Spotlight: Shattered Globe auctions off Tom Hanks' typewriter

First Folio chats

Playwright Joseph Zettelmaier ("All Childish Things," "Salvage," "The Grave Digger"), a First Folio Theatre artistic associate, chats with associate artistic director Melanie Keller about his entree into theater, his association with Pulitzer Prize winner Lanford Wilson and his collaboration with the Oak Brook company. That collaboration includes Zettelmaier's "The Jigsaw Bride" scheduled for later this year.

Available on First Folio's YouTube channel.

Women of Steel Beam

Steel Beam Theatre's Women of Steel series continues with actress/storyteller Megan Wells channeling Dr. John Watson to tell Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mystery "The Adventure of the Speckled Band."

Streams at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28, at steelbeamtheatre.com. $10.

Sideshow benefit

Sideshow Theatre Company launches its season with a streaming benefit featuring a 2018 archival recording of Mia Chung's "You For Me For You." Elly Green directed the play about North Korean sisters who plan an elaborate escape but are separated at the border. Helen Joo Lee and Jin Park play sisters Minhee and Junhee.

Streams at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28, at sideshowtheatre.org. Pay-what-you-can.

Shattered Globe raffle

Shattered Globe Theatre will raffle off a 1930s Corona typewriter from Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks' personal collection as part of its 30th anniversary celebration and fundraiser. Hanks donated the typewriter at the request of SGT ensemble member Joe Forbrich, who worked with Hanks on Broadway in 2013's "Lucky Guy."

"I can tell you from personal experience, Tom Hanks is exactly the kind of guy his movie roles make you hope he is: kind, humble, courageous, personable and curious about the world and other people," Forbrich said in a prepared statement. "His generosity is evidenced by this wonderful gift he has presented to Shattered Globe, reflecting his love for the theater and its ability to enrich our lives."

Raffle tickets are $50 each. The drawing takes place March 8. See sgtheatre.org.

In other news

• Filament Theatre, in partnership with the Australian company Threshold, presents the play-at-home adventure "Mountain Goat Mountain." The interactive, family-friendly theater experience runs online through March 21. A narrative soundscape guides families to create their own magic with items such as a bedsheet, a phone, pencils and paper. The 30-day pass is pay-what-you-can and is available on demand. See filamenttheatre.org.

• "Easter Bunny Bingo," the next installment in Vicki Quade's bingo series, returns in streaming format through April 4. Kathleen Puls Andrade plays former nun and bingo caller Mary Margaret O'Brien, who educates players on Lenten traditions and trivia. Andrade's performance was taped last year at the Royal George Theatre before the COVID-19-related shutdown. Tickets are $15; a portion goes to the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago retirement fund. See nuns4fun.com.

• The music ensemble Eighth Blackbird collaborates with puppeteer Tom Lee for a livestreamed performance of "The Great Zodiac Animal Race" at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26. The family-friendly show is a retelling of the classic Lunar New Year zodiac tale that incorporates shadow puppets and pictograms. Tickets are $20 per household. See eighthblackbird.org.

• Court Theatre premiered its Spotlight Podcast highlighting Black writers on Feb. 25. The inaugural season consists of four audio podcasts featuring readings written by literary figures including novelist and editor Pauline Hopkins, journalist Ida B. Wells, poet Phillis Wheatley and diarist Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson. The final two episodes will be released Thursday, March 4 and 11. All are available for streaming at courttheatre.org.

• Collaboraction introduces a new mixed media series titled Family Tree Stories, which examines the impact of systemic racism and the interconnection of various family stories. Conceived by artistic director Anthony Moseley, the new series launches in mid-March with 15 storytellers sharing tales. See collaboraction.org.

• Zanies Chicago has reopened. Justin Leon headlines Friday through Sunday, Feb. 26-28, at 1548 N. Wells St., Chicago. Tickets are $30 with a two-item food or beverage minimum. Capacity will be limited to 50 patrons who will be physically distanced. Face coverings are mandatory and touchless transactions are encouraged. (312) 337-4027 or zanies.com.

• Goodman Theatre presents a virtual reading of "The Secretaries," a play by Omer Abbas Salem developed through the Future Labs initiative. Set in 1944 Berlin, it's about four Aryan women vying to be Adolf Hitler's secretary as he prepares to enter the bunker with Eva Braun in the waning days of World War II. The 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, reading is free, but reservations are required. See goodmantheatre.org/thesecretaries. A reading of "Tokens of Promise," a new satire by Ada A. also developed through Future Labs, takes place at 7 p.m. March 20. The play is about a group of prospective employees vying for the position of diversity analyst at a new company. See goodmantheatre.org/token.

• Silk Road Rising's Black Teen Lives Matter series showcasing monologues and short plays written by students in the theater's Empathic Playwriting Intensive Course returns for its second installment. Virtual performances of the student-written works take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, with an encore presentation at 7 p.m. Monday, March 1. See silkroadrising.org.

• PlayMakers Laboratory celebrates Women's History Month, St. Patrick's Day and Easter during upcoming performances of its digital version of "That's Weird, Grandma: House Par-Tay," consisting of stories by Chicago public school students adapted for the stage by PML ensemble members. Performances stream at 8 p.m. Mondays from Monday, March 1, through March 29. Tickets are $2-$4. See playmakerslab.org.

• Trap Door Theatre hosts a virtual wine tasting fundraiser from 2-3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 7. Virtual admission with a selection of Spanish wine and cheese (delivered to your house) is $150 plus $8.50 in fees. Virtual admission BYOB is $75 plus $4.75 in fees. The virtual event includes live jazz. See trapdoortheatre.com.

• Dennis Watkins' Magic Parlour at Home, his long-running close-up magic performance re-imagined as a virtual show, has been extended through April 30. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets are $49. They're available at themagicparlourchicago.com.