The post SPARK! Ignite Young Artists appeared first on Free Street.

Every friendly neighborhood social justice theater company needs a resident “woman behind the screen” and at Free Street that’s me, Managing Director Isabella Pelz. I might not have the high tech that an Avenger’s superhero support team has but at Free Street we wouldn’t want that. We’re more interested in re-connecting with our network, practicing the art of showing up for Chicago grassroots organizations and artists (the real heroes), and building operational consistency.

Our operations are how we build the bridge between our dreams and our reality. For the past three years we’ve been working on that bridge, with a balance of reinforcement and creative responsibility. I believe Free Street has survived as a theater company for 57 years because of how it has adapted over time. Every era of the company reflected on its foundations, reinforced values, and had the ability to respond creatively to needs within the city. We talk frequently about the history of Free Street, but in the present our leadership team spends countless hours dreaming and planning toward a future. A future that is just and joyful for all of Chicago.

The future mapping and execution is what drives me in my work as Free Street’s Managing Director. As an intuitive healer, I strive to help those around me live in alignment. As a Managing Director, this shows up in (gently) reminding myself and others about that one (or several) building blocks we may have missed in the bridge. As a Chicagoan, I love Chicago, as I know so many of us do. And as we continue existing in a time that requires us all to show up with our individual skills and collective abilities, I am grateful for spaces like Free Street that aim to provide a place for us to land, connect, digest and take action. 

The post A Letter from our Managing Director: Bella Pelz appeared first on Free Street.

UPDATE! Do you want to support our rent rally and interact with visionary storytellers shaping Chicago’s narrative? Join us for a conversation with four Chicago writers (Natlie Moore, Luis Urrea, José Olivarez, and Megan Steilstra) as we collectively imagine a just future for our city on April 2, 2026, at the Haymarket House!

This is a micro-fundraiser to support Free Street’s Storefront in Back of the Yards, (4625 S Ashland Ave) which offers bilingual programming, free space to Southside artists and organizers, and health and wellness workshops for our neighbors.

Register Here

In a time when so much is uncertain, two things remain true: 1.) Chicago is FULL of creative, galvanized people who envision a better future for each other and 2.) theater is a unique tool for social justice.

Free Street’s work brings people together in live space. Our live space creates celebratory environments that remind us of why we love each other and Chicago. It provides platforms for neighbors to tell real stories of their communities. And Free Street provides direct training and tools for organizers to dream and build radical realities

Just as our artistic director mentioned in our season letter, we need this power now, more than ever, as the urgent needs of our communities expand — from ICE raids, to the Damen Silo demolitions, to harms that make the Hazel Johnson Cumulative Impact Ordinance necessary.

It all starts with a space. Space to meet, space to dream, space to organize, space to deepen partnership, literally, space to see each other.

This year, we’re asking you to be our co-conspirator; to create space with us. Instead of giving a loved one another thing, give them, and our city, the gift of theater, joy + justice. Help us pay our rent in 2026.

From Free Street’s Storefront, our theater and community space on Ashland Ave, we have been expanding the boundaries of where the real world ends and the stage begins for decades. Drawing on social movements from the past, the Storefront is a space that invites community nourishment in the form of a play, or an acting class, or a “know your rights” workshop. There, community members lead the important dialogue about social change. In 2025 alone, we have supported nine organizations through donated space, hosted hundreds of rehearsals, public convenings, productions, and workshops.

Our goal is $24,000 to cover 2026’s rent so we can expand our programming to meet escalating demand and address the needs of our artists, communities, and partners. Your donation will ensure that Free Street continues offering spaces where artists thrive, neighbors gather, and an equitable Chicago takes root.

Donate today at freestreet.org/support-and-donate. Make sure to share the people you are honoring with your donation. We will email you a card to give alongside your meaningful gift. Thank you for standing with us and for imagining a better Chicago. 

With love,
The Free Street Team

The post Give the gift of theater, joy + justice: Secure Free Street’s Space in 2026 appeared first on Free Street.

Over the next year, you will hear quarterly from our different leadership team members, describing the focus of our many departments, and how we are moving through the current moment as a social justice arts & culture organization.

As I reflect on the artistic focuses of this upcoming year I see seeds, growth, and fertilization: How are we re-galvanizing and taking care of ourselves in the face of these challenges? How are we restoring inward as we fight outward?

This fall, we continue our partnership with the Peace & Education Coalition, with a program led by the incredible Emily Lansana, with support from Ruth Guerra, focused on community storytelling & archiving the stories of Back of the Yards from residents themselves.

Opening October 17, at our storefront space, we are hosting Concrete Content’s NO TRAILER directed by Ricardo Gamboa and Jessi Realz, as part of Destinos. NO TRAILER “is a radical sketch comedy show where every trailer is a sketch for a movie that doesn’t exist. These fake trailers become the means to explore social, political and cultural issues confronting Latinxs in the U.S. and make up an elevated, immersive sketch show”

In March of 2026, our In/House artist, Tanuja Jagernauth premiers “Rupture & Repair,” a piece co-created with ensemble members Marilyn Carteno, Kirsten Baity, and Marya Spont-Lemus. R&R is an inquiry into conflict resolution. Made in partnership with F.L.Y. Radical Therapy, R&R is not the answers for how to do conflict “right,” but rather a studied curiosity asking how to not fear conflict, and what tools we may have towards repair.

In May, our youth ensemble will be back with another environmental justice devised show, which will begin rehearsals in October. In that exact spirit of responsiveness, the youth will spend their fall reflecting on current Chicago issues to create this new show.

IN BETWEEN THESE SHOWS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE FREE PROGRAMMING AND MUTUAL AID.

If you talk to us frequently, you know we believe the play is not the work. What happens after and in between is. It’s the relationships, the rallies, the protests, the volunteer days. Its showing up again, and again, and again. We hope you join us this next year, as we continue to show up, stay together, and fight for a more just Chicago.

Ps — Like what you see, support the season! By investing in Free Street, you fund bridges for artists, youth and families to participate in the arts, supporting our equitable pay structure, youth voices, families through our child-care support initiative, and help build a more just Chicago.

The post 57th Year Kick-Off Letter appeared first on Free Street.

You’re invited to join us for our annual de-commercialized love fest honoring Free Street’s work and our beloved communities (because love can be found all year round in so many ways).

Start out the evening with small bites and an open bar serving beer & wine before the WORLD PREMIERE of our documentary “Free Street Theater: 50 years of Joy & Justice.”

As you all know, Free Street turned 50 last year, and we are commemorating this milestone by highlighting the works, artists, and participants that have been part of the Free Street family over the last five decades! Join us and spread the love!

Also note, as we do for our shows, there will be FREE children’s co-programming for this event.

The post Radical Love & Documentary Premiere appeared first on Free Street.

Ready to go Live for 50x50?

Day(s)

:

Hour(s)

:

Minute(s)

:

Second(s)

Free Street turns 50 this year, so we decided to celebrate by performing in ALL fifty wards of the city… IN ONE DAY!

On June 23rd, we will be showing up in a neighborhood near you! We have 10 teams of performers, each performing a different play/piece. So what you see in Roger’s Park may not be what you see in Little Village which may not be what you see in Chatham! One thing we know for sure: it will all be fun! It will all be exciting! It will all be outdoors! (Unless it rains) And it will all be never-before-done-in-the-city-of-Chicago.

The post 50×50: An Epic City-Wide Theatrical Flash Mob! appeared first on Free Street.

The post A NOTE FROM FREE STREET’S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: ON THE MEDIA, ERASURE, AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT. appeared first on Free Street.

If you’re thinking, HUH? – don’t worry! Those ideas are a starting point and the rest we will make together! What we know – we will make something fun, joyful, and concerned with our collective liberation and freedom as people in Chicago.

Who are we looking for? People who want to put a ring on it! This is a ten month process that will involve writing together, moving together, facilitating community workshops, and spending a lot of time together. Beyond that, we believe that everybody has the potential to be the perfect collaborator. We are looking for actors, non-actors, dancers, performers, clowns, writers, chismosxs, comedians, activists, teachers, and pretty much anyone who thinks they could do it BECAUSE YOU CAN. Our ideal group of collaborators is multigenerational, multiracial, multigendered, and multilingual. Children are ALWAYS welcome at Free Street, so bring them with you if you need to.

That sounds like a lot of work. Is it paid? YES, OBVIO. Theater is labor.

Want to get involved? We don’t do auditions – we do workshops where we invite people to play with us for 2hrs. Join us October 24th from 6-8. To reserve a spot, please contact coya@freestreet.org.

The workshop will be held at Free Street HQ, located at 1419 W. Blackhawk Ave, 3rd Floor.

The post Call for Collaborators: Still Here appeared first on Free Street.

What’s in it for you:

The post Join the Be Free Street Giving Collective appeared first on Free Street.

As Free Street approaches our 50th anniversary, we have been thinking a lot about history – who tells it? Who do it we tell it to? In that spirit, with support of The Chicago Community Trust and Illinois Humanities, we kicked off our Papelitos Guardados/Paper Memories project, which invites community members in five different neighborhoods to create a public event that documents their local history.

We pulled in a powerful team of Lead Artists to run workshops in their home communities: Annette Britton, Maritza Cervantes, Melissa DuPrey, Hilda Franco and Felicia Holman are working in Garfield Park, Back of the Yards, Humboldt Park, Pilsen, and South Shore. Workshop formats include knitting circles, storytelling events, and audio interviews.

Public showings will begin at the end of August. Let’s get a peek at these secret histories!

The post Papelitos Guardados/Paper Memories Documents Community Histories appeared first on Free Street.