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Touring Workshops and Performances

Touring Workshops and Performances

Help transform your school, organization, and relationships through collaboration with About Face Theatre.

Since 1995, About Face has reached thousands of people each year by taking the power of theatre on the road to support personal and organizational growth. We provide touring workshops and performances that combine fun, interactive, and accessible theatre-based activities to increase a sense of belonging, invite brave dialogue, and move individuals and groups toward action.

Current Touring Show: We Could Be

What if building your identity, seeking out knowledge, and facing conflict felt more like… a video game? Join two siblings as they navigate their curiosities and needs around crushes, gender, and feeling safe and confident in their bodies. Though they’ll meet shame—and their own anxieties—along the way, a solid support system keeps them resourced on their journey … and that includes YOU! Incorporating true stories from Illinoisians of all ages, mindfulness practices for everyday life, and honest conversation, We Could Be is an interactive new play that asks: In a world where societal expectations lay out your path, do you dare to choose your own adventure?

Are you ready to bring a unique and transformative experience to your group? We Could Be is now booking appearances for 2025.

Meet the artists of We Could Be…

Contact us for more information and to book your workshop or performance!

Email or call Dionne Addai (they/she), Director of Education and Artistic Programming
dionne@aboutfacetheatre.com
773.784.8565

Are you with Chicago Public Schools?

About Face programs are designed to support the Illinois Inclusive Curriculum Law and offer educators greater access to and inspiration for incorporating LGBTQ+ historical figures into lesson plans. We also center the lives and narratives of LGBTQ+ people of color to increase awareness of multiple and intersecting identities.

Our programs can help you meet requirements for Social-Emotional Learning Competencies (SEL), Illinois Arts Education Standards in Theatre, and Common Core Standards for Social Studies (CCSS), all with additional learning related to culture, equity, and inclusion (CEI)!

So how does this work?

There are three steps involved in an AFT touring workshop or performance:

1: Advance Consultation and Planning

It all starts with you contacting us. We’ll want to know about you and your group and discuss your programming goals. Together we’ll identify key themes and confirm some logistics. You will supply us with the contact information of a point-person who will support the process and stay in touch with us afterwards to evaluate the event. When it comes to budget, we are committed to working on a sliding scale so that our programs remain available for partners at different budget levels. Please reach out with any questions you have or just to explore the possibilities.

2: Workshop and Performance Day

On the day of the event, the About Face team will arrive with all necessary supplies. We’ll facilitate the event and work closely with you to meet the goals. Every session allows plenty of time for questions and discussion with the group. We will end the session by sharing an invitation to get more involved with our theatre and with other related groups, actions, and resources.

3: Ongoing Learning and Action

In the week following event, we will follow up with your point-person and participants to better understand what your group learned from the event. Program evaluation may take the form of conversations, digital forms, and surveys. This final step will reveal what the next actions might be to make your space or institution more inclusive of diverse gender and sexuality identities.

We look forward to hearing from you!

For more information, or to book a performance, please email to Artistic Director Megan Carney at megan@aboutfacetheatre.com or call 773-784-8565.

Program Testimonials

I appreciated the self-care piece more than anything and it’s a really important thing to resonate with everyone in this room. I wish I had heard that and seen this when I was younger. It would have been a game changer.

“I’m glad I saw this because I can use some of these stories to talk to other people.”

“When you were talking about losing your grandfather, I had something similar. My nana wasn’t a fortune teller but she was an Italian matriarch and she had her ways. Losing her 2 years ago was really hard for me because the rest of my family thinks being gay is wrong and she was the only one who was more flexible. It was nice to have something similar in your piece.”