Dear friends of the Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts,

I hope this finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. We miss you.

I am excited to share our reimagined Fall 2020 program offerings that were artfully devised to provide you with engaging, inclusive and delightful performances throughout the fall – safely. These works provide opportunities to reflect, to illuminate voices and viewpoints, and to help us be inspired and shine on during these socially distanced times.

We begin the fall with Visions and Voices – an eclectic, first-of-its-kind Black Playwrights Reading Series for the Wirtz Center. Three plays, directed by Northwestern MFA first year directing students, will be specially adapted for an intimate and immersive virtual, viewing experience of one reading Alice Childress’ Wine in the Wilderness this quarter and two more next quarter.

Following Visions and Voices, patrons are in for a radical virtual presentation of AntigoneNOW. This contemporary response to the myth of Antigone brings powerful, modern prose to an ancient and universal story.  This short screening is made possible by Northwestern Faculty Member Roger Ellis who choreographed the piece that was first screened this summer as part of the Cairo International Experimental Theatre Festival.

Finally this fall, we provide our student artists with an opportunity to share their artistry and passion to perform as part of Call and Response.  Join us virtually as we curate a multi-disciplinary evening of original work created and shared by some of the most talented artists throughout the Northwestern Community in response to the current moment.

We invite you to engage with us this fall, take part and share your thoughts and feedback about our programs (before, during and after) so we can respond as we finalize our winter and spring programs.  We plan to share details about our winter quarter programs in December to reflect the most current guidance related to the pandemic.

All three of these fall works (Visions and Voices fall reading “Wine in the WIlderness,” AntigoneNOW and Call and Response) are available as a package to our patrons for $30 (general public) and $15 for full-time, non-NU students.  Fall performances are free to all Northwestern students with a valid NU e-mail address who complete the required registration form. Patrons who have a credit on file from a canceled show earlier this year will be able to apply the credit to this fall or subsequent quarter packages in 2021.   Questions? Please e-mail our audience service team at wirtz@northwestern.edu. We appreciate your patience while our team works remotely.

A hallmark of the Wirtz Center is collaboration, bringing people together, creating a sense of connection and sharing and reveling in the joy of the arts as a community. As we have reimagined our fall productions, we have collaborated with our faculty, taken into account the realities of the pandemic, and importantly have provided tailored opportunities for our students to practice their learning in a safe and professional space with the benefit of an engaged audience that goes beyond their peers.

We very much appreciate your dedication to Wirtz Center and to our students, staff and faculty. Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Al Heartley,
Managing Director
Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts

BUY YOUR FALL TICKET PACKAGE: ALL 3 FOR $30 

To request your complimentary Northwestern Student tickets to our Fall 2020 virtual productions, please complete registration. 

The Box office is currently closed for in person service.  Questions? Please e-mail our audience service team at wirtz@northwestern.edu or call 847-491-7282 Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.  We appreciate your patience while our team works remotely.  The Wirtz Center Box Office is currently closed for in person service.