Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts

### Context Profile for Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts (CIRCA Pintig)

1. **Organization Mission & Cause**:
   - **Mission**: CIRCA Pintig is dedicated to celebrating and promoting the artistic expression of the Filipino and Filipino American community through theatre. Their mission emphasizes cultural representation and the importance of storytelling in preserving and sharing the Filipino heritage.
   - **Cause**: They aim to create a platform for Filipino artists and playwrights, fostering community engagement and cultural exchange, particularly during Filipino American History Month.

2. **Type of Activities**:
   - **Events**: The organization hosts the Chicago Filipino American Theatre Festival, which showcases plays by Filipino and Filipino American writers. The festival includes staged readings and performances at various venues.
   - **Fundraising Campaigns**: They engage in fundraising efforts to support their events and programs, often collaborating with local organizations like PrideArts Chicago and the Rizal Center.
   - **Community Programs**: CIRCA Pintig also conducts workshops and community outreach to engage with local Filipino communities and promote cultural awareness.

3. **Tone of Voice**:
   - The tone is **friendly**, **inviting**, and **celebratory**, with an emphasis on community and cultural pride. The language used is accessible and warm, aiming to connect with a diverse audience while maintaining a professional demeanor.

4. **Emoji Usage**:
   - The organization utilizes emojis sparingly but effectively, such as the 🇵🇭 flag in their email campaigns to emphasize Filipino heritage and pride. This usage adds a personal touch and enhances engagement without overwhelming the content.

5. **Key Facts**:
   - **Founding Info**: Specific founding details were not available on the website, but the organization is recognized as a significant cultural entity in Chicago.
   - **Scale**: They have conducted 15 total forms and sent out 32 email campaigns, indicating an active engagement with their audience.
   - **Impact Metrics**: While specific metrics were not detailed, the hosting of the Chicago Filipino American Theatre Festival suggests a significant cultural impact within the community.
   - **Volunteer Info**: Information on volunteer opportunities was not explicitly stated but can be inferred from their community engagement efforts.

6. **Writing Guidelines**:
   - **Style**: Use a conversational and inclusive tone that reflects the warmth of the Filipino community. 
   - **Structure**: Keep sentences clear and concise, with a focus on storytelling and cultural significance.
   - **Call to Action**: Encourage participation in events and community activities, using direct and engaging language.
   - **Visual Elements**: Incorporate emojis where appropriate to enhance emotional connection, particularly in social media and email communications.

This context profile provides a comprehensive overview of CIRCA Pintig, enabling AI assistants to generate tailored and effective content that resonates with the organization's mission and audience.

LXCL:Enjoy the full program with access to all main activities.

General Admission

Hi <span contenteditable="false" data-custom-variable="{{firstname}}" fr-original-class="fr-deletable styled-tag-chip" fr-original-style="" style="background-color: rgb(248, 248, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(191, 191, 255); border-radius: 4px; color: rgb(42, 42, 196); padding: 1px 8px; font-size: 11px; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: anywhere; user-select: none; box-sizing: inherit;">First name, Thank you for registering for our event and supporting our cause. Your registration greatly helps our mission. 🚀 If you would like to contribute further, contact us to become a volunteer, or talk to your friends about our cause! Ginger Leopoldoginger@circapintig.org

<div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:auto 0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Panther in the Sky by Lani T. Montreal — A Staged Reading  <p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:auto 0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit"> </div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:auto 0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Northeastern Illinois University College of Arts and Sciences partners with Filipino-American Theatre Arts group CIRCA Pintig to bring a staged reading of NEIU graduate student Lani T. Montreal’s play Panther in the Sky to El Centro Campus. The play was a runner-up for Chicago Readers’ Best of 2024 after it premiered at Chicago Danztheatre in May last year to sold-out audiences. This reprise offers audiences another chance to engage with a work that raises important questions of accountability, systemic injustices, and intergenerational trauma as they relate to needless gun violence in the U.S. </div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:auto 0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit"> </div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:auto 0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Panther in the Sky brings together four mothers from working-class neighborhoods in Chicago who have lost sons to gun violence. Their mourning turns metaphoric and metaphysical as their sons join the grieving mothers onstage as spectral onlookers from the afterlife. Theatre reviewer Wesley David notes, “With exquisite sensitivity and profound insight, Montreal crafts each character with depth and authenticity, allowing their voices to resonate with universal truths while honoring the specificity of their individual experiences.” </div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:auto 0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit"> </div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:auto 0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">In its initial run, the work was lauded for both its ambition and resonance. Tristan Bruns of New City Stage praised the fusion of music and narrative to traverse intimate grief and social urgency: “The play is interspersed with song, as when the mothers sing ‘Amazing Grace’ in four-part harmony, or when the sons perform an energetic rap. A recurring eulogy somberly sung by the mothers is an appropriate dirge that sticks in the memory after the show is over.” Bruns also underscored the work’s civic import: “Panther in the Sky shines a light on the debilitating effects of gun violence on families and is a cogent reminder of how the city can better serve its minority residents.” By renewing this production, NEIU and CP aim to amplify underheard voices, deepen community connection, and activate art as a site of healing and advocacy. </div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:auto 0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit"> </div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:auto 0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">In a time when gun violence continues to plague American neighborhoods, Panther in the Sky remains an urgent theatrical expression as well as “a testament to the power of empathy, compassion, and solidarity in the face of unspeakable tragedy,” added Wesley David in his Buzz Stage Center review. </div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:auto 0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit"> </div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Lani T. Montreal is a playwright, educator, and lifelong learner whose work often addresses themes of identity, memory, and social justice. This is the second time she is showcasing her work at NEIU El Centro after a successful performance of her solo play Anak ni Tapia: Leaving Mother in March this year. </div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:auto 0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">  </div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">What to Expect </div><div><ul><li><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Dates &amp; Times: November 13, 7PM </li></ul></div><div><ul><li><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Venue: NEIU El Centro 3390 W. Avondale Ave., Chicago, IL 60618</li></ul></div><div><ul><li><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Creative &amp; Cast Team: Gaby Muralles-Ball, Gustavo Duran, Shina Jones, Ginger Leopoldo, Jonathan Riley, Kyle Tampengco, Jamia Amira Taylor, Paul Williams &amp; Nina Mae Vidal, Lani T. Montreal </li></ul></div><div><ul><li><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Talkbacks &amp; Engagement: Post-show discussions with cast, creatives, and invited community voices will accompany performances.  </li></ul></div><div><ul><li><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Accessibility &amp; Ticketing: FREE &amp; OPEN TO THE PUBLIC</li></ul></div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit"> </div><div><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">For media inquiries, interview requests, or to reserve press seats, please contact <a href="mailto:ginger@circapintig.org" target="_blank">ginger@circapintig.org</a><p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit"> <p style="-webkit-user-drag:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;user-select:text;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;vertical-align:baseline;font-kerning:none;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">This project is funded in part by 3Arts Foundation.</div>

Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts

Panther in the Sky Tour at NEIU El Centro

3390 N Avondale Ave

General Admission

Free

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