La Golondrina

Open Space Arts is delighted to announce a new partnership with Instituto Cervantes Chicago, part of a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the Spanish government to promote the language, culture, and creativity of Spain and Spanish-speaking countries.

This partnership reflects Open Space Arts’ growing commitment to international theater and film, and to building meaningful connections with cultural organizations throughout Chicago.

We are especially pleased to begin this collaboration during our production of Guillem Clua’s SMILEY, a romantic comedy from Barcelona, and as we look ahead to presenting Clua’s THE SWALLOW in our upcoming season.

Through this partnership, Open Space Arts hopes to welcome new audiences, expand conversations across cultures, and continue sharing stories that build understanding, connection, and community.

Open Space Arts presents The Swallow, an intimate and deeply moving two-character drama by internationally produced Catalan playwright Guillem Clua, author of SMILEY, which Open Space Arts presented in a successful extended run in June and July 2026.

Featuring Michelle McKenzie-Voigt and Jim Nally, The Swallow is set during a private singing lesson between a choral director and a new student. As they work together on a song, what begins as a simple musical exchange becomes something more personal, more complicated, and more revealing.

With humor, tension, and emotional precision, the play explores grief, memory, family, faith, identity, and the stories people tell to survive. Music becomes both a refuge and a doorway, allowing two strangers to move toward truths that have been difficult to face.

The Swallow is a powerful theatrical encounter about loss, compassion, and the possibility of connection when people are willing to listen.