Join TimeLine Theatre to experience its critically acclaimed Chicago premiere of Anna Deavere Smith’s Notes from the Field on a night dedicated to and celebrating Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) artists and audience members.
The Saturday, March 9 at 8 p.m. performance is BlackOut Night at Notes from the Field. Any BIPOC-identifying individuals who would like to be a part of this special evening will find more information and can purchase tickets at timelinetheatre.com/notes-blackout.
BlackOut Nights are the purposeful creation of an environment in which BIPOC-identifying audience members can experience and discuss an event in the performing arts, film, athletic, and cultural spaces where they are the majority. On March 9, TimeLine’s intention is to provide a supportive, safe, judgment-free space for BIPOC theatregoers to experience Notes from the Field, a show made by BIPOC artists, in a space reserved for the BIPOC community, with a majority of BIPOC audience members.
TimeLine is offering three Pay-What-You-Will pricing options for BlackOut Night: $15, $30, and $57 (inclusive of all fees). If these price levels are a barrier, TimeLine does have a limited number of further-reduced tickets. Please reach out to the box office to inquire via boxoffice@timelinetheatre.com or 773.281.8463 x6.
This is TimeLine’s second BlackOut Night, following last year’s in connection with its world premiere drama, Boulevard of Bold Dreams. The inaugural Black Out Night, an idea birthed by Slave Play playwright Jeremy O. Harris, took place on September 18, 2019. For the first time in history, all 804 seats of Broadway’s Golden Theatre were occupied by Black-identifying audience members in communion, celebration, and recognition of Broadway’s rich, diverse, and fraught history of Black work. Since then, other Black Out events have organically taken hold at theaters around the country.
Shariba Rivers as pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant in TimeLine Theatre's Chicago premiere of Notes from the Field by Anna Deavere Smith. Photo by Brett Beiner Photography.
TimeLine is also announcing the first in a series of “Notes from Our Community” special events in association with Notes from the Field.
A reading of TimeLine South’s Recidivism plus T-Shirt Making Project is scheduled on Thursday, February 29, 4:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. (play reading begins at 5 p.m.) at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts Screening Room, 915 E. 60th Street, Chicago.
In Recidivism, the students of Connor High are trying their best to navigate their school’s new strict policies, but when they learn that a prison is being built blocks away, it sparks a fire within the students to take action towards autonomy. In a battle to break oppressive cycles, they form an alliance to gain respect from those in authority and create a better future for their community. Recidivism was conceived and created by the TimeLine South 2022 Ensemble.
The 60-minute play reading and a brief post-show discussion will be followed by a creative T-shirt making project for those interested in participating.
Tickets for this event are FREE but reservations are required. Visit TimeLine’s website at timelinelinetheatre.com/notes-community for more information and reservations.
This event on the South side of Chicago is the first in a series of three expected “Notes from Our Community” events inspired by Notes from the Field. Additional events are being planned for Chicago’s West side and in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood in March.
Visit timelinetheatre.com/notes-community for the current list of community events.
Click here or above to screen and download a sizzle reel and video clips from TimeLine Theatre's Notes from the Field. Here, Adhana Reid (from left), Shariba Rivers, and Mildred Marie Langford collectively portray the NAACP's Sherrilyn Ifill.
Audiences are now bearing witness to the stories of 19 real people who have fought to overcome and transform America’s education and criminal justice systems in TimeLine Theatre’s critically acclaimed Chicago premiere of Notes from the Field by Anna Deavere Smith, one of the most accomplished theater artists of our time.
Originally performed by Smith as a one-woman show, TimeLine’s Chicago premiere showcases three top Chicago actors—TimeLine Company Member Mildred Marie Langford, Adhana Reid and Shariba Rivers—who weave together narratives of change makers, activists, and those caught within and trying to change the school-to-prison pipeline, under the direction of Mikael Burke in his TimeLine debut.
In sum, the trio gives voice to 19 real-life instigators of change, including Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant, who eulogized Freddie Gray in Baltimore; Niya Kenny, the high school student who confronted a violent police deputy—all caught on film; activist Bree Newsome, who took the Confederate flag down from the South Carolina State House grounds; and many others. Smith ends the play with the late Congressman John Lewis, who personifies both a violent time in American history with the civil rights movement, and the promise of what American character is all about.
Adhana Reid as artist and activist Bree Newsome shares her story of taking down a Confederate flag in South Carolina.
Chicago Theatre Review called TimeLine’s Notes from the Field "a vibrant, mind-blowing production...I defy anyone to leave the theatre not moved by what they’ve just experienced." Newcity wrote “you’ll leave feeling both shaken and exhilarated, able to see America’s racial problems and school-to-prison pipeline with fresh eyes." Let's Play Theatrical Reviews called it “...a profound and lucid narrative confronting the racial division within our country. Kudos to TimeLine Theatre."
Regular performances of Notes from the Field continue through March 24: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. Exceptions: No performances on Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17. There are three added performances: Tuesday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. and matinees on Wednesday, March 13 at 2 p.m. and Thursday, March 14 at 2 p.m. Single tickets are $35-$67. For tickets and information, visit timelinetheatre.com or call the TimeLine Box Office at (773) 281-8463 x6.
TimeLine Theatre is located at 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago, near the corner of Wellington and Broadway, inside Chabad East Lakeview. TimeLine is served by multiple CTA trains and buses. There are multiple paid parking options nearby, plus limited free and metered street parking. Visit timelinetheatre.com/timeline-theatre for details and available discounts.
TimeLine Theatre Company Member Mildred Marie Langford as inmate Denise Dodson expresses what prison has taught her and how a better education could have given her a different path.
ABOUT TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY
TimeLine Theatre Company, recipient of the prestigious 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, was founded in April 1997 with a mission to present stories inspired by history that connect with today's social and political issues. For more information, visit timelinetheatre.com or Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (@TimeLineTheatre).
BIOGRAPHIES
Anna Deavere Smith (Playwright) is an actress, teacher, playwright, and the creator of the acclaimed On the Road series of one-woman plays, which are based on her interviews with diverse voices from communities in crisis. A recipient of the National Humanities Medal from President Obama and two Obie Awards, her work has also been nominated for a Pulitzer and two Tonys. Onscreen, she has appeared in many films and television shows, including Philadelphia, The West Wing, Black-ish, and Nurse Jackie. She is University Professor in the department of Art & Public Policy at New York University, where she also directs the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue. In 2019, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Mikael Burke (Director) is a Chicago-based director, deviser, and educator, making his TimeLine directing debut. A Princess Grace Award-winner in Theatre and Jeff Award-nominated director, Burke has worked with Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Remy Bumppo, Victory Gardens, Northlight, Raven, Jackalope, First Floor, The Story, and Refracted in Chicago, and regionally with Yale Rep, Forward Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Indiana Rep, Theatreworks Hartford, Urbanite, Theatreworks Colorado Springs, Asolo Rep, Geva, Phoenix Theatre Indianapolis, and Third Avenue Playworks. Burke previously served as Associate Artistic Director at both About Face Theatre and First Floor Theater, and adjuncts at DePaul and Roosevelt universities. Recent directing credits include the world premiere of The Salvagers by Harrison David Rivers (Yale Rep); Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage (Remy Bumppo); the Chicago premiere of Tambo & Bones by Dave Harris (Refracted); Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage (Theatreworks Hartford); and The Magnolia Ballet by Terry Guest (About Face; 2022 Jeff Award – Production, Short Run). He holds an MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University. mklburke.com.
Mildred Marie Langford has been a TimeLine Company Member since 2012. She was last seen last season at TimeLine in the world premiere of Boulevard of Bold Dreams, as well as in A Raisin in the Sun (BTAA nomination), My Kind of Town and In Darfur (Black Excellence Award nomination). Other credits include The Bluest Eye (A Noise Within Theatre, Los Angeles), The Great Jheri Curl Debate (East West Players, Los Angeles), Intimate Apparel (Northlight; BTAA, Equity Jeff, and Black Excellence award nominations–Best Actress), Gunshot Medley: Part 1 (CAB/Rogue Machine Theatre, Los Angeles; Ovation award nomination–Lead Actress), Native Son (Antaeus Theatre Company/Kirk Douglas Theatre 2019 Block Party, Los Angeles), Domesticated, Animal Farm, Venus and The Crucible (Steppenwolf), The Royale (American Theater Company, BTAA winner–Best Featured Actress), Luck of the Irish (Next), A Raisin in the Sun (Milwaukee Rep) and Failure: A Love Story (Victory Gardens). TV and film credits include Grey’s Anatomy, Bosch, Delilah, Chicago Med, Masters of Sex, Magic Funhouse, and the indie film projects Cotton Candy Bubble Gum, Morning Steep, The Three Phases of Isa, Upload, Dignity, Your Beautiful Baby, Concrete Rose and Analysis Paralysis.
Adhana Reid is making her Timeline Theatre debut. Her Chicago credits include School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play (Goodman Theatre), Rocky Horror Picture Show (Haven Theatre), The MLK Project (Writers Theatre), Sheepdog (Shattered Globe), A Christmas Carol and The Color Purple (Drury Lane Theatre); Little Shop of Horrors (Mercury Theatre), Eclipsed (Pegasus), Big River (Theatre at the Center) and Spring Awakening (Marriott Theatre). adhanareid.com
Shariba Rivers had her TimeLine debut last season with her critically acclaimed portrayal of Wiletta Mayer in Alice Childress’ Trouble in Mind. Other Chicago credits include The Nacirema Society (Goodman), The October Storm and Hoodoo Love (Raven), Sweat (Paramount), Small Jokes about Monsters (16th Street), The Tasters (Rivendell) and In the Canyon (Jackalope). Regional credits include Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (Arts Center of Coastal Carolina), School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play (TheatreSquared, Fayetteville, AK) and We are Continuous (Geva Theatre, Rochester, NY). Film/TV credits include Smoking Gun!, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. (NBC), The Chi (Showtime) and Empire (Fox). sharibatheactor.com