ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar
JACKALOPE THEATRE ANNOUNCES THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
MAY 22 - JUNE 28 AT THE BROADWAY ARMORY PARK
This New Play by Rehana Lew Mirza and directed by Jackalope Artistic Director Kaiser Ahmed is a Comedic Tale of Uncovering the Secrets in an American Suburbia.
Jackalope Theatre Company is proud to announce its next production after the United States premiere of Esho Rasho’s Dummy in Diaspora. Jackalope’s 17th season continues with the world premiere of Rehana Lew Mirza’s latest play, Neighborhood Watch, May 22 - June 28, directed by Kaiser Ahmed, at the Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N Broadway St. Previews are Thursday, May 22 through Friday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 25 at 2 p.m. with the press opening Tuesday, May 27 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 - $40 with student and Edgewater resident discounts available. Subscription and single tickets are now available at JackalopeTheatre.org or call/text the box office at 773.340.2543.
In the weeks following the 2024 election, Paul, a suburban family man, lives in terror of what’s to come. When a Muslim neighbor, Mo, moves in, Paul launches into a battle of his own fears and liberal beliefs — a battle that will affect the entire neighborhood.
The Cast
(Top to bottom, Left to Right):
Harsh Gagoomal as MO RIZVI
Jamie Herb as BECCA MARCHANT
Omar Bader as JAVED ANSARI
Frank Nall as PAUL MARCHANT
Victor Holstein as SHAWN RAYMOND
Faiz Siddque as MO RIZVI U/S
Lila Rutishauser as BECCA MARCHANT U/S
Eustace Allen as PAUL MARCHANT U/S
Jordan Tannous as JAVED ANSARI U/S
JJ Gatesman as SHAWN RAYMOND U/S
The cast of Neighborhood Watch includes Frank Nall (he/him, Paul Marchant); Jamie Herb (they/them, Becca Marchant); Harsh Gagoomal (he/him, Mo (Mohammed) Rizvi); Victor Holstein (he/him, Shawn Raymond); Omar Bader (he/him, Javed Ansari); Eustace Allen (he/him, U/S Paul Marchant); Lila Rutishauser (they/them, U/S Becca Marchant); Faiz Siddique (he/him, U/S Mo (Mohammed) Rizvi); JJ Gatesman (he/him, Shawn Raymond); Jordan Tannous (they/them, U/S Javed Ansari).
The creative team for Neighborhood Watch includes Rehana Lew Mirza (she/her, playwright); Kaiser Ahmed (he/him, director/casting director); Aden Haq (assistant director); Karina Patel (she/her, dramaturg/ new work manager); Amal Mazen Salem (she/her, production manager); Miguel Salgado Jr. (he/they, stage manager); Tianxuan Chen (she/her, scenic designer); Delena Bradley (she/her, costume designer); Roman Jones (he/they, props designer); Maaz Ahmed (they/them, lighting designer); Newton Schottelkotte (they/them, sound designer); Juan Barrera Lopez (he/him, technical director); Chase Barron (he/they, lead electrician); Tristin Hall (they/them, fight/intimacy director); Hudson Therriault (he/him, accessibility manager); Amira Danan (she/her, development director) and AJ Links, CSA (she/her, casting director).
ABOUT REHANA LEW MIRZA, PLAYWRIGHT
Rehana Lew Mirza (she/her) recently held a prestigious National Playwrights Mellon residency at Ma-Yi Theatre in New York from 2016 - 2022, after also being a playwright in residence at La Jolla Playhouse, where her musical Bhangra Nation (previously titled Bhangin’ It, 2019 Richard Rodgers Award; developed at The Orchard Project, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat and their 3R program, Goodspeed and Project Springboard) premiered in 2022. It recently had its United Kingdom premiere at Birmingham Rep in February of 2024. Mirza’s plays include: Hatefuck (First Floor; Colt Coeur/WP); A People’s Guide to History in the Time of Here and Now (Primary Stages Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation's Women Playwrights Commission; AADA workshop production); Soldier X (Ma-Yi; Brooklyn College; NYSCA/Lark commission); Tomorrow, Inshallah (Living Room Theater, Kansas City; Storyworks/HuffPost commission); Neighborhood Watch (NNPN/InterAct commission) and Barriers (Desipina, Asian American Theater Company). She founded the award-winning South Asian theater and film company, Desipina & Co, alongside her sister Rohi Mirza Pandya in 2001, where together they produced the popular Seven.11 series (seven, 11-minute plays all set in a convenience store.) Additional awards/honors include: Kleban Award, Cape Cod Theatre Artist in Residence, NYFA Artist Fellow, TCG Fellowship with New Georges and an HBOAccess Writing Fellow. She currently holds a Julia Miles Playwriting Residency with WP Theater. She has an MFA from Columbia University and a BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
ABOUT KAISER AHMED, DIRECTOR
Kaiser Ahmed (he/him) is a Bangladeshi-American theatre director, producer, teacher and actor based in Chicago. He has worked as a director at Steppenwolf, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, The Artistic Home, Northlight Theatre, Silk Road Theatre, American Blues Theatre, First Floor Theatre, Rasaka Theatre and many others. Ahmed was featured in the Kilroy's Web 2023 and named on NewCity’s Players 2019 and 2022: "Fifty People Who Really Perform For Chicago”. He was the co-founding artistic director of Jackalope Theatre Company from 2008 - 2012, he continued to serve as the associate artistic director through 2019 and returned as artistic director in 2020. Recent directing credits include Queen (Penobscot), Passage (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company), Among the Dead, Fast Company (Jackalope) and Language Rooms (Broken Nose). Ahmed is a member of the Columbia College Advisory Board and the Sarah Siddons Artistic Council, a 2015-16 Eugene O’Neill National Directors Fellowship finalist, a 2016-17 Victory Gardens Directors Inclusion Initiative recipient and an associate member of SDC. He holds a BA in theatre directing from Columbia College Chicago.
ABOUT JACKALOPE THEATRE
Jackalope Theatre Company expands the definition of American Identity by engaging with communities to produce works that celebrate diverse perspectives. Jackalope is a premier home for new and exciting Off-Loop Theatre based in Chicago's Edgewater and Rogers Park neighborhoods. They are committed to cultivating new voices that contribute to an expanding American culture and mythology. Each season, Jackalope produces full-length plays, new play development programming and provides free classes in partnership with the Chicago Park District.
MORE FROM JACKALOPE
16th Annual Living Newspaper Festival
August 21 - 25
Press Opening: Thursday, Aug, 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Performance schedule: Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and Mondays at 7:30 p.m.
The Broadway Armory, 5917 N Broadway
JackalopeTheatre.org/2024-2025-season
Tickets: $15 - $35
The Living Newspaper Festival is inspired by the 1930s Living Newspapers of the Federal Theatre Project that created stories based on recent events. This year’s Festival will include one-act plays inspired from recent news headlines.
Performances, show times, dates are subject to change.
Jackalope Theatre Company is proud to announce its next production after the United States premiere of Esho Rasho’s Dummy in Diaspora. Jackalope’s 17th season continues with the world premiere of Rehana Lew Mirza’s latest play, Neighborhood Watch, May 22 - June 28, directed by Kaiser Ahmed, at the Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N Broadway St. Previews are Thursday, May 22 through Friday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 25 at 2 p.m., with a press opening Tuesday, May 27 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 - $40 with student and Edgewater resident discounts available. Subscription and single tickets are now available at JackalopeTheatre.org or call/text the box office at 773.340.2543.
Jackalope Theatre expands American identity by engaging with our communities to produce works that celebrate diverse perspectives. Season 17 is made possible by the continued generosity of Season Sponsors Michael and Mona Heath.
