2023 Public Performances of No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks

Join us for the remount of No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks! Written by Chicago poets Eve L. Ewing and Nate Marshall, No Blue Memories is a uniquely staged retelling of Brooks’s life using simple, illuminative paper-cut puppetry by Manual Cinema set to music composed by Jamila Woods and Ayanna Woods. 

Public performances for the show will take place at Harold Washington Library on Tuesday, May 16 and Thursday, May 18 at 6PM. 

This opportunity is presented through One Poem, One Chicago, a joint initiative between the Poetry Foundation, Chicago Public Library (CPL), Third World Press and Northwestern University Press, that celebrates the legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks by encouraging the Chicagoland community to read Brooks’s seminal poetry collection, Blacks.

A Manual Cinema Production
Commissioned by the Poetry Foundation
Written by Crescendo Literary (Eve L. Ewing and Nate Marshall)

Director: Sarah Fornace
Music Composers: Jamila Woods and Ayanna Woods
Storyboards by: Drew Dir
Puppet Designers: Drew Dir and Lizi Breit
Costume and Wig Designer: Mieka van der Ploeg
Lighting Designer: Claire Chrzan
Sound Designer: Ben Kauffman
Music Director: Ayanna Woods
Production Manager: Nic Barnum
Tech Director: Mike Usrey
Stage Manager: Maydi Diaz
Sound Engineer: Nick Broste
Puppeteers:
N. LaQuis Harkins (Gwendolyn Brooks)
Felix Mayes
Jyreika Guest
Shay Turnage
Nile Lansana (Haki Madhubuti)
Musicians:
Kai Black (band leader and percussion)
Nashon Holloway (voice/guitar)
Ryan Nyther (trumpet)
Teiana Davis (keys/vocals)
Wyatt Waddell (bass/background vocals)

All public performances will include the following to increase access for guests with disabilities:
Wheelchair accessible theatre space and seating
Limited stairs seating
A seated waiting area for those who cannot stand
ASL Interpretation and assistive listening devices

The performance is also appropriate for all ages and families are welcomed.

There are some brief mentions of death and of racism which are appropriate for all ages, but there is no other sensitive content in the show.

This event is free. Masking is strongly recommended. 

This program is presented as part of One Poem, One Chicago.