THE 38TH ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL VIA PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO RETURNS JANUARY 5 - 26, 2025 AT CHICAGO DRAMATISTS

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PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO SHARES CAST FOR 

THE 38TH ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

JANUARY 5 - 26, 2025 AT CHICAGO DRAMATISTS

Chicago High School Playwrights Pen Three World Premieres that Delve Into the World of Relationships and Connections from Family to Past Love to Superheroes

Tickets go on Sale Monday, Nov. 25

Pegasus Theatre Chicago is proud to announce the cast of the 38th Annual Young Playwrights Festival, January 5 - 26, 2025 at Chicago Dramatists, 798 N. Aberdeen. Previews are Thursday, Jan. 2 - Saturday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. with the Opening Ceremony, Sunday, Jan. 5 at 2:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Fridays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 - $30 and go on sale Monday, Nov. 25 at PegasusTheatreChicago.org. Educators may schedule school group matinees via YPF@PegasusTheatreChicago.org.

Here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows, we've been familiar with The Young Playwrights Festival for decades. My son participated in this excellent program during his high school years at Lane Tech, and had his play workshopped in class in 2019. And a close friend of mine's daughter made it to the finals and had her play produced years ago. What an incredible opportunity for Chicago's high school writers and theatre lovers! This year I'm jazzed to see one of my son's closest friends (and fellow Northwestern Theatre grad) is cast as an understudy. The talent runs deep on and off stage for this unique fest.

The Young Playwrights Festival is the oldest such festival in the United States and this competition typically receives more than 300 submissions annually! Three new winning works by Chicago teens have been chosen to be work-shopped and staged by industry professionals and receive a premiere under the auspices of Pegasus Theatre Chicago’s Young Playwrights Festival.

These excellently written one acts all deal with the World of Relationships and Connections. Each piece is creative and unique, with well developed characters and plots, all interlocking to provide an insightful and entertaining production. These young authors are wise beyond their years and it's a treat to see their scripts spring to life on stage, in the hands of professional actors. 

The festival has gotten more competitive in the passing years, with a deep talent pool, and increasing numbers of submissions. Come support the future and check out some excellent new talent.

The 2025 Young Playwrights Festival Cast:

Top Row: (L to R) Lexi Alioto, Shenise Brown, Collin Callahan

Second Row: (L to R) Jacob Coggshall, Ben Izlar Jr, Noelle Oh

Third Row: (L to R) Diego Rivera-Rodriguez with understudies Emma Fulmer, Lawrence Green

Fourth Row: (L to R) Jake Jones and Benjamin Jouras

“The 2025 Young Playwrights Festival brings some exciting new works for the new year from new voices to Chicago,” said Executive and Producing Artistic Director Ilesa Duncan.”For 38 years, Pegasus has produced new plays as an outlet for the young writers’ creativity. We look forward to sharing these playwrights’ stories inspiring the next generation of writers and audiences.”

The 38th Young Playwrights Festival includes:

Family Fishing Trip by Lydia Vodopic

(Lane Tech College Prep High School, Teacher: Kirsten Hanson)

Directed by Ruben Carrazana

Sal takes his kids Jenny and Mike on a family fishing trip that takes a turn for the worse. When secret schemes are uncovered and possible criminal activity is involved, this family has to put their differences aside and work together to make it back home.

Love & Gyros by Lily Zhang

(Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Teacher: Elizabeth Danesh)

Directed by Reshmi Hazra Rustebakke

After decades apart, James and Cecelia, two former high school sweethearts, bump into each other at a restaurant on a faraway island in Greece. Throughout the evening, fragments of the past are revealed and revisited in this recollection of youth, time and memory.

Superheroes Anonymous by Carolina Boss

(Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Teacher: Elizabeth Danesh)

Directed by Ilesa Duncan

Several undercover superheroes meet in the basement of a Pump It Up for a support group where they discuss their problems.

The cast of the 38th Annual Young Playwrights Festival includes Lexi Alioto, Shenise Brown, Collin Callahan, Jacob Coggshall, Ben Izlar Jr, Noelle Oh and

Diego Rivera-Rodriguez with understudies Emma Fulmer, Lawrence Green, Jake Jones and Benjamin Jouras.

The current production team for the 38th Annual Young Playwrights Festival includes: Ruben Carrazana (director, Family Fishing Trip); IIesa Duncan (director, Superheroes Anonymous); Reshmi Hazra Rustebakke (director, Love & Gyros); Harrison Ornelas (scenic designer); Josh Wroblewski (lighting designer); Cecelia Chan (props designer); Alex Albrecht (sound designer); Adi Davis (production manager) and Jessica Minogue (stage manager).

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS

ABOUT RUBEN CARRAZANA, DIRECTOR, Family Fishing Trip

Ruben Carrazana is an actor, director, writer, producer and teaching artist originally from Miami. After working professionally in the Dallas theater scene for several years, he moved to Chicago, and was formerly the community engagement manager at Northlight Theatre. Carranza is a recipient of the Eisemann Edge Initiative grant with OutLoud Dallas, the Edyth Renshaw Award, an Activating Vacancy grant from bcWORKSHOP and the National Endowment for the Arts, a TACA Resiliency Initiative Grant, an Individual Artists Program Grant from the City of Chicago, a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and a three-time recipient of grants from the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture. He also co-founded The Tribe, a theater collective dedicated to the development of original work in Dallas, and named a Dallas Mastermind by the Dallas Observer. He is currently a Steering Committee member of the Cultural Access Collaborative. He holds a BFA in Theatre from Southern Methodist University.

ABOUT ILESA DUNCAN, DIRECTOR, Superheroes Anonymous

Ilesa Duncan is the executive and producing artistic director at Pegasus Theatre Chicago and the former artistic director and an ensemble member at Lifeline Theatre. She has directed numerous plays for Pegasus’ Young Playwrights Festival as well as Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea, Eclipsed (Jeff Nominated), Shakin’ The Mess Outta Misery (Jeff Nominated), Rutherford’s Travels (Jeff Nominated, co-adapter), The Green Book, For Her as a Piano, and Blacula: Young, Black & Undead. At Lifeline, she recently directed the Jeff Nominated Native Son, From the Mississippi Delta, Neverwhere (Jeff Recommended 2018) and Blue Shadow (2010 KidSeries Premiere). A producer, director, writer, educator and theater-maker, Duncan is an avid collaborator on new work. Duncan has also worked with The Goodman, Writers Theatre, Congo Square, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Stage Left and Chicago Dramatists, as well as Contemporary American Theatre Company (Ohio), The Alliance Theatre (Atlanta), Arena Stage (Washington D.C.) and Lincoln Center Theater (New York). As an educator, she has led youth development and arts education programs in Chicago for more than 13 years. She is a past awardee of an NEA/TCG Directing fellowship and a 3 Arts Ragdale’s Fellowship. She is a member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Director’s Lab and the Chicago Director’s Lab and is an associate artist with Chicago Dramatists (where she previously served as education and community engagement director).

ABOUT RESHMI HAZRA RUSTEBAKKE, DIRECTOR, Love & Gyros

Reshmi Hazra Rustebakke is a multi-faceted film and theater maker who develops work as a creator, director, producer, storyteller and curator. She works creatively developing new work and also directing, producing and production managing many varieties of shoots and plays. She has worked at The Vineyard, Playwrights Horizons Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Free Street and many more. She is the co-director of critically acclaimed BRUJOS and director for 8,000, FOBia,The Haven, Ethel and Agnes, Geeta’s Guide to Moving On and several more projects in development. She has her BFA from New York University, Playwrights Horizons Theatre School. During her time in New York, she received the Robert Moss Directing Fellow at Playwrights Horizons Theatre, as well as the Artist of Color Fellowship at New York Theatre Workshop.

ABOUT PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO

Pegasus Theatre Chicago has been a mainstay in the Chicago theater community for more than four decades. Its mission is to champion new, authentic voices and produce boldly imaginative theatre primarily by and about black or other people of color. Home of the Young Playwrights Festival, the company promotes cultural equity while celebrating intercultural communication. Pegasus is committed to initiating important conversations through the arts with strong community engagement and socially relevant programming. The Young Playwrights Festival for high school-age scribes celebrates its 38th year in 2025. Pegasus Theatre Chicago has received 77 Joseph Jefferson Awards since its inception.

Pegasus Theatre Chicago is proud to announce the authors and plays being presented at the 38th Annual Young Playwrights Festival, January 5 - 26, 2025 at Chicago Dramatists, 798 N. Aberdeen. Previews are Thursday, Jan. 2 - Saturday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. with the Opening Ceremony, Sunday, Jan. 5 at 2:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Fridays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 - $30 and go on sale Monday, Nov. 25  at PegasusTheatreChicago.org. Educators may schedule school group matinees via YPF@PegasusTheatreChicago.org.

The 38th Young Playwrights Festival is made possible with the generous support of Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation at Field Foundation (ART), Polk Bros. Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Festival is also made possible in part by an Illinois Arts Council Agency grant.

ADULT NIGHT OUT: FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA Via Lifeline Theatre and Pegasus Theatre Chicago April 27— June 18, 2023

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

LIFELINE THEATRE CAPS 40TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON WITH POWERFUL RETELLING OF 

FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA 

A CO-PRODUCTION WITH PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO

Performances with Open Captioning on May 20 and June 9

Performance with Touch Tour and Audio Description on May 28

The production runs approximately 2 hours with an intermission. 

The autobiography will be on sale in the lobby.

  

Lifeline Theatre presents From the Mississippi Delta, based on the autobiography of and written by Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland. Lifeline Theatre’s Artistic Director ILesa Duncan directs From the Mississippi Deltaand the production runs Thursday, April 27— Sunday, June 18 at Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. (free parking and shuttle; see below.)  

I'll be out for opening night, Monday, May 1, so check back soon for my full review.

Previews are Thursday, Apr. 27 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Apr. 28 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday Apr. 29 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, May 30 at 2:30 p.m. Regular performance times (May 5 – June 18) are Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $45 for regular single tickets, $25 for previews, $35 for seniors and active/retired military personnel (with ID), $15 for students (with ID), with group rates for 10 or more available upon request. Tickets may be purchased visiting www.lifelinetheatre.com or at the Lifeline Theatre Box Office, 773.761.4477.  

From the Mississippi Delta is based on Dr. Holland’s memoir of the same title as she recounts her 20-year journey from humble beginnings in Greenwood, Mississippi to achieving her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota.  Directed by Lifeline Artistic Director ILesa Duncan (Neverwhere [2018], Middle Passage,) experience a story of triumph in the face of extreme adversity that expertly weaves through the trials and tribulations of Dr. Holland’s life relayed through the bodies and voices of only three actors, all in tribute to one of America’s unsung “sheroes”.

 

Co-producer Pegasus Theatre Chicago is developing a series of city-wide community engagement events and post-performance talk-backs.  Events include: #ProtectBlackGirls: A Panel Discussion on Organizing, Advocacy, and Action; “Dirt to Delta,” a poetry performance; and a writing workshop. Dates and locations will be updated on the Lifeline and Pegasus websites.

 

The complete cast and production team for From the Mississippi Delta includes guest artists LaKecia Harris, Arielle Leverett, & Jenise Sheppard; with understudies Tierra Matthews.

 

PRODUCTION TEAM: Lifeline ensemble member ILesa Duncan (Director); with guest artists Deon Custard (Sound Designer), Adi Davis (Production Manager), Gregory Geffrard (Intimacy Consultant), Gregory Graham (Costume Designer), Tanji Harper(Choreographer/Movement Designer), Ricky Harris (Music Director), Wendy Ann Huber (Props Designer), Roxie Kooi (Stage Manager), Angela Weber Miller (Scenic Designer), Harrison Ornelas (Technical Director), Shadana Patterson (Dialect Coach), Jocelyn Prince (Dramaturg), Karen Wallace (Lighting Supervisor), and Levi Wilkins (Lighting Designer).

 

ABOUT DR. ENDESHA IDA MAE HOLLAND  

Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland (1944-2006) was a writer and an emeritus professor of theater at the University of Southern California. She was best-known for her play, From the Mississippi Delta, which was based on her memoir of the same name. Delta chronicled her journey from Jim Crow-era poverty, rape and prostitution to civil rights activism. Holland became involved with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and participated in numerous civil rights protests. She left Mississippi in 1965 as a dropout to further her education.. Although it took 20 years, she earned her bachelor's, master's degree and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota

 

ABOUT ILESA DUNCAN, Director and Artistic Director of Lifeline Theatre

ILesa Duncan became Lifeline’s artistic director and joined the ensemble in January 2019, where she directed Neverwhere (Jeff Recommended 2018), and Blue Shadow (2010 KidSeries Premiere). A producer, director, writer, educator and theater-maker, Duncan is an avid collaborator on new work. Other directing credits include Eclipsed (Jeff Recommended), Shakin’ The Mess Outta Misery (Jeff Nominated), Rutherford’s Travels (Jeff Nominated, co-adapter), The Green Book, For Her as a Piano, and Blacula: Young, Black & Undead at Pegasus Theatre (where is the Producing Artistic Director); Broken Fences at 16th Street Theater; The Nativity (Congo Square; Jeff nominated); and the Jeff Award-winning Jar the Floor at ETA Creative Arts. Duncan has also worked with The Goodman, Writers Theatre, Victory Gardens, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Stage Left, and Chicago Dramatists, as well as Contemporary American Theatre Company (Ohio), The Alliance Theatre (Atlanta), Arena Stage (Washington DC), and Lincoln Center Theater (New York). As an educator, Duncan has led youth development and arts education programs in Chicago for more than 13 years. She is a past awardee of an NEA/TCG Directing fellowship and a 3 Arts Ragdale’s Fellowship. She is member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Director’s Lab and the Chicago Director’s Lab, and is an associate artist with Chicago Dramatists (where she previously served as education and community engagement director).

 

Accessible Performances: The Saturday, May 20, 2:30 p.m. performance and the Friday, June 9, 7:30 p.m. performances will feature open captioning for patrons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. The Sunday, May 28, 2:30 p.m. performance will feature a pre-show touch tour of the set at 1 p.m. and live audio description for patrons who are blind or have low vision. For more information about Lifeline’s accessibility services, please contact our Accessibility Coordinator at 773.761.4477 x703 or at access@lifelinetheatre.com.

 

From the Mississippi Delta runs Thursday, April 27— Sunday, June 18 at Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. (free parking and shuttle; see below.)  The press opening for From the Mississippi Delta is Sunday, Apr. 30 at 2:30 p.m. Opening night is Monday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. (Previews are Thursday, Apr. 27 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Apr. 28 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday Apr. 29 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, May 30 at 2:30 p.m.).  Regular performance times (May 5 – June 18) are Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $45 for regular single tickets, $25 for previews, $35 for seniors and active/retired military personnel (with ID), $15 for students (with ID), with group rates for 10 or more available upon request. 

Tickets may be purchased visiting www.lifelinetheatre.com or at the Lifeline Theatre Box Office, 773.761.4477.  The production runs approximately 2 hours with an intermission. The autobiography will be on sale in the lobby.

 

Celebrating its 40th season, Lifeline Theatre continues to explore, interpret, and reimagine books and other literary works to create stories that move us beyond the margins of our own lives. Lifeline Theatre – Big Stories, Up Close. 

 

Lifeline Theatre’s MainStage programs are partially supported by Carol Oppenheim + Jerome Lamet Charitable Fund; a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events;  Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; FGMK LLC; Flex Print, Inc.; Illinois Arts Council Agency; MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince; Rogers Park Social; S&C Electric Company Fund; The Shubert Foundation; and the annual support of businesses and individuals.

 

Pegasus Theatre Chicago is supported by generous grants from The MacArthur Fund at the Richard Driehaus Foundation, the Walder Foundation, The David & Reva Logan Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (CityArts), and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

REVIEW: 36th Annual Young Playwrights Festival Via Pegasus Theatre Chicago Through JANUARY 28, 2023

ChiIL Mama’s ChiIL Picks List

PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO ANNOUNCES THE THREE PLAYWRIGHTS IN THE 

36th YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL 

FEATURING THREE NEW WORKS BY EMERGING ARTISTS  

JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 28, 2023

Written by High School Students and Given a Professional Production, this Year’s Plays Share Teen’s Views on Technology, Isolation and the Future. 

REVIEW:

By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

Something old... something new. The Young Playwrights Festival is the oldest such festival in the United States and this competition typically receives more than 300 submissions annually! Three new winning works by Chicago teens have been chosen to be work-shopped and staged by industry professionals, and it was my great pleasure to catch them on opening night.

These excellently written one acts all deal with isolation, dystopia, and technology gone awry. As we slog on in the 4th year of pandemic induced pivots, these themes hit a universal chord. Each piece is creative and unique, with well developed characters and plots, all interlocking to provide an insightful and entertaining production. These young authors are wise beyond their years and it's a treat to see their scripts spring to life on stage, in the hands of professional actors. 

My son participated in this excellent program during his high school years at Lane Tech, and had his play workshopped in class in 2019. And a close friend of mine's daughter made it to the finals and had her play produced years ago. What an incredible opportunity for Chicago's high school writers and theatre lovers!  

The festival has gotten more competitive in the passing years, with a deep talent pool, and increasing numbers of submissions. Come support the future and check out some excellent new talent.

Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, videographer, actress, artist and Mama. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly). 

Pegasus Theatre Chicago is proud to announce the authors and plays being presented at the 36th Annual Young Playwrights Festival, Wednesday, Jan. 4 - Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, at Chicago Dramatists, 765 N. Aberdeen. 

The performance schedule is Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 - $30. Tickets and more information are available at PegasusTheatreChicago.org and by phone at 773.878.8864. Educators may schedule school group matinees via ypf@pegasustheatrechicago.org.  

The Young Playwrights Festival, the oldest such festival in the United States, has for 36 years, engaged and inspired high school students across Chicago by teaching them to craft one-act plays, under the auspices of Pegasus Theatre Chicago.

The 36th Young Playwrights Festival includes:

Dead Boy Walking by Elliott Valadez 

(Whitney Young Magnet HS, teacher: Elizabeth Danesh)

Directed by Enrico Spada

Victor, an isolated teen, is desperate to escape his own loneliness. He thinks he’s found a friend in Millie, the ghost of a 19th-century girl, but when someone new wanders into his life, he begins to question Millie’s motives and his own sanity.

Terms and Conditions by Lucas Bigos 

(Lane Tech College Prep, teacher: Kirsten Hanson)

Directed by ILesa Duncan

It is 2086 in a suburb near the city of Chicago. Leonard does not trust technology, but decides to begin using an Artificial Intelligence app developed by his good friend Jeffrey. He soon realizes technology is increasingly taking over his life.

Another Star in the Sky by Jonathan Soco

(Lane Tech College Prep, teacher: Julie Allen)

Directed by Jason A. Fleece

Elise and Marcus are the last two scientists on the command center of a space station orbiting the earth. An alien invasion has destroyed Earth and is heading to the space station. Will the scientists succeed in warding off the aliens?  

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS

ILESA DUNCAN, DIRECTOR, Terms and Conditions

ILesa Duncan is the executive/producing director at Pegasus Theatre Chicago and the artistic director at Lifeline Theatre. She recently directed and co-adapted the spring 2022 production of Middle Passage from the National Book Award-winning novel at Lifeline Theatre. She directed for Pegasus Jeff-Nominated productions of Eclipsed, including its remount at Theatre on the Lake in the summer 2019, Shakin the Mess Outta Misery (BTAA-award, Ensemble) and the world premiere of Rutherford’s Travels.  Other recent credits include Neverwhere, The Nativity with Congo Square and the Jeff Award-winning Jar the Floor at ETA Creative Arts. Duncan has also worked with The Goodman, Writers Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Stage Left and Chicago Dramatists, as well as Contemporary American Theatre Company (Ohio). The Alliance Theatre  (Atlanta), Arena Stage (Washington DC) and Lincoln Center Theater (New York). Duncan’s creative nonfiction short stories have been published (Columbia College Chicago) and she’s written poems and screenplays.  For the stage, in addition to Middle Passage, Duncan co-wrote and directed Blakk Love: Storeez of A Darker Hue and the devised project Do You See What I’m Saying for Chameleon.

JASON A. FLEECE, DIRECTOR, Another Star in the Sky

Jason A. Fleece is a freelance director, dialect coach, dramaturg and educator living in the Chicagoland area. Fleece returns to the Young Playwrights Festival, having directed plays in several Festivals. Some other favorite directing credits include The Body of an American (Stage Left Theatre), Ordinary Days (BoHo Theatre) and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Oakton Performing Arts Center). Fleece was formerly co-artistic director at Stage Left Theatre, one of the oldest ensemble storefront theatres in Chicago. Fleece holds an M.F.A. in Directing from the Theatre School at DePaul University.

ENRICO SPADA, DIRECTOR, Dead Boy Walking

Enrico Spada is a freelance director and teaching artist. Recent credits include: Much Ado About Nothing at Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre; The Light in the Piazza, The Illusion, All's Well That Ends Well and Kimberly Akimbo at Illinois State University; and Sleeping Beauty at Illinois Shakespeare Festival.As founder and artistic director of Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park, a free outdoor festival in Western Massachusetts, Spada has directed Twelfth Night, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet. As a teaching artist, he has directed in the National High School Institute Theatre Program ("Cherubs"), as well as in Shakespeare & Company’s Fall Festival of Shakespeare and other K-12 residencies.  He received his MFA candidate from the professional directing program at Illinois State University/Illinois Shakespeare Festival and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Acting and Theatre Education from Emerson College in Boston, MA.

 

ABOUT PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO

Pegasus Theatre Chicago has been a mainstay in the Chicago theater community for more than four decades. Its mission is to champion new, authentic voices and produce boldly imaginative theatre primarily by and about black or other people of color. The company promotes cultural equity while celebrating diversity, inclusion and first voice and is committed to initiating important conversations through the arts with strong community engagement and socially relevant programming, including the Young Playwrights Festival for high school-age scribes, which celebrates its 36th year this season. Pegasus Theatre Chicago has received 77 Joseph Jefferson Awards since its inception.

The 36th Young Playwrights Festival is made possible with the generous support of The MacArthur Fund at the Richard Driehaus Foundation, the Walder Foundation, The David & Reva Logan Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Seabury Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). The Festival is also made possible in part by an Illinois Arts Council Agency grant.

OPENING: 36th YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL FEATURING THREE NEW WORKS BY EMERGING ARTISTS JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 28, 2023

ChiIL Mama’s ChiIL Picks List

PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO ANNOUNCES THE THREE PLAYWRIGHTS IN THE 

36th YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL 

FEATURING THREE NEW WORKS BY EMERGING ARTISTS  

JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 28, 2023

Written by High School Students and Given a Professional Production, this Year’s Plays Share Teen’s Views on Technology, Isolation and the Future. Tickets go on Sale Thursday, Dec. 1

Here at ChiIL Mama, we've long been fans of the Annual Young Playwrights Festival. My son participated in this excellent program during his high school years at Lane Tech, and a close friend of mine's daughter made it to the finals and had her play produced years ago. It's gotten more competitive over the passing years, with a deep talent pool, and increasing numbers of submissions. Come support the future and check out some excellent new talent.

Pegasus Theatre Chicago is proud to announce the authors and plays being presented at the 36th Annual Young Playwrights Festival, Wednesday, Jan. 4 - Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, at Chicago Dramatists, 765 N. Aberdeen. The preview performance is Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 7:30 p.m. with the press opening Saturday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and an Opening Ceremony, Sunday, Jan. 8 at 3 p.m. 

The performance schedule is Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 - $30 and go on sale Thursday, Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. Tickets and more information are available at PegasusTheatreChicago.org and by phone at 773.878.8864. Educators may schedule school group matinees via ypf@pegasustheatrechicago.org.  

The Young Playwrights Festival, the oldest such festival in the United States, has for 36 years, engaged and inspired high school students across Chicago by teaching them to craft one-act plays. Under the auspices of Pegasus Theatre Chicago, the winning teen playwrights’ productions are work-shopped and staged by industry professionals. The competition typically receives more than 300 submissions annually.  

The 36th Young Playwrights Festival includes:

Dead Boy Walking by Elliott Valadez 

(Whitney Young Magnet HS, teacher: Elizabeth Danesh)

Directed by Enrico Spada

Victor, an isolated teen, is desperate to escape his own loneliness. He thinks he’s found a friend in Millie, the ghost of a 19th-century girl, but when someone new wanders into his life, he begins to question Millie’s motives and his own sanity.

Terms and Conditions by Lucas Bigos 

(Lane Tech College Prep, teacher: Kirsten Hanson)

Directed by ILesa Duncan

It is 2086 in a suburb near the city of Chicago. Leonard does not trust technology, but decides to begin using an Artificial Intelligence app developed by his good friend Jeffrey. He soon realizes technology is increasingly taking over his life.

Another Star in the Sky by Jonathan Soco

(Lane Tech College Prep, teacher: Julie Allen)

Directed by Jason A. Fleece

Elise and Marcus are the last two scientists on the command center of a space station orbiting the earth. An alien invasion has destroyed Earth and is heading to the space station. Will the scientists succeed in warding off the aliens?  

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS

ILESA DUNCAN, DIRECTOR, Terms and Conditions

ILesa Duncan is the executive/producing director at Pegasus Theatre Chicago and the artistic director at Lifeline Theatre. She recently directed and co-adapted the spring 2022 production of Middle Passage from the National Book Award-winning novel at Lifeline Theatre. She directed for Pegasus Jeff-Nominated productions of Eclipsed, including its remount at Theatre on the Lake in the summer 2019, Shakin the Mess Outta Misery (BTAA-award, Ensemble) and the world premiere of Rutherford’s Travels.  Other recent credits include Neverwhere, The Nativity with Congo Square and the Jeff Award-winning Jar the Floor at ETA Creative Arts. Duncan has also worked with The Goodman, Writers Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Stage Left and Chicago Dramatists, as well as Contemporary American Theatre Company (Ohio). The Alliance Theatre  (Atlanta), Arena Stage (Washington DC) and Lincoln Center Theater (New York). Duncan’s creative nonfiction short stories have been published (Columbia College Chicago) and she’s written poems and screenplays.  For the stage, in addition to Middle Passage, Duncan co-wrote and directed Blakk Love: Storeez of A Darker Hue and the devised project Do You See What I’m Saying for Chameleon.

JASON A. FLEECE, DIRECTOR, Another Star in the Sky

Jason A. Fleece is a freelance director, dialect coach, dramaturg and educator living in the Chicagoland area. Fleece returns to the Young Playwrights Festival, having directed plays in several Festivals. Some other favorite directing credits include The Body of an American (Stage Left Theatre), Ordinary Days (BoHo Theatre) and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Oakton Performing Arts Center). Fleece was formerly co-artistic director at Stage Left Theatre, one of the oldest ensemble storefront theatres in Chicago. Fleece holds an M.F.A. in Directing from the Theatre School at DePaul University.

ENRICO SPADA, DIRECTOR, Dead Boy Walking

Enrico Spada is a freelance director and teaching artist. Recent credits include: Much Ado About Nothing at Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre; The Light in the Piazza, The Illusion, All's Well That Ends Well and Kimberly Akimbo at Illinois State University; and Sleeping Beauty at Illinois Shakespeare Festival.As founder and artistic director of Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park, a free outdoor festival in Western Massachusetts, Spada has directed Twelfth Night, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet. As a teaching artist, he has directed in the National High School Institute Theatre Program ("Cherubs"), as well as in Shakespeare & Company’s Fall Festival of Shakespeare and other K-12 residencies.  He received his MFA candidate from the professional directing program at Illinois State University/Illinois Shakespeare Festival and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Acting and Theatre Education from Emerson College in Boston, MA.

 

ABOUT PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO

Pegasus Theatre Chicago has been a mainstay in the Chicago theater community for more than four decades. Its mission is to champion new, authentic voices and produce boldly imaginative theatre primarily by and about black or other people of color. The company promotes cultural equity while celebrating diversity, inclusion and first voice and is committed to initiating important conversations through the arts with strong community engagement and socially relevant programming, including the Young Playwrights Festival for high school-age scribes, which celebrates its 36th year this season. Pegasus Theatre Chicago has received 77 Joseph Jefferson Awards since its inception.

Pegasus Theatre Chicago is proud to announce the authors and plays being presented at the 36th Annual Young Playwrights Festival, Wednesday, Jan. 4 - Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, at Chicago Dramatists, 765 N. Aberdeen. The preview performance is Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 7:30 p.m. with the press opening Saturday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and an Opening Ceremony, Sunday, Jan. 8 at 3 p.m. The performance schedule is Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 - $30 and go on sale Thursday, Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. Tickets and more information are available at PegasusTheatreChicago.org and by phone at 773.878.8864. Educators may schedule school group matinees via ypf@pegasustheatrechicago.org.  

The 36th Young Playwrights Festival is made possible with the generous support of The MacArthur Fund at the Richard Driehaus Foundation, the Walder Foundation, The David & Reva Logan Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Seabury Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). The Festival is also made possible in part by an Illinois Arts Council Agency grant.

KUDOS TO PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO FOR WINNING A $20,000 GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

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Pegasus Theatre Chicago, currently hosting the 35th Annual Young Playwrights Festival, streaming through February 6, has been approved for a $20,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support the Young Playwrights Festival 2023. This project will continue this Festival into its 36th year, allowing the voices of the next generation to be seen and heard in Chicago. The Annual Young Playwrights Festival project is among 1,248 projects across America totaling $28,840,000 that were selected to receive this first round of fiscal year 2022 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects category. 

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one that help support the community’s creative economy,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers. “Pegasus Theatre Chicago is among the arts organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.”

“We thank the National Endowment for the Arts for this grant,” said Pegasus Theatre Chicago’s Executive and Producing Director ILesa Duncan. “The timing of this grant is perfect as we are currently streaming the 35th Festival to audiences. The NEA’s grant also greatly supports our mission of hearing from Chicago’s young playwrights and sharing their stories.”

The Young Playwrights Festival, the oldest such festival in the United States, has for 35 years engaged and inspired high school students across Chicago by teaching them to craft one-act plays. Under the auspices of Pegasus Theatre Chicago, the winning teen playwrights’ productions are work-shopped and staged by industry professionals. The in-school programming that leads to the annual competition enhances language arts, encourages independent, high-level thinking, strong personal values and influences career development for Chicago’s teens. Tickets and more information on the Festival is available at PegasusTheatreChicago.org.

 For more information on other projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

 ABOUT PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO

Pegasus Theatre Chicago has been a mainstay in the Chicago theater community for more than four decades. Its mission is to champion new, authentic voices and produce boldly imaginative theatre primarily by and about black, indigenous or other people of color (BIPOC). The company promotes cultural equity while celebrating diversity, inclusion and first voice and is committed to initiating important conversations through the arts with strong community engagement and socially relevant programming, including the Young Playwrights Festival for high school-age scribes, which celebrates its 35th year this season. Pegasus Theatre Chicago has received 77 Joseph Jefferson Awards since its inception.

REVIEW: 33rd YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL VIA PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO THROUGH JANUARY 25, 2020

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YPF
Chicago High School Students’ Scripts are Given 
Professional Productions 

in the Nation’s Second Longest Running Festival 

Celebrating Young Playwrights 

The Winning Playwrights for 2020: Angelina Davila, Reba Brennan and Henry Williams

GUEST REVIEW:
Catherine Hellmann

Photo by Catherine Hellmann

The process of selecting the winners for this annual theater festival is daunting: 500 submissions, narrowed down to only three finalists. (How can I get on this committee? That sounds really fun going through plays written by teens and being inundated by their creativity.) 

Pegasus Theatre has professional artists work with students throughout Chicago to help them produce their scripts. There are three rounds to the competition. First, 22 students are selected from the original 500 for an intensive “weekend immersion process” under more guidance to help them refine and rewrite their plays. Those new-and-improved scripts are submitted again for the contest, and from there, ten finalists are chosen. From those remaining ten, three one-act plays will be produced, to be directed and performed by professionals. 

The festival has been around for 33 years. (My oldest daughter was a finalist in 2004! I think the process is a lot more involving than it used to be. It’s weird yet cool to hear your kid’s words recited on stage in front of an audience. Even I felt vulnerable, and it wasn’t my play!)  This was the first time the festival was presented in a new venue: the beautiful Courtyard Theatre in The Getz Theater Center at Columbia College. 

One of the cool additions since 2004 is a video interview with each of the three young playwrights before each act to describe the background information on their plays. I really liked hearing their insights on where they got their ideas and what certain aspects of their scripts meant to them. (Frankly, I have seen some shake-my-head performances in my lifetime where I wish this was a prerequisite at every theater!) Each young writer also relayed what they were doing/where they were when they found out that they had won the contest. Those stories were very sweet, honest, and funny.  

Photo by Catherine Hellmann

The first play, Public in Private by Angelina Davila, was actually my personal favorite. Davila is a graduate of Taft High School on the Northwest side. She had just started college (her second day in class!) when she received her notice about the competition. 

(L to R) Peter Gertas and Tina El Gamal in PUBLIC IN PRIVATE

Davila’s play centers on harried, much put-upon Lucie Ochoa, a teenage girl with family issues and high hopes of going to art school. (as I have seen repeatedly in my career as a middle school teacher). Her mother discourages her, her younger brother is making bad choices, and her dad is out of the picture. Lucie’s mother tries to stifle her daughter’s dreams while also giving her a lot of responsibility. I loved the line Lucie delivers to her mom: “Why am I only an adult when it’s convenient for you?” It’s a question and struggle very common in households where exasperated parents try to exert control yet need all the support they can get. I was cheering for Lucie when she presents her portfolio in her big college interview. The young woman deserves a break! Tina El Gamal gives a heartfelt performance as Lucie, torn between her loyalty to family and her own needs. 

(L to R) Izis Mollinedo and Peter Gertas in CLAUSE 42

The second play was a very different change of pace. Clause 42 by Lane Tech student Henry Williams was the most fanciful of the three one-acts. Inspired by his Arkansas grandfather, a Baptist preacher, Williams’ play scrutinizes the hypocrisy and absurdities in a fictitious religion. (although some of it seemed eerily spot-on). Set in an imaginary afterlife, the main character, George, discovers he is dead from a car crash and is horrified. “I never finished the laundry!” “I was supposed to go to Yellowstone!” he declares. 

Our hero has landed in a bizarre bureaucracy that has crazy rules (like an afternoon at the DMV). George’s most egregious sin? He is married to his husband. (Uh...is this fiction?) One wonders how George is going to escape this underworld or be stuck there for eternity. 

(L to R)  Destiny Strothers, Austyn Williamson and Sebastian Summers in COBALT

The third play, Cobalt, by Senn High School student Reba Brennan, focuses on a group of misfit young people who band together to protect one another. Each has his or her own issues, domestic problems, family drama, and heartbreak to bear. Part of the message from Brennan seemed to be to warn us to never judge; if you think you have it bad, there is somebody out there who has it worse. (Am I a weirdo because I get along with my own children, even if their favorite hobby is making fun of Mom??) 

YPF by Pegasus Theatre is the nation’s second-longest-running festival featuring young playwrights. We are lucky to have this event in Chicago encouraging young writers and actors. Please add it to your list as a must-see celebration of the next generation’s best talent.      

Catherine Hellmann is a student at DePaul, an avid theater-goer, and a proud mom of a librarian and two future teachers. 

Pegasus Theatre Chicago is proud to announce the authors and plays presented at the 33rd Young Playwrights Festival, January 8 - 25, 2020 at The Courtyard Theatre in The Getz Theater Center at Columbia College, 72 E. 11th St. The productions are performed in tandem Wednesdays - Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. Additional matinee performances will be added for groups, call the box office for best schedule of group matinee and school performances. Opening night is Friday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $18 for students, $25 for seniors and $30 for general admission and are available at PegasusTheatreChicago.org or by phone at 773.878.8864. 

The Young Playwrights Festival (YPF) celebrates the 33rd year of the program that inspires Chicago students to explore their histories, research their communities and mine their personal journeys to write dynamic one-act plays for the stage. The competition enhances language arts, encourages independent, high-level thinking, strong personal values and influences career development for Chicago’s teens.

The 2020 Festival includes full productions of winning plays from the annual playwriting competition for high-school-age scribes in Chicago. Three one-act plays are professionally produced by  Pegasus Theatre Chicago. The second oldest such festival in the country, this annual tradition regularly receives more than 500 submissions from Chicago area teens. From those, the winning playwrights are chosen to connect, workshop and produce their production with professional artists.

The Winning Playwrights for 2020

Reba Brennan

Henry Williams

Angelina Davila

The 33rd YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL includes:

(L to R) Sarah Rachel Schol and Tina El Gamal in PUBLIC IN PRIVATE, one of three new plays in the 33rd ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL from Pegasus Theatre Chicago. Production Photos by Michael Courier unless otherwise noted.

Public In Private by Angelina Davila - Taft High School 
directed by Juan Ramirez
Lucie is struggling to get into an art college, but is sidetracked by her brother’s problems and her mother’s lack of support.

Lisean ‘Ling Ling’ McElrath in CLAUSE 42, one of three new plays in the 33rd ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL from Pegasus Theatre Chicago. 

Clause 42 by Henry Williams - Lane Tech Academy
directed by Jason Fleece
George dies and is wrongly sent to the afterlife of a weird cult-like religion and is faced with the prospect of being judged by their ridiculous rules.

(L to R) Izis Mollinedo and Destiny Struthers in COBALT, one of three new plays in the 33rd ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL from Pegasus Theatre Chicago

Cobalt by Reba Brennan - Senn High School
directed by Ilesa Duncan
Vee, a shy 18-year old, seeks solace and adventure on a friend’s couch as an escape from family dysfunction.

The cast for the productions includes Tina El Gamal, Peter Gertas, Lisean Mcelrath, Izis Mollinedo, Sarah Schol, Destiny Strothers and Austyn Williamson.

The production team includes Alyssa Mohn, scenic design;  Josh Wroblewski, lighting design; Rebecca Holcomb, costume design; Steve Labedz, sound design; Dominique Zaragoza, props design; Manny Ortiz, technical director;  Kevin Rolfs, scenic charge; Liz Gomez, master electrician and Kelly Butler, production manager.

ABOUT JUAN RAMIREZ, director Public in Private
Juan Ramírez has been active in film, theater and television for more than 35 years. As an actor, he has been featured in over 60 productions and was a series regular on ABC's detective drama "Missing Persons." As a director, Ramirez has written, directed and/or produced over 30 stage productions and two full length films. His first film, “Israel in Exile,” was a 2002 Slamdance Film Festival Competition Selection that has been screened in France, England, Spain, Cuba, Mexico and across the U.S. After a brief stretch in Los Angeles, he resettled in his native Chicago and became executive director of PanAmerica Performance Works, formerly Latino Chicago Theater Company at The Firehouse (a company which he co-founded). He also works with high school students at The Boys and Girls Club in South Lawndale through After School Matters; and the rest of his time developing potential film projects, and helping create community theater spaces.

ABOUT JASON A. FLEECE, director, Clause 42
Jason A. Fleece is a theatre artist and educator, Fleece returns to the Young Playwrights Festival, having directed The Adventures of FeRb for YPF 29. Some other favorite directing credits include The Body of an American (Stage Left Theatre), Ordinary Days (BoHo Theatre), and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Oakton Performing Arts Center). Fleece was formerly co-artistic director at Stage Left Theatre, one of the oldest ensemble storefront theatres in Chicago.  He’s currently an Oakton Community College professor and holds an MFA in directing from the Theatre School at DePaul University.

ABOUT ILESA DUNCAN, director Cobalt
Ilesa Duncan is the executive/producing director at Pegasus Theatre Chicago and the artistic director at Lifeline Theater. She recently directed for Pegasus the Jeff-Recommended, Eclipsed, including its remount at Theatre on the Lake in the summer 2019, and the Jeff-Nominated, sold-out Shakin the Mess Outta Misery (BTAA-award, Ensemble), the world premiere of Jeff-Recommended Rutherford’s Travels and For Her as a Piano.  Other recent credits include Neverwhere at Lifeline Theatre (Jeff-Recommended), Broken Fences at 16th Street Theater, Jeff Award-nominated The Nativity with Congo Square and the Jeff Award-winning Jar the Floor at ETA Creative Arts. Duncan has also worked with The Goodman, Writers Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Lifeline Theater, Stage Left and Chicago Dramatists, as well as Contemporary American Theatre Company (Ohio). The Alliance Theatre (Atlanta), Arena Stage (Washington DC) and Lincoln Center Theater (New York). Duncan’s creative nonfiction short stories have been published (Columbia College Chicago) and she’s written poems and screenplays.  For the stage, she co-adapted Rutherford’s Travels from the National Book Award-winning novel Middle Passage, co-wrote and directed Blakk Love: Stoeez of A Darker Hue and facilitated the devised project Do You See What I’m Saying for Chameleon. 



ABOUT PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO
Pegasus Theatre Chicago has been a mainstay in the Chicago theater community for more than four decades. Its mission is to produce boldly imaginative theatre, champion new and authentic voices and illuminate the human journey. The theatre adheres to the core values of community engagement, social relevance, boldness, adventure and excellence.

Pegasus is also committed to initiating important conversations through the arts with strong community engagement and socially relevant programming, including the Young Playwrights Festival for high school-age scribes, which celebrates its 33rd year this season. Pegasus Theatre Chicago has received 77 Joseph Jefferson Awards since its inception.

The 33rd Young Playwrights Festival is made possible with the generous support of The MacArthur Fund at the Richard Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The David & Reva Logan Foundation, the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency. 

Destiny Strothers in COBALT, one of three new plays in the 33rd ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL from Pegasus Theatre Chicago

REVIEW: PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO ANNOUNCES 32nd YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL FEATURING THREE NEW WORKS BY EMERGING ARTISTS

Young Playwrights--Big Talent!
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90 minute run time (1 intermission)


 (L to R) Sam Godinez, Kameron Villavicencio and Grace Bolander (rear: Juan Mares Castillo and Marianna Gallegos) from GOOD STRONG COFFEE  in the 32nd Annual YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL at Pegasus Theatre Chicago. All Photos by Michael Courier

REVIEW

by bonnie kenaz-mara

I catch literally hundreds of professional productions in Chicago annually, and yet the quality of the plays produced in Pegasus Theatre's Young Playwrights Festival never ceases to amaze me. These talented teens are observant, funny, wise beyond their years, and killing it with dialogue, compelling characters, and strong plots. After 32 years, Pegasus has the fest down to a science that includes months of support for young playwrights including school workshops with professional playwrights. Over 500 submissions go through a grueling selection process until just 3 nuggets of brilliance remain. These scripts are given a professional production and the authors walk away with a cash prize and the joy of seeing their characters come to life on stage, embodied by professional actors.

Here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows, we've been covering the Young Playwrights Festival for years. 2018 was particularly exciting for my family, since my son wrote and submitted a play and got to work with Pegasus at Lane Tech. The competition was fierce, so his was not one of the 3 finalists, but his play did get an in class performance, and the whole experience was invaluable. He joined me at the press opening Sunday, and I was amazed that he knew 6 or 7 of the finalists, winners, and audience members that came to support their classmates' winning works. We truly are so lucky to live in a city that values theatre arts and is committed to encouraging and supporting the next generation of creative voices. 

Sam Godinez  from A GREEN LIGHT in the 32nd Annual YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL at Pegasus Theatre Chicago 

The winning productions for 2019 were multilayered, multicultural, and LGBTQ positive. Two of the productions portrayed sparking gay and lesbian relationships as awkwardly charming as any young crushes. These three intrepid writers tackled child abuse, suicidal ideation, cultural community, family/work balance, sexual identity, and more.

(L to R) Jamia Taylor from FRAGILE LIMBS in the 32nd Annual YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL at Pegasus Theatre Chicago

Often teens can be uncommunicative, misunderstood and underestimated. Over 90 minutes, these teens gave the audience the gift of their words, and a window into their generation's hopes, fears, experiences, and energy. Kudos to Pegasus for fostering this long running incubator for young playwrights that impacts hundreds of Chicago public school students annually. Big congratulations to all the applicants, finalists and winners. May this experience be a launching pad and a beginning, for years of writing, observing human nature, and creating art. 

Don't miss this. Highly recommended.

Bonnie Kenaz-Mara is a Chicago based writer-theater critic-photographer-videographer-actress-artist-general creatrix and Mama to two terrific teens. She owns two websites where she has published frequently since 2008: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly). 

PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO ANNOUNCES

32nd YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL FEATURING THREE NEW WORKS BY EMERGING ARTISTS  

THROUGH JANUARY 27, 2019

Experience an Evening of New Plays from Chicago High School Students Exploring Identity and Community

Pegasus Theatre Chicago is proud to announce the authors and plays being presented at the 32nd Young Playwrights Festival, January 3 – 27, 2019 at Pegasus’s resident home Chicago Dramatists, 773 N. Aberdeen. The productions are performed in tandem Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Previews are Thursday, Jan. 3 – Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. each night. Press opening is Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $18 for students, $25 for seniors and $30 for general admission and are available at PegasusTheatreChicago.org or by phone at 773.878.8864.

The Young Playwrights Festival (YPF) celebrates the 32nd year of the program that inspires Chicago students to explore their histories, research their communities and mine their personal journeys to write dynamic one-act plays for the stage. The competition enhances language arts, encourages independent, high-level thinking, strong personal values and influences career development for Chicago’s teens.

The 2018-19 season continues with full productions of winning plays from the annual playwriting competition for high-school-age scribes in Chicago. Three one-act plays are professionally produced as part of Pegasus’ main stage season. The second oldest such festival in the country, this annual tradition regularly receives over 500 submissions from Chicago area teens. From those, the winning playwrights are chosen to connect with professional artists to workshop and stage their script. 




The 32nd YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL includes:

(L to R) Marianna Gallegos and Sam Godinez from A GREEN LIGHT in the 32nd Annual YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL at Pegasus Theatre Chicago

A Green Light
By Alexis Gaw – Lane Tech College Prep, teacher: Julie Allen
Directed by Joan Mazzonelli
Patrick comes out to his best friend but discovers her casual homophobia. With the help of an online friend group, Patrick is able to sort through his feelings. 

(L to R) Jamia Taylor and Vincent Banks from FRAGILE LIMBS in the 32nd Annual YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL at Pegasus Theatre Chicago

Fragile Limbs
By Anonda Tyler – Kenwood Academy, teacher Nina Willams
Directed by Juan Ramirez
Faith, a teenage boy struggling with loss meets Hope, a teenage girl struggling with abuse and self-esteem. Together, they find strength against the backdrop of a violent Chicago.

(L to R) Juan Mares Castillo, Elaine C. Bell and Kameron Villavicencio from GOOD STRONG COFFEE in the 32nd Annual YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL at Pegasus Theatre Chicago

Good Strong Coffee
By Luna MacWilliams – Whitney M. Young Magnet High School; teacher Elizabeth Danesh
Directed by Ilesa Duncan
Siblings Violeta and Ernesto juggle their own dreams and desires while trying to keep the family’s Pilsen-neighborhood coffee shop afloat.

The cast for the productions includes Vincent Banks, Grace Bolander, Juan Castillo, Marianna Gallegos, Sam Godinez, Kameron Villavicencio and Jamia Taylor.

The production team includes designers Nick Schwartz (scenic), Josh Wroblewski (lighting), Steve Labedz (sound), Owé Engobor (costumes) and Kelly Butler (production manager).

ABOUT JOAN MAZZONELLI, director
Joan Mazzonelli has produced, directed, and designed original works in Chicago and New York City.  With Pegasus Theatre last season, she was the dramaturg on The Green Book. She has served in leadership roles with City Lit Theater, Griffin Theatre, Midwest New Musicals, Athenaeum Theatre, Theatre Building Chicago, On Stage Productions, Opera Shop at the Vineyard Theatre, and National Shakespeare Company. Her musical books include: Bottom’s Dream with James L. Kurtz, the adaptation for the stage of All in the Laundry by Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, Reasonable Terms with Karena Mendoza and Marianne Kallen, and High Fidelity, The Proposal, Dorabella’s Daughters and The Passion of John with Philip Seward, as well as the co-adaptation of Border Crossing with Marianne Kallen.

ABOUT JUAN RAMIREZ, director
Juan Ramírez has been active in film, theater and television for 35 years. As an actor, he has been featured in over 60 productions and was a series regular on ABC's detective drama "Missing Persons." As a director, Ramirez has written, directed and/or produced over 30 stage productions and two full length films. His first film, “Israel in Exile,” was a 2002 Slamdance Film Festival Competition Selection that has been screened in France, England, Spain, Cuba, Mexico and across the U.S. After a brief stretch in Los Angeles, he resettled in his native Chicago and became executive director of PanAmerica Performance Works, formerly Latino Chicago Theater Company at The Firehouse (a company which he co-founded). He also works with high school students at The Boys and Girls Club in South Lawndale through After School Matters; and the rest of his time developing potential film projects, and helping create community theater spaces.

ABOUT ILESA DUNCAN, director
Ilesa Duncan is the executive/producing director at Pegasus Theatre Chicago. Her recent directing work at Pegasus includes the Jeff-Recommended, Eclipsed, and the Jeff-Nominated, sold-out Shakin the Mess Outta Misery (BTAA-award, Ensemble),  the world premiere of Jeff-Recommended Rutherford’s Travels and For Her as a Piano.  Other recent credits include Neverwhere at Lifeline Theatre (Jeff-Recommended), Broken Fences at 16th StreetTheater, Jeff Award-nominated The Nativity with Congo Square and the Jeff Award-winning Jar the Floor at ETA Creative Arts. Duncan has also worked with The Goodman, Writers Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Lifeline Theater, Stage Left and Chicago Dramatists, as well as Contemporary American Theatre Company (Ohio). The Alliance Theatre (Atlanta), Arena Stage (Washington DC) and Lincoln Center Theater (New York). Duncan’s creative nonfiction short stories have been published (Columbia College Chicago) and she’s written poems and screenplays.  For the stage, she co-adapted Rutherford’s Travels from the National Book Award-winning novel Middle Passage, co-wrote and directed Blakk Love: Stoeez of A Darker Hue and facilitated the devised project Do You See What I’m Saying for Chameleon. Duncan will also assume the 
role of artistic director at Lifeline Theatre beginning in January 2019, and will remain Pegasus’ executive/producing director.

ABOUT PEGASUS THEATRE CHICAGO
Pegasus Theatre Chicago has been a mainstay in the Chicago theater community for nearly 39 years. Its mission is to produce boldly imaginative theatre, champion new and authentic voices and illuminate the human journey. The theatre adheres to the core values of community engagement, social relevance, boldness, adventure and excellence.

Pegasus is also committed to initiating important conversations through the arts with strong community engagement and socially relevant programming, including the Young Playwrights Festival for high school-age scribes, which will celebrate its 32nd year this season. Pegasus Theatre Chicago has received 77 Joseph Jefferson Awards since its inception.

The 32nd Young Playwrights Festival is made possible with the generous support of The David & Reva Logan Foundation, The MacArthur Fund at the Richard Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency