"Did you say to me that you was funny?...Black folks don't have that [LGBT]. That's a white people disease..."
Past Projects
CLEANING CLOSETS: THE 20/20 TOUR
Across Kentucky throughout 2020
Cleaning Closets: Chicago Youth
November 7-8, 2017
Produced and Directed by Jonathan Mayo
Cleaning Closets® is an oral history project that collects and shares true coming out stories from BOTH sides of the closet door. This includes the perspective of the LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as that of the friends and family to whom they come out. This performance of the project was devised based on the personal stories of Chicago youth during a 2-day intensive workshop, which included theatre exercises, trainings, guest speakers, and group discussions.
ENSEMBLE
Bea Cordelia ★ Rashaad Hall ★ Charli Williams
PRODCUTION TEAM
Stage Manager Jayden Epps ★ Filmmaker Britney Alsot ★ Filmmaker Ray Goldberg
LOGO DESIGN
Moises Villada
WORKSHOP GUESTS
Rev. Shawna Bowman ★ Nat Duran ★ Luis Moreno ★ Victor Salvo
SPECIAL THANKS
PC Gooden-Smiley and the Alderman’s Office of the 46th Ward
Illinois Safe Schools Alliance
Anonymous Youth
This project is partially supported by an Individual Artists Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, as well as a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
returning to my alma mater of morehead state university was surreal and invigorating. The students took Cleaning Closets to a whole new level as we devised a new work out of their own stories. read about their experiences in their blog posts.
Cleaning Closets: A Night of Storytelling featured great performers from Chicago's storytelling scene. Jonathan Mayo shared his story alongside Jeremy Owens, Laura Stempel, and Katie L.
After making some initial edits to the original script, selected scenes were chosen to perform at Northwestern University in Evanston. The performance and panel discussion was hosted by Project Shout Out. Check out the rehearsal video in the Archives.
The very first incarnation of Cleaning Closets was the staged reading performed at the African-American Cultural Center at the University of Illinois Chicago hosted by the Gender & Sexuality Center. There was a talk-back where we received great feedback on the script, followed by a reception. Check out the cast photo in the Archives