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Based on characters from Shakespeare's Macbeth, this expressionistic solo performance takes a glimpse into the relationships between Lady Macbeth, her husband and the witchy sisters. Ultimately we beg the question, who was the puppeteer behind their demise?
Trigger Warning: Depression/Suicide
Live-Streamed | $10
January 4, 5, 6 at 7:00 p.m. CST
January 11, 12, 13 at 3:00 p.m. CST
What happens when we push ourselves to explore our physical boundaries in the presence of another person? These performances will take place on public benches throughout the city of Chicago. Three performances will be live-streamed to our national audience.
Live-Streamed | $10
Dates to come!
Multiple daily performances.
Socially Distanced-Live | $10
Of Water and Wings questions the intentions and consequences of the human desire to make memorable change and the qualities that make up the modern heroine. Based on Zoe Rose Kriegler-Wenk's solo journey, the Mentalhaus ensemble joins her to breathe new life into the familiar complex relationship between strength and vulnerability.
Live-Streamed | $25
In Person? Possibly.
Dates to come.
Henok’s artistic practice began from a very young age in the form of creating miniature tools out of found materials and drawings. Although his creativity was evident, Henok was assigned to study physics by Debub University, in Ethiopia in 2001. Two years later, Henok decided to transfer to Addis Ababa University’s Ale School of Fine Arts and Design where he graduated with a B.A in Arts Education in 2008. In 2009, Henok co-founded a unique artist collective in Ethiopia named Netsa Art Village with ten other Ethiopian Artists. The collective is dedicated to showcase experimental artwork and engage the local and international community.Henok generates work through experiments with concepts and techniques ranging from performances, painting and mixed media. His artwork is created intuitively from found materials as well as functional objects from his surroundings. His artwork raises critical discussions toward life existence, consumerism, climate change, the relationship of technology and society. His journey through art allows him to question various matters ranging from personal to universal, and is a conceptual tool to help us understand sophisticated thoughts, find peace of mind and ultimately allow liberation. Henok has shared exhibits and performances internationally including Hamburger Bahnhof Museum of Modern Art, German Cultural Institute Addis Ababa, Berlin Kühl Hause, Asni Gallery, Alliance Ethio-Française, Leipzig International Art residency program (LIAP), British Council Dare Salaam, Kunsthall Oslo to name a few. Simultaneously, he participated in various workshops, residencies, and festivals all over the world. Henok currently works from a studio in Berlin, Germany, where he continues to develop his art through experimentation.
Katherine Tanner Silverman is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Mentalhaus. She has embraced a renaissance theatre career holding various positions including director, education manager, instructor, actor and producer before moving to Chicago. She holds an M.F.A. in European Devised Performance from Columbia College Chicago, a program which included 10-months of intensive study with Arthaus-Berlin in Germany. Most recently, she served as one of the 2020 Festival Directors for The International Voices Project during its 11th season, produced completely virtually for the first time. She performed a solo-devised show titled Lady M based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth exploring the trauma that catalyzes Lady Macbeth’s downward spiral which leads to her demise. Katherine has also begun working with Those Women Productions and director, Rebecca Haley Clark to co-create a virtual performance aptly named Hindsight 2020 which will be performed in April 2021.
We have closed our premiere performance, Lady M.
In case you missed it, here are some highlights!
"It made my skin crawl, grappling with the inner workings of one's brain and self can be so scary and overwhelming.
You made it
seem possible."
"Magical was the perfect way to describe what I saw and how I felt."
"Beautiful images, love the use of compressed space (so perfect for this moment in our lives!)"
"Viewing Lady M (thank you, thank you, thank you!) was for me a beautiful illustration of the mnemodrama in performance. Your constant manipulation of the fabric, giving it a life of its own as a second character, complimented by the continuous shifting of the viewing field, literally taking us through 360 degrees, and you beautiful foregrounding of light and sound, made this a spellbinding immersive experience. The Lady M puppet worked beautifully and I loved the imagery of the cassette tape (“words, words, words,”) as a symbol of Lady M’s rejection of speech, she can only communicate her anguish through gesture and dance."
"This was a phantasmagoria of visual textures in a contemplative rhythm. Thanks for sharing and transporting us to another place."
"I was engrossed from start to finish."
Kennedy Salters is a Georgia native, go Dawgs! Hailing originally from Decatur. Last project you could have seen her in would have been the 2nd National Tour of Waitress as Becky. Besides performing, Kennedy enjoys a good dinner party, medium to heavier bodied red wines, advocacy, and anything Baby Yoda. She is currently focused toward earning her Masters in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling Degree at Capella University, while still traveling for work. She is thrilled to join the board of Mentalhaus and support the beautifully, devised work that it produces.
We are grateful you're here.