Learning who you are means knowing where you come from, and where you belong.
From writer/performer Scott Bradley ( Scooty & JoJo's Alien Queen and Carpenters Halloween; AFT's We Three Lizas and The Homosexuals ) comes the solo show Packing, directed by Victory Gardens Theater Artistic Director Chay Yew.
Packing is a three-decade odyssey of reinvention and self-discovery. From small-town Iowa to England, New York City, and Chicago, Bradley's story navigates relationships, assaults, addictions, the plague years of the AIDS crisis, and the fight for marriage equality. This personal snapshot of recent queer history is told with Bradley's signature blend of humor, pop music, and disarming honesty, plus a few ancestral frontier stories to round it all out.
"As one of the country's few LGBTQ theatres, we have an important role to play as storytellers and innovators," comments Artistic Director Megan Carney. "This singular and deeply nuanced view of recent queer history is opening the door for more healing, laughter and community transformation."
"I'm thrilled to be collaborating with Scott Bradley on his powerful play," comments Director Chay Yew. "This deeply personal autobiography about survival, addiction, family and the search for self, courses through the milestones of gay history of the last fifty years. Throughout his harrowing journey, Scott courageously bares his soul to us through humor, brutal honesty and poetry. What emerges is an uniquely American portrait of a man who is willing to risk it all to find a place called home."
DETAILS:
Written and performed by: AFT Artistic Associate Scott Bradley
Directed by: Chay Yew
Location: Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago
Dates: Previews: Thursday, October 31 at 7:30 pm, Friday, November 1 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, November 2 at 7:30 pm, Sunday, November 3 at 3 pm and Wednesday, November 6 at 7:30 pm.
Press opening: Thursday, November 7 at 7:30 pm
Regular run: Friday, November 8 — Saturday, December 7, 2019
Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sunday at 3 pm. Please note: there will not be a performance on Thursday, November 28; there will be an added performance on Saturday, November 30 at 3 pm.
Tickets: Previews: $15. Regular run: $20 — $38. Discounts available for youth, veterans, seniors, and groups of 10 or more. Tickets go on sale Friday, September 6 at aboutfacetheatre.com, by calling ( 773 ) 975-8150, or in person at Theater Wit Box Office.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Scott Bradley ( Playwright, Actor ) is a writer, performer, educator and director. He wrote the books for, directed, and performed in Chicago's long-running genderqueer-rock-puppet-spectacles Alien Queen ( BroadwayWorld Chicago Award: Best Special Theatrical Event ) and Carpenters Halloween, as well as the acclaimed Mollywood, and Tran: The Atari Musical. His musical We Three Lizas ( book, lyrics, performer ) premiered at About Face Theatre and has enjoyed multiple productions nationally. As a writer, actor, and/or director, his work has been seen at Joe's Pub at the Public Theatre, PNBC/HERE, adobe theater company, HOME for Contemporary Theatre & Art, BACA Downtown, About Face Theatre, The Scooty & JoJo Show, Metro Chicago, The Hypocrites, Walkabout Theatre Company, Hell in a Handbag Productions, Bailiwick Repertory, Arena Stage, The Shakespeare Theatre, UMO Ensemble, and Open Circle Theater. Bradley is an Artistic Associate of About Face Theatre, alumnus of the Iowa Playwrights Workshop, and a member of Dramatists Guild, AEA and SAG/AFTRA.
Chay Yew ( Director ) is the artistic director of Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. His Chicago theatre credits include productions with Victory Gardens, Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theater and Teatro Visa. His regional production credits include Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Rattlestick, Playwrights Realm, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Humana Festival, Mark Taper Forum, American Conservatory Theatre, South Coast Rep, Berkeley Rep, Long Wharf, Huntington Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Denver Theater Center, Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Seattle Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Playmakers Rep, Boise Contemporary Theatre, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Round House Theatre, Geva Theater Center, Ma Yi Theatre Company, East West Players, National Asian American Theatre Company, Empty Space, Curious Theatre, Theatre at Boston Court, Pillsbury Theatre, Gala Hispanic Theatre, Mosaic Theatre, Singapore Repertory Theatre, amongst others. His opera credits include the world premieres of Osvaldo Golijov's and David Henry Hwang's Ainadamar ( co-production with Tanglewood Music Center, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Los Angeles Philharmonic ) and Rob Zuidam's Rage d'Amors ( Tanglewood ). He is a recipient of the OBIE Award and a DramaLogue for Direction.
About Face Theatre creates exceptional, innovative, and adventurous theatre and educational programming that advances the national dialogue on sexual and gender identity, and challenges and entertains audiences in Chicago and beyond.
From a press release