Five Chicago public school teachers, their frazzled vice-principal and a defiant but motivated student take on a failing school system. Fierce, funny, and charged with anger, Exit Strategy follows the motley crew as they band together to save the demolition of their school and regain the optimism and courage, they thought they’d lost forever. Ricky, the vice principal, has stayed firmly on the sidelines for all of the teachers' previous battles, but now in the eleventh hour, he's compelled to step up with a plan to save the school. Some risk their futures to follow his lead, but does he actually have any idea what he's doing?
Inspired by the 2013 mass closure of 49 Chicago public schools which displaced nearly 12,000 children – the majority from African-Americans and Latinx neighborhoods, EXIT STRATEGY rips open questions about class divisions and asks how we can inspire each other to keep hope alive to fight the system.
Brutally funny, EXIT STRATEGY marks UIC’s first production of a play in Ike Holter’s epic 7-play cycle exploring life right now in Chicago.
ACCESSIBILITY:
For accessibility, accommodations and special requests, please contact Neal McCollam(opens in new window).
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:
CTA Blue Line to UIC-Halsted. There are 3 exits from this platform. Take the far west exit with the long ramp (towards Morgan Street). There are also CTA buses (#7 and #60) that stop directly in front of our building.
