Congo Square’s 2022-23 season has world premiere of ‘How Blood Go’ and ‘What to Send Up When It Goes Down’
Congo Square Theatre Company, an African American ensemble theater, has announced its expanded 2022-23 season, which spans genres from melodrama to sketch comedy. The season will also continue to have a mix of in-person and digital content.
“The 2022-2023 season will be a season of more,” said Congo Square artistic director Ericka Ratcliff. “More in-person productions, more engagement with our communities, and more opportunities for vital Black stories to be shared.”
“The Clinic: Season Two” (Begins Sept. 1, audio series): The season kicks off with a return to the company’s old-school radio melodrama. The story follows Dr. Latisha Bradley who makes a revolutionary medical discovery that could alter the world.
“What to Send Up When It Goes Down” (Sept. 23-Oct 9., Lookingglass Theatre Company, 821 N. Michigan Ave.): Congo Square first put on playwright Aleshea Harris’ play when it returned to live theater for the 2021-22 season. The show is meant to help Black communities recover from American violence. Half the tickets to every performance will be donated to local community groups.
“Hit ‘Em on the Blackside: Season Three” (Oct. 28-Feb. 3, 2023, digital video series): Episodes of the sketch comedy series will be released online weekly, with a full-season watch party taking place on Feb. 3, 2023.
“How Blood Go” (March 16, 2023-April 23, 2023, Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, 1700 N. Halsted St.): In this world premiere, playwright Lisa Langford tells the story of two family members who are subject to medical experiments without their consent, 50 years apart.
Congo Square will also host its annual Juneteenth homecoming events on June 17, 2023. The festivities include the free “Festival on the Square” and the “Vision Benefit.”
Also continuing this season are the company’s Congo Square Industry Training Institute workshops. Upcoming courses will feature Tracey N. Bonner, Javon Johnson, Ann Joseph Douglas and Allen Gilmore, and cover topics like writing for film and television, grant writing for artists, and breaking into the industry.
More information at congosquaretheatre.org
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