October 6: Alex Jovanovich, The Loveliness Workshop
October 13: Asimina Chremos, Dance and Dollars
October 15, 22: Curious Theater Branch,
October 20: Kairol Rosenthal, English 101

Alex Jovanovich
The Loveliness Workshop: A Performative Endeavour
Saturday, October 6, 2-5pm
Free

A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal — Oscar Wilde

Artists are returning to themes and tactics of expression that were, until recently, utterly reviled in contemporary arts discourse: beauty, honesty, sincerity, sentimentality, and love. Discuss why these ideas are relevant as well as seditious, and analyze what these declarations mean in a daily existence saturated in reality/self-help/confessional culture. In a collaborative, performative endeavor, explore this terrain to its most fatal extremes. The workshop is open to artists from all disciplines. The workshop will conclude with an informal performance and discussion.

Alex Jovanovich is an artist that lives in Chicago.

Asimina Chremos
Dance and Dollars: What’s it Worth to You?
Saturday, October 13, 2:30-5:30pm
$25

Asimina Chremos will lead a discussion about the ways that artists assign value to their creativity, addressing a number of questions, including What is the value of dance and performance in society at large? How do we fund our work? What is the real cost of making a dance? What choices do we make to exist as creative beings in a society where value is usually measured in dollars? What’s love got to do with it? How do we take care of ourselves, and each other, when engaging in art-making? What’s the difference between “amateur” and “professional”? How do others show us they value our art? What responsibility do we have to educate arts administrators (presenters, studio owners, etc.) about our needs and worth? How does the nonprofit 501 c3 model work? What about non-monetary exchanges and trades? Participants will be encouraged to take stock of their assumptions around art and money, and draft a personal manifesto for future best practices. Bring writing materials.

Asimina Chremos is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and writer, based in Chicago since 1997. She engages in an array of dance-related projects, drawing on her training in ballet, postmodern dance, performance art and improvisation. Silverspace is the name associated with Chremos’ projects. Silverspace connects with solo performances, collaborations with musicians, visiting artists, workshops, rehearsals and discussions. www.asiminachremosdance.net

Curious Theater Branch
Learn The Lines And Don’t Bump Into Furniture:
How The Actor Works
Mondays, October 15 & 22, 7-10pm
$60

In conjunction with the Rhino Festival, Chicago’s Festival for Original Theater, this is a performance workshop for the novice or restarting performer. Artistic Director Beau O’Reilly and Rhino actors will work with participants to choose, discuss, rehearse, and perform a number of scenes by Beckett, Churchill, Albee, and some of the featured new plays at this year’s Rhino. The two intensive sessions will culminate in a performance of scenes created in collaboration between participants and facilitators. www.curioustheatrebranch.com

Kairol Rosenthal, Rosenthal et al
English 101: Writing for Artists
Saturday, October 20, 2:30-5pm
$25, $18 with a nonrefundable payment by October 8



Your catchiest PR kit, grant proposal, and marketing materials might bomb if your English is not in order. This pithy and fun flashback to English 101 is open to artists of all disciplines. You will learn 25 techniques for transforming written brainstorms into well crafted compositions, marrying juicy imagery with proper language, avoiding common grammar faux pas, and following the key elements of style.

Kairol Rosenthal is the author of Mortality Bites and choreographer and director of Rosenthal et al.; she will present work as a LinkUp Residency Artist, September 28-30.