Company in the News Aug-2025

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

Alex Kingsley’s new sci-fi horror play THE SUIT will receive a staged reading on August 27 at Special Interest Theater’s GENRE DIVERGENCE festival in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Paige Kim Mesina is currently directing Time is a Popped Bubble at The Den Theatre, which will be running 9/11-9/14

Leanna Gianoutsos Oliveira has joined the Leadership Coalition at Artemisia Theatre and we are launching the Untitled Workshop Series—a new space for artists to share work-in-progress, experiment, and build community. Feeling burnt out? Want to be in community with other artists in a fun, relaxed space? Join us for the Untitled Workshop Series! This series is open to playwrights, performers, directors, and creators of all kinds. What to Expect: Watch a short performance by a featured artist then take part in a devising workshop. Featuring creative writing and movement exercises and a space for sharing and discussion. No experience necessary, pay what you can, no one turned away for lack of funds! The next workshops are August 7th & 21st at 6:30pm at The Coach House (3241 W Wellington). Want to join or share your work? Follow on Instagram @artemisiatheatre for more information and updates! Leanna would like to also share that, Submissions Now Open – Artemisia’s WeWomen Play Festival. Leanna would like to share a submission opportunity from Artemisia Theatre, a Chicago-based company dedicated to producing work through an intersectional feminist lens. Submissions are now open for their annual WeWomen Play Festival! Here are the details: Plays should be 25–60 minutes in length. They should examine the world through an intersectional feminist lens. Playwrights from Chicago are especially encouraged to apply, but submissions are open to anyone, regardless of location. Staged readings will take place either November 10–14 or November 17–20. The deadline to submit is Thursday, August 22nd at midnight. Feel free to pass this along to any playwrights or creatives who might be a good fit!

Tanuja Devi Jagernauth was selected for a 2025 Individual Artists Program (IAP) award from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) to support a devised production about care, conflict, and community. It will premier at Free Street Theater in February of 2026.

Jay Rehak’s short play, “The Fortune Teller’s Price” written to be performed by high schools, is schedule to be published and available in September through Brooklyn Publishers. The 15 minute play featuring 5 characters of any gender, tells the story of four HS seniors discussing their uncertain futures when they encounter a fortune teller who knows more than the students care to believe. Skeptical at first, each member of the group learns a bit more about themselves after they hear from the mysterious stranger. The question is: how much is each high school student willing to pay to know their own futures?

Siah Berlatsky will be playing Olive in Zach Barr’s new play, Quinlyn Can Paint, produced by Black Cast Theatre!

Alfonzo Solomon Kahlil’s 1994 and Jerluane Jenkins’ Talk Show Terror will appear in Perceptions Theatre’s 5th Annual BIPOC Play Festival from August 15 to August 24. This festival is in partnership with Goodman Theatre’s 100 Free Acts of Theatre.