Port of Entry
Albany Park Theatre Project & Third Rail Projects
July 23, 2023 onwards (open run)
Director: David Feiner, Jennine Willett, Miguel Rodriguez, Maggie Popadiak, Steph Paul, Edward Rice, Marissa Nielsen-Pincus, Roxanne Kidd.
Set Designer: Scott C Neale. Lighting & Projection Designers: Elizabeth Mak. Associate Lighting: Nicole Lang.
Composer & Sound Designer: Mikhail Fiksel. Costume Designer: Izumi Inaba.
portofentrychicago.com
NoPro’s Best Immersive Experience of 2023
”American Dreams Are Just Out of Reach in Stunning ‘Port of Entry’” No Proscenium
”Port of Entry is a tribute to those who came first” Chicago Tribune
”A Warehouse Becomes a Home in ‘Port of Entry’” American Theatre magazine
”Port of Entry offers an exhilarating journey” Chicago Reader
”Immersive ‘Port of Entry’ opens our eyes and hearts to immigrant family experiences in Chicago” Chicago Sun Times
‘Port of Entry’ was one of those once-in-a-lifetime kind of projects. It took 5 years and hundreds of people to bring to life. That 3-story warehouse building in Northwest Chicago is a very special place for many of us. It houses the homes and dreams of a better world, and the stories of American immigrants from the past century. Get your ticket as soon as you can as we sell out months in advance. Book a plane ticket to O’Hare and come to Albany Park to experience something quite unlike anything else.
Almost from the beginning we knew that lighting would have to transport us through time, space, and memory, weaving us into the lived experience of migration. We chose to limit ourselves to natural sources of light (such as daylight coming through windows and lamps you find in your home) to preserve the realism of the apartments, such that when you first encounter the actors, you meet them as real people grounded in Albany Park. Then light and sound magic happens, and the audience gets thrown on an unexpected and emotional journey with our families across thousands of miles. And of course there are quite a few hidden surprises, little gifts of joy and wonder from us to you, so you will just have to come and witness them for yourself.
Getting the daylight right was really important. Even though there was no more than 8 inches between the window pane and the wall of the building, we needed the audience to buy that there was daytime and nighttime beyond those walls. That became really important to several sequences in the show, such as a jet lag story, a harrowing train journey, and a time travel montage.
Also, a final behind-the-scenes peak at our command central. The show runs off 6 computers. If you happen to be in this room during the show, you’ll know exactly where every actor is in every single scene, because moments are often timed out to the second. That’s a lot of things happening simultaneously in a 2.5 hour show!
