Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks Moves from the Greens to your Screens!
Due to COVID‑19 health and safety measures mandated by the City of Chicago, all Chicago Park District Night Out in the Parks events—including the Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks tour—will move online for Summer 2020. To carry on the program’s community-building spirit, the Theater will embark on a Virtual Tour highlighting the vitality of our city’s neighborhoods with nightly streamed “Green Show” performances from local artists, and encourage Chicagoans of all ages to bring Shakespeare to their own outdoor settings with #MyMidsummerCHI, now through August 28, 2020.
On Friday, August 28 at 5:30 p.m., viewers can tune into a Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks broadcast special on WTTW Channel 11, celebrating the free community program that has reached 175,000 audience members since its inception in 2012. Produced in partnership with HMS Media, the 30‑minute broadcast will feature illuminating interviews with artists, community leaders and partner organizations, revisit memorable moments from past years' tour productions, and highlight this summer’s inventive virtual programming.
The Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks Virtual Tour offers Chicagoans the opportunity to engage online with 18 parks and the community organizations, local businesses, and artists that make them such an essential part of the fabric of our city. Beginning Monday, August 10, Chicago Shakespeare will highlight one park and its surrounding community each day on the Theater’s website and social media platforms. Every day at 5:30pm, the Theater will stream a performance from an artist local to the featured neighborhood, continuing the longstanding Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks tradition of a “Green Show.” Since the program’s inception, more than 800 artists have been featured in these performances, inspired by the pre-show entertainments of Shakespeare’s day.
The Chicago Park District locations featured on the Virtual Tour this summer include: Calumet Park, Columbus Park, Dvorak Park, Eckhart Park, Ellis Park, Frank J. Wilson Park, Gage Park, Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Kelvyn Park, Loyola Park, Ogden Park, Piotrowski Park, Ridge Park, Ping Tom Memorial Park, Tuley Park, Welles Park, and West Pullman Park.
