Season 41 Announcement

Stage Left Theatre announces its 41st Season

In-Person Performance Planned for 2022-23 Season

at Chicago Dramatists.

Chicago, September 21, 2022– Stage Left Theatre is pleased to announce the programming for its 41st season.

The season begins with MAN OF THE PEOPLE by Dolores Díaz and directed by Anna C. Bahow performing October 25 through November 20, 2022 at Chicago Dramatists. Stage Left will continue its monthly OFF STAGE LEFT online readings of new works on the third Monday of select months, featuring diverse and exciting playwrights. The season will continue in the Spring with an in-person production of IN THE BACK/ON THE FLOOR by Ken Green and directed by Rachel Van. The season will conclude with Stage Left’s LEAPFEST, allowing playwrights to interact with audiences in the performance of an emerging new work.

For the past two seasons, Stage Left has produced a variety of live online events and outdoor in-person productions that feature new playwrights and new works. This will be the second season of Stage Left Theatre led by Artistic Director Bobbi Masters. The upcoming season will return Stage Left Theatre to in-person performances imagined by Stage Left Theatre’s Ensemble.

Season 41

MAN OF THE PEOPLE a new play written by Dolores Díaz directed by Anna Bahow

October 25 – November 20, 2022 A charlatan doctor rises to power by peddling a radical remedy in the days before medical regulation in the U.S.

MAN OF THE PEOPLE explores the U.S. love affair with charlatans and their existence in the space between symptom and cause of public folly.

Dolores Díaz (Playwright) (she/her) is a Chicago-based Chicanx playwright originally from the border

city of Laredo, Texas. Most recently, Goodman Theatre produced ZULEMA (2021)—in partnership

with Sones de México, the Chicago Park District, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special

Events, Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), and the National Museum of Mexican Art—the

show toured the Chicago Parks District with a finale in Millennium Park. Díaz is currently a resident

at Chicago Dramatists and most recently served as a playwriting resident at TimeLine Theatre.

Dolores has taught students at Columbia College Chicago, Texas Tech University, Northwestern

University, and various Chicago public schools. She is a graduate of Northwestern University’s MFA

Program in Writing for the Screen and Stage and serves as a Dramatists Guild Representative in

Chicago.

IN THE BACK/ON THE FLOOR

written by Ken Green

directed by Rachel Van

March – April - 2023

IN THE BACK/ON THE FLOOR examines the issue of minimum wage work through the eyes of workers at a chain retail store. Though paid the least, these workers are asked to bear the heaviest burden for the good of profit. They are often seen as easily replaceable parts, but also expected to believe they are members of a "family." When one worker with ambition sees his dreams of advancement within the organization stunted, the situation raises the forbidden word - "union."

Ken Green (playwright) is a Chicagoan currently residing in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood. His plays include 2020’s THE CHARLES LENOX EXPERIENCE, a historical, “moving play” produced by New Repertory Theater in Watertown, Mass. Other plays include THE CAMPAIGN, YOUR FAVORITE, and THE F&L AT 1330. Four of his short plays have been featured at the Boston Theater Marathon. His full-length audio drama on the life of Frederick Douglass, THE FIFTH OF JULY is being produced by New York City’s Ensemble for the Romantic Century for release in late 2022.

Ken is a former news and sports reporter and editor, bad slam poet and worse standup comedian. He was co-host/co-producer of Story Club Boston, a storytelling/reading series. He has been featured on the nationally televised storytelling show, STORIES FROM THE STAGE on PBS and been a local Moth and Massmouth storytelling finalist.

OFF STAGE LEFT

Throughout the season

Stage Left Theatre hosts online play readings of new, thought provoking plays once a month allowing actors, directors, and playwrights to advance their artistic visions while interacting with the perceptions of engaged audience members like you!

The readings take place over Zoom and will feature discussions on the play following the reading with the playwright (when available).

LEAPFEST

Summer, 2023

See what’s next in Chicago Theatre - LeapFest’s history has graduated twenty-six plays to world premiere productions in Chicago and beyond, with four of these receiving the Jeff Award for Best New Work. This annual new play development festival features workshop productions of exciting new plays in rotating repertory.

All performances will take place at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave, Ste 202, Chicago IL, 60642.

Memberships

Patrons of Stage Left Theatre may purchase a membership for $115 ($160 value), which includes admission to both mainstage productions, six online play readings during the season, and LeapFest, as well as other advantages such as guaranteed seating and special subscriber-only events. For more information or to purchase a membership, patrons should call 773-883-8830 or visit stagelefttheatre.com.

About Stage Left

Founded in 1982, Stage Left Theatre is committed to nurturing voices for the American theatre by developing and producing engaging and relevant theatre for an inclusive industry by highlighting unheard voices, stories, and perspectives. Through a full subscription season and our new play development program, Downstage Left, Stage Left strives to ask provocative social and political questions by producing a mix of new works, regional premieres, and timeless classics.