Resistance & Resilience Strategies

The Agora Series is a gathering in which thinkers, creatives, and activists share bold ideas on topics of social concern, bridging the work on Court’s stage with current events. We use this series as a vehicle to foster conversation with the public on civic topics in spaces across the city that are designed to bring people together.

Join Court Theatre at Co-Prosperity – an experimental cultural center located in the Bridgeport neighborhood – for the next installment of the Agora Series, produced in partnership with the Public Media Institute (PMI). A series of intimate breakout sessions will invite participants to explore the strategies local artivists and activists deploy to support and protect vulnerable communities while advancing social justice initiatives in Chicago and beyond.

Public Media Institute (PMI) is an independent media and cultural nonprofit in Chicago. PMI creates, fosters, and facilitates shared cultural space across a multitude of creative enterprises, including a free magazine, Lumpen Magazine; a community radio station, Lumpen Radio; an artist shop, the Buddy Store; a cultural center, Co-Prosperity; and a regional convening of artist-run projects, MdW Coalition.

April 12, 2025 | Co-Prosperity (3219 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL 60608) | 12:00pm – 3:00pm

Image from “The Concord Hour,” directed by Damon Locks and Rob Shaw.

Presented in partnership with

Participants

Related Events

Berlin → April 19 - May 11, 2025
A world premiere adaptation based on Jason Lutes's acclaimed graphic novel. It's 1928, fascism is on the rise, and everyone is faced with a choice: abandon Berlin or fight to survive.

Tour of Chicago Puppets Up Close → April 5, 2025
Join us for an interactive and up close exploration of the exhibit, Potential Energy: Chicago Puppets Up Close, and a guided tour of the Buddy Store.

Jason Lutes Conversation and Book Signing → April 25, 2025
Join comics creator Jason Lutes in discussion with scholar Dr. Evan H. Carver as they discuss Lutes’s expansive work, BERLIN – the source text for Court Theatre’s world premiere production.

Post-Show Conversation with Jason Lutes, Charles Newell, and David J. Levin → April 25, 2025
A unique opportunity to hear directly from the artists bringing BERLIN to life! Get an inside look at their creative processes, learn about their inspirations, and ask them your questions.

Books & Banners of the People → April 26, 2025
Join us at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum for a communal arts activation celebrating the world premiere of BERLIN.

Cabaret Film Screening → May 2, 2025
Experience the original Technicolor film print! Berlin, 1931. Amid ascendant fascism in Weimar Germany, fame-seeking American émigré Sally Bowles sings at a bawdy cabaret whose host and musical acts celebrate the unprecedented sexual freedom of the short-lived era.

Notes on Masculinity: A Drag King-Centered Cabaret → May 2, 2025
Veteran performers Po’Chop and Switch the Boi Wonder host this bimonthly drag king-centered cabaret, where performers showcase the diversity of masculine drag with numbers that are equal parts entertaining, comedic, and provocative.