Explore & Learn

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Explore & Learn: Our 2023-24 Season

TimeLine is back in the fall with a 4-play subscription season that brims with humor, poignance, outrage, and passion. Our 27th season spans centuries—from the 19th century all the way up to 2023—and reflects everyone’s history. What connects these four premieres is TimeLine’s mission to present stories inspired by history that connect with today’s social and political issues. While you can read more about each show on our 2023-2024 season page, here’s a glimpse of ...
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In Conversation with WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME

Before rehearsals for What the Constitution Means to Me began, dramaturg Maren Robinson (MR) sat down with our two experts, Northwestern University history professors Joanna Grisinger (JG) and Kate Masur (KM), to talk a bit more about the Constitution. Read their conversation below. I appreciate ...
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In Conversation with BOULEVARD OF BOLD DREAMS

Early in the rehearsal process of Boulevard of Bold Dreams, director Malkia Stampley (MS) sat down with playwright LaDarrion Williams (LW) to discuss the inspiration for writing the play, what has made this process so exciting, and the play’s ongoing relevance to our world today. ...
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Happy Birthday, Alice Childress!

Today we’re celebrating Alice Childress’ birthday and her legacy as the only Black woman to have written, produced, and published plays across four decades. Production still from the original off-Broadway production of “Trouble in Mind,” 1955. Playwright Alice Childress. Alice Childress was born on October ...
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In Conversation with CAMPAIGNS, INC.

During early performances of Campaigns, Inc., director Nick Bowling (NB) took some time with playwright Will Allan (WA) to learn more about his inspirations for writing the play, what has made this process so exciting, and the all too real connections to our world today. ...
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The Limits of Humanity

A History of the American Freak Show This was a marvelous diversion. I’ve always adored carnivals and freak shows. – Atung as Andrew Jackson, The Chinese Lady While Afong Moy may have been the first Asian woman to immigrate to the United States, she was far from the first “exotic” body to tour rural America on display. Indeed, after P.T. Barnum popularized the freak show in the mid-19th century, exhibits of “human oddities” continued to enthrall rural ...
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The Chinese Lady: Take Action

But if we take the time to really look at each other. To really look at each other. Then we might see, through all that vastness and variance, something true and real and wonderful.  — The Chinese Lady Transformation takes time and requires purposeful and ...
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Your CAMPAIGNS, INC. Reading List

Looking for your next read? Complement our Campaigns, Inc. public programs with this book list, curated and described by playwright Will Allan. The Lie Factory Jill Lepore “The Lie Factory is the piece that started it all for me. A filmmaker friend of mine, Gregory ...
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Your RELENTLESS Watch List

Looking for your next binge watch? Complement our Relentless public programs with this recommended media list, curated by playwright Tyla Abercrumbie and compiled with commentary by dramaturg Katie Jacobsen.  Beah Richards: A Black Woman Speaks on White Womanhood https://youtu.be/djDoHzK-nYU Actress, poet, and political activist Beah ...
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Your RELENTLESS Reading List

Looking for your next read? Complement our Relentless public programs with this book list, curated by playwright Tyla Abercrumbie and compiled with commentary by dramaturg Katie Jacobsen. They Were Her Property Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers Stephanie Jones-Rodgers pens an important and bold argument, bringing to light ...
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