Gabriela reflects on how theatre is getting Chicago through polar apocalypse.
There—focus on what’s in front of you. Yes, it’s been quite a week, quite a month, quite a way to start the year. A number of events have interrupted daily life, and new news adds layer upon layer to the icy air. Chicago streets have emptied. The overwhelm overwhelms. Focusing on just one thing might seem impossible, but that’s exactly how many audiences and artists are aiming to push through.
I recovered from Covid this week and finally attended my first theatre of 2025, not expecting what a balm the trek outside would offer. Guarded by four to five fuzzy layers, I left my heart unshielded and absorbed experiences at the vast Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, as well as an intimate, independent production of Uncle Vanya with the New Theatre Project. They differed in producing models and seating arrangements, sure, but shared salient themes of resilience. And audiences sought their delicate solace for the same reasons.
Sitting next to me at the grandiose Studebaker Theater for the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival’s presentation of J.M. Coetzee’s Life and Times of Michael K. was a couple unaffiliated with the theatre or puppetry worlds, who were simply grateful to immerse themselves in a story for a few hours. They discussed their openness to whatever would unfold before them, saying they’d done no prior research and were eager to take it in, in the moment. That’s their preferred way of experiencing art, they said, ready to be surprised. “I wonder if we’ll see the puppeteers,” one said to me. “Or how big the puppets will be—I’m trying to gauge by the size of the door.” I too observed, element by element, and as the sweeping story unfolded, my breath slowed. Time suspended.
