Dawn Theatre Project

Dawn Theatre Project is dedicated to communicating internal emotion through devising, dynamic physicality and imaginative visual storytelling. 

We see art as a social practice that impacts different communities by evoking challenging conversations and inspiring story-sharing. 

We create the circumstances for people to connect and explore collective healing as a community, while allowing them to question assumptions when necessary.

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Coming up on our first year of launching Dawn Theatre Project, we have focused on workshops to devise our shows, in particular Arriving At Dawn, while sharpening our process and conceptual framework.

Our process has centered in a highly collaborative experience. For example, for "Arriving at Dawn," we are integrating the ensemble’s own movement histories and cultural backgrounds, while drawing inspiration from interviews with immigrants, to generate a unique, culturally diverse, performer-specific expression of movement. “Agape,” on the other hand, is undergoing a writing process weaving the story of 3 anonymous contemporary activists and their connections. It will require the ensemble devising and constantly questioning the ways in which activists use the instrument of the performer: their body, and collaboration, in different ways and for different outcomes.

The specificity of our framework–being a “devised, physical theater company”–has allowed us to hone in on concepts and questions that we can expand on from our focus, which leads us to dream of performances that could contribute something to the talent-filled city of Chicago. In this framework, "Arriving at Dawn" reimagines the aesthetics of dance by stepping away from the Western standards rooted in ballet, and instead embracing a narrative driven by the characters' emotional landscapes. “Agape” embraces both emotional-driven movement and asks questions about the representation of physical conflict through dance techniques. 

We are applying and earning grants for both these projects, but as always, your support as a community that believes in us means the world and goes a long way for us continuing our development! 

If you are already a donor, THANK YOU. If not, please consider donating to our work.  

And Happy Spring!