HISTORY

Since 1999, Walkabout Theater Company has produced dynamic theatrical events, original site-specific performances and international research into experimental ensemble practice.

Founded by Kristan Schmidt (artistic director 1999-2010), the early company focused on experimental and site-specific performances that featured emergent writers and theater-makers (see ARCHIVE).

Between 2014-2020 a dedicated performance ensemble created a hybrid laboratory/storefront producing model that established a unique montage aesthetic with indoor and outdoor work as well as ongoing research into techniques of embodied performance and ensemble co-creation. (see ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE).

CHANGING OUR NAME

Walkabout is in the process of changing its name in response to the colonial weaponization of the term “walkabout” against Indigenous Australians. Learn more here.

Recognized internationally for its unique practice of co-creation, recent highlights include The Raveling (2019), a multi-year collaboration with Delhi ensemble Guild of the Goat, Toronto vocalist Fides Krucker, and Chicago writer Morgan McNaught, presented at the Chicago Physical Theater Festival, Chicago’s Night Out in the Parks, and Victory Garden’s Prince Hall in Chicago; Monuments (2018), a free stilt-dance spectacle created in collaboration with Kristina Isabelle and the Chicago architecture firm Studio Gang; and The Brink! Or Nobody’s Ever Kissed Me Like That (2018), a cabaret at the end of the world presented with support from the National Performance Network at Links Hall, Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, Dartmouth’s VoxFest, Krakow’s Cricoteka, and the 8th Annual Theater Olympics in Mumbai, India.