The multi-ethnic Silk Road Theater Project has attracted support on many fronts, and the latest is a mural by Chicago ’s world-renowned Zhou Brothers. The Zhou Brothers unveiled their $250,000 gift mural February 8 to the theater company housed in the basement of the Chicago Temple/First United Methodist Church downtown. “We know the Zhou Brothers resonated with our mission and we are very grateful,” said the SRTP founders, Jamil Khoury and Malik Gillani . “We were totally surprised.” The six-by-20-foot painting, entitled The Silk Road, synthesizes texture, color, Eastern and Western contemporary aesthetics, and hangs along an interior wall inside the theater hall.
Read MoreIn Conversation with David Henry Hwang /
February 27, 2007
This special event featured an interview with Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, moderated by arts critic Lucia Mauro and introduced by Artistic Director Jamil Khoury.
Read MorePlaywright's career is family-focused /
Chicago Sun-Times
By Mary Houlihan
February 25, 2007
The roots of David Henry Hwang's 1997 drama Golden Child go back to when the playwright was a precocious 10-year-old. His maternal grandmother, who knew all the family history, had fallen ill and the forward-thinking youngster made it his mission to record those stories before they were gone forever.
Read MoreWhy Is Chicago Theatre So White? /
Moderated by Novid Parsi
Featuring Erin Gilbert, Luther Goins, Jamil Khoury, Eddie Torres
Guest Respondent: Laura Washington
February 22, 2007
A panel discussion in response to an article co-written by Parsi entitled "Why is theatre in Chicago so white and how can we fix it?"
Read MoreZhou Brothers Mural Unveiling Event /
February 8, 2007
In 2007, Silk Road Theatre Project received a gift of a stunning mural called "The Silk Road" by the world renowned artists the Zhou Brothers. The mural was unveiled at a special reception event held in the theatre on February 8, 2007, and remains on permanent display in the theatre venue.
Read MoreTop Ten Picks of the Season /
Chicago Tribune
By Chris Jones
January 7, 2007
Specializing in works by playwrights of Asian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean backgrounds, Silk Road has grown exponentially over the last couple of seasons -- this little non-profit troupe has a beautiful new space in the basement of the Chicago Temple in the heart of Chicago's Loop. It has also snagged the rights to the Midwest premiere of this widely admired drama by David Henry Hwang about the conflict between Midwestern modernity and Eastern traditionalism that roiled China in the early 1900s.
Read MoreMerchant on Venice /
January 7, 2007
Written by Shishir Kurup
Directed by Stuart Carden
Choreography by Alka Nayyar
Venice, Italy intersects with the Indian Diaspora of Venice Beach, California in a wickedly funny, wildly inventive, and politically provocative re-imagining of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. Written in iambic pentameter and vividly colored by Indian, American and Latino pop references, playwright Shishir Kurup transforms Shakespeare’s original by injecting the story with Bollywood musical numbers, L.A. Punk, Hindu-Muslim tensions, and a distinctly American landscape.
Read More2006 After Dark Award for Outstanding Production /
Presented by Gay Chicago Magazine
Awarded to Yussef El Guindi
December 31, 2006
Winner of Gay Chicago Magazine's 2006 After Dark Award for Outstanding Production was awarded to playwright Yussef El Guindi for his play "Back of the Throat" directed by Stuart Carden.
Read More2006 After Dark Award for Outstanding New Work /
Presented by Gay Chicago Magazine
Awarded to Yussef El Guindi
December 31, 2006
Winner of Gay Chicago Magazine's 2006 After Dark Award for Outstanding New Work was awarded to playwright Yussef El Guindi for his play Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith.
Read More2006 After Dark Award for Outstanding Sound Design /
Presented by Gay Chicago Magazine
Awarded to Rob Steel
December 31, 2006
The 2006 After Dark Award for Outstanding Sound Design was issued to Rob Steel for Yussef El Guindi's Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith directed by Stuart Carden.
Read MoreSilk Road Theatre Project - One Of A Dozen Young American Theatre Companies You Need To Know /
American Theatre selected this dozen as emblems of the wave of American companies that have formed or come into prominence within the last five years—particularly companies with strong missions or aesthetic thrusts. Mostly, we put our ear to the ground to hear what local theatre-watchers were talking about. Our representative dozen is by turns tenacious and permeable, ambitious and on a budget, esoteric and low-brow. The work ranges from re-envisioned classics (with or without clowns) to new work by contemporary playwrights; it's vaudevillian, dance-centric, visual art–focused, music-infused, socially conscious, ethnically organized—and fun. —Sarah Hart
Read MoreImmigrant and Refugee Contributions Award /
Presented by Changing Worlds
Awarded to Silk Road Theatre Project
November 20, 2006
On November 20, 2006, at a ceremony held at Hot House, Changing Worlds honored Silk Road Theatre Project’s Founding Executive Director Malik Gillani. Gillani received the Immigrant & Refugee Contributions Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts and was recognized for “expanding representation of immigrant communities on Chicago's stages.”
Read MoreCaravaggio Performance and Panel Discussion for the Chicago Humanities Festival /
Written by Richard Vetere
The World Premiere
Directed by Dale Heinen
November 5, 2006
This special matinee performance and panel discussion were part of the 2006 Chicago Humanities Festival.
Read MoreCaravaggio
Gay Chicago Magazine
By Venus Zarris
November 2, 2006
Director Dale Heinen compiles a gifted ensemble both on and off-stage to vividly bring this work to life. Lee Keenan’s remarkable lighting design adds much to the dramatic moods of the play and recreates some of Caravaggio’s masterpieces on stage with awe-inspiring effect.
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