Why are we queer? Where does transness come from? Are the answers we’re looking for inside or outside, from the past or the future, in the center of the earth or the galaxy beyond? And is this all just a stalling tactic when really a surgery consult and Lexapro would go a long way toward inner peace?

Cosmic Docks is a trans tall-tale about orbiting the sources of yourself. Dancer-comedian Nora Sharp takes audiences down a rabbit hole of intertwined sci-fi futurism and personal history. Shaped by repression, resistance, and modestly-managed anxiety, Cosmic Docks aims to chart a pathway beyond legibility.

Created & performed by Nora Sharp

Lighting Design by Christine Shallenberg

Projection Design by Ruby Que

Set Design by Bryan Saner / Bluestem

Join us for the world premiere of Cosmic Docks as part of the Chicago Solo Spotlight Festival, March 13-15 2025, at the Dance Center at Columbia College.

We’re proud to be sharing this weekend with the world premiere of THICK: a crumbling freak show, a multimedia solo performance by Jenn Freeman | Po’Chop.

Get your tickets to Cosmic Docks and THICK here.

Cosmic Docks began through a residency at Hambidge in 2022. Further development support has been provided by the 2023 Queer|Art Mentorship program with mentor Will Davis, the 2024 Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist Award, a Production Residency at the Dance Center at Columbia in early 2025, and various work-in-progress or excerpt showings Rattlestick Theater, New Dance Alliance’s Performance Mix 37, Midwest RAD Fest, bim bom studios, and the Chicago Dancemakers Forum Elevate Festival, all 2022-23.