OnEdge dance, theater series returns to Chicago

Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events will again present OnEdge, an experimental theater, dance and performance series, Jan. 16-feb. 1, 2015, at various venues across the city. Seating for the performances is free and available on a first-come, first-served basis 30 minutes before each show.

Here is the schedule (subject to change):

“URBAN RENEWAL,” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 16-17,Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph: Creator and performer Kyle deCamp depicts his experience growing up in Chicago’s Hyde Park in the chaotic 1960s. During this intimate performance, the audience is invited to bear witness to innocence and the aspirations and failures of modernism.

“SALONATHON,” 9:30 p.m. Jan. 19 and 26 (doors open at 8 p.m.),Beauty Bar, 1444 W. Chicago: Founded & curated by Jane Beachy, Salonathon has run weekly on “Monday nights at Beauty Bar” since July 2011 and is a home for underground, emerging and genre-defying art. Salonathon features two installments of works in progress by local and national artists.

“THE THIEF OF MIRRORS,” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22-23,Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph: As part of the inaugural Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, Montreal-based Daniel Barrow presents this world premiere, where Barrow walks the razor’s edge of irony, challenging systems of class and control in our culture.

“RODNEY KING,” 7 p.m. Jan. 24,DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place: “Rodney King” is a monologue from award-winning actor, writer and director Roger Guenveur Smith. The solo performance recalls the events surrounding the 1992 Los Angeles riot through a “conversation” with King. Smith has a long list of film credits that include Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” “Malcolm X,” “Eve’s Bayou” and “American Gangster,” for which he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.

“REVIVAL,” 9 p.m. Jan. 28-31 (doors open at 8 p.m.), Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph: The creation of Eric Hoff and Jesse Morgan Young serves as equal parts performance and party featuring Chicago artists and DJ Smirk from Wolf + Lamb. This one-of-a-kind experience takes place indoors, backstage at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

“WONDER,” 7 p.m. Jan. 30-31, Links Hall, 3111 N. Western: Michelle Boule pushes her body into new dimensions of exposure in “WONDER.” The dance engages the audience in a purposeful relationship with the performer to mutually explore seeing and being seen. Through a continuous cycle of costumes and personas, Boule explores archetypes and definitions of gender, identity and virtuosity.

“ADS,” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30-31 and 2 p.m. Feb. 1, Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph: “Ads” is a video work by seminal theater artist Richard Maxwell that asks local participants, “What do you believe?” and provides “airtime” for them to answer. Maxwell, a playwright and the artistic director for New York City Players, is the recipient of the 2014 Spalding Gray Award.

For a complete schedule, visit cityofchicago.org/dcase. NOTE: Some performances include adult content and are not recommended for children under 15.