hopes the theater will become a community hub in the Six Corners Shopping District, a desire shared by Ald. John Arena (45th), who has been working to turn the area around Milwaukee Avenue, Cicero Avenue and Irving Park Boulevard, which has struggled for decades, into an arts and entertainment district.

For more information, email Julie Ritchey at julie@filamenttheatre.org.

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