Ray Bradbury, Age 12, at the Carnival in Waukegan, IL

One Ounce Opera is bringing Ray Bradbury, Age 12, at the Carnival in Waukegan, IL to the VORTEX on Sunday, November 22. It's a workshop performance of the short opera by Tyler Mabry, and it's being presented as a Lighthouse Workshop.

If the title sounds familiar, it's because this piece started as one of One Ounce Opera's most recognized short works. Since then, it's been expanding into a full-length version, and this workshop brings back members of the original cast alongside new faces. It's a good chance to see how the piece is growing, with some of the original voices returning to the roles they first helped shape.

As for the company itself, One Ounce Opera describes its work as rogue, vaudevillian-style entertainment that celebrates the voice, punctuated by cross-genre collaborations and dedicated to re-imagining opera in unexpected ways. That vaudevillian streak comes through in the name and the approach—they're less interested in the formal opera house and more in the kind of performance that works in a space like the VORTEX.

The performance is at 1 PM at the Pony Shed, the courtyard at the VORTEX, 2307 Manor Road. Entry is free and no ticket is required, so you can just show up.