Come join Fat Theatre Project performers as they bring to life songs from your favorite princesses, villains, and beyond!
FEATURING:
Joel Caballero
Aira Lheiz Aquino
Rachel H. Maloney
Kristin Schmitz
Lou McNaughton
Melody DeRogatis
& Femme De Violette
Doors at 6pm and our show begins at 7pm.
Tickets are $12 in advance and $17 at the door.
Dorothy is 21+ and requires physical or mobile ID for all to enter. Dorothy is ADA accessible with elevator access on Campbell Ave. If you are a guest who requires elevator access, please wait by the black door with our logo in the window and call our staff to assist: 773-770-3799
Please note: refund requests are only available until 24h before the show (11/10, 7pm). No other refund requests will be honored.
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ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
Joel Caballero is a queer, nonbinary, luxury size entertainer performing burlesque as Wilde. Joel believes that there is no honor in making yourself small. Stand up and take space! Joel can be seen performing around Chicago with their clothes on with the Windy City Performing Arts Choir and otherwise at The Newport Theater 😉
Aira Lheiz Aquino is a Chicago-based extrovert, creative connector, and lifelong lover of a good story. Born in the Philippines and raised between languages and cultures, she is happiest bringing people together, whether that means gathering friends around a karaoke mic, discovering a new NPR Tiny Desk Concert, or enjoying a matcha latte. She is also the concierge friend who always has a restaurant recommendation, knows where to find the good stuff around Chicago, and will absolutely stop to take a tourist’s picture.
By day, Aira is a Social Impact and Fundraising Strategist who helps creative ideas find the people, resources, and support they need to flourish. Outside of work, she sings, plays ukulele, travels whenever she can, and collects songs that make life feel a little more magical. For her first live performance, Aira is dedicating “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana to her fellow island princesses. She loves Moana’s open-mindedness to what lies beyond the reef, her connection to her ancestors, and her trust in the ocean even when she doesn’t yet know how to navigate it. Moana reminds her that not knowing the way is not a reason to stay put: si no puedes parar las olas, las surfeas. And you can meet the waves with courage without giving up your softness, joy, or femininity along the way.
Rachel H Maloney is a Chicago-based performer and fat liberation activist, and she is thrilled to be a part of this rendition of Fat Notes! Much of Rachel’s work is rooted in her experience as a fat queer person, and she is so excited to get to be a part of this event celebrating fat people and their talent. She would like to shout out her best friend Cas and her former professor Dr. John Elson Williams for always being in her corner when things were rough. @rachelhmaloney
Kristin Schmitz (she/her) is honored to be a part of the Fat Theatre Project collective! Originally from the Bay Area, Kristin now resides in Chicago where she is a performer, improviser, singer, and sign language interpreter. She is also a writer, singer, and voice actor for the Signal Award winning Dorktales Storytime podcast.
Voted least likely to Need A Sensitivity Course by Forbes Magazine Lou McNaughton started pursuing theatre in their 30s to fill a void their inner theatre kid was feeling. Last seen In Gender Fucked Productions “transcribe” and The Terror Cottas Production of “the Ostrich”. They are a proud member of the Fat theatre Project as our volunteer coordinator. In their free time they enjoy reading, writing poetry and meeting people’s cats.
Melody DeRogatis is a lifelong Chicagoan director, producer, actor, teaching artist, and playwright. Melody holds her BFA in Musical Theatre/BA in Writing from Drake University in Des Moines, IA. Melody directed two readings for Fat Theatre Project’s inaugural event “Fat Tuesdays” in 2024, as well as directed mainstage production The Interplays, and co-produced/directed for “Fat Tuesdays” in 2025. Outside of the Fat Theatre Project, Melody is the Performing Arts Supervisor for Northbrook Park District and Artistic Director/Founder of Possibilities Theatre Company. Additional recent directing credits include: Newsies, The Crucible (Beverly Arts Center), Failure: A Love Story (Triton College), and Head Over Heels (High School Edition), School of Rock, A Christmas Story, Chicago: Teen Edition (Northbrook Theatre).
Femme De Violette is the busty Broadway broad who got off the bus just a liiiittle too late, and is making sense of this modern world around her while trying to keep her divas alive. She’s a hostess, producer, showstopper, and maven of the stage. She is also a proud associate collective member for fat theatre project, and believes wholeheartedly in the beauty and dignity of fat bodies onstage. You can find her all over this beautiful Windy City bringing her larger than life personality everywhere- can’t believe it fits in a suitcase!