Play Reading Club: RED REX
April 29 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
After a holiday hiatus, Play Reading Club is BACK!
No need to RSVP, just show up ready to discuss the play! Our book club begins at 7 PM on the last Monday of every month.
This month, we’re reading Red Rex by Ike Holter.
About the play:
The sixth play in Ike Holter’s Rightlynd saga. Red Rex is a scrappy theater company that is on the brink—will they have the hit that puts their name on the map, or the wake-up call that it’s time to throw in the towel? A prodigal son actor and amateur neighborhood talent join the stage to perform a play that may or may not be based on a true story. Internal drama threatens to complicate the production further, causing fireworks both on and offstage. What else could go wrong? Complex and thought-provoking, RED REX asks us: What are we willing to sacrifice to share stories that must be heard, and where do we draw the line?
About the playwright:
Ike Holter is a Chicago writer and the author of plays including Exit Strategy , Hit the Wall and Put Your House in Order. He wrote The Rightlynd Saga , a series of 7 interconnected plays set in a fictional Chicago neighborhood that the Chicago Tribune called One of the most significant literary achievements in modern-day Chicago. For Television, he’s received the WGA award for Best Adaptation for his work on the Emmy-award winning FX series Fosse/Verdon , and his miniseries Harold was recently picked up by Wayfarer studios. He is currently developing film and TV projects with Netflix and TriBeCa Productions, and has taught at University of Chicago, DePaul, and is a lecturer at Yale University. Winner of the 2017 Windham-Campbell prize for drama, one of the highest literary awards in the world, and the 2021 Steinberg Playwright award. Repped by WME and M88.
Other Events
American Theatre Presents: Grown in Chicago
May 6 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
This panel will feature local Chicago theatre leaders as they chat about adapting and planning for longevity, establishing a distinct company identity, staying true to your mission, and serving your community on stage and beyond. The conversation will be moderated by Collaboraction producer and managing director Carla Stillwell. Panelists will include: Xavier Custodio, co-founding artistic director, Vision Latino Theatre Company Myesha-Tiara, founding artistic director, Perceptions Theatre Shepsu Aakhu, founding member, Ma’at Production Association of Afrikan Centered Theatre (MPAACT) This event is sponsored…
American Theatre Presents: Grown in Chicago
May 6 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
A Taste of RED with A Red Orchid Theatre
May 14 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Hang out with our friends from A Red Orchid Theatre on May 14th for the latest installment of their series A Taste of Red. A Red Orchid Theatre invites you to take a peek behind the curtain and see how their team goes about exploring a play. What gets their ensemble excited about a script? How do actors, directors, playwrights, and designers all approach the same text differently? What defines a quintessential A Red Orchid production? THE CAVE by Ensemble…
A Taste of RED with A Red Orchid Theatre
May 14 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
ISLAND OF LOVE by Felicia Oduh
May 20 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
A batch of romantic hopefuls compete for a chance to win love and a large cash prize on the UK’s hottest summer reality dating series. Though everyone has come on the show for the same reasons, one contestant soon learns that not everyone will have the same experience. Positioning the audience as the camera and including all of your favorite elements of reality TV — confessionals, drama, and surprise eliminations — Island of Love dives deep into the various forms…
ISLAND OF LOVE by Felicia Oduh
May 20 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
I Can’t, I Have Trivia
May 22 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Theatre nerds, your time has come! Join us for another round of trivia at 7:30 on May 22nd. We recommend playing with a team of four. Hosted by our friend Patrick Zakem, each round will test your knowledge of a different facet of theatre history, current events, or culture. Think you’ve got what it takes to triumph? Don’t miss it! No need to RSVP, just bring your team on the 7th!
I Can’t, I Have Trivia
May 22 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
THE DRAG by Mae West presented by Gerber Hart Library
May 25 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Join us for a community reading of “The Drag” presented by the Gerber/Hart Library and Archives. Written by the iconic Mae West, this 1927 drama about a closeted socialite and the morality of homosexuality was banned from theatres and torn to shreds in the press. No acting experience required! This is a reading with the goal of getting this text out into the world. By doing this as well as providing historical context and archival materials, we are recentering text…
THE DRAG by Mae West presented by Gerber Hart Library
May 25 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Next Draft Series: How to Kill a Rodent
June 1 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
How to Kill a Rodent By Eleanor McCaughey Canadians Guy and Carrie take a road trip to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania only days before Groundhog Day, in an effort to assassinate Punxsutawney Phil on live television. Cast: Peter Ferneding Stephanie Fongheiser Madison Kiernan Playwright: Eleanor McCaughey Director: Maddy Brown Dramaturg: Zoe Sjogerman CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS This reading is presented as part of Avalanche Theatre‘s Next Draft Series The Next Draft Series is Avalanche Theatre’s ongoing new play incubator. Over the course…
Next Draft Series: How to Kill a Rodent
June 1 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
TGNC Theatre Maker’s Meetup
June 2 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
🏳️⚧️MEETUP🏳️⚧️ Trans and gender non-conforming theatre makers, Join us June 2nd for an evening of community and connection. We’re hanging out 7pm to 10pm and keeping the cafe open for refreshments. BYOB also welcomed. Don’t miss this!
TGNC Theatre Maker’s Meetup
June 2 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Next Draft Series: How to Kill a Rodent
June 3 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
How to Kill a Rodent By Eleanor McCaughey Canadians Guy and Carrie take a road trip to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania only days before Groundhog Day, in an effort to assassinate Punxsutawney Phil on live television. Cast: Peter Ferneding Stephanie Fongheiser Madison Kiernan Playwright: Eleanor McCaughey Director: Maddy Brown Dramaturg: Zoe Sjogerman CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS This reading is presented as part of Avalanche Theatre‘s Next Draft Series The Next Draft Series is Avalanche Theatre’s ongoing new play incubator. Over the course…
Next Draft Series: How to Kill a Rodent
June 3 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Next Draft Series: Infinity Burns
June 8 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Infinity Burns By Felix Abidor Giordano Bruno, a 16th-century monk, is sentenced to death for his radical beliefs in an infinite universe. Cast: Peter Ferneding Stephanie Fongheiser Madison Kiernan Playwright: Eleanor McCaughey Director: Maddy Brown Dramaturg: Zoe Sjogerman CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS This reading is presented as part of Avalanche Theatre‘s Next Draft Series The Next Draft Series is Avalanche Theatre’s ongoing new play incubator. Over the course of 3-4 months, Avalanche develops new work by emerging Chicago playwrights through…