Unfinished Island Songs is a dance-theatre piece that explores the complex experiences of Taiwanese immigrants.

Home is no longer a place, but a living question— 
a quiet collision between memory, struggle, and belonging, 

shaped by loss and resilience, by bodies that stumble, adapt, and love.

Can belonging take root through partnership, community, 

and the choice to stay?

Seating + Accessibility 

Seating includes floor seating (carpeted area), floor cushion, benches, and chairs. 

If you have any health or accessibility needs that require chair seating, please indicate this when booking. 

Otherwise, seating is first-come, first-served.

Location

Wirtz Center Chicago: Abbott Hall Black Box 203

710 N Lake Shore Dr,  Chicago, IL 60611, USA

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Built from interviews with Taiwanese immigrants, the work traces a wide emotional landscape: the ache of missing home; the daily effort of blending into a new environment and slowly reshaping it into something livable; the journey through systemic racism; and the gradual discovery of self, growth, and evolving identity in a foreign land. Alongside struggle, the piece also holds joy—finding love through marriage, friendship, and community, and imagining new possibilities that once felt unreachable.

Belonging does not settle in one shape. 

Sometimes, it means rooting deeply in family and community,  

growing in unfamiliar soil. 

Sometimes it remains an evolving question, 

becoming the calling for a new journey. 

Through interactive elements within the performance, audiences are invited to encounter Taiwanese culture, reflect on their own personal journeys, and take part in conversations about how we might co-create communities where difference can coexist.

Unfinished Island Song is about reciprocity— how immigrant cultures can become a gift to the places they arrive in, and how communities can hold space for those preparing to stay, and those who decide to leave, honoring each journey as it continues.

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This Work is produced by Dawn Theatre Project.
Fiscal sponsor by Ishti Collective.

By registering, you help Ishti Collective honor diverse voices and create room for honest exchange and reflection. Please share your details so we can welcome you, plan access needs with care, and keep you informed about this evolving performance.