Company in the News Apr-2025

See what PlayGround-Chicago Writers and Company Members are up to this April!

Carmia Imani stars as Carly in Clearing by Beth Hyland, a dark coming-of-age comedy about friendship, yoga pants, and the pressures on women. The play runs April 4-27 at Portage Arts Lofts in Portage Park (4041 N. Milwaukee Ave.). Tickets are Pay What You Can, with a suggested price of $30! Learn more and purchase tix here.

Joel Willison directed Heart Strings for Filament Theatre, which opened Saturday, March 29 and is running through Saturday, April 19. Perfect for audiences ages 7 and up! Purchase tix here.

Spencer Ryan Diedrick is directing three pieces for the 2025 Ripped Festival at American Blues Theater, with live performances on Monday, April 7, and virtual performances on Monday, April 14. More info and tix here.

Karissa Murrell Myers’ play Blood of My Mother’s won the Festival of Unfinished Work at Bramble Theatre Company by popular vote and will receive a workshop and public reading on Sunday, April 13. Purchase tix here.

Shariba Rivers is assistant directing Machine Made at MPAACT, which opens Sunday, April 27, at the Greenhouse Theater Center. Purchase tix here.

Katherine Swan’s play Blue Eyes has been selected for the William Inge Festival New Play Lab in Kansas, while her play Pony will be performed at the Blueprint Arts Festival in Atlanta.

Toby Inoue’s short play 23 and Me and Me and Me, which won the People’s Choice Award at PlayGround-Chicago Monday Night in January, has been selected for Trinity Theatre Company’s 2025 New Works Festival in San Diego. Another of her plays, Bedtime at Camp Homer, will debut in One Night Stand Theater’s evening of Bad Bedtime Stories in Aurora, Colorado.

Andrea Conway-Diaz stars in the independent film Loneliness of Echoes, currently in production. She is also performing in the two-person play Life Sentence at Gray Matter Play Festival and will participate in staged readings for The Old Lady Project at Fleetwood-Jourdain Theater and The Kings Are Dead at Theater L’Acadie.

Alex Kingsley’s sci-fi play The Suit will have a staged reading at the Genre Divergence Festival at Special Interest Theater in St. Paul this August. Learn more here.