Let’s just get this out of the way: this has been one spectacularly bad week for the planet, and thoughts and good wishes go out to the people of Japan. Times like this make me wonder what the role of art can be—and the good folks at Links Hall tackle that question head-on with “To Art and Profit: What Is it Good For? Defining Art’s Purpose Now.” Addressing the role of art in social action, the festival incorporates dialogues and performances and continues April 15-17 and May 20-22. Complete info online.

The season changes, the season announcements keep flowering. The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events in partnership with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture (yeah, that flows off the tongue) announces the fall 2011 lineup for the Storefront Theater. Mortar Theatre Company kicks off in August with Dana Lynn Formby’s Corazon de Manzana, directed by Ann Filmer of 16th Street Theater and focusing on the slaughter of women in Ciudad de Juarez. The Strange Tree Group ’s latest offering from Emily Schwartz, The Spirit Play, opens in October, and Polarity Ensemble Theatre presents Robert Bly’s translation of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, directed by Jeremy Wechsler of Theater Wit , in November.

City Lit Theater gets historically ambitious with the “Civil War Sesquicentennial Project,” which will spread over five years in a series of pieces exploring the bloodiest conflict on American soil. They open The Copperhead, the first show in the project, on April 8. Augustus Thomas’ 1918 drama about an Illinois man with Southern sympathies and a Union soldier son is staged by Kathy Scambiatterra of The Artistic Home . Future projects include Opus 1861, a music theater piece by Elizabeth Margolius and City Lit artistic director Terry McCabe, and Comrades Mine: Emma Edmonds of the Union Army by Maureen Gallagher, about a woman who received a military pension for fighting while disguised as a man. (Tanya Saracho undertakes the story of another woman who fought—and lived—as a man during the Civil War in The Good Private, which she is developing for About Face Theatre .)

Court Theatre ’s 2011-12 season also tackles some classic American conflicts. A revival of Angels In America, directed by artistic director Charles Newell, will open next spring. Before that, Court presents George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of three stories by Zora Neal Hurston, Spunk, in September. They go ancient with a new version of The Iliad by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, and return to America with a world premiere adaptation by Oren Jacoby of Ralph Ellison’s classic on African American identity, Invisible Man.

Eclipse Theatre Company opens their season devoted to the plays of Naomi Wallace on April 7 at Greenhouse Theater with One Flea Spare. The other Wallace works to be performed are The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek and a quartet of works on the Middle East, The Fever Chart.

Lifeline Theatre ’s season of original adaptations includes The Count of Monte Cristo, adapted by Christopher M. Walsh; Elise Blackwell’s historical drama Hunger, adapted by Chris Hainsworth; and Pride and Prejudice, adapted by Christina Calvit. Their KidSeries line-up features a world premiere adaptation of James Thurber’s The 13 Clocks by Robert Kauzlaric; James E. Grote’s world premiere How to Survive a Fairy Tale; and a world premiere musical, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, adapted by Kauzlaric from Mo Willems’ book and featuring a score by Paul Gilvary.

And still more American history fills the season for Lookingglass Theatre , which opens in September with John Musial’s The Great Fire, coinciding with the 140th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. Ed Schmidt’s Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting, about the decision of Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to integrate his team with Jackie Robinson, and Eastland, an original musical about the Eastland disaster created by Andrew White, Andre Pluess, and Ben Sussman, round out the season.

Further afield, Peninsula Players opens its 76th season in June with Sean Grennan’s world premiere look at the world of the empty nester, Making God Laugh. Artistic director Greg Vinkler’s Fish Creek, WI, company continues with The Importance of Being Earnest, A Few Good Men, and the Midwest premiere of Ken Ludwig’s The Fox on the Fairway, and will conclude with Yasmin Reza’s The God of Carnage (currently running at the Goodman through April 17).

Piccolo Theatre opens in September with The Cherry Orchard, and continues with their traditional holiday “panto”—this one entitled Space Wars: The Panto—and The Comedy of Errors.

Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, which appears to have another hit on its hands with their current production of Some Enchanted Evening: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein (running through April 30), offers more musical delights at the No Exit Cafe. Their 2011-12 season includes a rare revival of 1976’s Starting Here, Starting Now by Richard Maltby and David Shire; Pump Boys and Dinettes; The Light in the Piazza; and Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, featuring the music of Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield, and Philip Cody and a book by Eric Jackson and Ben. H. Winters.

Extending shows: Route 66 Theatre Company keeps Caitlin Parrish’s A Twist of Water up through March 26 (the industry night show on Monday, March 21, is a benefit for Season of Concern), and Chemically Imbalanced Comedy runs Amy and David Sedaris’ cheeseball comedy, The Book of Liz, through June 4. And the musical Working, based on Stud Terkel’s classic non-fiction book, continues at Broadway Playhouse through June 5.

Continuing plaudits and productions: A Minister’s Wife, the musical version of George Bernard Shaw’s Candida created by Joshua Schmidt, Austin Pendleton, and Jan Levy Tranen, which premiered at Writers Theatre two years ago, opens at Lincoln Center Theater in previews on April 7, with Kate Fry reprising the title role under Michael Halberstam’s direction. Meantime, Steppenwolf Theatre ’s Anna D. Shapiro directs Chris Rock in his Broadway dramatic debut, Stephen Adly Guirgis’ The Motherfucker with the Hat (can’t WAIT to see how they handle that in ads and reviews!), which began previews on March 15. Shapiro’s longtime artistic comrade, Bruce Norris, won the Olivier Award for best new play for the Royal Court Theatre production of Clybourne Park (which transferred to the West End) on March 13. Norris’ contemporary comedic update of A Raisin in the Sun will get its local premiere with Steppenwolf next season.

Benefits: TimeLine Theatre Company hosts its annual gala on Friday, March 25, at 108 W. Germania Place. The theme is “The Birth of the Blues,” tickets are $250 per person, and reservations are available online or at 773/281-8463, ext. 26.

Corn Productions has its own “posh, swank, high-brow, fancy gala fundraiser” on April 1, 8 p.m., at the Cornservatory (unless it’s all a terrible prank). Tickets are $20 at 773/650-1331 or online.

Porchlight Music Theatre hosts its annual “Chicago Sings” concert on April 4, with this year’s outing focusing on the music of Rodgers, Rodgers, and Guettel (patriarch Richard, daughter Mary, and grandson Adam). It’s at the Mayne Stage, 1328 W. Morse, 7:30 p.m. Rob Lindley directs more than 15 Chicago musical heavies, with Doug Peck as musical director. Tickets are $45-$60 online or at 773/325-9884.

Steppenwolf Theatre ’s Red or White Ball, which benefits the Steppenwolf for Young Adults program, happens Friday, April 8, 8 p.m. Tickets run $130-$250 for individuals. The party is at Salvage One, 1840 W. Hubbard St.

Even younger theatre patrons benefit from Adventure Stage Chicago ’s “Spring Fling: An Arabian Extravaganza,” 2-6 p.m. on Saturday, April 9. Tickets are $50 adults, $25 kids in advance ($60/$30 door) online or at 773/342-4141 and include a performance of their current production of Sinbad: The Untold Tale.

Then later that night, you could enjoy a more grown-up affair with InFusion Theatre Company’s “Art of InFusion” bash at Catalyst Ranch, 656 W. Randolph, #4E. Tix are $35 advance, $45 door and can be ordered online. The evening, which runs from 7-10 p.m., features music from Jin and Tonic and a variety of adult libations and other refreshments.

And back to the kiddies: Barrel of Monkeys celebrates 10 years of putting the stories of Chicago school kids on stage with a special performance on Monday, April 11, with guest appearances from former Monkeys in their signature show, That’s Weird, Grandma. Tickets are an allowance-friendly $10 for adults and $5 for kids online or at 312/409-1954.

Finally, the Drinking & Writing Brewery offers a remount of Drinking & Writing Volume IV: The Twelve Steps of Christmas as a “Christmas in April” fundraiser. $5 of every ticket goes to Donate Life (http://www.donatelife.net/), a coalition of agencies promoting education and registration efforts around organ donation. D&W co-founder Sean Benjamin’s son, Jack, received part of his father’s liver (ironic, given the title of the show) at age five months and is doing well now at age 2 and a half.

New Mayor-Elect Emanuel has started assembling his transition team, and some prominent names in the arts are popping up. Given Emanuel’s past as a balletomane, it’s appropriate that a dancer/choreographer is represented—Lane Alexander, founder/director of Chicago Human Rhythm Project joins a dozen other arts leaders, including former League of Chicago Theatres president Marj Halperin; Ra Joy of Illinois Arts Alliance ; Michelle Boone of the Joyce Foundation; Philip Thomas of eta Creative Arts Foundation; and Eileen LaCario of Broadway In Chicago .

Playwright News: Enrique Ureata’s Learn To Be Latina won top honors in the first Great Gay Play Contest. The San Francisco-based Ureata’s comedy, about a Lebanese pop star who is made over into a Latina bombshell—and falls in love with an actual Latina along the way—was given the nod by the panel over four other pieces.

Clockwise Theatre offers three readings of A Day at Stateville, created by Stateville inmates and presented in partnership with FIST (Former Inmates Striving Together) and the Changing Minds Campaign. The first performance on March 24 is reportedly full, but the company also has readings on Sunday, April 3, 3 p.m. and Saturday, April 9, 7 p.m. Free, but reservations required at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/160650. The readings are at Clockwise’s new home in downtown Waukegan at 221 N. Genesee.

Fox Valley Repertory seeks Fox Valley residents who are willing to share war letters for possible inclusion in two special Memorial Day remembrance concerts, “Letters Home,” performed in partnership with the Fox Valley Concert Band, on May 28 and 29. If you live in the area and have family members or friends with treasured war correspondence, submit by April 15 to: Fox Valley Rep, 4052 E. Main St., St. Charles, IL 60174. Or you can email scans to artistic director John This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Portions of the concert proceeds benefit the Illinois Wounded Warriors Program.

Something to smile about for stand-up fans: According to the Chicago Tribune’s Steve Johnson, Los Angeles’ Laugh Factory plans to take over the shuttered Lakeshore Theatre at 3175 N. Broadway and turn it into a more traditional comedy club later this year.

Having trouble keeping all your information straight? Plasticene feels your pain. The company premieres Graphomania at Millennium Park as part of the “In the Works” series March 24-26, 7:30 p.m. nightly in the Pritzker Pavilion. Paola Coletto directs the piece, created by Plasticene vets Mark Comiskey, Sharon Gopfert, and Brian Shaw, which meditates on information-age overload. Tix $10.

Raven Theatre teams up with Edgewater neighbor Joel Hall for one night in “Illumination!,” a series of dances from the Joel Hall repertoire that incorporates Raven’s current set for August Wilson’s Radio Golf. A talk-back follows the April 9 performance, which begins at 5 p.m.

Guild Complex hosts a special free “Palabra Pura” spoken-word event on March 23, 7:30 p.m., at their new home in Humboldt Park’s La Bruquena restaurant, 2726 W. Division, curated by Quraysh Ali Lansana and featuring writers/performers Kelly Ellis and Carmen Gimenez Smith.

Got a song in your heart? Love to ac-cent-tchuate the positive? Northwestern University seeks songwriters for the Mercer Songwriters Project, presented by the Johnny Mercer Foundation and the American Music Theatre Project. The project takes place at the Evanston campus June 20-25, and participants get to sit in on master classes with Craig Carnelia, Andrew Lippa, and Lari White, culminating in a showcase and concert. All applications are due April 10, and forms can be downloaded at http://www.mercersongwriters.org.

Northwestern also partners with Steppenwolf this summer in the “Next Up” series, presenting shows with directors and designers from Northwestern’s MFA program who have been mentored by Steppenwolf staff and artists, including Anna D. Shapiro, set designer Todd Rosenthal, casting director Erica Daniels, and director of artistic development Polly Carl. The shows running in rep in the Steppenwolf Garage May 31-June 19 include Rajiv Joseph’s Animals Out of Paper, Where We’re Born by Lucy Thurber, and Suzan-Lori Parks’ Venus.

Openings around town: Elizardi Castro’s hit one-man show, Made in Puerto Rico, returns to town at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts March 18-May 1. Randall Colburn’s fanciful look at the death of Kurt Cobain 20 years later, Verse Chorus Verse, runs in a Tympanic Theatre production at The Side Project April 6-May 1. The company also hosts a benefit on March 23, 9-11 p.m., at the Spot, 4437 N. Broadway. Tickets for the “Smells Like Tympanic Grunge-Raiser” are $20 for “all you can drink.” More info online.

Polarity Ensemble opens the world premiere of Bryce Wissel’s comedy, Ephemera, about a talking monkey who appears in an embattled space station. The show runs March 22-May 1 and features installations from Chicago artist Lewis Lain.

Speaking of space: longtime Chicago actor Gary Houston appeared in a short film last year directed by Allegra Huston (daughter of the legendary John), entitled Good Luck, Mr. Gorski (based on a possibly apocryphal and semi-scurrilous story surrounding Neil Armstrong’s moon walk). There are post-production costs, and Houston has asked his many friends and fans to chip in if possible at $20 a pop at http://www.allegrahuston.com/gorski.html.

Some comedy for spring: Chicago dell’Arte brings back last year’s goofy riff on literary classics, The Literati, March 25-April 17 at the Athenaeum. The show, in a Neo-Futurists-esque nod, allows audience members to select the title of a book and the style in which it is to be performed. Last year’s line-up included a children’s theater take on The Jungle and a rock-opera version of The Age of Innocence. And the Hyperion Theatre Project brings its commedia-inspired show, Manhattanpotamia 5—Francesca and the Four Dwarfs to the Prop Thtr March 22-23.

Finally, the antidote to an awful week is love—and so we send our heartiest congratulations to Nina O’Keefe (currently appearing in Sideshow Theatre Company ’s Heddatron as part of the Steppenwolf Garage Rep) and her new fiancé, Erik Schroeder, director of marketing for Lookingglass. Schroeder celebrated his 30th birthday last Sunday, March 13, by popping the question to O’Keefe at curtain call. You can watch the lovely event here. Mazel Tov to Nina and Erik, and may the years ahead bring much happiness.

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