The Chicago Circus and Performing Arts Festival, a new festival scheduled to premiere April 21-24, will showcase a variety of performance types, including traditional circus acts, avant-garde and burlesque shows, family-friendly juggling and clowning events, sketch comedy, queer-themed work, and multiple evening-length pieces that also feature dance.
Performances from 10 Chicago-based companies are scheduled to run at the Den Theatre in Wicker Park. The event is produced by Yes Ma’am Circus.
Shows include “Alice in CircusLand,” a modern reinterpretation of the classic tale by Yes Ma’am Circus, and the BIPOC Circus Alliance Midwest Showcase, where performers will show off their skills with rope, straps, aerial hammock, diabolo and silks, while also sharing stories about the unique challenges people of color face in the U.S. Meanwhile, Laughing Stock Theatre will explore queer themes in “Masquerade, or Love is Queer to Stay.”
April 21-24 at the Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee; single tickets are $10-$35 and there are some pay-what-you-can options at 773-697-3830 or www.ccpaf.org