FALL 2017
THIS IS OUR YOUTH
Kenneth Lonergan
Directed by: John Bliss
Venue: Stage Center Theatre
Oct. 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 28 2:00 p.m and 7:30 p.m.
THE STORY: In meticulous, hilarious, and agonizing detail, "This is Our Youth" follows forty-eight hours of three very lost young souls in the big city at the dawn of the Reagan Era: Warren Straub, a dejected nineteen-year-old who steals fifteen thousand dollars from his abusive lingerie-tycoon father; Dennis Ziegler, the charismatic domineering drug-dealing friend who helps him put the money to good use; and Jessica Goldman, the anxiously insightful young woman Warren yearns for. Funny, painful and compassionate, "This is Our Youth" is a living snapshot of the moment between adolescence and adulthood when many young people first go out into the world on their own, armed only with the ideas and techniques they developed as teenagers -- ideas and techniques far more sophisticated than their parents ever realize, and far less effectual than they themselves can possibly imagine. (Dramatists Play Service)
NO CHILD
Nilaja Sun
Directed by: Mary Kroeck
Venue: Stage Center Theatre
Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 2, 7, 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 9 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
THE STORY: "No Child..." is a tour-de-force exploration of the New York City public school system. An insightful, hilarious and touching master class not to be missed by anyone who is concerned about the state of our education system and how we might fix it. (Dramatists Play Service)
"Marvelous...Touching and funny." - NY Times
SPRING 2018
NUEVAS VOCES: A 10-Minute Play Festival
- 1st Place: Spring Cleaning by Dalton Brown - $250
- 2nd Place: Talking the Talk by Becca M. Peterson - $100
- 1st Place: Anna's Assumptions by Felicia Madlock $250
- 2nd Place: Shed by Dan Wirth $100
- Honorable Mention: An Unusual Bar by Mike Palatnik - $50
Venue: Stage Center Theatre
January 26 at 7:30 p.m.
January 27 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
EPISODE 26
Howard Korder
Directed by: Dan Wirth
Venue: NEIU Auditorium
March 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m.
March 3 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
THE STORY: Remember those glorious days of Saturday morning sci-fi serials at the local bijou: Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon? Here is an affectionate and extremely ingenious send up of the genre. Our hero is Buzz Gatecrasher and he finds himself on the Planet Darvon with our sweetheart and his, Hillen Dale, and with Dr. Art Deco, the obligatory dotty scientist. Darvon is ruled by Vaknor, a cross between Darth Vader, Ming the Merciless and Dracula, who fancies himself Emperor of the Universe. With the help of Arno, the winged King of the Hawk People, Buzz vanquishes Vaknor and saves the Universe only to be reminded by the announcer that we all have to tune in next week for Episode 27! (Samuel French, Inc.)
MARISOL
José Rivera
Directed by: Adam Goldstein
Venue: Stage Center Theatre
April 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 at 7:30 p.m.
April 28 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
THE STORY: Marisol Perez, a young Latino woman, is a copy editor for a Manhattan publisher. Although she has elevated herself into the white collar class, she continues to live alone in the dangerous Bronx neighborhood of her childhood. As the play begins, Marisol narrowly escapes a vicious attack by a golf club-wielding madman while traveling home on the subway. Later that evening Marisol is visited by her guardian angel who informs her that she can no longer serve as Marisol's protector because she has been called to join the revolution already in progress against an old and senile God who is dying and "taking the rest of the universe with him." The war in heaven spills over into New York City, reducing it to a smoldering urban wasteland where giant fires send noxious smoke to darken the skies, where the moon has not been seen in months, where the food has been turned to salt, and water no longer seeks its level. Alone, without her protector, Marisol begins a nightmare journey into this new war zone where she is attacked by a man with an ice cream cone demanding back pay for his extra work on Taxi Driver. Marisol finds herself on the streets, homeless, where her many encounters include a woman beaten for exceeding her credit limit and a homeless burn victim in a wheelchair looking for his lost skin. With the apocalypse well under way, the angels have traded in their wings for Uzis and wear leather motorcycle jackets and fatigues. As the action builds to a crescendo, the masses of homeless and displaced people join the angels in the war to save the universe. (Dramatists Play Service)