Theater group performs, brings books to life

For the second year, Elgin Community College will host The American Place Theatre's Literature to Life program with one-act performances from "Black Boy" on Friday, Feb. 5, and "The Secret Life of Bees" on Saturday, Feb. 6.

Both events will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Visual and Performing Arts Center's SecondSpace Theatre on the ECC Main Campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. After the performance, the audience is invited for complimentary coffee, dessert and a discussion about the novel's themes and implications.

"Black Boy" by African-American author Richard Wright, is an autobiography that depicts Wright's journey from childhood to adulthood. Wright grapples with race relations, religion, poverty and family struggle during his trek north to Chicago from Mississippi.

In "The Secret Life of Bees," the novel follows the adventures of a 14-year-old white girl in 1964 South Carolina as she follows her African-American caregiver to a home occupied by three unique African-American women. The novel, written by Sue Monk Kidd, was a New York Times best-seller and adapted into a feature film.

Both performances features sections of the novel performed verbatim by an actor. According to The American Place Theatre, the production style gives audiences a new form of access to literature by bringing to life the world of the book with performances that create an atmosphere of discovery and spark the imagination.

The theater, having received over 30 Obies and 16 Audelcos, is critically acclaimed as a birthing place for artistic endeavors at the crossroads of literature and live performance for 47 years.

Tickets for each performance are $22 per person, and both performances are $40 per person. Tickets are now available online at elgin.edu/arts or at the ECC Box Office in the Arts Center. Box office hours are noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. To purchase tickets by phone, call (847) 622-0300. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are accepted.

Spartan Drive, from McLean Boulevard west to Renner Drive, is closed due to construction.

and is expected to reopen in May.

Motorists may use either Fleetwood Drive or Weld Road to Second Street as an alternate route. From the west, motorists entering Spartan Drive from Randall Road will be detoured north onto Renner Drive to access the campus. Visit elgin.edu/maps.