mpaact
Ma'at Production Association of Afrikan Centered Theatre
SEASON 35
Crossing the Big Water
In Association with FATE
by: Shepsu Aakhu
October 16 - November 29, 2026
MPAACT & FATE (Fehinty African Theater Ensemble) come together to explore the varied voices of African immigrants in Chicago.
Three decades in the making, this production is an adaptation of more than 20 personal stories, collected by multiple cultural institutions, looking to document the remarkable vitality of these communities.
Seen through the lens of America’s 250th anniversary, Crossing the Big Water takes an often joyous, sometimes humorous, and always unflinchingly honest look at the myriad ways Africans have built a life for themselves in inside the American experiment.
Asylum
by: Shepsu Aakhu
January 15 - February 28, 2027
Father Daniel Bowman is the young charismatic shepherd of his first congregation in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. When 17 year-old Idania “Eden” Cux-Castaneda steps into his confessional, she brings a world of troubles with her. Eden's life - forever beyond her control - is at a crossroad.
Seeking the protection of the church Eden and Father Bowman maneuver the shadow life of America’s “undocumented” to wrest control of her fate from the political machinery of an autocratic state.
Water Returns
by: Antonio Lyons
April 16 - May 30, 2027
Antonio David Lyons is a renowned international art maker. With Water Returns - developed with MPAACT from the ground up - Antonio has been on a creative odyssey nurtured in Cuba, South Africa, Brazil and the US.
In this solo tour de force, directed by South African artist Riloe Leoere, Antonio utilizes music, movement, and spoken word to explore the many modes of his life.
Water Returns is also a lyrical anthropological investigation into the cultures of Cuba, framed both by Antonio’s participation in the 29th Habana International Poetry Festival and the passing of his mother.
Most importantly, Water Returns speaks to the multi-modal essence of life. Asking one of the most foundational questions in modern life: How do you rehydrate your soul?