The Understudy

Dramaturgy Mixer with LMDA Chicago
2026-02-24 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Come join us for a discussion and mixer hosted by Yasmin Mikhaiel and Maren Robinson of LMDA Chicago!

Calling all Chicago dramaturgs! Join LMDA for a mixer at The Understudy. Join VP of Freelance Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel and Chicago Regional VP Maren Robinson for an interactive conversation on the state of Chicago dramaturgy. You’ll learn about resources and opportunities compiled by the Literary Managers & Dramaturgs of the Americas and connect with fellow dramaturgs desiring more collaborative spaces.

Let’s gather to chat about how we show up for each other whether we’re currently in rehearsals or not! The night begins with a facilitated conversation and then transitions to an open chat space for you to meet and greet dramaturgs from across Chicago.

RSVP for free!

Meet Your Hosts:
Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel (she/they) is a Chicago-based dramaturg, arts journalist, and creative producer. She currently serves as VP of Freelance for LMDA. Their dramaturgy centers care work and their theatre reporting and research explores possibility models for the future of theatremaking and writing that is reflexive, culturally competent, and sustainable. She is an alum and current faculty of The Theatre School at DePaul University. In 2025/2026 she has been awarded two arts journalism fellowships, one with Art and Public Life’s Chicago Critics Table at UChicago and the other as a Rising Leader of Color with Theatre Communications Group.

Maren Robinson (she/her) is a dramaturg and educator who has worked on nearly 60 productions including 18 new works. She is particularly interested in new work, science on stage, civic conversations and the potential of embodied dramaturgy outside of theater. Maren is Resident Dramaturg and a Company Member at TimeLine Theatre. She is also a lecturer at The Theatre School at DePaul University, Associate Director of the Master of Arts Program in Humanities at the University of Chicago and serves as the Chicago Metro VP of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.

About LMDA:
Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas was founded in 1985 as the volunteer membership organization for the professions of literary management and dramaturgy. LMDA holds the belief that theater is a vital art form that has the power to nourish, educate, and transform individuals and their communities and that dramaturgy is central to the process of theater-making.

POTUS
2026-02-23 19:00 - 22:00
A play reading written by Selina Fillinger and produced by Exit, Pursued by a Play Reading

Exit, Pursued by a Play Reading is a new reading series where Chicago’s best and most beloved actors find themselves chased by rabid, unrehearsed, theatrical comedies – desperately trying to stay ahead, as they strive to tickle your fancy, brighten your heart, and warm the chilliest of Chicago evenings.
This time, we’re reading Potus by Selina Fillinger
The Story

One four-letter word is about to rock 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a global crisis the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most risk life liberty and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble.

Cast TBA
