In a city segregated by race and class, one theater festival hopes to create meaningful relationships across identities and locations: the Chicago Home Theater Festival, a 15-day event running from May 14 to May 29. This year, the series takes place in 14 different Chicago neighborhoods. Unlike theater festivals that rely on established performing arts venues, CHTF takes place entirely in the homes of artists and activists throughout the city. Hosts open their residences to complete strangers in order to share a meal, experience performances rooted in social justice, and introduce community outreach organizations to audiences in an attempt to encourage involvement after the show.
Zadov believes the expanded goals of this year’s edition of CHTF encouraged organizers to think differently about how access works in the city. The hope is to take CHTF beyond the artwork produced within the run of the festival itself and give audiences the tools to build relationships with community members, local activists, and businesses. “In year five, everything we do is incredibly intersectional, and we really thought about accessibility in a lot of different ways,” Zadov says. “The leadership of women, queer folks, people of color, and artists with disabilities are really at the forefront of decision making at every single point of the festival.”
5/14-5/29: various venues and timeschicagohtf.org Festival passes and tickets available on an income-based sliding scale
