Redmoon Theater was a

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

based nonprofit theatrical company under the direction of Jim Lasko and Frank Maugeri that specialized in site-specific productions emphasizing visual

spectacle In general, spectacle refers to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates. Derived in Middle English from c. 1340 as "specially prepared or arranged display" it was borrowed from Old French ''spectacle'', itself a reflection of the ...

. Productions were often outdoors, sometimes ticketed, sometimes freely viewable in

public space A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads, pavements, public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, su ...

s. It is now defunct.

Production history

Redmoon Theater was founded in 1990 by puppeteer Blair Thomas and choreographer Lauri Macklin. In 1992, Macklin left and Thomas continued on his own until Jim Lasko joined the theater. They had indoor theater productions of classic stories like

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

and

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

, while beginning to explore outdoor spaces. Mr. Thomas left the theater in 1998, leaving it to Jim Lasko. In 2009, Mr. Lasko accepted a one-year appointment to become the Artist in Residence for the City of Chicago. After 13 years of working as an artist and community leader with the organization, Frank Maugeri assumed the role of artistic director. A year later, the duo joined forces to co-lead Redmoon.

Productions

The company has created theater productions, community projects and large-scale, site-specific performances, that have been experienced across Chicago from Belmont Harbor and the Jackson Park Lagoon to the façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Redmoon has also worked in traditional theater venues from the stage of Harris Theater to Steppenwolf. In addition, the company has produced international projects in the Netherlands, Ireland, France, and Australia.

Major works

From 1995 to 2002, Redmoon produced ''All Hallows' Eve,'' a ritual performance during Halloween in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, that in its final year, brought an audience of over 10,000. In 2007, Redmoon created a large-scale commissioned work for the newly created festival

Looptopia The White Nights are all-night arts festivals held in many cities in the summer. The original festival is the White Nights Festival held in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The ''white nights'' is the name given in areas of high latitude to the weeks ar ...

, which featured site installations throughout the Loop with a procession down Washington Street in a performance in Daley Plaza for more than 20,000 spectators. In 2010, co-produced by Redmoon Theater and the

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago is a contemporary art art gallery, museum near Water Tower Place in the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is on ...

, "The Astronaut's Birthday," a production reminiscent of a graphic novel, was projected onto the west façade of the MCA as audience members watched from the plaza.

Style

With this unique visual language, Redmoon Theater aspired to transform streets and stages into places of public celebration, capable of speaking across cultural, ethnic, and generational boundaries that focuses on contributing to civic well-being and social exchange. Highly influenced by contemporary art works and ancient theatrical forms, Redmoon Theater created a performance style that is part pageantry, gadgetry, acrobatics, and ephemera.

Reception

The company has been hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “impossibly inventive” and “full of visual wit,” and described by the Chicago Sun-Times as “one of the only theaters that can keep a 2-year-old and a 50-year-old equally enchanted and filled with wide-eyed wonder.”

References