The Factory Theater and Unheard of Company Present MUFFED August 18 - September 20, 2025

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FACTORY THEATER AND UNHEARD OF COMPANY PRESENT A CO-PRODUCTION OF 

THE MEANINGFUL ACTION THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS A WORKSHOP READING OF MUFFED: A RECOUNTING OF FARMINGTON, MAINE’S 43RD ANNUAL CHESTER GREENWOOD DAY DEVISED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE MEANINGFUL ACTION THEATRE COMPANY AND PRODUCED BY DAVID NEW 

AUGUST 18 - SEPTEMBER 20

“Waiting for Guffman” Meets “The Muppets” in this Mockumentary-Style Reading

The Factory Theater and Unheard of Company are proud to announce, The Meaningful Action Theatre Company Presents A Workshop Reading of “Muffed: A Recounting of Farmington, Maine’s 43rd Annual Chester Greenwood Day Devised by the Members of the Meaningful Action Theatre Company and Produced by David New”, August 18 - September 20, written by Zack Peercy and directed by Kayla Menz at The Factory Theater, 1623 W. Howard St. Previews are Friday Aug. 16 through Saturday Aug. 17 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 17 at 3 p.m. The press opening is Monday, Aug. 18 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 - $30 and may be purchased through the box office by calling 312-275-5757 or by visiting TheFactoryTheater.com.

Follow eight enthusiastic and scatterbrained theatre artists as they try to present their first public reading of a new documentary theatre piece about Farmington, Maine’s annual celebration for the inventor of the earmuff.

Rachel F. Goldberg of Broadway World said, “Peercy’s humorous piece wouldn’t feel out of place among the writings of Michael Schur – Muffed carries the same sincere, thoughtful and lighthearted touch and the distinct characters draw laughs while also revealing deep, fascinating layers.”

The Muffed cast includes, in alphabetical order, Jaycey Carlson (they/she), Company Member 6); Adelaide Corbo (she/they, Company Member 5); Antonio Cruz (they/he/she, swing); Caitlin Dooks (she/her, swing); Liz Falstreau (she/they, Company Member 8): Alex George (they/them, Company Member 4); Reginald Hemphill (he/him, Company Leader); Josh Philoon (he/him, Company Member 4); Karly Solon (she/her, Company Member 2); Asa Wallace (she/her, Company Member 7)

The creative team includes Zack Peercy (he/him, writer/poster design/co-producer); Kayla Menz (she/they, director/co-producer), Ethan Smith (they/them, asst. director); Nole Beran (he/him, stage manager); James Arakas (he/him, lighting designer); Marcus Klein (he/him, set designer); Valerie Cambron (she/her, costume designer); River Cy Denman (he/him, sound designer); Jordan Rawlings (they/she, accessibility); Jennifer Bradley (she/her, co-producer) and Jacob Lensing (he/him, co-producer) 

ABOUT ZACK PEERCY, playwright

Zack Peercy is a disabled playwright based in Chicago. He is a resident playwright with Three Brothers Theatre, where his play That’s Fucked Up premiered in 2019. Other plays include Hard-Boiled Eggnog: A Christmas Noir (Possibilities Theatre Company), In An Instant (Unheard Of Company), Greetings (Elgin Fringe Festival), Muted. (Bottlecap Press) and Muffed (Three Brothers Theatre). His superhero script Essential Starlight was a 2021 O’Neill Finalist, Bay Area Playwrights Festival Semi-Finalist and Blue Ink Playwriting Award Semi-Finalist. He writes HaHas and BooHoos that are all about people trying to say, “I’m Sorry and I Love You.”  All of his plays can be found on New Play Exchange. His curated personality can be found online at @ZackPeercy.

ABOUT KALYA MENZ playwright

Kayla Menz  is so excited to bring Muffed to Chicago audiences after a sold out reading at The Understudy! She is a multidisciplinary theatre artist who primarily focuses in directing and intimacy directing these days. Menz is excited by new work and the workshop process surrounding bringing a new script to life. Recent directing credits include The Meaningful Action Theatre Company Presents A Workshop Reading Of “Muffed: A Recounting Of Farmington, Maine’s 43rd Annual Chester Greenwood Day Devised By The Members Of The Meaningful Action Theatre Company” (3Bros), Lavinia Andronicus is YOUR Spin Instructor (Meat Machine) and Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln (Impostors). Regional assistant directing credits include Dobama Theatre and Capital Stage Company. They co-founded Unheard Of Company in Chicago which specializes in bringing historically marginalized voices to the stage through the workshop and production of deeply personal new work. She directed their productions of ILY and A Hungover Confessional. They are a graduate of Cleveland State University and the directing apprenticeship program at Capital Stage in Sacramento. Special thanks to Josh for your support and Zack for bringing me along on this wild ride. Connect with Kayla on Instagram

ABOUT THE FACTORY THEATER

For 30 years, The Factory has created its shows from scratch, doing exactly the kind of theater they wanted to do. From writing workshops to the closing night bash, Factory shows are a unique experience that fits its exacting standards: original, bold, and full-tilt. Its shameless ensemble is an ambassador of a good time, ensuring Chicago remains heartily entertained.

Review and Photo Feature: The Crane Wives at The Vic Theatre Chicago July 26, 2025

The Crane Wives

Beyond Beyond Beyond Album Release Tour

Closing Show at The Vic Theatre, Chicago 7/26/25 

Photo Credit for all: Dugan Kenaz-Mara for ChiIL Live Shows

GUEST REVIEW

By Dugan Kenaz-Mara

The Crane Wives, as always, put on a spectacular show for us at The Vic, closing out their Beyond Beyond Beyond Summer Tour 2025 with a sparkle. We’ve loved The Crane Wives and their music for years now, and seeing them in person again was such a treat. Last year, we reviewed their concert at Thalia Hall, and since then, they’ve brought us more of everything great they had to offer. They’ve upped the whimsy, showed us their care, and brought out many of the songs their fans have been waiting to hear live. 

Set List:

Scars

Arcturus Beaming

Never Love an Anchor

Allies or Enemies

Predator

Pretty Little Things

Take Me To War

Steady, Steady

The Moon Will Sing

The Hand That Feeds

Mad Dog

Queen of Nothing

Curses

Black Hole Fantasy

Tongues & Teeth

Encore:

Bitter Medicine

Sleeping Giants

One standout detail that set this performance apart from their previous show was the scenery. The stage was full of cutouts of trees, cattails, and forest creatures, setting a scene reminiscent of the cover of their 2015 album “Coyote Stories”. In a whimsically mysterious opening (that I didn’t catch photos of, working my way through the dense crowd before the performance) a masked individual went around placing lanterns across the stage. These lanterns illuminated the scenery and provided depth and ambiance to the stage environment. It felt like watching a scene in a play where everyone could be immersed in the story, rather than a band on a stage. The backdrop projection gave off enough light to silhouette the scenery nicely, and the shifting colors and images it displayed kept the stage from becoming dull whenever the musicians weren’t in motion. 

During a break between songs, one of the lead singers brought up the fact that they've been a band for 15 years and have been performing in Chicago for just as long. They were really appreciative towards their audience and you could feel the mutual love in the space. The crowd sang along to every word and was treated to a well-balanced mix of songs from the Crane Wives' newest album and old favorites from their previous albums. The band mentioned how happy they were to be able to break out their older songs for this tour, that they don't get the opportunity to play as much anymore. 

It’s also worth mentioning that although I don’t have any pictures, their opener Árný Margrét, an Icelandic soloist musician, is worth checking out. 

Truly, the most inspiring aspect of the concert was seeing the wonderful community the Crane Wives have cultivated. After the concert, I was able to talk to multiple friends who were there and all of them mentioned how lovely the community was and how everyone seemed to take care of each other. The musicians also took to social media after the show, reposting Instagram stories their fans had posted from the crowd. They definitely know how to make their supporters feel seen by fostering a sense of appreciation within their community. 

Gathered below are a few comments from friends who saw the show. They are lightly edited, but direct quotes:

"Immaculate vibes in the audience" -Kit M.

“I thought the crowd had a lovely community vibe. People taking care of each other, looking out for other people’s space, and being very in the moment together.” -Sam W. 

“I thought the concert was amazing, the vibe was awesome and the whole performance of the crane wives was high energy but still able to keep the calmness of some of the songs. The lights and projections were really cool and really well done. Also, it was really hard not to get a good view. It was just an amazing concert. 

The opener wasn’t really my vibe. She did awesome, and if she was my vibe, I would have loved her.” - Chase P.

“Funnily enough, I first listened to the crane wives through an online friend. They made a playlist for me that had “Metaphors” on it and I was like wait… this is so good?? I’ve always loved folksy acoustic music but I REALLY loved their sound. (Imagine my surprise the first show I saw them live that they had not one but TWO lead vocalists!) I just felt really seen by their lyrics. It made me want to keep pursuing music and songwriting late at night in my room with my guitar. :”-) 

They just have such an immersive discography and honestly I feel like I have a Crane Wives song for every single one of my own lil characters.” - Maja T

Dugan Kenaz-Mara is a designer, photographer, educator, and graduate of 

Northwestern University's theatre program.

Grand Rapids, MI-based indie rock band The Crane Wives (1.4m Spotify monthly listeners, 713.5k TikTok likes) are ready to charm live audiences once again, heading back out on the road this spring in support of their highly acclaimed new album Beyond Beyond Beyond, out everywhere now. 

Born of the 2010’s folk boom and now comfortably stationed in their rock and roll era, The Crane Wives epitomize the evolving landscape of indie folk. Their high-energy performances have been described as “charged with emotion and technical skill” (Blurred Culture), while their harmony-dense melodies support deeply resonant lyrics, exploring the vulnerable and the ugly sides of the human condition. The band has built a global community and has amassed over 1m Spotify monthly listeners and 100m total streams with their unparalleled, spirited live show, evocative lyricism and glimmering harmonies.

Featured by Michigan Radio and NPR’s “All Songs Considered," the band recently released their sixth full-length studio record, Beyond Beyond Beyond, to high praise, with Glasse Factory calling the album “a testament to the band’s ability to turn personal struggles into universally relatable anthems." 

Niner Times describes the new release as “angsty, haunting and gritty,” praising its departure from the more traditional folk sound of The Crane Wives’ previous records. Since its release in September 2024, Beyond Beyond Beyond has accrued over 7 million streams on Spotify.

The pulse of The Crane Wives is delivered by Ben Zito (bass) and Dan Rickabus (drums), creating a driving, dynamic backdrop while co-leads Emilee Petersmark and Kate Pillsbury establish expansive and gritty conversations between their electric guitars. A web of three-part harmony helps to soften the blow of their emotional candor, like a 21st century Cerberus, the hound of Hades reimagined as an emotional support animal.

The Crane Wives have 6 full-length albums under their belts and have performed over 600 shows across the US, sharing stages with acts such as The Avett Brothers, Lake Street Dive, Rusted Root, The Dead South, Joseph, and many more.

Follow The Crane Wives:

Website | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | Spotify | YouTube

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble announces 2025-2026 Season

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar: Save The Dates

CHICAGO DANZTHEATRE ENSEMBLE ANNOUNCES ITS 

2025 - 2026 SEASON  

Whisper Theatre's Well Balanced Dads courtesy of Whisper Theatre 

performing in the Full Circle Festival

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble (CDE) is pleased to announce its 2025 - 2026 season. CDE will open this season with LUMINOSITY, Aug. 1-2, followed by a reimagined “Full Circle Festival,” Sept. 19-28, featuring local artists participating in a classic fringe-style festival. The Artists’ Residency, Body Passages, returns to CDE from Nov. 14-15, as well as the New Plays Program and Next Stage Development. In addition, CDE announces Davon Suttles as its new assistant artistic director. The season will conclude with a new work by Ellyzabeth Adler, "Architecture of Memory” May 8-23.

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble’s youth programming, in partnership with FACETS, includes the Annual Family Days of films and forums at FACETS, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Sunday, Oct. 19 and Sunday, Dec. 7.

All performances and special events take place at Chicago Danztheatre, 1650 W. Foster Avenue. For additional information on this upcoming season and to purchase tickets visit DanzTheatre.org.

“Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble is excited to announce its 2025 - 2026 season and share some positive administrative news that will not only help sustain CDE but also support the vibrant visual and performing arts community,” said Executive Director Ellyzabeth Adler. “Last year, we relaunched our artist residency program, Body Passages, which not only included performing artists but also expanded to include visual art with the addition of our new art studios. We received a grant from the Bayless Family Foundation for a new dance floor for the auditorium, as well as for our new rehearsal space, The Loft. We have expanded our rehearsal and performance subsidies rentals program, thanks to a grant from the Driehaus Foundation.  We launched our first playwright cohort with nine artists, and now, we are ready to expand and sustain to carry us into our 25th year.” 

The 2025 - 2026 Artistic Season Includes:

LUMINOSITY - Dance, Theater, Visual Art

August 1 - 2

Performance Schedule: Friday, August 1 and Saturday, August 2 at 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble Auditorium, 1650 W Foster Ave

Humanitix.com

Tickets: $25

LUMINOSITY showcases international and local artists exploring the fluid intersections of culture, imagination and personal mythology through an art exhibition, film and performance, featuring 25 Chicago and International Artists. This is a part of a larger symposium with the artists' collective “Oceans Between” that will also be featured at the Oliva Gallery in Logan Square.

Full Circle Festival

September 19 - 28

Performance Schedule: TBA

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble Auditorium, 1650 W Foster Ave

Tickets: TBA

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble has reimagined its Full Circle Festival, featuring physical, fringe, and dance theater works between 30 and 60 minutes in length. About the festival, for eight years, CDE has produced this eclectic festival for works under 15 minutes. Since reopening three years ago after being closed due to the pandemic, we have been responding to the needs of the performance community even more, and have found that there is a need to present longer works. We are co-producing this event with Whispering Theatre Collective (Britt Anderson and Richie Schiraldi. This year’s lineup will feature: REDANCE, Ramona Rotten, Whispering Theatre Collective, Michelle Stine, CIRCA-Pintig, HGBIC Productions, Emma Jean Eastling and Broken Planet.

Body Passages Artists Residency

November 14 - 15

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble’s Body Passages residency offers dance, theater, and visual artists the opportunity to explore, collaborate and create, while expanding their artistic practices.  The Artists will create collaboratively and/or separately over four months, with 30 hours of rehearsal and/or studio space. Artists will present their work at the Body Passages Performance and Exhibition on November 14 and 15.

New Plays Program

Sunday, February 22 at 2:00 p.m.

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble is very excited to launch the second year of this program for playwrights! We will select four playwrights to write a new 10-minute play or 10 pages of a new play that will feature up to four actors around the theme and inspired by the "red string."

“An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, and circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break.” – Ancient Chinese Proverb

Drawing inspiration from the “Red String” theory, we will explore what connects people, artists, and communities in their creative endeavors. Going beyond the original “soulmate” concept, we will explore how people connect.

Timothy Rey, Artistic Associate and playwright of the Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, will facilitate the cohort. CDE hopes to have one or two of the plays move to our Next Stage Play Development program.

Next Stage Play Development

DATE:TBD

Chosen from our first playwrighting cohort, Sara Hensley and Keely Jones, have been selected for our new “Next Stage Play Development,” and its goal is to have a directed reading of a new work out loud so that they can move it to the next stage.  This residency encourages the playwright to take ownership, collaborate with others and stay on a timeline to meet deadlines.

Poetry In Beats

April 2025

To celebrate CDE's 25th anniversary, we are hosting a one-night-only performance featuring poetry and music on stage.  Ellyzabeth Adler, at the age of 26, wanted to do a creative project. It was a physical theater adaptation of “The Wasteland” and a workshop version of it debuted on April 20, 2001. T.S. Eliot may inspire some new work! 

Architecture Of Memory

May 8-23

Architecture of Memory is a new, original Danztheatre work by founder Ellyzabeth Adler, exploring perseverance, hope, and self-discovery. Told through film, dance, theater, and original music, this visceral and immersive performance experience aims to showcase the beauty of overcoming obstacles in life and creating a new sense of self. Adler is teaming up with Digital Tapestries to create new films that will be integrated into the performance, and this will be her first full-length work since 2017.

New Assistant Artistic Director

Davon Suttles has been named the new assistant artistic director for the organization. They have been working with CDE since 2021 as teaching artists and, since 2024, have been managing CDE’s social media. Suttles was a Body Passages artist this past year and is a member of M.A.D.D. Rhythms.  

ABOUT CHICAGO DANZTHEATRE ENSEMBLE

Founded in 2001, Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble (CDE) is Chicago’s only multidisciplinary arts organization dedicated to social justice and socially conscious work that builds community through the arts “one voice, one story, one person at a time.” CDE’s mission is to engage, inspire, and challenge the community, both onstage and in the classroom, through innovative and collaborative multidisciplinary storytelling to illuminate aspects of social issues. We do this in the genre of Tanztheatre, "which unites all art media to achieve an all-embracing, radical change in humankind.” Through our school-based art and performance programs, CDE helps students in Chicago schools explore their own creativity, supporting their social and emotional learning. CDE provides a physical and emotional space where community conversation and cultural change can happen.

For our performance series, CDE is dedicated to creating performances that blend together dance, theatre and visual art to tell stories about the human condition. We give an artistic voice to those who are not always heard.

Dedicated since our founding to diverse casting of age, body type and ethnicity

Consistently listed as a “Top Theater and Dance Performance to See” by New City and Chicago Reader

Unique collaborations with the Veterans Art Museum, Poetry Center Chicago, Cantigny Museum, Neighborhood Writing Alliance, Voice of the City and numerous dance and theater companies

MacArthur Award Grantee for International Collaborations.  

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble is supported by The Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; Bayless Family Foundation, The Saints Foundation,The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; Innovation 80; Farny Wurlitzer Foundation; Mardi Gras Fund and the annual support of individual donors.