Artistic Director’s Note on ALMA

Artistic Director’s Note on ALMA

Benjamin Benne submitted his unproduced play in the summer of 2018. It arrived quietly and unassumingly—as so many of our contest’s entries. You only needed to read a few pages to feel the power of this story. His script rolled down the submission pile in an avalanche...

Health & Safety

Policies as of October 13, 2022 The health and safety of our audience, artists, staff, and community are of utmost importance. We hope these protocols, developed in consultation with public health guidance and Chicago’s performing arts sector, offer additional...
THE REAPERS ON WOODBROOK AVENUE

THE REAPERS ON WOODBROOK AVENUE

Winner of the 2022 Blue Ink Award for playwriting. Spanning decades, this heartrending play explores the complex relationship between three generations of women: Loretta Reaper, a middle-aged Black woman, her grown spitfire daughter, Nell, and her starry-eyed...
17 MINUTES

17 MINUTES

“Selected for The Room in February and long before last month’s tragedies in Buffalo and Uvalde thrust America’s gun violence epidemic back into the national spotlight, Scott Organ’s 17 Minutes feels even more urgent than ever.” —...
Director’s Note for August Wilson’s FENCES

Director’s Note for August Wilson’s FENCES

Hello and Welcome to American Blues Theater’s production of Fences, In 2018, I directed a production of Hamlet at The Gift Theatre in Chicago. At the center of it was an astounding performance by Daniel Kyri playing a young black man wrestling with the weight of...
Artistic Director’s Note for August Wilson’s FENCES

Artistic Director’s Note for August Wilson’s FENCES

We are thrilled to welcome you to August Wilson’s Fences. Wilson is one of the greatest voices of American theater. His masterpiece script Fences debuted in 1985 and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama, among many other theater honors. Wilson created the seminal ten-play...
2022 THE RIPPED FESTIVAL

2022 THE RIPPED FESTIVAL

Read 30 short works inspired and ripped from today’s headlines in our online script library. We’re thrilled to celebrate these writers and short plays during the month of June. Come back each week to read the latest offerings from local and national...