mag-pie (ˈmag-ˌpī) n.
1. The species Pica pica, any of various birds of the family Corvidae found worldwide, known for their chattering call.
2. One with a thievish disposition who compulsively collects or hoards small objects or things that have been discarded by others.
pi-ca (ˈpī-kə) n.
An abnormal craving for and eating of substances not normally eaten that occurs in some primitive tribes or sometimes among people with nutritional deficiency states or some form of mental illness.
1. The species Pica pica, any of various birds of the family Corvidae found worldwide, known for their chattering call.
2. One with a thievish disposition who compulsively collects or hoards small objects or things that have been discarded by others.
pi-ca (ˈpī-kə) n.
An abnormal craving for and eating of substances not normally eaten that occurs in some primitive tribes or sometimes among people with nutritional deficiency states or some form of mental illness.
The MAGPIES is an ongoing art-making project that comprises Shawn Reddy, Robin Cline, Martha Bayne, and their many talented friends. Together they create works that are interconnected by a unique aesthetic of educational presentation, elements of environmental immersion, and group learning. Often incorporating aspects of lectures, interviews, reenactments, guided tours, mapping systems, audience participation, and site specific performances, their pieces construct kaleidoscopic narratives that cull together personal stories, historical research, and non-traditional art fields in order to cultivate new ways of intervening in the world.
SHAWN REDDY | Writer, Director, Designer, Educator
Shawn received his BA in both Anthropology and Philosophy from the University of Chicago and his MFA in Studio Art from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is a co-founder of The MAGPIES and has been an ensemble member of the Curious Theatre Branch since 2001.His work has appeared in over thirty venues throughout the city of Chicago, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Steppenwolf Theatre, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago Cultural Center, DuSable Museum, Chopin Theater, Gallery 2, Chase Tower Auditorium, and the Gene Siskel Film Center.
He received a 2009 Orgie Theatre Award for outstanding playwriting and was recently nominated for a leadership award from Chicago's Community Renewal Society for his "fresh approaches to tackling pressing social issues" with youth from underserved communities. Shawn has also been the recipient, in full or in part, of numerous city, state, and nationwide grants from organizations including the Illinois Humanities Council, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Morris and Mayer Kaplan Family Foundation, Grainger Foundation, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, and San Francisco Art Institute, among others, for his work in theater, creative writing, and education.
Shawn has held several residency positions and has conducted workshops with a wide variety of arts and education organizations including Performing Arts Chicago, Free Street, Young Chicago Authors, After School Matters, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, Arts Excel, Association House, and the Oriental Institute, as well as with many Chicago public schools and park district programs.
PAST WORK | The Art of Unbearable Senations, Black Bear Supertramp, Our Lady of the Underpass, White Suit Science, My Name is Mudd, Eugene and the Song of the Wicked Starling, I've Got My Dog's Nose, The Man Stripped Bare by His Boy, Bantam Lightweight, and Influenza and the Misapplication of Cold Cream.
ROBIN CLINE | Writer, Performer, Film & Videomaker, Educator
Robin received her BA in Film and Video from The Evergreen State College and her MFA in Studio Art from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is a cofounder of The MAGPIES and the Public Programs Manager at The Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago.She has screened film and video work at both national and international festivals and venues, and has performed her original solo performance work throughout Chicago. She has been awarded an Illinois Artist Fellowship Finalist Award for both her individual and collaborative media projects, and has taught for many art and media education organizations, including Urban Gateways, Chicago Arts Partnership in Education, and the Journal of Ordinary Thought. Robin has also edited performance material for work presented in the Chicago Dance Legacy Project, the Chicago Humanities Festival, and the Anne Barzel Dance Archive, and was a founding member of Chicago County Fair, an organization that curated performative educational conversations for the Museum of Science and Industry's performance series "Experiments... Science & Art."
PAST WORK | Blind Spot, The Lasts, Iris Eats a Rose, Farmer's Daughter Joke #231, Red Circle Prayers, Fake Peak, Super-Learning with George, An Argument for Orange, Pretty Mean, and Hotel Said.
MARTHA BAYNE | Writer, Editor, Lighting Designer, Gardener
Martha received her BA from Oberlin College. Her work has appeared in the Chicago Reader, where she was on staff for eight years, as well as the Washington Post, the Baffler, and the zine Maxine: A Literate Companion for Churlish Girls and Rakish Women.She has taught writing and journalism as a guest lecturer at the Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies, Columbia College Chicago, and Harold Washington College, and conducted workshops for teens at Young Chicago Authors.
In addition to The MAGPIES, Martha has designed lights for Theater Oobleck, Curious Theatre Branch, the Mekons/Kathy Acker, and Doorika, and has worked as an electrician for the Joyce Theater, Dance Theater Workshop, Feld Ballets/NY, the Irish Repertory Theater Company, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and elsewhere.
She is currently working toward master gardener certification through the University of Illinois Extension Program.
PAST WORK | See www.marthabayne.com.