An immersive theatrical experience called “The Beauty Project” will debut at a Ravenswood salon this weekend, according to a Mar. 27 announcement from the creative collective Second Site. The show, which runs Saturday and Sunday at Freyja Salon and on April 4 at Fortunehouse Art Center in Bronzeville, uses live performance, film, and demonstrations to examine conventional ideas of beauty.
The production aims to prompt audiences to reconsider how beauty standards are shaped by industry and culture. Four playwrights will present personal narratives that explore how self-care and beauty can be separated from industries that profit from insecurity.
Rachel DuBose, playwright and Second Site member, said the choice of intimate venues like salons and art centers was intentional. “Beauty may be a near-universal obsession, but people grapple with it in different ways: a conversation about beauty standards might play out one way in a North Side hair salon, another in a Bronzeville art gallery,” DuBose said. She added that the project is about challenging long-held biases: “Our relationship to beauty is very specific…that freedom just to be who you want to be, do what you want to do…and express it how you want to express it.”
The idea for “The Beauty Project” began in 2019 when founder Jenni Lamb invited writers for discussions about their relationships with hair and makeup. Since then, the show has evolved through several iterations; this version incorporates wellness products alongside live theater.
Playwright Kirsten Baity’s works featured in the show include “Hard Pass,” which focuses on gender-affirming makeup, as well as “Purple Shimmers,” which addresses respectability politics.
Director Kezia Waters said she hopes audiences leave feeling beautiful: “The feeling of becoming…the feeling of making someone feel…is something that we want people to leave with.” Waters also emphasized the importance of both self-care and communal care within the project’s exploration of beauty.
