Your #StaytheFHome Curated Weekend: 4/2 and Beyond

It's a new month and our social distancing and stay at home ordinance goes on. But just because we're stuck at home doesn't mean we can't have some fun! There are tons of fun ideas highlighted in this week's curated weekend including some from last week's #StaytheFHome edition where the editors here at Third Coast Review banded together and suggested a few things you can enjoy while you're at home during these social distancing, self quarantining days! Since we're all still in this together, we encourage you to check out Do312's running list of venues that could use some love! Donate if you can and remember to support them by going to shows once it's safe to do so! Let's stay the fuck inside and enjoy your curated weekend!

THE WHOLE SELF-DISTANCING WEEKEND, MARCH 26th and Beyond

Reading Events Online @ American Writers Museum, month of April WHAT: The American Writers Museum is offering many programs online, including evening author talks and Saturday morning Little Squirrels Storytime. SO WHAT: Author talks will be available as webinars live at 6:30pm on April 8, 14 and 29. Kids can watch Little Squirrels Storytime at 10:30am on Saturdays, with three pre-recorded stories read each time. Watch it on Facebook but videos will also be posted to YouTube and IGTV if you can't tune in live. NOW WHAT: These events are free. Check the events calendar and register for author talks. Registration isn’t required for Little Squirrels Storytime. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=16&v=K42ZUUBeHSY&feature=emb_logo Masque of the Red Coronavirus! @ Black Button Eyes Productions, Any time on your computer or mobile device. For 18+. WHAT: Written by Black Button Eyes Productions producing artistic director Ed Rutherford, this short satirical piece is available online free as a combined script-and-video experience. SO WHAT: In addition to reading the play, you will see various Chicago artists act out portions of the script on video, recorded remotely. The event includes puppets, burlesque, original music, fire dancing and more in a brief, darkly comedic confection. With the Red Coronavirus running rampant across the countryside and a vaccine still months away, what's a Prince to do? Lock himself in a secure bunker in an undisclosed location along with a cohort of his top donors, of course. To prevent him and his rich supporters from becoming bored, the Prince has also brought a few artists into the bunker to entertain the crowd. But as the hour grows later and the night grows weirder, it's clear that something else has also invaded the party. NOW WHAT: Settle down for an evening of magical weirdness. Click here and begin reading and watching the videos. Video Archives/Access Project @ Columbia College The Dance Center, their website, pretty much any time in the next two months, All Ages WHAT: Some wonderful Dance Videos for your day! SO WHAT: While The Dance Center at Columbia College can't host any of their planned live performances, you can still delight in some great past shows! The Dance Center at Columbia College is sharing full-length performance videos from their archives for students, educators, and dance lovers everywhere. There are tons to see and they will be available until the end of May 2020. NOW WHAT: All the beautiful performance are available here! Kids Make Videos for Play@Home Contest @ Chicago Children's Theatre, whenever you have some free time to have fun, All Ages WHAT: Young artists (12 and under) stuck at home can exercise their creativity by making a 5-minute video for this CCT contest. NOW WHAT: Write your story as a video script. Be sure to create a mythical creature, include a villain, and get family members and pets involved. SO WHAT: See our story about the Play@Home Contest with all the rules and ideas. Deadline is April 20. Bring the Zoo to You @ Brookfield Zoo's Facebook page, when you want to see some animals besides your pets or specifically 11:00am, All Ages WHAT: A great way to make your kids' time at home entertaining and educational NOW WHAT: Join Brookfield Zoo on Facebook every weekday at 11:00am for a "Bring The Zoo To You" Facebook Live featuring one of their animals as well as plenty of educational, informative insight from one of our Animal Care Specialists. If you can't make it at 11, that's okay. The video will be saved afterward on Facebook as well as on their YouTube channel. SO WHAT: Just jump in to the chat at their Facebook page to learn something new Video Archives @ Chicago Humanities Festival YouTube channel, your favorite browser or YouTube's app, any time you want some inspiration, All Ages WHAT: Interesting conversations with interesting people! SO WHAT: Chicago Humanities Festival brings some of the best ideas to the surface with entertaining programming that captures your imagination. All of their events through May and ticket sales have been postponed, but you can dig through their archives of amazing talk with the likes of Tom Hanks talking with Peter Sagal, Lin Manuel Miranda in conversation with Chris Jones, Alicia Garza speaking with Jenna Wortham! NOW WHAT: Take a look at their past events here! 2666--Binge Theater Online Free @ Goodman Theatre website, your favorite web browser, whenever you have 5.5 hours of free time to binge watch this great play WHAT: In 2016, Goodman Theatre staged 2666, a 5.5-hour adaptation of the massive masterpiece novel by Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño SO WHAT: Goodman has made 2666 available for streaming free since 2018. The production comes in four linked parts (they can be watched individually) set in five distinct time periods and geographic locations, including the Nazi era and a Mexican city where the police department is a bit lax about solving hundreds of femicides. Read our review. We called it "a stupendous display of theatrical hubris." NOW WHAT: View 2666 here. Each segment runs 68-80 minutes. Concerts Live-streams and Local Shows Archives @ Your House, Any time you please, All Ages WHAT: There's tons of concerts from Chicago's yesteryear available online for your enjoyment! SO WHAT: Oh My Rockness has done a fantastic job of cataloging some of the upcoming live-streams from the awesome musical acts out there! Check out the listings and tune in to these great shows from the comfort of home! Do312 have also shared some past Chicago shows that are certainly worth of a watch. There are also so many great local concerts recorded for posterity and what better time to check them all out than during this self isolation period. Audiotree has a fantastic and huge list of sessions with links to band's websites and merch to help support them even more. In addition to our previous recommendations like Fran, Tasha, KAINA, Divino Nino, and The Ophelias, we also recommend ROOKIE, Emily Blue, Sen Morimoto, Beach Bunny, Tennis, and Gia Margaret! Then head over to their record concerts from Lincoln Hall, Scubas, and beyond to check out Orville Peck, of Montreal, and so many more! JBTV is also a fantastic resource for sessions from bands that have come through Chicago! Just take a look at this playlist of Blind Melon's '95 set at Metro! And of course Metro's twitter is still doling out daily selections of past shows! NOW WHAT: Stay home, watch some live music, and be sure to check out your favorite artist's social media, you never know who might be live streaming next! Video Games @ Your home PC or Console, As long as it takes, Just check the game rating WHAT: Video-games for all! SO WHAT: Check out our games page for some recommendations of what games to download (and avoid) while we're stuck at home. If you're a PC user, head over to the Epic Games store as a new batch of FREE games was just released: Totally Reliable Delivery Service, Gone Home and Hob! NOW WHAT: Wash your hands and dive head first into some fun games Movies @ Home, On most devices with a screen, Any time, WHAT: If you haven't been catching up on movies during this free time, we think you should! SO WHAT: There are so many movie available on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and beyond (like Criterion Channel which offers a two-week free trial, Sundance NOW with a 30 day free trial using code “SUNDANCENOW30”, and the horror focused Shudder offering 30 days free with promo code “SHUTIN”)! Now's the time to catch up especially with so many recently in theater film coming to VOD! You can support local theaters like the Gene Siskel Film Center as they offer a variety of great films through their Film Center from Your Sofa series and Music Box Theatre by watching Bacurau on KinoNow, who will be giving 50% of proceeds to the Music Box! Check out our the review of Bacurau here! NOW WHAT: Grab some popcorn and enjoy from the comfort of home (but once it's safe to go out again, support movie theaters!).