UPTOWN AND EDGEWATER — The 4th Annual Pivot Arts Festival will infuse Uptown and Edgewater with 10 days of innovative performances and multi-disciplinary works when it takes over the neighborhoods in June.
From June 2-12, the festival will showcase some of the city's top artistic innovators with "live music, theater, dance, children’s performances, workshops, discussions, a community dinner, wine tastings and more," according to a news release.
"Our focus is on innovation in performance arts," said Pivot Arts Director Julieanne Ehre, adding the festival features "well-known acts and up-and-comers. It's really diverse in the terms of artists performing."
The festival wil be held in various locations in Edgewater and Uptown including: Bar 63, Francesca's Bryn Mawr, Loyola University's Mundelein Center for the Arts, the Preston Bradley Center and Uptown Underground.
"We really wanted to contribute to these neighborhoods because its where we're based. We do a lot with community engagement [in the area.] A lot of partnership with local CPS schools, Loyola and the local businesses," Ehre said.
The festival aims to bring the community together "through the arts" as opposed to the negative things that usually bring Chicago communities together like death and violence, she said.
"Our hope is really to bring diverse people together as a community in a positive way," Ehre said.
The 2016 festival includes performances from: puppeteers Lizi Breit and Dan Kerr-Hobert, performance artist Peter Carpenter, the Chicago Folklore Ensemble and Drunken Monkee. The family-friendly events include: a community parade along with performances from Alternatives, Swift Elementary School, CircEsteem, Dream Big Performing Arts Workshop and Everybody Dance Now Chicago.
Ticket prices for the Pivot Arts Festival range from free to $25 and are available here.
The schedule for the festival is included below:
• Thursday, June 2: Festival Launch
The festival begins with a wine tasting at Independent Spirits, 5747 N. Broadway, at 7 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., the festival moves to Ras Dashen Ethiopian Restaurant, 5846 N. Broadway, for dinner and a performance by the Chicago Folklore Ensemble. Tickets ($40) include music and stories from immigrant performers and a buffet.
The Chicago Folk Ensemble. [Courtesy of Hossein Fatimi]
• Friday, June 3: Tapas Night
At 7:30 p.m., the festival will host its Tapas Night: Small Plates of Theater and Dance featuring the South Side Sailor Scouts, Peter Carpenter and The Hypocrites at Loyola University's Mundelein Center, 1020 W. Sheridan Road. Tickets are $25 and include entry to "Live From Tweak Central," a musical exhibit party at Bar 63, 6341 N. Broadway, at 10 p.m.
South Side Sailor Scouts blends the influences of Selena, Beyonce and Sailor Moon by incorporating dance, song and storytelling from a woman of color's perspective. Carpenter will perform part of his theatrical solo work "Rituals of Abundance for Lean Times #7: Divisions of Labor," which pairs political themes with humorous, personal stories. The Hypocrites will premiere "Midsummer Dreams," its take on Shakespeare's romantic adventure story featuring four actors playing all the roles, the release said.
The musical exhibit party, which is curated by Drunken Monkee, features live performances by Phenom, Ugly Boy Modeling and music by Blackdaylight featuring DJ Funksolo.
Members of the South Side Sailor Scouts Dance Theater. [Courtesy of William Frederking]
Eric Hoff and Jesse Morgan Young's art house dance party. [Courtesy of Jonathan Mathias]
• Saturday, June 4: Celebrate Community Parade
The festivities begin at the Swift School playground, at Thorndale and Winthrop Avenues, with a puppet-making workshop at 12:30 p.m. At 1:30 p.m., the parade steps off. From 2-3:30 p.m., performances including: Alternatives, Ascension Dance, CircEsteem, Dream Big and Everybody Dance Now will perform on the school playground.
At 7:30 p.m., the activities resume at Loyola Mundelein Center with performances by Kirstina Isabella Dance Company and Juan Villa. Tickets for the show are $20 or $10 with a student ID.
Kristina Isabella Dance Company will premiere "And the Spirit Moved Me, a dance on stilts that takes audiences on a provocative journey." Villa will perform an excerpt from his solo show, which "details a son’s search for his missing father," the release said.
Everybody Dance Now Chicago dances with children to "Uptown Funk" at the 2015 Pivot Arts Festival. [Courtesy of Evan Hanover]
• Sunday, June 5: Festival Shorts
At 3 p.m., the South Side Sailor Scouts and The Hyprocrites will perform at the Mundelein Center. Follow by additional performances by Kirstina Isabella Dance Company and Juan Villa at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for each of the shows are $20 or $10 with a student ID.
Kristina Isabella Dance Company. [Courtesy of William Frederking]
Actor/playwright Juan Villa. [Courtesy of Alex Levy]
• Monday, June 6: The Neo-Futurist Present "The Arrow"
At 7:30 p.m., the festival heads to Uncommon Ground, 1401 W. Devon Ave., for a new show by the Neo-Futurist featuring "written stories and spontaneous inventions." Tickets for the show are $15 or $10 for students.
• Tuesday, June 7: Artist Talk: Diversity on Chicago Stages
At 7 p.m., the festival will host a panel discussion with local dance and theater performers on diversity at Francesca's Bryn Mawr, 1039 W. Bryn Mawr. The discussion is free to attend.
• Thursday, June 9, and Friday, June 10: The Ruffian Present "Ivywild"
At 7:30 p.m., the clown troupe will present the tragic tale of eccentric Chicago Councliman Bathhouse John and his "crooked attempt to build an amusement park" at Uptown Underground, 4707 N. Broadway. Tickets to the show are $20 or $10 with a student ID.
The Ruffians perform "Ivywild." [Courtesy of Evan Hanover]
• Saturday, June 11: The Revival
At 7:30 p.m., the Ruffians will present "Ivywild," the tragic tale of eccentric Chicago Councliman Bathhouse John at Uptown Underground. At 10 p.m., the festival will move to the Preston Bradley Center, 941 W. Lawrence Ave., for the performance art house dance party, Revival.
• Sunday, June 12: Ice Cream and Improv
At 11 a.m., Storytown will take families on "an interactive, fully-improvised adventure" at Lickity Split Frozen Custard and Sweets, 6056 N. Broadway. Entry to the performance is $10.
Members of Story Town Improv. [Courtesy of Lindsay Williams]
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