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Spotlight: Matthew-Lee Erlbach helping to organize Be An #ArtsHero

#ArtsHero

Playwright/actor/filmmaker and Morton Grove native Matthew-Lee Erlbach (Steppenwolf Theatre's "The Doppelgänger," Showtime's "Masters of Sex") is among the organizers of Be An #ArtsHero, a grass-roots organization pushing Congress to allocate COVID-19 relief to arts and culture workers. Erlbach and his fellow organizers are encouraging supporters to write members of Congress in support of the Defend Art Workers Now Act, also known as the DAWN Act, a relief bill for arts workers.

The bill authorizes $43.8 billion to the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Small Business Administration to make grants to the operators, employees and artists of live venues, recording venues, cultural spaces and related businesses to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on arts workers. See beanartshero.com/dawn.

'Spin' zone

After a public works official from a major city confesses to a crime, a mayoral aide seeks help from spin doctors and advisers on how to distance city hall from the scandal in "The Spin," a new virtual, dark comedy by Spenser Davis written specifically for Zoom. Davis directs the Interrobang Theatre Project premiere.

Streams at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, through Nov. 22 at broadwayworld.com. $15. See interrobangtheatreproject.org.

Virtual 'Frankenstein'

Manual Cinema's "Frankenstein," adapted from Mary Shelley's gothic tale and incorporating biographic bits from the author's life, will be streamed online as part of Cal Performances at Home series produced by the University of California, Berkeley. Manual Cinema adapted the 2018 show, which was co-commissioned by Cal Performances, for home video viewing.

Available online through Jan. 27. $15 single viewer, $30 for two viewers, $60 per household. (510) 642-9988 or calperformances.org/at-home.

Virtual magic

Magician/mentalist Dennis Watkins hosts a virtual Halloween show to benefit Camp Kids Are Kids, a Chicago summer camp for children living with cancer. The performance is part of his ongoing Magic Parlour at Home series. "The Magic Parlour at Home series has been an amazing opportunity to gather virtually during these difficult times," said Watkins in a prepared statement. "The exciting acts I've developed in conjunction with the support of the Palmer House team and amazing kids from the Camp Kids Are Kids organization will make for a one-of-a-kind interactive night of magic."

8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. $65. See the magicparlourchicago.com.

In other news

• American Blues Theater continues its monthly live reading series of in-development and new-to-Chicago plays with "Days of Decision - the music of Phil Ochs," devised and performed by artistic affiliate Zachary Stevenson. The reading takes place at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, and 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2. Admission is pay-what-you-can with a suggested donation of $20. (773) 654-3101 or americanbluestheater.com.

• The Annoyance Theatre's online, adults-only comedy quiz show "Feelz Right Quiz Night" livestreams at 10 p.m. Mondays through Nov. 30 at twitch.tv/annoyancetheatre. See the annoyance.com.

• Strawdog Theatre Company has extended its digital U.S. premiere of "Run the Beast Down," by Titas Halder. Performances of the solo show about loss and isolation run through Nov. 1 online at strawdog.org. $5 suggested donation.

Kay Kron, right, and Sonia Goldberg bring animal puppets to life during Chicago Children's Theatre's "The Beatrix Potter Drive-In Theatre Experience," an outdoor, socially distanced family performance extended through Nov. 1. Courtesy of Charles Osgood

• Chicago Children's Theater has extended its drive-in theater version of its puppet show "Beatrix Potter and Friends," comprised of four stories including "The Tale of Peter Rabbit." Performances continue outdoors in the company's parking lot at 100 S. Racine Ave., Chicago, through Nov. 8. Performances are at 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. $55 per car (for up to six people) or for walk-up patrons. Space is limited to 17 cars. Advance reservation is required. (312) 374-8835 or chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

• Underscore Theatre seeks participants for its new initiative Underscore Develops, a reading series for in-development musicals. Applicants will work with Underscore staff to create a 60-minute sample of their in-development show for a virtual presentation with assistance from a director, music director and cast. After the presentation, three industry professionals will offer feedback. The process is free to writers. Other participants will receive a stipend. Applicants must submit a fully written musical, without full orchestrations, by Nov. 13 for consideration. See underscoretheatre.org.

• Northwestern University's Imagine U Storytime series consisting of 15-minute videos of family-friendly stories performed by NU faculty, alumni and students continues Sunday, Nov. 1, with "The Apple Tree's Discovery," a story based on a Jewish folk tale. Next up is "The Thread of Yarn," an original story told by its writer Alex Manaa on Nov. 8. On Nov. 15, three puppets catch up with each other in "The Elephants in the Zoom," created for the series by NU's Purple Crayon Players. Free performances stream at 6 p.m. Sundays. Search the Wirtz Center on youtube.com.

• Lookingglass Theatre Company announced a new digital membership. Dubbed The Secret Passage, it consists of exclusive content including a radio play version of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle," adapted and directed by ensemble member David Schwimmer and recorded in 1992 at L.A. Theatre Works, as well as artist conversations and a concert series. Digital memberships run from October 2020 to August 2021. They are $50 through Oct. 31. After the membership, it's $8 per month. See lookingglasstheatre.com.

• About Face Theatre recently announced its 2020-2021 season will consist of new works and digital performances beginning Dec. 11 with Kickback, a virtual festival "of original plays and performances highlighting the intersection of queerness and Blackness" produced jointly with the Rebuild Foundation, which provides free arts programming. The season also includes the previously postponed production of Samantha Mueller's "Laced" (dates to be announced), about three bartenders who gather to grieve after the LGBTQ club where they work is vandalized. Also part of the season is Power in Pride, a touring production established to spark conversations about gender and sexuality within teen and other communities through the dramatization of the life experiences of LGBTQIA people. See aboutfacetheatre.com.

• In addition to its 2020-2021 season, Definition Theatre Company recently announced it will reside at the Green Line Performing Arts Center, 329 E. Garfield Blvd., Chicago. The season begins online later this fall with Amplify, comprised of short, in-development plays, excerpts of which will be filmed at the Green Line Performing Arts Center. Ensemble members will commission four of the eight featured plays for staged readings. The season concludes with "America v 2.1: The Sad Demise & Eventual Extinction of the American Negro" (dates to be determined), Stacey Rose's dystopian future-set play is about actors retelling the story of African Americans who, in the process, begin to fight the oppression they've had to endure. See definitiontheatre.org.

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