Stage Manager

UrbanTheater Company is producing a workshop development of frikiNation written by Krystal Ortiz and directed by Kidany Camilo – A bilingual jukebox musical about rebellious youth in 90s Cuba confronting political oppression. We are looking for a Stage Manager to be available for all rehearsals and both performance dates.

Rehearsals and performances will be at the Chicago Cultural Center at 78 E Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602

Key Dates (subject to change):
Tues Feb 11, 5-10pm (5 hrs)
Thur Feb 13, 5-10pm (5 hrs)
Fri Feb 14, 5-10pm (5hrs)
Sat Feb 15 7-9pm (2hrs)
Tues Feb 18, 5-10pm (5 hrs)
Wed Feb 19, 5-10pm (5 hrs)
Thur Feb 20, 5-10pm (5 hrs)
Sun Feb 23 11a-1pm (2hrs)

FRIKINATION SYNOPSIS:

In Cuba, a ‘friki’ is simply someone who is a fan of rock music and its counter-culture. That was until the early 90s when a wave of young frikis took extreme measures to rig the communist system in their favor. Being diagnosed with HIV meant you were destined to live in a government-sanctioned hospital that provided you with three meals a day, regular medical attention, and a lower chance of being arrested for the very serious crime of wearing an American flag bandana. So frikis across Havana, Pinar del Rio, and Santa Clara started to take matters into their own hands by self-injecting with HIV-positive blood to access a higher quality of life than what they could achieve as the misfits of society. Quickly, the term ‘friki’ started to take on the meaning of a danger to society, a freak spreading AIDS across the island. However, the frikis were simply answering the state’s omnipresent sentiment of “patria o muerte” (country or death), with their own empowered response: “I’ll take death if it means having my freedom”. Using the 2002 album “al fin, por fin” by the Cuban punk band, EsKoria, FRIKINATION is a historical bilingual jukebox musical that follows a tight-knit group of friends trying to thrive in an oppressive regime. They fall in love and laugh and thrash while considering a liberated path to death as a viable alternative to being stifled at every turn.