Post-Show Talkbacks with The Covey Group
Court Theatre is excited to collaborate with The Covey Group for a series of post-show talkbacks about The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice beginning October 30th.
Exploring select moments, scenes, and characters, our facilitation team of haydee souffrant, rebecca brown, and Kelli Covey will invite the audience to step into the emotion and energy of the production, exploring the many shifting movements and feelings—exhilaration, anger, surprise, sadness—that shape this powerful story. We will also discuss the way Court’s production translates the traditional narrative of Shakespeare’s play for their stage, addressing themes such as power, silence, identity, and what it means to be fully human. Audience members will be invited to consider how this production of The Tragedy of Othello challenges traditional productions.
Talkbacks will occur after the following performances:
- Saturday, October 30 (2:00pm)
- Saturday, November 6 (2:00pm)
- Thursday, November 18 (7:30pm)
- Saturday, November 20 (2:00pm)
- Saturday, December 4 (2:00pm)
About the Facilitators
Kelli Covey is a trainer, facilitator, mediator, coach and organizational development consultantwith over 20 years’ experience working with both nonprofit organizations and corporations. Kelli was previously the co-director of the Center for Civic Reflection, where she trained hundreds of facilitators in the practice of reflective discussion, including teachers, probation officers, AmeriCorps members, librarians, and organizational and community leaders. She also served as Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Teach for America-Chicago, a large educational organization focused on educationalequity.Kelli is a certified mediator through the Chicago-based Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR). She mediates regularly in the Cook County court system and handles a variety of mediation cases, including victim-offender mediation, tenant/landlord,and juvenile and family mediation. She also leads conflict management workshops for CCR and serves on the continuing education committee. Kelli is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation proud to have served as a recent board member and treasurer for the American Indian Center, one of the oldest urban-based Native membership community centers in the United States. She continues to support AIC as a community member, volunteer and consultant.
rebecca brown (she/they) is a dynamic facilitator, trainer, consultant, project manager and poet. She often describes herself as “made of questions (that don’t always need answers)” and is pleased to bring her creative thinking, deep listening and engaging facilitation skills to each project. rebecca forged over 15 years of nonprofit experience and leadership as a program director with an award-winningChicago area literary non-profit organization, designing and facilitating book group discussions and poetry writing circles with youth in under-resourced communities, as well as training others to do so. She has built her consultation and project management skills over the last five years, including becoming a trained practitioner of racial healing circles and supporting organizations in racial equity assessments, education and planning. rebecca is proud to share her skills for simultaneous big-picture/small-detail thinking, comfort with uncertainty and continuous learning, dedication to reflection, and capacity for finding the right questions to move forward with all her project partners.
haydee r. souffranthaydee souffrant (she/her) is a Chicago-based Haitian American writer, producer, and certified mediator through the Chicago-based Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR). Many of her artist workshops incorporate creative writing, meditation and facilitated discussions on healing and restorative justice practices for people of color, artists, educators, youth and adult audiences.In her 12 years as an arts administrator, souffrant’s professional and creative work has focused on production stage management, production and community arts program, and facilitations for both profit and nonprofit organizations, theaters, gallery and storefront venues such as Illinois Caucus of Adolescent Health, Theater on the Lake, Berger Park Theater, Links Hall, MPAACT at The Greenhouse Theater, The Chicago Mosaic School, The Black Revolutionary Theatre Workshop (New York), Dramatic Questions Theatre (New York) and additional theaters and artist spaces.
About The Covey Group
The Covey Group is a small group of dedicated partners committed to providing high-quality training, facilitation, consulting, and professional development, with a special focus on reflection and dialogue. Their mission is to support and engage individuals, organizations, and communities in creating a more meaningful, inclusive, and just world through practices of reflection, dialogue, and shared inquiry.
Header photo of Kelvin Roston, Jr. in THE TRAGEDY OF OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE by Michael Brosilow.