'A Gift' opens W. Chicago's Gallery Theater
”A Gift Worthy of Giving,” a short one-act play, opens this weekend as the first production of a new theater project in West Chicago.
The free performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 17, at the Gallery Studio, 203 Turner Court, and 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19, at St. Michael's Church, 108 Sherman St. The Dec. 19 performance is sponsored by People Made Visible.
The Gallery Theater is an initiative of the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission.
The commission was established in 1990 to enrich the lives of all West Chicago residents through an active support of cultural arts in the city. The commission recently expanded its arts outreach into music with the creation of monthly music nights featuring local musicians.
A production such as “A Gift Worthy of Giving” is something new for the group.
It is a heartfelt story of a young, newly married couple who are almost penniless. Being deeply in love and wanting to find the perfect gift for each other, they each make a decision that leaves the audience with a gentle moral lesson about gift giving.
Featured in the cast are Laura Matthews Swift, Jake Dewar, Maureen Navadomskis and Mark Fortman.
The Gallery Theater's mission is to develop artistic theater programs that will nurture, grow and educate. The Gallery Theater is looking for scriptwriters, directors, actors and technical people who have a desire to create new projects.
Also, throughout the year, the theater will be presenting plays that have an educational focus suitable for school groups.
A series of classes will begin in February covering acting, directing and scriptwriting. The theater hopes to foster an environment for creativity, originality and learning and is open to exploring ideas with any individual or group of individuals who has an idea for a scripted or improv type of production.
Seating for the Dec. 17 performance is limited. To make reservations for the performance, or for questions about the theater, e-mail gallerytheater@gmail.com.
The performances are free, but donations will be accepted.