This fall, Unexpected Company will cross boundaries - both figuratively and literally - and embark on an exciting new project in conjunction with The Imagine Foundation in Jacksonville, Illinois. Thanks to funding from Arts Midwest and Imagine's other generous community partners, Unexpected Company will create a new theatrical work with music entitled “You Don’t Know Me”, with material generated in collaboration with students from four Jacksonville schools: Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, Illinois School for the Deaf, Routt Catholic High School, and Westfair Christian Academy.

Two Unexpected Company artists will spend a week in Jacksonville in the fall of 2009, conducting theatre workshops designed to challenge students to explore both sensory and emotional perceptions and reflect on them in written and visual form.  The company will collect the student writings and artwork and work during the winter to thread them together into a performance piece.  They will will return to Jacksonville with a larger company to conduct follow-up workshops with the students and perform the finished work for the community in the spring of 2010.

As we hope to have more student contributions than can possibily be included in the show, we will be putting up a new section on this site devoted to the project where student writing and artwork can be showcased. Keep checking this site for future updates on the project.

ACTORS NEEDED:

We will be auditioning central Iowa area actors and actor/singers for this production later in the year. We anticipate needing 4-5 performers who can play high school age characters and are available to travel out of state for several days in the spring. We will be looking specifically for performers who know some American Sign Language (or are willing to learn). If you are interested in being considered for the company, please e-mail a résumé and headshot to unexpectedco@mchsi.com.