Special Events at the Naked July Festival

In keeping with the underlying themes of the Naked July Festival and the celebration of the human form in all artistic media, the producers have once again scheduled a series of special events throughout the month of July so that artists and audience members can experience a variety of creative efforts.

As part of the Preview Night festivities on June 24, a group of artists and models got together in the NPT performance space and gave audience members a chance to mingle with them and observe the creative process as they created nude figure studies. Male and female models posed for the group of artists, and the dress code was clothing optional for artists as well as the models. Gary Schirmer, the curator of the fine art gallery in the NPT lobby, shared this photo from the event and was the organizer of the figure drawing special event. Don't forget to check out the outstanding fine art drawings, paintings, and sculptures in the lobby before and after you see the shows--the art pieces are all up for auction, so ask about the bidding process and the reserve prices when you pick up your tickets.

On Sunday, July 10, audience members were treated to a special multimedia performance by a group called the Impending Behavior Orchestra. The musical group is led by Barry Bennett who was pleased to return to National Pastime Theater where he performed many years ago, and he was joined by musicians Toru Hironaka and Edward Reardon. Kristin Reeves created the video segments and worked with the musicians throughout the evening as they created an “improvised splendor of sound and sight.” Reeves is a multimedia artist whose work always involves bodies and space and has been contributing moving images to live solo and collaborative performances in Chicago since 2005. You can read more about the creative work of these performance artists on their web sites—Barry Bennett Sounds and Kristin Reeves: Artist.


Be sure to watch the Naked July web site for information about upcoming special events and news about the shows that are appearing on the NPT stage this summer—Salome, Rain, and the Beast Women. You can also find the screening times for the Naked July cinema series on the web site.