Players 2018: The Fifty People Who Really Perform for Chicago

Newcity Stage: With great trials come both exultant successes and disorienting failures. This past year, we were witness to both: macro and micro, personal and political (if there is even a distinction between the two anymore), brilliant and brutal, often all at once. During a time when just checking the news can be a triggering experience, performance and craft require a commendable effort. It is a testament to the strength and resilience of the artists within these pages that all year, whether they wanted to or not, they made the art that helped things feel bearable or even, occasionally, bright. And while art, witnessing or making it, can be therapeutic, it is not therapy. The year to come will undoubtedly contain its share of tests and we must be prepared to engage with them as fully as we are able to. The stakes are great but the possibilities are paramount.