STREAMING: LOVE IN THE TIME OF JONESTOWN – A Radio Play November 21 – December 12, 2021

 New Dates Announced!

The New Coordinates Present the World Premiere of

LOVE IN THE TIME OF JONESTOWN – A Radio Play

By Ensemble Member Omer Abbas Salem

Directed by Sophiyaa Nayar

Streaming November 21 – December 12, 2021

The New Coordinates, formerly The New Colony, has announced new dates for its world premiere Love in the Time of Jonestown – A Radio Play, streaming on demand from November 21 – December 12, 2021 at thenewcoordinates.org. Sinister and seductive, this brand-new audio experience by Ensemble Member Omer Abbas Salem and directed by Sophiyaa Nayar explores the splendid ache of acceptance and the profound bliss of betrayal. 

Tickets ($15) are currently available at thenewcoordinates.org. 

Love in the Time of Jonestown will feature Tina El Gamal (Reporter), Niko Kourtis (Henry), Tommy Malouf (Ahmed, Congressman Ryan), Omer Abbas Salem* (Rassoul), Stephanie Shum* (Wendy) and Mary Williamson (Jim Jones).

We want you to be safe – to feel supported. We want to create space for everything about you because we love you exactly as you are. We want to break oppressive systems and rebuild a world that not only accommodates all of us, but celebrates and fosters our beautiful individuality. All we ask is that you come with an open mind, an open heart, and a willingness to dialogue. Welcome to Jonestown, we hope you'll stay. 

The production team includes Eric Backus (sound design and original music), Nadya Naumaan, (associate director), Catherine Miller (dramaturg) and Devonte E. Washington (production stage manager).

*Denotes The New Coordinates Ensemble Member

About the Artists

Omer Abbas Salem (Playwright) is a Chicago actor and playwright. As an actor, he's worked with The New Coordinates, Jackalope Theatre, Steep Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Griffin Theatre, The House, Bailiwick Chicago, Actors Theatre of Louisville and The Atlantic Theater. His play Mosque4Mosque was developed through the National Queer Theater and then chosen for further development through Steppenwolf Theatre's SCOUT Program. The Secretaries was workshopped through The New Coordinates, a semi-finalist in Definition Theatre's Amplify Commission, and developed through the Goodman Theatre's Future Labs. Pretty Shahid was commissioned as part of Jackalope Theatre's 2020/21 New Frontier Series. He is a member of the 2021/22 Goodman Playwrights Unit and is the recipient of the 2021 Cunningham Commission through DePaul University. He was an apprentice of the Actors Theatre of Louisville (17/18) and a proud ensemble member with Steep Theatre and The New Coordinates. He is represented by DDO Artist Agency and the Gersh Agency. More at www.omerabbassalem.com.

Sophiyaa Nayar (Director) is from New Delhi, India. Most recently, she directed Shakuntala by Lavina Jadhwani (Future Labs, Goodman Theatre). She is a member of the Women’s Project Lab 2020-22, an ensemble member with Definition Theatre, member of Director's Lab Chicago 2017 and was a resident in Milwaukee Rep’s 2017/18 season. She is part of the SDC Foundation’s Observership Class, through which she worked on Soft Power by Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang at The Public. Recent work includes: Good Years by Ada Alozie (Definition Theatre), Being Julia Roberts by Omer Abbas Salem (Jackalope Theatre), MLK Project by Yolanda Androzzo (Writers Theatre), EthiopianAmerica By Sam Kabede (Definition Theatre) which won BTA Awards for Best Play, Featured Actor and Actress and a Jeff Award for Fight Choreography. She just finished workshopping a screenplay with Sundance Collab under Jessica Sharzer. Learn more about her on sophiyaanayar.net

 

About The New Coordinates

The New Coordinates (formerly The New Colonyd) develops New Art and New Artists in order to educate and build New Audiences. Now in its 13th year, The New Coordinates has established itself as “one of Chicago’s essential off-Loop companies” (Chicago Tribune). Through the development of countless new plays and musicals, 32 world premieres, and a conscious shift toward becoming an anti-racist theatre, The New Coordinates has cultivated a diverse audience of theatergoers eager to have a voice in the storytelling. Conversation, collaboration and innovation remain at the heart of everything they produce. The New Coordinates' work has been honored with five non-Equity Jeff Awards, Broadway In Chicago’s 2011 Emerging Theatre Award, and their shows have gone onto productions across the country and beyond. Learn more at thenewcoordinates.org.

FEST ALERT: Full Line-Up Announced for The New Colony’s UNCHARTED Festival at The Den Theatre July 11 – 20, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Full Line-Up Announced!

The New Colony’s 

UNCHARTED Festival

July 11 – 20, 2019 at The Den Theatre

The New Colony’s UNCHARTED Festival playwrights include (top, l to r) Fin Coe, Grace McLeod, Michael Turrentine, Mario (Mars) Wolfe, Christina Renee Jones, Patriac Coakley and Evan Linder. Directors include (bottom, l to r) Elyse Dolan, James Fleming, Toma Tavares Langston, Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary, Dani Wieder, Megan Johns and Zach Weinberg.

The New Colony is pleased to present UNCHARTED, a two-week showcase of plays at different points in their journeys to production, playing July 11 – 20, 2019 at TNC’s resident home, The Den Theatre (2B) 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Tickets will go on sale in June at www.thenewcolony.org.

UNCHARTED is a two-week festival showcasing bold new works from Chicago playwrights developed, incubated and curated by The New Colony. The company provides Chicago playwrights with support from professional directors, actors and designers to help them take the next step in the creation of a new work. UNCHARTED was founded in recognition and celebration of the Chicago community’s passion for creating and producing new American plays and aims to connect audiences and theatrical producers with today’s stories and tomorrow’s playwrights. Each offering will receive two presentations over the course of the festival.

Comments The New Colony Co-Artistic Directors Fin Coe and Stephanie Shum, "The New Colony's pipeline is full of intriguing new plays, more than we could ever give a production to. UNCHARTED is our attempt to break the cycle of wonderful, timely new plays staying undiscovered and unproduced. We've curated a selection of promising new stories that deserve to be showcased for other Chicago theatres to see and hear. Our ensemble and staff are applying our decade of new play development experience to connecting these plays and their playwrights with the organizations that are hungry for contemporary scripts that fit their aesthetic and mission. We're confident that this matchmaking will result in more new Chicago classics finding homes and productions."

The UNCHARTED line-up includes:

OTHER ROCKPOOLS
Written by Fin Coe*
Directed by Elyse Dolan

In the summer of 2001, a brilliant physicist sets up shop in her family's cabin and gathers a team of scientists for one wild, irresistible purpose: build a machine to get them all the hell out of their awful timeline.

SCARE ME
Written by Grace McLeod
Directed by James Fleming

When Alex gets hired at a Halloween pop-up store in the suburbs of Chicago, she's thrilled to start her gap year with her first real job. As she and her older, jaded co-workers scramble to meet their sales goal and push superhero capes and fake blood on strangers, they each struggle to distinguish the masks they wear from the masks they sell. Scare Me is a queer coming-of-age comedy about the fear of being yourself, the desire to be somebody else, and the danger of getting attached to something that was always meant to be temporary.

IF ONLY ONCE
Written by Michael Turrentine
Directed by Toma Tavares Langston

Ryan and Tyler live in a quaint little house in the near suburbs of Chicago. They’ve been married two years, are insatiably in love, and thinking of starting a family in the near future. But when Ryan asks his ex-wife of four years, Lona, to be the surrogate mother, Tyler is forced to dive deep into Ryan’s past, to see his husband in a way he never thought possible. If Only Once is a story of feeling trapped inside our own lives and poses the question: do we ever really know the people we choose to love?

BERTHA VAN ATION 3.0 (birth-of-a-nation 3 point-oh)
Written by Mario (Mars) Wolfe 
Directed by Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary 

Genesis double oh seven. Sometime after Adam and Eve learned to fart and fornicate and much after the Twin Towers. Oprah Shy X (Shy) and Oprah Shy Y (O) set out to recall the story of their escape from incarceration and enslavement. Their brother, Cole, steers the whip to freedom, using 8-oh-8 to guide the Odyssey. The siblings find their task to be a tall order when the memories of the Privileged and their genetic experiments resurface. Scientists, Sanitation Workers, and a Nurse join the Children on their quest for truth within recycled myths, parables, and trap beats.

THE PUPPET PLAY
Written by Christina Renee Jones
Directed by Dani Wieder

Julie grew up following all the rules. While she aced her youth, she is currently flunking adulting. After years of horrible luck, bad decisions and undiagnosed mental illnesses, Julie decides she just can’t deal with it anymore. Until one night, when her reality is transformed into the world of her favorite childhood public television show, "Puppet Playhouse." Sunny days, the air is sweet, and the arts and crafts made streets are populated with irritating, singing puppets. The Puppet Play is brought to you by the letters F: for embracing Friendship, M: for tackling Mental illnesses, and L: for learning to Love yourself.

Bits & Pieces Series (presented together in one program as scripts still in process):

LETTS WRITE A PLAY
Written by Patriac Coakley*
Directed by Megan Johns*

After winning a raffle at a benefit, two members of a struggling Chicago storefront theatre go to a famous Chicago playwright’s house for dinner. Resentment brews under conversation and intentions for the evening are revealed to go beyond a dinner… and maybe the law.

JO & LIV
Written by Evan Linder*
Directed by Zach Weinberg

Liv has accepted her estranged sister Jo’s invitation to spend Christmas together with their families in New York in 1961. With years of hurt between them, they hope this can be their chance to finally exhume all the skeletons in their closets. Or at least the contentious Academy Award stuffed in the cupboard. Jo & Liv is at turns hysterical and heartbreaking as it explores two legendary Hollywood siblings who love each other fiercely, but love their grudges more. Jo & Liv was commissioned as part of the Goodman Theatre's 2017 Playwright Unit.

*Denotes The New Colony Ensemble Member

UNCHARTED Performance Schedule:

Thursday, July 11 at 7:30 pm
Friday, July 12 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 13 at 3 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday, July 14 at 3 pm & 7:30 pm
Monday July 15 at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, July 17 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, July 18 at 7:30 pm
Friday, July 19 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 20 at 3 pm & 7:30 pm

Note: a detailed schedule by production will be posted shortly at www.thenewcolony.org.

About the Artists

Fin Coe (Playwright, Other Rockpools) is a Chicago-based theatre artist, and the Co-Artistic Director of The New Colony. A native of Silicon Valley and a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, his past writing credits include Pretty/Windy Theatre Company, Scribble Bibble, A-Squared Theatre, the Sketch Review, and others. Fun Harmless Warmachine is his first full-length play to be produced.

Elyse Dolan (Director, Other Rockpools) is excited to join the New Colony team! Previously at TNC, she directed the Associate Company production of Here After by Evan Sesek and acted as Assistant Director on Kin Folk (dir. Evan Linder). She is the Assistant Producer at American Blues Theater, where she is also an Artistic Affiliate. At Blues, she has directed several short plays in past Ripped festivals and has been Assistant Director on a handful shows including Six Corners (dir. Gary Griffin) and Little Shop of Horrors (dir. Jonathan Berry). Her directing work has been seen across Chicago at Broken Nose Theatre, Prop Thtr, Babes with Blades, Commission Theatre, 20% Theatre Company, Pride Films & Plays, Gorilla Tango Theatre, and more. She has also served as Assistant Director on productions at Raven Theatre, Oracle Theatre, 16th Street Theater and Redtwist Theatre. Elyse holds a B.A. from Denison University.

Grace McLeod (Playwright, Scare Me) is a playwright and screenwriter based in Chicago and New York. She was the recipient of the 2018 Olga and Paul Menn Foundation Prize for Playwriting and a 2017-18 Trellis playwright-in-residence at the Greenhouse Theater Center, where she developed her play Herland (2019 National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere at MOXIE Theatre in San Diego, Redtwist Theatre in Chicago, and Greenway Court Theatre in Los Angeles). Grace has developed her plays with First Floor Theater, The New Colony, Commission Theatre, American Blues Theater, and the Victory Gardens College Night series, among others. She was a 2013-14 Tribeca Film Fellow and wrote and directed the short film Under the Table, which premiered during the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, and co-wrote and produced Local/Express, an experimental short film that screened across Times Square as part of the Midnight Moment Series, the world’s largest, longest-running digital art exhibition. Grace is a recent graduate of the University of Chicago. She is represented by the Gersh Agency.

James Fleming (Director, Scare Me) Chicago-based director, Director of New Works at The New Colony, and Associate Artistic Director at Redtwist Theatre. Recent directing credits include Fun Harmless Warmachine by Fin Coe (The New Colony), Herland by Grace McLeod, Our Town by Thornton Wilder, and Sagittarius Ponderosa by MJ Kaufman (Redtwist Theatre). He has also directed readings, workshops and events for Goodman Theatre, Route 66 Theatre, AstonRep, Broken Nose Theatre, and arc theatre. He's had the pleasure of assistant directing at Goodman Theatre, Court Theatre, and Greenhouse Theatre Center. James worked as part of a collaborative team with Peca Stefan, Tamilla Woodard and Ana Margineanu of PopUp Theatrics to produce the Chicago story for #THENEWOLDHOME, a mix between puzzle, social game, exhibition, audio drama and interactive installation which premiered at CLB Berlin in January 2018. He has served on the literary panels for the National New Play Network's Annual Showcase of New Plays, Route 66's TEST DRIVE and Kitchen Dog Theatre's New Play Festival. James was a participant in the Chicago Directors Lab and a recipient of an SDC Foundation Observership. This fall, he will begin pursuing his MFA in Directing at Yale School of Drama.

Michael Turrentine (Playwright, If Only Once) is mainly an actor around Chicago, appearing at companies including Remy Bumppo, The Gift Theatre, Haven Theatre, Firebrand Theatre, The Lyric Opera, and several others. More recently, he has found himself writing for the theater. He began his writing career writing various short, physical theater shows, some of which traveled around the U.S. However, If Only Once is his first full length play and he is very excited to share it. (Michael will also be writing a piece for Broken Nose Theatre's Bechdel Fest this Summer.) He is represented by Gray Talent Group.

Toma Tavares Langston (Director, If Only Once) is a freelance theater director. Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre: Hedwig and The Angry Inch. New Colony: The Light (2018 Joseph Jefferson Nomination for Director – Play). Victory Gardens: 2015 Directors Inclusion Initiative Director Fellowship. (Assistant Director) Sucker Punch. Jackalope Theatre: (Assistant Director) 1980 (or Why I'm Voting for John Anderson). Sideshow Theatre: (Assistant Director) Truth and Reconciliation and Give It All Back. Other directorial credits include The Last Five Years, The Shadow Box, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf.  

Mario (Mars) Wolfe (Playwright, Bertha Van Ation 3.0) is a writer, performance artist and theatre manager from central Florida. Mars’ plays – Bus 74, Turnt the Screw; or a trigger warning and Click Fate – have been read and performed at Victory Gardens, The Arc, Studio@620 and NoMads Art Collective. Mars was recently featured in the ArciTEXT Festival (Goddess, Forbid) and the Activate: Midwest Festival (1st Imani 22nd Six). Mars' play Party Goin On will be produced in New York later this year. Mars is a graduate of the Theatre School at DePaul and the Juilliard Apprentice Program.

Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary (Director, Bertha Van Ation 3.0) is a Dominican-American who is proud member of SAG-AFTRA, Gray Talent Group, Teatro Vista and Associate Artistic Director of Halcyon Theatre. A Columbia College Directing Grad, she has worked alongside companies such as Chicago Shakespeare, Goodman Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Steep, Stage Left, Red Twist, Northlight and Something Marvelous, among many others both on and off stage. Selected directing credits include: Between Riverside and Crazy (Red Twist) Firefly Love (Something Marvelous) The River Bride (Halcyon) Heat Wave (Steppenwolf Garage), Between Pancho Villa and a Naked Woman (Halcyon). Past selected production credits include: Taming of the Shrew Assistant Director (Barbara Gaines/Chicago Shakes), Romeo and Juliet Directing Intern (Marti Lyons/ Chicago Shakes), Fishmen Assistant Director/ Casting Director (Goodman Theatre/Teatro Vista). Select acting credits include: There’s always the Hudson (Goodman New Stages), In the Time of the Butterflies (Teatro Vista), She Kills Monsters (Steppenwolf Garage). She has also been seen on Chicago P.D, Empire, A.P.B and CHI-IRAQ.

Christina Renee Jones (Playwright, The Puppet Play) is a Chicago performer and writer of silly stories. She is an ensemble member of Birch House, a company that focuses on immersive, theatrical experiences. She also writes, performs and goofs around as a company member with Hobo Junction. Other acting credits include City Lit, Otherworld, Midsommer Flight, A Dead Whale Productions, the side project, Promethean, Akvavit, and other theatres that are now defunct. Her writing has been seen in many different forms around town through the Eccentric Expedition, Junior Varsity, the Crowd, Potluck, and Factory Theatre. christinareneejones.com

Dani Wieder (Director, The Puppet Play) is a director of performance and film in Chicago. Recent credits include People in the Wind (Haven Theatre), In the Canyon by Calamity West (dramaturg, Jackalope Theatre), La Ronde (American Theatre Company, CORE), Josephine the Mouse Singer by Franz Kafka (Curious Theatre Branch, Rhinofest), and Miss Julie (University of Chicago). She has assistant directed and dramaturged plays across Chicago at theaters such as at The Goodman Theatre, American Theater Company, Steep Theatre Company, and Court Theatre. Dani is also the Literary Manager of Haven Theatre Chicago. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago. Up next, Dani will be the Associate Director for The Fly Honey Show 10, and her film Cool for Five Seconds will be appearing at festivals around the country. www.daniwieder.com

Patriac Coakley (Playwright, Letts Write a Play) is an ensemble member with The New Colony. He is grateful to be a part of the work. Past works with TNC include Small World, The Bearsuit of Happiness, Frat and That Sordid Little Story. He performs sketch with OPIE and improv with losdosdudes.

Megan Johns (Director, Letts Write a Play) is an improviser, teacher, writer and director who has been living in Chicago for the last 15 years. She is originally from Virginia, where the mountains are blue. In Chicago, Meg has taught improv at The Annoyance for 11 years and instructed collaborative theatre at both The University of Chicago and After School Matters. At The Annoyance, Meg has been in Love is Dead: A Necromantic Musical Comedy, Burlesque is More, and hosted a weekly variety show featuring LGBTQIA and female-identifying performers. She has collaborated with and directed sketch duo OPIE for the last four years and most recently took OPIE: Vol. 2 to The 2018 New York International Fringe Festival. Meg is a proud ensemble member of The New Colony, and there has directed, performed and created devised theatre for the last 10 years, including directing 11:11 and co-writing ReWilding Genius with Andrew Hobgood.

Evan Linder (Playwright, Jo & Liv) is an ensemble member and the founding Co-Artistic Director of The New Colony. He works in Chicago as a playwright, actor and director. He also teaches playwriting at the University of Chicago. Evan is a proud graduate of the College of Charleston, which presented him the Alumnus of the Year award in 2016. His plays include Byhalia Mississippi, 11:11, The Warriors, The Bear Suit of Happiness, B-Side Studio, The Hunted, Jo & Liv and 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, which was named Best Overall Production at the 2012 NYC International Fringe Festival and is published by Samuel French. 5 Lesbians also enjoyed an Off-Broadway run as part of the Soho Playhouse’s 2012-13 season and has seen productions in over 35 States, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Spain, South Africa, Great Britain and Japan. Byhalia, Mississippi (2016 Jeff Award: Best New Work) opens in Washington, D.C. in June 2019 as part of the Kennedy Center’s 2018-19 Season. At The New Colony, Evan continues to teach the Writers Room, an education program he created in 2015 that has now welcomed over 100 emerging Chicago playwrights. evanlinder.com

Zach Weinberg (Director, Jo & Liv) is a Chicago-based theater director, adaptor and administrator. He is interested in the creation of new, non-traditional works and finding the perfect medium for the message. Zach is a company member and Grants Manager at Red Tape Theatre, and a graduate of Oberlin College. Selected directing credits include serving as a Directing Apprentice with the late Redmoon Theatre, the 2016 Director’s Haven at Haven Theatre, two seasons with the Oberlin Summer Theatre Festival, two original adaptations at Curious Theatre Branch’s Rhinofest: Love in a Maze (’17) and MAY DAY (’18), and the world premiere of 2 unfortunate 2 travel, an original semi-devised work, as part of the Prop Thtr’s 2018-19 season. His credits as an assistant director include The New Colony, Organic Theatre Company, Oracle Productions, the Actors' Gymnasium, and Redmoon.



About The New Colony
The New Colony develops New Art and New Artists in order to educate and build New Audiences.

Now in its tenth year, The New Colony has established itself as “one of Chicago’s essential off-Loop companies” (Chicago Tribune). Through the premiere of over thirty premiere plays and musicals, The New Colony has cultivated a diverse audience of theatergoers eager to have a voice in the storytelling. Conversation, collaboration and innovation remain at the heart of everything they produce. The New Colony’s work has been honored with five non-Equity Jeff Awards, Broadway In Chicago’s 2011 Emerging Theatre Award and Best Overall Production at the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival. The New Colony’s 2018/19 Season marks their fourth year as a resident company in the Upstairs Mainstage of The Den Theatre in Wicker Park.

OPENING: World Premiere of SMALL WORLD Via The New Colony at The Den Theatre March 27 – May 4, 2019

 ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

World Premiere!

The New Colony Presents

SMALL WORLD

By Jillian Leff and Joe Lino

Directed by Andrew Hobgood

March 27 – May 4, 2019 at The Den Theatre

I'll be out for the press opening April 1st, so check back soon for my full review.

The New Colony, under the new artistic leadership of Fin Coe* and Stephanie Shum*, is pleased to continue its 2018-19 season with the world premiere of SMALL WORLD, a twisted comedy in the happiest place on earth, co-written by Jillian Leff and Joe Lino and directed by Andrew Hobgood*, playing March 27 – May 4, 2019 at TNC’s resident home, The Den Theatre’s Upstairs Main Stage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Tickets are currently available at www.thenewcolony.org. 

SMALL WORLD feature Ensemble members Patriac Coakley* and Stephanie Shum* with Jackie Seijo.

It’s the end of the world…maybe? There’s no way to confirm for three cast members trapped inside their attraction at the happiest place on earth. The music won’t stop, there’s a body in the moat and one of the group is impaled under a smiling animatronic. Can they force their way off the ride? And what waits for them on the other side? It’s a world of hopes, it’s a world of fears. It’s a small world, after all.  

Comments Co-Artistic Director Fin Coe, “We're getting back to our roots with Small World, a show that is getting the full New Colony Process; our Ensemble fell vocally in love with the concept, we greenlit it, and we've hit the ground sprinting – working with the playwrights to generate and polish it for this season. It's a gonzo workplace dark comedy gem, with all our signature weird humor and wild action.”

The production team for SMALL WORLD includes: Sotirios Livaditis (scenic design), Uriel Gomez (costume design), Alon Stotter (lighting design), Erik Siegling (sound design), Jennifer Wernau (props design), Zack Meyer (violence design), Zoe Benditt (dramaturg), Megan Johns* and Zach Weinberg (assistant directors), Doran Konja (script supervisor), Lila Gilbert (production manager), Evan Sposato (technical director), Monica Brown* (stage manager) and Cedar Larson (assistant stage manager).

Cast (in alphabetical order): Patriac Coakley* (Donny), Jackie Seijo (Becca) and Stephanie Shum* (Kim).

Location: The Den Theatre’s Upstairs Main Stage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Wednesday, March 27 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, March 30 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, March 31 at 3 pm
Press opening: Monday, April 1 at 7:30 pm
Regular run: Thursday, April 4 – Saturday, May 4, 2019

Curtain times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: there will not be a performance on Sunday, April 21 (Easter).
Industry Nights: Monday, April 15 at 7:30 pm and Monday, April 29 at 7:30 pm
Understudy Night: Monday, April 22 at 7:30 pm

Tickets: Previews: $10; Regular run: $20. Students/seniors: 25% off. Tickets are currently available at www.thenewcolony.org. 

*Denotes The New Colony Ensemble Member.

About the Artists

Jillian Leff (Playwright) is a Chicago based playwright and actor. She’s excited to be back at The New Colony after being the script supervisor and fight choreographer for Scapegoat and developing her play The Mark with The Writers Room. Her writing has been seen around the city with Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble (Fly on the Wall), Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble (Forgetting) and Nothing Special Productions' Fight Night (The Mother-Load). Her short play Real Talk was a finalist for the 2015 City Theatre National Award for Short Playwriting and was published in The City Theatre Anthology 2015. Her play Missed Opportunities will be receiving its world premiere this winter with The Cuckoo’s Theater Project, where she is a company member. She is also currently working on developing The Private Life of Private Molly, a play about Deborah Sampson, with EDGE Theatre.

Joe Lino (Playwright) is making his playwriting debut with Small World. He’s mainly focused on acting, and in Chicago he has worked with Steppenwolf, Goodman, Victory Gardens, Teatro Vista, Drury Lane, The New Colony, The Cuckoos Theater Project, The Agency Theatre Collective,and Interrobang Theatre Project, where he is an ensemble member. Regionally, he has credits with Actors Theatre of Louisville in shows such as Dracula, A Christmas Carol and That High Lonesome Sound, which premiered at the Humana Festival. He has also performed Off-Broadway at the BAM Harvey Theatre in Charles Mee’s world premiere of The Glory of the World. He is a proud alumni of Ball State University, where he received a BFA in Acting.

Andrew Hobgood (Director) is the Founding Artistic Director of The New Colony and led the organization for its first 10 years. He has been a working playwright, director and actor in Chicago for the last 15 years. His play, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, won Outstanding Production at the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival before opening Off-Broadway in a production Ben Brantley of the New York Times called “raw and magnetic dementia…destined to attract a cult following.” 5 Lesbians is published with Samuel French and has been translated into over 15 languages and produced throughout the world. Hobgood’s other work with The New Colony includes writing and directing the new musicals Tupperware: An American Musical Fable, That Sordid Little Story, Rise of The Numberless and Plastic Revolution. His play reWILDing Genius was commissioned by the University of Chicago and premiered as part of Steppenwolf Theater’s Garage Rep series. Directing credits for The New Colony include Amelia Earhart: Jungle Princess, the original and commercial productions of FRAT, Hearts Full of Blood, which won Outstanding Script at the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival, B-Side Studio, produced in collaboration with The Inconvenience and the University of Chicago TAPS program, Orville and Wilbur Did It!, and MERGE. Recent acting credits include The Bear Suit of Happiness, The Terrible and Kinfolk. In 2010, Newcity Magazine named him one of the 50 People Who Really Perform for Chicago; in 2011, he and The New Colony were honored with the Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theater Award; and in 2013 he and Evan Linder were two of six people on Chicago Magazine’s Cultural Power List of Theater Scene Stealers. Most recently, he authored Surviving Collaboration, a manual that teaches writers, directors and actors how to create new works using The Process, the development methodology used by The New Colony.

About The New Colony

The New Colony develops New Art and New Artists in order to educate and build New Audiences.

Now in its tenth year, The New Colony has established itself as “one of Chicago’s essential off-Loop companies” (Chicago Tribune). Through the premiere of now thirty premiere plays and musicals, The New Colony has cultivated a diverse audience of theatergoers eager to have a voice in the storytelling. Conversation, collaboration and innovation remain at the heart of everything they produce. The New Colony’s work has been honored with five non-Equity Jeff Awards, Broadway In Chicago’s 2011 Emerging Theatre Award and Best Overall Production at the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival. The New Colony’s 2018/19 Season marks their fourth year as a resident company in the Upstairs Mainstage of The Den Theatre in Wicker Park. 

OPENING: World Premiere of FUN HARMLESS WARMACHINE Via The New Colony

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

The New Colony Presents the World Premiere of

FUN HARMLESS WARMACHINE

By Co-Artistic Director Fin Coe

Directed by James Fleming

October 3 – November 4, 2018 at The Den Theatre 

I'll be out for the press opening October 9th. The New Colony is a favorite of ours here at ChiIL Live Shows, for edgy, relevant choices, and impressive production values. Check back shortly for my full review.

The New Colony, under the new artistic leadership of Fin Coe* and Stephanie Shum*, is pleased to launch its 2018-19 season with the world premiere of FUN HARMLESS WARMACHINE, written by Co-Artistic Director Fin Coe* and directed by James Fleming. This kinetic journey down the rabbit hole of online masculinity cults will play October 3 – November 4, 2018 at The New Colony’s resident home, The Den Theatre’s Upstairs Main Stage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Tickets are currently available at www.thenewcolony.org. 

FUN HARMLESS WARMACHINE features Ayanna Bria Bakari, Daniel Chenard, Robert Koon, Emily Marso, Victor Musoni, Londen Shannon, Ian Michael Smith and Laura Sturm.

By day, Tom works a dead end job for the man and can't get a date. But by night, he's top of the leader board, a master gamer. Othered and lonely, Tom is sucked into the Order of the Sword, an online community  that seems to promise him his digital persona in real life. Developed through The New Colony's Writers' Room and inspired by Gamergate and online hate movements, FUN HARMLESS WARMACHINE is a cautionary tale of the power of fear and the seductive pull of the alt right.

Comments TNC Co-Artistic Director Stephanie Shum, “When Fin began working on this script as part of  the 2015 Summer Session of The Writers' Room, we were immediately struck by the timeliness and depth of this story about online hate. More than three years later, as we prepare for its world premiere, it seems more prescient and current than ever.”

The production team for FUN HARMLESS WARMACHINE includes: Sotirios Livaditis (scenic design), Rachel Sypniewski (costume design), Claire Chrzan (lighting design), Eric Backus (sound design), Omer Abbas Salem* (props design), Zoe Benditt (dramaturg), James Fleming and the cast (choreography), Ella Silverman (assistant director), Brian Sprague (technical director), Jennifer Aparicio (stage manager) and Lili Bjorklund (assistant stage manager).


Location: The Den Theatre’s Upstairs Main Stage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Dates: Previews: Wednesday, October 3 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, October 6 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 7 at 3 pm 
Press opening: Tuesday, October 9 at 7:30 pm
Regular run: Thursday, October 11 – Sunday, November 4, 2018
Curtain times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm
Industry Night: Monday, October 15 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: Previews: $10; Regular run: $20. Students/seniors: 25% off. Tickets are currently available at www.thenewcolony.org.  

*Denotes The New Colony Ensemble Member.

Cast of "Fun Harmless Warmachine": Daniel Chenard, Robert Koon, Londen Shannon 

& Ayanna Bria Bakari.

Photo Credit: Joe Mazza/Brave Lux

About the Artists

Fin Coe (Playwright) is a Chicago-based theatre artist and the Co-Artistic Director of The New Colony. A native of Silicon Valley and a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, his past writing credits include Pretty/Windy Theatre Company, Scribble Bibble, A-Squared Theatre, the Sketch Review, and others. Fun Harmless Warmachine is his first full-length play to be produced.

James Fleming (Director) is a Chicago-based director, Director of New Works at The New Colony and Associate Artistic Director at Redtwist Theatre. At Redtwist, he has directed Our Town by Thornton Wilder and Sagittarius Ponderosa by MJ Kaufman. He has also directed readings, workshops and events for Goodman Theatre, Route 66 Theatre, Broken Nose Theatre, arc theatre and The New Colony. He's had the pleasure of assistant directing at Goodman Theatre, Court Theatre and Greenhouse Theatre Center. He worked as part of a collaborative team with Peca Stefan, Tamilla Woodard and Ana Margineanu of PopUp Theatrics, producing the Chicago story for #THENEWOLDHOME, which premiered at CLB Berlin in January 2018. He has served on the literary panels for the National New Play Network’s Annual Showcase of New Plays, Route 66’s TEST DRIVE and Kitchen Dog Theatre’s New Play Festival. James was a participant in the Chicago Directors Lab and a recipient of an SDC Foundation Observership. Upcoming projects: Herland by Grace McLeod for Redtwist Theatre.

About The New Colony

The New Colony develops New Art and New Artists in order to educate and build New Audiences.

Now in its tenth year, The New Colony has established itself as “one of Chicago’s essential off-Loop companies” (Chicago Tribune). Through the premiere of now thirty premiere plays and musicals, The New Colony has cultivated a diverse audience of theatergoers eager to have a voice in the storytelling. Conversation, collaboration and innovation remain at the heart of everything they produce. The New Colony’s work has been honored with five non-Equity Jeff Awards, Broadway In Chicago’s 2011 Emerging Theatre Award and Best Overall Production at the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival. The New Colony’s 2018/19 Season marks their fourth year as a resident company in the Upstairs Mainstage of The Den Theatre in Wicker Park.

REVIEW: I've Seen The Light and It's Brilliant; Now Extended Through February 25th

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

The New Colony Presents the World Premiere of

THE LIGHT
Now Extended Through February 25, 2018 at The Den Theatre 

Tiffany Oglesby and Jeffery Owen Freelon Jr. in The New Colony’s world premiere of THE LIGHT. 

All Photos by Evan Hanover.

Written by Loy Webb 

Directed by Toma Langston

January 5 – February 4, 2018 at The Den Theatre

Three Additional Weeks of Performances!

The New Colony’s World Premiere

The New Colony is pleased to announce its sell-out world premiere THE LIGHT is adding three additional weeks of performances, extending through February 25, 2018 at The Den Theatre (2B), 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Tickets for all performance are currently available at www.thenewcolony.org.

Review:

In this illuminating and all too timely drama, the dynamic duo of Jeffery Owen Freelon Jr. and Tiffany Oglesby absolutely shine. Their energy is palpable and chemistry on stage is a joy to see, as they run the gamut of emotions. This secret filled love story crackles with lies and revelations, and an emotional tug-of-war that is a delight to see unfolding. These characters spring to life on stage with rich, compelling back stories and strong, complicated personalities that are a thrill to get to know.

There is much of immense importance here, about the experience and dynamic of well educated black women in leadership positions in particular, and universally, about survivors of rape and sexual violence. This piece is incredibly well written, and provides a much needed personal window into the current "Me Too" movement. The comfort of a worn family talisman quilt, an unconditional love deep enough to weather the harshest of emotional storms and rage, repressed memories and slow recovery in stages, all ring true and make The Light a multifaceted gem of a production.   

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we thoroughly enjoyed The Light and welcome the thought provoking discussions and debates this show is sparking. The Light is highly recommended and now extended an additional three weeks through February 25th. Don't miss this! 

Written by Chicago playwright Loy Webb and directed by Toma Langston, the gripping romantic drama features TNC Ensemble Member Jeffery Owen Freelon Jr. and Tiffany Oglesby.

A surprise proposal takes an unexpected turn that upends the world of Genesis and Rashad, forcing them to confront a devastating secret from the past and putting the future of their relationship at risk. Featuring two of Chicago’s most dynamic actors, THE LIGHT is a 70-minute, real-time rollercoaster journey of laughter, romance and despair that uncovers how the power of radical love can be a healing beacon of light.

The LIGHT is the 30^th world premiere presented by The New Colony since 2008 and marks the final production under the tenure of founding co-artistic directors Andrew Hobgood and Evan Linder, who are stepping down at the conclusion of the company’s ninth season. 

The production team for THE LIGHT includes: John Wilson (scenic design), Cassandra Kendall (lighting design), Regina Victor (dramaturg), Noelle Simone (assistant director) and Daryl Ritchie (stage manager). 

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: THE LIGHT

Playwright: Loy Webb

Director: Toma Langston

Cast: Ensemble Member Jeffery Owen Freelon Jr. (Rashad) and Tiffany Oglesby (Genesis).

Location: The Den Theatre (2B), 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Friday, January 5 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, January 6 at 7:30 pm

Opening: Monday, January 8 at 7:30 pm

Regular run: Thursday, January 11 – Sunday, February 25, 2018

Curtain times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm

Industry Night: Monday, January 29 at 7:30 pm and Monday, February 19, 2018

Tickets: $30 on Thursdays/Fridays; $35 on Saturdays/Sundays. Students/seniors: 25% off. Tickets are currently available at www.thenewcolony.org.  

About the Artists

Loy Webb (Playwright) is a Chicago born theatre journalist and playwright. Her new play The Light was developed through The New Colony’s Writer’s Room 4.0. She is an inaugural Tutterow Fellow at Chicago Dramatists, and her one-act plays have been featured at Black Ensemble Theatre, American Theater Company, 20 Percent Theatre Company Chicago, University of North Dakota, GI60 International One Minute Play Festival, Modern-Day Griot Theatre Company New York and the Black Lives, Black Words International Project, in which she is an associate artist. As a theatre journalist she is a member of the Association of Women of Journalists-Chicago, a past mentor with the AWJ-Chicago/Goodman Theatre’s Cindy Bandle Young Critics Program and a contributing theater critic for Newcity. Her one act play, I AM a Woman is published in both Wish to Live: The Hip-hop Feminism Pedagogy Reader and the Black Lives, Black Words International Project anthology. Additionally, her one-act play Saving Inge is published in One Minute Plays: A Practical Guide To Tiny Theatre. Loy holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and J.D. from The John Marshall Law School. Her primary mission with all her writing is to be a pointer towards hope.

Toma Langston (Director) is a freelance theater director. Credits include Victory Gardens: Directors Inclusion Initiative Director 2015. (Assistant Director) Sucker Punch. Jackalope Theatre: 1980 (or Why I'm Voting for John Anderson). Sideshow Theatre: (Assistant Director) Truth and Reconciliation and Give It All Back. Toma is a proud steering committee member of DirectorsLab Chicago and an associate artist with Black Lives, Black Words International Project. Directorial credits include: The Last Five Years, The Shadow Box, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf. Toma has worked with Chicago Dramatists, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre and Prologue Theatre. 

Jeffery Owen Freelon Jr. (Rashad) is a proud south side Chicagoan (Hyde Park) and excited  to work on a play by black people and for black people. He is also extremely proud to see it produced by The New Colony. He has worked with an array of theatre companies such as Theatre Unspeakable, Definition Theatre and Victory Gardens and has made an appearance on Chicago PD. He is represented by Paonessa Talent Agency.

Tiffany Oglesby (Genesis) is originally from Atlanta, GA. and recently appeared as Vanessa in About Face and Theatre Wit’s co-production of Significant Other. Other theatre credits include An Octoroon (Definition Theatre), truth and reconciliation (Sideshow), East Texas Hot Links (u/s Writers) and A Small Oak Tree Runs Red (u/s Congo Square). She also had the pleasure of working with other theatre companies including Raven and Lifeline. TV credits include Chicago Med and The Chi. She received her BFA in Performing Arts from Savannah College of Art and Design and her MFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. Happily exclusive with Grossman and Jack Talent. 

THE LIGHT is sponsored by Michael and Mona Heath.

About The New Colony

The New Colony develops NEW ART and NEW ARTISTS in order to educate and build NEW AUDIENCES. Founded in 2008, The New Colony has established itself as “one of Chicago’s essential off-Loop companies” (Chicago Tribune) having developed and produced over 25 world-premiere plays and musicals garnering four Joseph Jefferson Awards, the 2011 Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theatre Award, and Best Overall Production at the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival. The New Colony is a resident company of The Den Theatre located in Wicker Park.

OPENING: World Premiere of The Light at The Den Theatre Via The New Colony Through 2/4/18

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

The New Colony Presents the World Premiere of

THE LIGHT

Written by Loy Webb 

Directed by Toma Langston

January 5 – February 4, 2018 at The Den Theatre

ChiIL Live Shows will be ChiILin' at one of our favorite Chi, IL theatre venues, The Den Theatre, on Thursday the 11th, reviewing The Light. We can't wait to catch this world premiere by The New Colony. Check back soon for our full review. 

The New Colony is pleased to conclude its ninth season with the world premiere of Loy Webb’s gripping romantic drama THE LIGHT, directed by Toma Langston, playing January 5 – February 4, 2018 at The New Colony’s resident home, The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Tickets are currently available at www.thenewcolony.org. 

THE LIGHT features TNC Ensemble Member Jeffery Owen Freelon Jr. (Byhalia, Mississippi - TNC, A Wonder in My Soul - Victory Gardens) and Tiffany Oglesby (An Octaroon - Definition Theatre Company, Significant Other - About Face & Theater Wit). 

A surprise proposal takes an unexpected turn that upends the world of Genesis and Rashad, forcing them to confront a devastating secret from the past and putting the future of their relationship at risk. Featuring two of Chicago’s most dynamic actors, THE LIGHT is a 70-minute, real-time rollercoaster journey of laughter, romance and despair that uncovers how the power of radical love can be a healing beacon of light.

The LIGHT is the 30th world premiere presented by The New Colony since 2008 and marks the final production under the tenure of founding co-artistic directors Andrew Hobgood and Evan Linder, who are stepping down at the conclusion of the company’s ninth season 

The production team for THE LIGHT includes: John Wilson (scenic design), Cassandra Kendall (lighting design), Regina Victor (dramaturg), Noelle Simone (assistant director) and Daryl Ritchie (stage manager). 

Regular run: Thursday, January 11 – Sunday, February 4, 2018
Curtain times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm
Industry Night: Monday, January 29 at 7:30 pm 
Tickets: Regular run: $20. Students/seniors: 25% off. Tickets are currently available at www.thenewcolony.org.  

About the Artists
Loy Webb (Playwright) is a Chicago born theatre journalist and playwright. Her new play The Light was developed through The New Colony’s Writer’s Room 4.0. She is an inaugural Tutterow Fellow at Chicago Dramatists, and her one-act plays have been featured at Black Ensemble Theatre, American Theater Company, 20 Percent Theatre Company Chicago, University of North Dakota, GI60 International One Minute Play Festival, Modern-Day Griot Theatre Company New York and the Black Lives, Black Words International Project, in which she is an associate artist. As a theatre journalist she is a member of the Association of Women of Journalists-Chicago, a past mentor with the AWJ-Chicago/Goodman Theatre’s Cindy Bandle Young Critics Program and a contributing theater critic for Newcity. Her one act play, I AM a Woman is published in both Wish to Live: The Hip-hop Feminism Pedagogy Reader and the Black Lives, Black Words International Project anthology. Additionally, her one-act play Saving Inge is published in One Minute Plays: A Practical Guide To Tiny Theatre. Loy holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and J.D. from The John Marshall Law School. Her primary mission with all her writing is to be a pointer towards hope.

Toma Langston (Director) is a freelance theater director. Credits include Victory Gardens: Directors Inclusion Initiative Director 2015. (Assistant Director) Sucker Punch. Jackalope Theatre: 1980 (or Why I'm Voting for John Anderson). Sideshow Theatre: (Assistant Director) Truth and Reconciliation and Give It All Back. Toma is a proud steering committee member of DirectorsLab Chicago and an associate artist with Black Lives, Black Words International Project. Directorial credits include: The Last Five Years, The Shadow Box, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf. Toma has worked with Chicago Dramatists, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre and Prologue Theatre. 

Jeffery Owen Freelon Jr. (Rashad) is a proud south side Chicagoan (Hyde Park) and excited  to work on a play by black people and for black people. He is also extremely proud to see it produced by The New Colony. He has worked with an array of theatre companies such as Theatre Unspeakable, Definition Theatre and Victory Gardens and has made an appearance on Chicago PD. He is represented by Paonessa Talent Agency.

Tiffany Oglesby (Genesis) is originally from Atlanta, GA. and recently appeared as Vanessa in About Face and Theatre Wit’s co-production of Significant Other. Other theatre credits include An Octoroon (Definition Theatre), truth and reconciliation (Sideshow), East Texas Hot Links (u/s Writers) and A Small Oak Tree Runs Red (u/s Congo Square). She also had the pleasure of working with other theatre companies including Raven and Lifeline. TV credits include Chicago Med and The Chi. She received her BFA in Performing Arts from Savannah College of Art and Design and her MFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. Happily exclusive with Grossman and Jack Talent. 

THE LIGHT is sponsored by Michael and Mona Heath.

About The New Colony

The New Colony develops NEW ART and NEW ARTISTS in order to educate and build NEW AUDIENCES. Founded in 2008, The New Colony has established itself as “one of Chicago’s essential off-Loop companies” (Chicago Tribune) having developed and produced over 25 world-premiere plays and musicals garnering four Joseph Jefferson Awards, the 2011 Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theatre Award, and Best Overall Production at the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival. The New Colony is a resident company of The Den Theatre located in Wicker Park.

REVIEW: The New Colony's World Premiere LGBTQ PUNK Prison Drama Delivers

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

The New Colony Presents the World Premiere of

PUNK

Written by Michael Allen Harris

Co-Directed by Diana Raiselis and Katrina Dion

October 4 – November 5, 2017 at The Den Theatre

Review:

I spent yesterday, National Coming Out Day, contemplating PUNK. This show is a stark reminder that sometimes "coming out" as LGBTQ results in being kicked out of the house by homophobic parents, and youth having to live on the streets and sell themselves, sell drugs, or commit crimes just to survive. Even with an understanding family, coming out (or even suspicion), paints a target on many, who wish only to be true to themselves. And if they defend themselves during an assault or crime and get convicted, they're often revictimized and bullied by other inmates. It's a vicious and sometimes fatal cycle, by murder or suicide, and a huge way our present society lets LGBTQ people down. PUNK is thought provoking on many levels, with a witty script and quite a few laughs, despite the starkly industrial set and dark subject matter. Do note, this production contains mature themes and is best suited to adults or older teens. 

(left to right) Monette McLin, Aaron Sanchez, Evie Riojas and Daniel Shtivelberg in The New Colony’s world premiere of PUNK by Michael Allen Harris, co-directed by Diana Raiselis and Katrina Dion. Photo by Evan Hanover. 

There are some hilariously memorable lines like "So, cosplay is like drag for those with disposable income?" and  "If your partner uses spit as lube they don't really love you." The idea of LGBTQ "family" who look out for each other, even in prison, is fabulous. The acting is energetic and excellent, and the set design quickly and cleverly converts scenes from cells, to the visitors' lounge, to office space seamlessly, with clever sliding beds and hidden doors.

(left to right) Evie Riojas, Aaron Sanchez and Kyle Encinas 

 Photo by Evan Hanover. 

(front, l to r) Aaron Sanchez, Evie Riojas and Kyle Encinas with (back) Daniel Shtivelberg 

Photo by Evan Hanover. 

Most people don't really think about what happens to non gender binary people who are forced into a system ill prepared for their needs. I had a transexual housemate back in 1995, who was freshly out of rehab, and she had to fight all kinds of bureaucratic BS, with strong advocates, to get assigned to the women's ward instead of the men's, because her birth certificate read male. It was automatically assumed she had to go in the men's ward, though it was apparent she dressed as and identified as a woman and had breasts. It was a huge, uphill battle to get reassigned, despite a clear danger to her physical and mental well being, to try to get clean among male addicts likely to bully her at best and assault her at worst. Sadly enough, this is still an issue 20+ years later. With a Trump administration in charge, what little ground we gained in legislating protections and raising awareness and compassion is quickly being reversed and eroded, making theatre like this more crucial than ever.  

(left to right) Daniel Shtivelberg and Kyle Encinas

Photo by Evan Hanover. 

PUNK broaches many interesting angles, including the burnout and exhaustion faced by fierce advocates, who devote their lives to fighting for LGBTQ rights only to run up against roadblocks time after time. The victim as victimizer concept, that plays out in real life all too often, is explored, as well as the powerlessness to protect loved ones on the outside, or control the lives of those who come to visit or don't, at will. PUNK also shines a light on the horrific idea of rape and assault as punishment for crimes committed, and the equally horrific fact that it often takes suicide and violence for a bureaucratic system to back off on budget cuts and bad ideas. PUNK is thought provoking and wrenching, yet not heavy handed, or without humor and charm. It's well worth an evening out.

(left to right) Keyanna Khatiblou and Daniel Shtivelberg

Photo by Evan Hanover. 

The New Colony concludes its 2017 Season with the world premiere of Michael Allen Harris’ prison drama PUNK, co-directed by Diana Raiselis and Katrina Dion, playing October 4 – November 5, 2017 at The New Colony’s resident home, The Den Theatre’s Upstairs Main Stage, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Click HERE for tickets.

Regular run: Thursday, October 12 – Sunday, November 5, 2017 

Curtain times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm

Industry Night: Monday, October 23 at 7:30 pm

Tickets: Regular run: $20. Students/seniors: 25% off. 

PUNK features Kyle Encinas, Keyanna Khatiblou, Monette McLin, Evie Riojas, Aaron Sanchez and Daniel Shtivelberg.

Set in a maximum-security prison in present day America, Punk is the story of a group of inmates who are protected and housed in a special unit for gay, bisexual and transgender inmates. Tensions rise when Travis, a young man sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a gay man, requests to transfer into the unit. Fear and suspicion hover over the inmates who call this unit home. 

The production team for PUNK includes: Eleanor Kahn (scenic design), Uriel Gomez, (costumes design), Eric Watkins (lighting design), Jeffery Levin (sound design), Sydney Achler (props design), Kyle Encinas (choreography), Ryan Oliviera (dramaturg), Uriel Gomez (technical director), Ali Drumm (production manager) and Rose Hamill (stage manager). 

About the Creative Team

Michael Allen Harris (Playwright) As a playwright, Michael has collaborated with Chicago theatre companies such as Broken Nose Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, Arc Theatre, Stage 773, Fine Print Theatre, Chicago Home Theater Festival and The New Colony. His play, Rocky Road, received its world premiere at the New Studio Theatre of Columbia College Chicago in March of 2013. It was the first production featured in the Main Stage season that was authored by an alumnus. His play, The Velvet Tabernacle, was featured in a development series on behalf of Fine Print Theatre. His most recent play, Kingdom, is currently involved in a season-long development on behalf of Broken Nose Theatre and received its first stage reading at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater. In February 2016, he was part of The New Colony’s Writer’s Room and completed the first draft of his full-length play Ascension. His short plays include: House of Samurai, They Let Him Bleed, Project Agatha and The Woman Who Stared into the Eyes of The Red Horseman. As an actor, Michael worked with Adventure Stage, Eclipse Theatre, Gift Theatre, Teatro Vista, The-Massive, Stone Soup Theatre Project, Infusion Theatre, Broken Nose Theatre and Cold Basement Dramatics. He was nominated for a BTAA for his performance as Fortune in Eclipse Theatre’s Jeff-nominated production of Ruined. He is a proud ensemble member of Eclipse Theatre Company and proudly represented by Lily’s Talent. 

Diana Raiselis (Co-Director) is a Chicago-based director and community event producer.  Recent directing projects include Resolution (Pride Films & Plays), Punk (workshop production, The New Colony), THIRST: a climate change theater action (Jackalope) and festival premieres with Collaboraction, Jackalope, Prologue and Buzz22 Chicago. As a producer, she co-curates Slaymaker Loft's occasional new-work series party/theater/party, and has served on producing teams for events at Pritzker Pavilion, the Steppenwolf Garage and site-specific locations around Chicago. Proud alumna of Northwestern University and the Steppenwolf Professional Leadership Program. www.dianaraiselis.com

Katrina Dion (Co-Director) works as a director and teaching artist in Chicago. At Free Street Theater (FST), Katrina acts as the Operations and Youth Program Manager. In this position, she leads the high school ensemble in a conservatory level year long critical thinking and creation process focusing on issues affecting Chicago youth while managing the companies grants and financials. Katrina is also on staff with Albany Park Theater Project (APTP) as their lead academic tutor. Last year, Katrina had the pleasure of working with APTP on Learning Curve as a Production Assistant. Most recently, she directed Los Milagros/The Miracles Project, Checkmate and The Americans at FST; co-directed Cycle 3 of Every 28 Hours at The Goodman Theater along with Coya Paz; Zipped and Pelted at the Chicago Fringe Festival; and Convention or The Winos with The Wulfden. She has had the pleasure of assisting directors such as Bonnie Metzgar, Coya Paz and Krissy Vanderwarker. Katrina received her BFA in Theatre Arts with a concentration in directing with a minor in Mathematics from DePaul University. 

About The New Colony

The New Colony develops NEW ART and NEW ARTISTS in order to educate and build NEW AUDIENCES. Founded in 2008, The New Colony has established itself as “one of Chicago’s essential off-Loop companies” (Chicago Tribune) having developed and produced over 25 world-premiere plays and musicals garnering four Joseph Jefferson Awards, the 2011 Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theatre Award, and Best Overall Production at the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival. The New Colony is a resident company of The Den Theatre located in Wicker Park.