The collective.
Eleusis Collective is dedicated to creating "a space for the female imaginary." Eleusis is a Chicago-based company that explores issues of gender, identity, and representation through performance, literary, and multimedia arts. In summer 2012, we launched our first project in the community of Rutland, VT, implementing a theatre arts workshop for local high school girls. In fall 2012, we produced an original play called The Last Sleepover at the Chicago Fringe Festival. In spring 2013, we tackled the Chicago premiere of Sam Holcroft's Vanya, exploring Chekhov's characters (especially female) through a contemporary lens in a unique site-specific production in Logan Square.
You can learn more about Eleusis past productions here.
You can learn more about Eleusis past productions here.
The mission.
Eleusis seeks to empower girls and women to become fierce artists by exploring questions of gender, identity, and representation through performance, literary, and multimedia arts. We strive to create an artistic space in which female artists can train and collaborate, forging a community that will last long after each project ends.
The name.
The name for the collective, Eleusis [ih-loo-sis], comes from an ancient Greek site in Attica, where women would partake in mysterious rituals for the cult of Demeter. This included an important coming-of-age ritual for young women, who would climb a ladder deep underground to re-enact Persephone’s trip to Hades--and her return. We loved the idea of a secret space for young women to communally retreat and reflect upon experiences through artistic collaboration: where we can imagine our lives beyond the here-and-now, where we can enable possibilities that take us far.
