Act Now: A Night of Monologues Benefitting Black Lives

In-person shows might be few and far between nowadays, but the Chicago theater continues to morph and innovate even among difficult circumstances. Case in point: On August 6, you can catch an evening of livestreamed monologue performances from ACT NOW, a new activist theater ensemble formed in reaction to the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans. The event, which will be broadcast on Zoom, will feature monologues centered around the 1992 Rodney King riots followed by a cast panel to discuss ties between the monologues and current events. Proceeds from ticket sales will be matched up to $5,000 by SocialWorks (Chance the Rapper's youth education nonprofit) and be divvied up between Assata's Daughters, Black Girls Bread Bread, Brave Space Alliance, GoodKids MadCity and Let Us Breathe Collective.