Company in the News May-2026

PlayGround-Chicago Writers, Company Members, and Alumni are up to this May including: Mab De Guzman, Dana Hall, Toby Inoue, Alex Kingsley, and Jay Rehak!

Dana Hall‘s play WHAT THE BONES REMEMBER has been named a Semi-Finalist for the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. A story grounded in memory, grief, and the unseen threads that bind generations, the play is available to read on New Play Exchange.

Toby Inoue‘s short play ALPACA FRACAS will be part of Nomad Theatre’s event “Down on Honey Dew Acres,” with original works performed in a cedar barn on a real Central Illinois farm in Normal IL. Performances: May 22-24 @ May 29-31. More info here. Also, Toby’s short play THE SHREW STRIKES BACK, which won People’s Choice at PlayGround-Chicago’s Monday Night Playground in Feb-2025, will be a part of the Rod Wilson Ten-Minute Play Festival in Dallas, TX on May 30. Info here.

Alex Kingsley‘s third novel PROMISE OF MANIFEST will be published this November by Space Wizard Science Fantasy. You can pre-order the book by supporting Space Wizard’s yearly campaign. More info.

Dana Hall is the featured guest on Season 5, Episode 5 of “Tell Me What Happened”, the podcast hosted by Jay Rehak. Dana recalls being 8 years old and watching her beloved tree being chopped down.

Mab De Guzman is part of the Cast of a Pinoy Staged Reading of KING LEAR with The Theatre Company, Essential Invisible in association with CIRCA PINTIG THEATRE Company at the historic Rizal Center of Chicago. This Shakespeare performance is adapted from the perspective of immigrant families with some of the text translated in Tagalog. Performances run May 23rd-24th and May 28th-30th. Tickets.