Naked July Preview Night on June 23!

If you are among the many people who are anxiously awaiting the 2012 edition of the Naked July Festival, the artistic team at the National Pastime Theater has the perfect solution for you—a special “sneak peek” night featuring short segments from all of the shows that will be included in the Naked July 2012 celebration. This preview has become a much anticipated event each year since it allows audience members to get a first look at each of the shows, meet with the performers and directors, enjoy live music, and view the gallery of artwork on display in the theater lobby. It’s also a great opportunity to get a look at the great new performance space in the Preston Bradley Building on Lawrence Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood. Credit goes to Warren Winter/PSG for the photo of the new performing space shown here.

The Preview Night festivities begin at 8:00 pm on Saturday, June 23, and admission is free for people who have purchased a Naked July Festival Pass. A Festival Pass is a great value for people who plan to attend all of the shows this summer since it includes a ticket to each of the featured shows as well as special events that are scheduled throughout the run of the festival. If you have not yet purchased a Festival Pass, just click this link to go to the Brown Paper Ticket secure online ticket site:

Individual tickets for the Preview Night may be purchased at the door on the night of the event for $10.

If you have not attended Naked July events in past years, you should mark this event on your calendar and join the celebration. Naked July is about celebrating the beauty of the human body, and what makes this festival special is that there are many opportunities for audience members to get in the spirit and participate. In this sense, Naked July is a perfect manifestation of the self-stated vision of this bold theater company—“National Pastime Theater ensemble has the courage and the artistic vision. We are a company with a new reason for theater: setting to rights the jaded viewpoints of generations weaned on passive entertainment forms. No other theater in Chicago can offer such fearless exploitation of your senses. Where else but the National Pastime Theater lives the promise of the impossible?”

The clothes start coming off on June 23 and the celebration lasts until the beginning of August. Don’t miss the fun!