history
Cock and Bull, founded in 2009 by Artistic Director Chris Garcia Peak, is a Chicago-based company producing contemporary and devised theatre, digital art, podcasts, and the Sessions Arts Festival.
Cock and Bull first produced The Legend of Ginger Bred, written and directed by Chris Garcia Peak, and continued to expand its contemporary voice through original works including Titanic, Axe Lizzie, The Possession of Alice, and Voolf. The company deepened its devising practice after receiving support from The Driehaus Foundation, which funded a transformative workshop with Tony Award–winning director Rachel Chavkin.
Throughout this period, Cock and Bull developed new performance projects such as Voyage at the Chopin Theatre and collaborated with playwright Megan Breen to create Lecherous Honey, an immersive and radically reimagined version of Ibsen’s classic presented at The Gunder Mansion. The company also expanded its Sessions program, featuring solo performance, digital artistry, and new play readings at the Defibrillator Gallery.
During the pandemic, Cock and Bull launched Sessions/Isolation, an international online arts festival connecting artists, dancers, filmmakers, writers, and performers from Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Germany, Israel, and Portugal. This dynamic digital platform showcased creative responses to lockdown and offered a communal space for global artistic exchange through weekly live events.
Cock and Bull also produced The Children of Nyx, a five-part original podcast fiction series by Noah Lepawsky, featuring design by Matt Reich and original music by Stephen Gawrit. The series is now available on Apple Podcasts.
In 2022, the company premiered The Octopus, a critically acclaimed interactive digital game created in collaboration with Typeform. This choose-your-own-adventure experience featured performers from Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Germany, and China, marking a new direction in Cock and Bull’s exploration of innovative storytelling.
Today, Cock and Bull continues to develop new devised, digital, and interdisciplinary work in Chicago, building on a legacy of experimentation, collaboration, and contemporary performance.
