Written and Performed by teens in the Free Street Theater ensemble
Directed and Facilitated by Ron Bieganski. Assistant Director: Anita Evans               
Ensemble: Dina Ahmetspahic, Cheryl Doyle, Ashley Echevarria, Giovanni Gonzalez, Karina Gonzalez, Ashley Johnson, Abraham Mendoza, Chiagoziem Nwakanma, Celina Rivera, Petra Samardzija

Opens Sat. Jan. 24  at   2pm
Runs Jan. 24 – Feb. 28
Fridays at 7 pm and Saturdays at 2 pm

Feb 21: Special Illinois Humanities Council Public Square performance: SOLD OUT!

S.P.Y. Packs a Punch!
Special Extended Performances
Saturdays March 7, 14, 21 at 2pm

"Sub-Prime Youth is about what the social, psychological impacts that foreclosures and the economy has on our youth and families. Not too much of that is being talked about or discussed. It was great. You have a cadre of talent in your theater."

- Ruben D. Feliciano, Housing Policy Analyst & Outreach Coordinator Latino Policy Forum

At Free Street Theater                                        
1419 W. Blackhawk Ave. 3rd Floor at Pulaski Park, Chicago Illinois 60642                                
3 blocks from Division Blue line.  Just east of Ashland between North & Division. Map. Free street parking                                

Tickets:  $15 General, $5 Students, Free if home is in foreclosure!

Listen to a scene from Sub-Prime Youth.

Click here to purchase tickets online.

Tickets also available at the door. Make Reservations at (773) 772-7248   
                                       

“So now what? You failed. You fucking failed. You’re reduced to a pile of cinders burnt on the floor accumulating filth and all you can say is ‘you failed?’ Get up! Get up!”  - from Sub-Prime Youth

Sub-Prime Youth is an ensemble created performance developed as a creative reaction to the current economic crisis and rise in foreclosures.  2008 saw foreclosures in the Chicago area rise nearly 40%. (Chicago Tribune Dec.4, 2008) As of yet, none of the bailout money has been directly marked for homeowners.

Sub-Prime Youth weaves the brutal realism of a Mexican-American family facing foreclosure with the emotional surreal music of the Muses of Destruction. In Sub-Prime Youth, a group of 1st generation Mexican-American youth finds protection from the collapsing American Dream by inventing a cynical reality. The psychological hit from the failure of all their and their parents’ expectations is tremendous.
“We didn't fall from owners to renters. We fell from owners back to immigrants.  That is a long-ass way to fall.” 

Sub-Prime Youth is as fresh as a bruise and thought provoking as an unguarded talk with a screwed-up teenager. No one under 13 years of age will be permitted into the performance, because of the brutal language used in play.

All performances will have a post-show discussion with information from the Spanish Coalition for Housing about how to save your home from foreclosure. There will be free child care for the Sat. Jan. 31 performance at 2pm. 

Thanks to: Alphawood Foundation, After School Matters, The Blowitz-Ridgeway Foundation, CCAP/Urban Missions, CityArts 2 Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, COP from the Department of Cultural Affairs, Gaylord nd Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Field Foundation of Illinois, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Leo S. Guthman Fund, Irving Harris Fund, Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, Illinois Humanities Council, Mayer and Morris Kaplan Family Foundation, Polk Bros Foundation, Theater Communications Group, Woods Fund of Chicago. Free Street is in residency at Pulaski PArk through the Chicago Park District's Arts Partners in Residence program.