DCA Theater Announces SKALD 12 Storytelling Festival 5/16-21

WNEP Theater and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events in partnership with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture present the twelfth Annual SKALD Storytelling Festival, a week-long event celebrating the art of storytelling. The workshops and competitions offer adults and children (ages 8-14) the chance to try their own hand and then watch the professionals. Events will take place at the Chicago Cultural Center, located at 78 E. Washington Street, from May 16 to May 21.

Rooted in the oral traditions of nearly every organized society, storytelling is theater stripped of all its ‘dazzle camouflage' and focuses strictly on the qualities of the story and the teller. The name "Skald" refers to an ancient Scandinavian poet, bard or storyteller.

Tickets for SKALD events range from $15 to $20 for select events. The KIDSKALD performance and the weekday workshops are free; reservations encouraged. All tickets and reservations are available by calling 312.742.TIXS (8497), visiting www.dcatheater.org, or stopping by the DCA Box Office in the Chicago Cultural Center at 78 E. Washington Street, open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 pm and Sundays, noon to 4 pm.; and one hour prior to each performance at the Studio Theater, when available.

The schedule of SKALD events is:

STORYTELLING WORKSHOPS FOR KIDS AND ADULTS
Kids (Ages 8-14)
Monday, May 16, 10 am - 12 noon
5th floor Washington Room of the Chicago Cultural Center

Adults (Ages 15 and up)
Tuesday, May 17, 6 - 10 pm
Studio Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center
Admission is free for both workshops; reservations encouraged by calling 312.742.TIXS (8497)

WNEP's Founding Director Don Hall teaches the fundamentals of "spinning a yarn" in two separate workshops. First, a workshop for kids is on Monday. Then, on Tuesday night the adults get their turn when Hall and WNEP Company Members Stephanie Hoerner and Amanda Rountree teach the art of storytelling and open the floor for participants to share their own stories.

PERFORMANCES
MAELSTROM
Friday, May 20, at 7:30 pm
Studio Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center
Tickets are $15

Six storytellers improvise stories based on audience suggestions-and the audience votes for the winner.

KIDSKALD
Saturday, May 21, at 3 pm
Studio Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center
Tickets are free; reservations encouraged

Ten student storytellers compete for prestige and prizes.

SKALD 12
Saturday, May 21, at 7:30 pm
Studio Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center
Tickets are $20

Hosted by WBEZ's Steve Edwards, ten professional storytellers compete for prestige and prizes for a panel of expert judges.

WNEP Theater has been holding the SKALD Storytelling Competition annually since 1999 and has been creating unexpectedly imaginative and original theater in Chicago for fifteen years. Guest judges of previous SKALD competitions have included the late Martin DeMaat, Live Bait Theatre's Sharon Evans, local critic Jack Helbig, Stage Left Theatre's Jessi D. Hill, Wild Chicago's Ben Hollis, American Idol Finalist Leslie Hunt, Acorn Theatre's Kim Clark, Columbia College Instructor Joe Janes, Living Oprah's Robyn Okrant, and Chicago Tribune's Kerry Reid.

The theaters in the Chicago Cultural Center, along with the Storefront Theater, the companion theater located across the street at 66 E. Randolph Street, comprise Chicago DCA Theater, an anchor of the downtown theater district. Chicago DCA Theater offers downtown audiences an off-Loop theater experience with an exciting look at the vibrant emerging and developing theater companies that call Chicago home. Proposals for creative and innovative productions for the January to June 2012 season are being accepted now through May 15, 2011.

For more information about SKALD and other upcoming Chicago DCA Theater events, visit www.dcatheater.org or call 312-742-TIXS (8497).

Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is dedicated to promoting an ongoing celebration of the arts; supporting the people who create and sustain them; and marketing the city's abundant cultural resources to a worldwide audience. DCASE, in partnership with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture, programs and promotes thousands of high-quality free festivals, exhibitions, performances and holiday celebrations presented each year at Millennium Park, Grant Park, the Chicago Cultural Center and other venues throughout the city.

Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture
The Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture (COTC) is dedicated to promoting Chicago as a premier cultural destination to domestic and international leisure travelers, providing innovative visitor programs and services, and presenting free world-class public programs. COTC supports local artists through grants and other resources and creates vital opportunities for artists of all levels. For more information please visit www.ExploreChicago.org.