Join the Black chamber music ensemble D-Composed and legendary Chicago actor Cheryl Lynn Bruce as they create an evening of music and meditation celebrating the work of Black composers and theatre artists. This restorative musical experience will be accompanied by a reading room dedicated to narratives of Black theatre history at Hull-House, activated by theatre artist Ericka Ratcliff.
D-composed is a Chicago-based Black chamber music collective that celebrates Black culture and creativity through the music of Black composers. They aim to make classical music experiences inclusive and reflective of the Black experience by intentionally creating experiences that meet their community where they are.
Cheryl Lynn Bruce is a Chicago-based director, actor and playwright. Her career has been focused on developing and directing works that highlight underrepresented stories. Ms. Bruce was the Inaugural Fellow of the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media-Columbia College Chicago, for which she received funding and research support for the development of a performance project based on the life of Black colonial slave poet Phillis Wheatley. She also developed a performance project based on the life of Edward Alexander Bouchet, Yale’s first Black doctoral graduate in Physics. Ms. Bruce directed Kerry James Marshall’s Rythm Mastr for the Wexner Center for the Arts in Ohio. She received both a Jane Addams Hull House Association Woman of Valor Award and a coveted 3Arts Artist Award with unrestricted grant in support of her work in theatre arts. Ms. Bruce has appeared on stages across the country as well as in Europe and Mexico.
Ericka Ratcliff is a multidisciplinary artist serving as the Literary Manager at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and the Coordinating Producer for 100 Free Acts at Goodman Theatre. Formerly the Artistic Director at Congo Square Theatre Company, she programmed critically acclaimed productions such as Welcome to Matteson, What To Send Up When It Goes Down and How I Learned What I Learned, and served as the Executive Producer of The Blackside digital series. As a director, her credits also include Chlorine Sky(Steppenwolf for Young Adults), WHITE! (Definition Theatre), Blues for an Alabama Sky (UIC), Hit the Wall(NIU), and The Wolves (University of Chicago). Ericka is a recipient of the Chicago 3Arts Make A WaveAward, a Walder Foundation finalist, a Chicago Women in Philanthropy mentee, an ArtsEquity BIPOC Leadership Cohort member in 2023, The Civic Actors Studio participant and an ensemble member at Lookingglass Theatre. As an actor, she was last seen on stage in the Jeff Award-winning production of Penelopiad at Goodman Theatre. A passionate storyteller and advocate, Ericka is committed to creating bold, resonant work that amplifies underrepresented voices, fosters dialogue and builds community.
Image: Yolanda T. Bryant performing in In White America for the Hull-House touring theatre, 1966. Image courtesy of the Newberry Library, Chicago.
Act Well Your Part is supported by the Discovery Partners Institute
