The Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLLAW) is about to go VIRTUAL! CLLAW XXXVI: Hands Off! will be held in virtual space and time on Saturday, July 25, 2020 at 8 pm CDT. The bad and bawdy event will stream live, featuring new and veteran arm-wrestling ladies competing in “anti-wrestling” challenges including a dance off, feats of strength (wine bottle curling, anyone?) and demonstrations of the wrestlers’ best and bravest hidden talents. The winner will be chosen by viewers based on donations to each wrestler – whichever wrestler raises the most money wins! The event will be hosted by the incomparable master of ceremonies, the one and only Harry Scaray.
Visit cllaw.org for the link to stream and donate to your favorite wrestler. All proceeds from CLLAW XXXVI will benefit Sideshow Theatre Company and Brave Space Alliance. There is a $10 suggested donation to view the event, which gets viewers automatically entered into the grand prize drawing!
The Main Event
CLLAW vets including Aunt Nance, Sir Elton Brawn, Stone Cold Jane Austen, Buff Goldblum and many more will vie for the CLLAW title. Defending her title will be CLLAW XXXV champ Cursula. Who will raise the most money? Find out as these wrestlers compete in anti-wrestling competitions decided on by master of ceremonies Harry Scaray! It will be socially distanced and entirely safe, as all of the wrestlers will be competing in their own remote locations, but who knows what crazy antics will ensue?
Participation and Prizes
Like usual live CLLAW events, the audience is a critical piece of the puzzle, and like the live, in-person events, you can "bet" on a wrestler of your choice in real time! Just click the name of the wrestler you want to win, donate some money, and whichever wrestler raises the most wins the match! CLLAW would love to give out its usual amazing (and not so amazing) prizes, but sadly the format just doesn't lend itself to this. So CLLAW has gone ALL IN on a BIG grand prize! Every donation viewers make in an increment of $10 gets them automatically entered into our Grand Prize drawing for TWO FREE TICKETS TO EVERY CLLAW MATCH FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. That's right. Free tickets to EVERY CLLAW match from now until the end of time.
All for a Good CLLAWse
A portion of the proceeds raised at CLLAW XXXVI will go to Brave Space Alliance. BSA is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ Center located on the South Side of Chicago, dedicated to creating and providing affirming, culturally competent, for-us by-us resources, programming, and services for LGBTQ individuals on the South and West sides of the city. Brave Space Alliance strives to empower, embolden, and educate each other through mutual aid, knowledge-sharing, and the creation of community-sourced resources as we build toward the liberation of all oppressed peoples.
About Chicago CLLAW and CLAW USA
CLLAW is a member of CLAW USA, the national Collective of Lady Arm Wrestlers. It is the mission of CLAW USA to empower women and strengthen local communities through theatre, arm wrestling, and philanthropy. CLLAW includes a compendium of female-identified participants and seeks to create a safe space for all participants and audience. We seek to mirror the diversity of our greater society and welcome participation from people of diverse identities by age, race, class, ability and gender definition.
About Sideshow Theatre Company:
Sideshow Theatre Company: Theatre for the Curious. It is the mission of Sideshow Theatre Company to mine the collective unconscious of the world we live in with limitless curiosity, drawing inspiration from the familiar stories, memories and images we all share to spark new conversation and bring our audiences together as adventurers in a communal experience of exploration.
Over its 10+ year history, Sideshow is proud to have distinguished itself as a vital member of the Chicago theatre community. Sideshow was awarded the 2016 Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award by the League of Chicago Theatres. Sideshow is a multiple Jeff Award-winning theatre and has been listed on the “Best of” lists in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018 by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, Time Out Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times. Sideshow continues its multi-year residency at Victory Gardens in the historic Biograph Theater in the 2019/20 season.
Sideshow is also the producer of Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLLAW), a wildly popular fundraiser held in benefit of Sideshow Theatre Company and other local community organizations. CLLAW has been featured in local and national press, including The Washington Post, Reuters and the Chicago Sun-Times and on WGN Morning News, ABC 7’s Windy City Live and CBS 2.
For additional information on Sideshow Theatre Company, visit sideshowtheatre.org.