Mud Theatre Project

Before toys wrapped in plastic, we had mud—wet earth shaped into our first worlds. For communities the economy overlooked, mud wasn’t a sign of scarcity but a place of invention and possibility. Mud Theatre carries that spirit forward, shaping vital stories from difficult soil and giving voice to what the world often tries to ignore.

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Performances

  • Resilience Arts Festival

    October 24-26, 2025

    A three-day celebration of art and resilience featuring performances, workshops, and community gatherings.

  • Story of Violence

    November 6, 2025

    A powerful performance exploring the complexities of violence, healing, and transformation.

  • Dr. Burroughs Showcase

    November 8, 2025

    An evening celebrating the work and impact of Dr. Burroughs and the ensemble.

Programs

  • Reentry & Love Workshops

    This workshops bringing together returning citizens and their families to build stronger relationships.

    Start Date: Monday, February 9, 2026
    When: Twice a month on Mondays
    Time: 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
    Where: Click below for more information.

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  • A Creative Journalism & Narrative Lab

    The Writer’s Block is a professional workspace dedicated to creative writing and journalism. Whether you are telling your own story, drafting a play, or reporting on community issues, this program provides the tools, the space, and the community to get your work finished.

    Start Date: Monday, January 12, 2026
    When: Every Monday Night
    Time: 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
    Where: Walls Turned Sideways | 2717 W. Madison St., Chicago, IL

  • Stage Ready Workforce Program

    Paid creative apprenticeships that build both artistic and job readiness skills for returning residents.

    Community Partnerships

    Collaborations with groups like Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation and Chicago Votes to educate and mobilize communities through art.

The Artists

Brian Beals | Director

Thirty-five years for a crime he never committed. Exonerated in 2023, Brian emerged not bitter but focused. This Chicago-born activist, organizer, and award-winning playwright builds programs for communities fractured by injustice. His work creates containers strong enough to hold survival stories, platforms high enough to amplify testimony into transformation

Tekamia “Queen” Cannon | Ensemble Member

My name is Tekamia “Queen” Cannon. I grew up on the Chicago’s West Side, raised with three brothers. At the age of 16, I was indirectly system impacted by way of my older brother’s incarceration. That tragic event proved to be bittersweet; because through the loss of my brother, I learned that I am a resilient person. I believe that sharing stories matters and the Mud Theatre Project is a way I can help heal my sisters and brothers.

Darius Franklin | Ensemble Member

"FIX" earned his nickname through action. Darius channels relentless positive energy into co-creating programs that center marginalized voices. He led Mud Theatre performances of "The Zoo" at Access Living and "Three Stages of Incarceration" at Grow Greater Englewood Plaza. His approach: art isn't observation. It's intervention.

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Banner Made in Captivity

The banner representing our values was stitched inside the Illinois Department of Corrections. Created by incarcerated hands, colored by confined imaginations, assembled with the focused patience of people who've learned to make meaning from restriction. It testifies to what we know absolutely: creativity survives every cage we build, art outlasts every system designed to contain it.

Larger Than Any Individual

Mud Theatre Project is built by system-impacted artists, guided by survivors of what shouldn't exist, sustained by communities refusing to abandon each other. We are playwrights and poets, organizers and educators, exonerated citizens and still-incarcerated visionaries. We get our stories out of the mud. We're not leaving anyone behind.