Winner's choice of four (4) accent/dialect packages plus a private coaching session with a professional dialect coach

Every actor knows the panic: you booked the role, and now you need a flawless Dublin brogue by Tuesday. Enter AccentHelp: the go-to dialect resource for working actors, audiobook narrators, and theatre teachers everywhere, with a catalog of 50+ accents from Cockney to Cajun, Scottish to Slavic.

This package includes four accent/dialect packages of your choice — complete with guided audio lessons, native speaker recordings, transcripts, and cheat sheets you'll download and keep forever — plus the crown jewel: a private one-on-one coaching session with Jim Johnson, AccentHelp's founder. Jim is a Professor Emeritus of voice and dialects whose coaching resume includes the Alley Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, Westport Country Playhouse, the Prague Shakespeare Company, and the SXSW live event for the final season of Game of Thrones. He's the secret weapon behind hundreds of productions — and for one session, he's yours.

Whether you're prepping an audition, polishing a role, or adding four new accents to your resume, this is the package Chicago actors will be fighting over.

Details:

• Four (4) downloadable accent/dialect packages — winner's choice from the AccentHelp catalog
• One (1) private phone or video coaching session with Jim Johnson
• Coaching session scheduled directly with AccentHelp by email; subject to coach availability
• Donated by AccentHelp (www.accenthelp.com)
• Fair market value: $240

Treat yourself to a full month of Chicago's premier fitness experience, courtesy of Fitness Formula Clubs. This package unlocks a complimentary one-month multi-club membership good at any of FFC's 10 locations across the city and suburbs, so you're always close to home or work. Swim in the indoor and outdoor pools (open through October), unwind in the Recovery Lounge, hit the courts, take a private class, or put the top-notch equipment through its paces.

Your package also includes two complimentary one-hour personal training or Pilates sessions to jump-start your routine with a pro in your corner. Whether you're chasing a new goal or just want a month of feel-good self-care, this is your all-access pass. Generously sponsored by FFC East Lakeview, right here in the neighborhood.

You'll leave feeling stronger, refreshed, and ready for more.

Details:

• One-month multi-club membership valid at any of FFC's 10 Chicago-area locations, plus two one-hour personal training or Pilates sessions
• Waived enrollment fee ($200 value) included
• Activate at the Membership office of the club of your choice; original certificate must be presented at time of activation
• Membership must be redeemed by 09/01/2026; training sessions expire 09/30/2026
• No cash value. Non-transferable. Current FFC members ineligible. Cannot be combined with any other guest membership or offer. Must be 18 or older to redeem.
• Fair market value: $569

Ever wondered what Peter Sagal is like off-mic? Here's your chance to find out.

Join the studio audience for a live taping of NPR's beloved news quiz at the historic Studebaker Theatre in Chicago's Fine Arts Building, where the jokes are sharper in person and you'll hear everything that gets cut before it hits the airwaves.

You and a guest will experience the bluff-the-listener challenges, celebrity "Not My Job" segments, and limerick-fueled chaos that make Wait Wait a public radio institution — live from the show's hometown.

Details:

• Two (2) tickets to a live taping at the Studebaker Theatre, 410 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago
• Valid for select 2026 taping dates / subject to availability — winner coordinates date with show
• Fair market value: $90-110/pair

Note: This is Lot 1 of 2 — a second identical pair is up for bid, so if you're outbid here, try your luck on the other!

Ever wondered what Peter Sagal is like off-mic? Here's your chance to find out.

Join the studio audience for a live taping of NPR's beloved news quiz at the historic Studebaker Theatre in Chicago's Fine Arts Building, where the jokes are sharper in person and you'll hear everything that gets cut before it hits the airwaves.

You and a guest will experience the bluff-the-listener challenges, celebrity "Not My Job" segments, and limerick-fueled chaos that make Wait Wait a public radio institution — live from the show's hometown.

Details:

• Two (2) tickets to a live taping at the Studebaker Theatre, 410 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago
• Valid for select 2026 taping dates / subject to availability — winner coordinates date with show
• Fair market value: $90-110/pair

Note: This is Lot 2 of 2 — a second identical pair is up for bid, so if you're outbid here, try your luck on the other!

Two (2) tickets to Suzan-Lori Parks's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, directed by Tony winner Kenny Leon

Two brothers, named Lincoln and Booth as their father's idea of a joke. A cramped room, a deck of cards, and a lifetime of sibling rivalry hurtling toward its endgame. Topdog/Underdog won Suzan-Lori Parks the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, making her the first Black woman ever to win it, and it's routinely called one of the greatest American plays of the last fifty years. Funny, ferocious, and devastating, often in the same breath.

This production is an event: Tony Award winner Kenny Leon directs Steppenwolf ensemble members Glenn Davis (Lincoln) and Namir Smallwood (Booth), reuniting two of Chicago's most electric stage actors on the Downstairs Theater stage. This is raw, actor-driven storytelling delivered by artists at the top of their game.

You and a guest will get two tickets to experience it live. It's a night at the theatre you'll be leaving talking about.

Details:

• Two (2) tickets to Topdog/Underdog at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St, Chicago
• Runs September 17 through November 1, 2026 in the Downstairs Theater
• Winner selects performance date, subject to availability.
• The recipient must call Steppenwolf Audience Services in advance to arrange their show date in advance and present the voucher on the day of their performance in exchange for the tickets.
• Fair market value: $179

Two (2) tickets to Dominique Morisseau's Pulitzer Prize–finalist play, directed by Malkia Stampley

Two generations of sisters, one house in the historically Black neighborhood of Mud Row in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and a family legacy that binds and divides them. Elsie is willing to do anything to move up in the world; her sister Frances is willing to risk everything to change it. Decades later, estranged sisters Regine and Toshi are forced to reckon with that inheritance, and each other.

From Tony nominee and MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient Dominique Morisseau, Mud Row shifts between past and present to paint a living portrait of family, identity, and belonging. Surprisingly funny, thrilling, and ultimately hopeful.

This production is a showcase for one of Chicago's most thoughtful ensembles: Remy Bumppo, whose motto "think theatre" invites audiences to engage directly with the ideas onstage. Directed by Malkia Stampley, this Pulitzer Prize–finalist play gets an intimate staging at Theater Wit in Lakeview, the kind of close-up, language-rich production Remy Bumppo is known for.

Details:

• Two (2) tickets to Mud Row at Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, performing at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave, Chicago
• Runs October 15 through November 15, 2026
• Winner selects performance date, subject to availability.
• The recipient must call Remy Bumppo / Theater Wit Box Office in advance to arrange their show date and present the voucher on the day of their performance in exchange for the tickets.
• Fair market value: $110

Wear something original. Threadless is the Chicago-born, artist-driven marketplace where independent designers from around the world turn bold ideas into apparel, art prints, home goods, and accessories you won't find anywhere else. Every purchase supports a global community of artists, so you're not just getting great gear, you're backing the people who made it.

Put your $100 toward graphic tees and hoodies, striking wall prints, or one-of-a-kind gifts for the hard-to-shop-for people in your life. However you spend it, creativity looks good on you.

Details:

• One (1) $100 gift certificate to Threadless, redeemable at threadless.com
• Value: $100
• Valid toward apparel, art prints, home goods, and accessories

Wear something original. Threadless is the Chicago-born, artist-driven marketplace where independent designers from around the world turn bold ideas into apparel, art prints, home goods, and accessories you won't find anywhere else. Every purchase supports a global community of artists, so you're not just getting great gear, you're backing the people who made it.

Put your $100 toward graphic tees and hoodies, striking wall prints, or one-of-a-kind gifts for the hard-to-shop-for people in your life. However you spend it, creativity looks good on you.

Details:

• One (1) $100 gift certificate to Threadless, redeemable at threadless.com
• Value: $100
• Valid toward apparel, art prints, home goods, and accessories

$100 to spend on gourmet hot dogs, smashburgers, and craft beer at a Lincoln Park favorite

Hot dogs on King's Hawaiian rolls. Smashburgers made with all-natural Black Angus beef. Loaded tots, craft beer on tap, and a biergarten atmosphere that turns "grabbing a bite" into a whole evening. Dog Haus Biergarten in Lincoln Park is Chicago comfort food, elevated... and this $100 gift certificate covers a seriously good time for you and your crew.

Post-show late-night feast? They're open until 2 AM. Pre-theatre happy hour? Weekdays 3–6 PM with deals on sliders, draft beer, and Haus cocktails. Breakfast burrito emergency? They open at 6 AM. Whenever hunger strikes, Dog Haus has you covered.

Details:

• $100 gift certificate to Dog Haus Biergarten, 2464 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago (Lincoln Park)
• Dog-friendly patio, vegan and vegetarian options available
• Valid only at dog haus LINCOLN PARK for up to $100 store credit. must be used in one visit. In-store purchases only. Original Certificate must be presented to redeem. no photocopies. no cash value.
• Fair market value: $100