The Understudy

Demystifying the Actor / Agent Relationship with DDO Artists Agency
2023-09-19 19:30 - 22:30 (America/Chicago) | The Understudy, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
Click Here to Reserve Your Spot
Demystifying The Actor / Agent Relationship: Illuminating Information about Chicago’s Talent Industry
Join agents Bailey Hayman, KaCee Hudson, and Jillian Skale of DDO Artists Agency in a Q&A for anyone who wants to know more about the professional role of talent agents in Chicago’s TV/Film and Theatre communities. No question is too small or too basic- these agents are ready to get you informed.
The panel is free to attend, with a $10 suggested donation benefitting the Entertainment Community Fund.
The panel will be followed up with an hour to network with agents and other attendees looking to deepen their involvement in the Chicago performance community.
Doors open at 7 PM; the panel begins at 7:30 PM. The Understudy Cafe will be open for refreshments throughout the event.

A Critical Moment: The UChicago Critics Table in Conversation
2023-09-20 19:30 - 21:00 | The Understudy, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
Chicago critic and dramaturg Regina Victor is curating a conversation on the state of criticism across disciplines at The Understudy! Victor has invited Martine Kei Green Rogers, head of theatre at DePaul University, to facilitate a a roundtable conversation with the UChicago Critics Table, a multidisciplinary critical cohort focusing on the arts on the Southside of Chicago. Victor wants to invite the theatre community into the robust conversation they’ve been having about criticism over the past six months.

The Chicago Critic’s Table is a Mellon-funded initiative to create robust community for critics focusing on the arts on the South Side of Chicago. The cohort of critics works across various artistic disciplines. The cohort will discuss the role of criticism in a changing artistic landscape. What can practitioners of divergent media learn from each other? Who critics are for, and how can they serve their communities? Check out the cohorts’s convening schedule, including readings and featured guests here.
Read more about the critics and the work they do in the incubator here, and about their individual practices here:
Meralis Álvarez-Morales
Camille Bacon
Rikki Byrd
Zaria El-Fil
Britt Julious
Regina Victor

The Thing in the Bathroom by Cal Walker
2023-09-28 19:30 - 21:00 | The Understudy, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
A Comedy Horror Play about Capitalism
Click Here to RSVP

Cafe Royalty - Drag @ The Understudy
2023-09-29 20:30 - 22:30 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Join hosts Lezbian Minelli and Oversharon, alongside guests Betty Theft, Georgia Rising, Kerosene, Stephanie, and Tiki Vonté.

The Understudy is proud to launch our new drag series, CAFE ROYALTY, a rotating program of guest hosts and shows the last Friday of every month.
Join us Friday, September 29th for our kickoff show, featuring cast members representing the lineup for our next few months of shows.
HOSTS
Lezbian Minelli
Oversharon
PERFORMERS
Betty Theft
Georgia Rising
Kerosene
Stephanie
Tiki Vonté
Doors open at 8PM, Show begins promptly at 8:30PM. The Understudy Cafe will be open for refreshments.

Live Portrait Illustration with Joe Kraft
2023-09-30 11:00 - 16:00 | The Understudy, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
In honor of Andersonville Arts Weekend, Our mural artist, Joe Kraft is returning to sell art and merch, and also draw charming custom portraits live for guests! No need to RSVP, just come visit us on Saturday the 30th!

GASZCHEBET by Skyler Tarnas
2023-10-09 19:30 - 21:30 | The Understudy, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
Click Here to reserve tickets
We’re hosting our neighbors Bramble Theatre for their Fall Reading Series.
Join us October 9th for Gazschebet by Skyler Tarnas.
Gemma was on the way back from breaking up with her girlfriend when she crashed into Faith Callahan’s car. Now she’s stranded at the Callahans’ modest Midwestern home in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but corn and farm animals as far as the eye can see. But Gemma is quick to discover that it’s a very special evening for the Callahans, and that they expect her to take part in their festivities, in a way she never would have expected.
Skyler Tarnas is a Michigan-born-and-raised writer, director, and teacher with passions for Shakespeare, true crime, and fake crime. After attending the University of Michigan and directing a handful of independent productions in Ann Arbor, he came to Chicago to obtain his MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage from Northwestern University, Class of 2021. Skyler’s plays seek to explore the young confused queer experience and the people we hurt on the way to finding ourselves. Contact: skylertarnas@gmail.com

Kokandy Book Club Presents: THE CRUCIBLE
2023-10-10 19:30 - 21:30 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
An intimate salon series celebrating theatre, music and community. Have a sit, have a sip and honor the ritual of talking about good plays.

Join The Understudy and our friends from Kokandy Productions for the latest installment of our series Book Club. Kokandy Book Club is an intimate salon series celebrating theatre, music and community. Each meeting will focus on a well known play—investigating the plot, themes and relevant tangents through musical performance. Have a sit, have a sip and honor the ritual of talking about good plays and having good ole fashion jam session.
Our October Book Club could be nothing else but THE CRUCIBLE! Inspired by Arthur Miller’s searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria, this meet will tease out the heartaches, the hot goss and the Stevie Nicks-ish wickedness in all of us. Curated by Kokandy Producing Artistic Director Derek Van Barham, with musical accompaniment by Nick Sula, our book club performers will be announced soon!
Doors open at 7 PM for a 7:30 PM performance.
The Understudy Cafe will be open for refreshments.

Shadow Carriers: Sit-down Andersonville Ghost Tour
2023-10-12 19:30 - 21:30 | The Understudy, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
Excited about our signature ghost tour (the Andersonville Walking Tour) but are unable or do not wish to walk the distance? Not a problem! This year, we’re offering a sit-down version of our acclaimed walking tour. Through the use of slides, we will bring the Andersonville ghost stories directly to your seat!
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Join veteran paranormal tour guides, Orion Couling & Zack Meyer, on a night that explores the shadows of history with the lantern of mystery. This tour will take you to the door of hidden haunts and the path of legends. Find out the eerie stories about some of Andersonville’s most beloved spots!
Orion & Zack are nationally renowned storytellers who have recently brought their unique style of storytelling to the “Shadow Carriers” podcast. Now, you have the opportunity to join them as you learn more about the dark history of Andersonville.
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Due to the graphic nature of the content being presented, we recommend this tour for ages 12+.
Your reservation is transferable but non-refundable.

The Whole Seamus Thing by Ben Auxier and L.C. Bernadine
2023-10-16 19:30 - 21:00 | The Understudy, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
Click Here to reserve tickets
We’re hosting our neighbors Bramble Theatre for their Fall Reading Series.
Join us on October 16th for The Whole Seamus Thing by Ben Auxier and L.C Bernadine
Mel, a once-dedicated staff member at a nonprofit organization increasingly, obsessively hates the man she hoped was her former boss. Now she’s facing off against the mostly-beloved and mythologized founder, following his surprise return from a scandalous company exit. A comedy that asks: how do you forgive, forget and survive the bullshit of leaders, when you’re stuck needing leadership?
Ben Auxier is an actor, writer, and comedian from Kansas City, MO, now working in Chicago with the improv ensemble RIFF! at iO and as a performer on numerous other stages. The former Artistic Director of The KC Improv Company, he is co-author of the award-winning musical comedy THE BALLAD OF LEFTY & CRABBE, co-creator of the comedy channel Friend Dog Studios, and writer/performer of sketch comedy and one-man shows including BEN AUXIER’S CAVALCADE OF FEARS, recently performed in KC and coming soon to Chicago.
L.C. Bernadine is a Chicago playwright whose work has been produced at City Lit Theatre, Underscore Theatre, and other companies. In addition to THE WHOLE SHEAMUS THING, she is currently at work on TRANSPORT, a new play about two drivers in the so-called troubled teen industry; IS YOU IS, a new musical she’s developing with Nik Whitcomb and Erik Olsen, set in Chicago Public Schools in the 1930s and revolving around The Field Museum’s exhibit “The Races of Mankind”; and a screenplay called THE LINOLEUM CLUB, with actor Paul Raci.

A Taste of RED with A Red Orchid Theatre
2023-10-17 19:30 - 21:00 | The Understudy, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
CLICK HERE for Tickets
Hang out with our friends from A Red Orchid Theatre on October 17th 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?
Doors open at 7pm and the reading begins at 7:30pm. The estimated run time is 1 hour 45 minutes.
Limit of two tickets per patron. In the case that there are no additional tickets left on our website, please email the Audience Services Manager, Reilly Ribeiro, at audience@aredorchidtheatre.org to be added to the waitlist.

Tambo & Bones POP-UP Performance @ The Understudy
2023-10-18 19:30 - 20:30 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Join us for a special POP UP MUSICAL PERFORMANCE of Refracted Theatre Company’s currently running show, Tambo & Bones!

Join us for a special POP UP MUSICAL PERFORMANCE of Refracted Theatre Company‘s currently running show, Tambo & Bones!
Includes a LIVE RAP SHOW followed by a Q+A with the show’s stars, William Anthony Sebastian Rose II and Patrick Newson Jr.
Please note: This performance contains offensive language and adult content, including references to sex and violence, and is therefore not suitable for children.
ABOUT THE PLAY:
Tambo and Bones find themselves in a tricky situation: they are trapped in a minstrel show. How do you get out of that? Might have to attack the playwright who put you there. Might need to become a famous rap legend. Might need to start something. Def need to let them know you’re a real person. You’re a real person. You’re a real person? From the fearlessly defiant, fresh American voice of playwright Dave Harris, Tambo & Bones is a dark comedy (and a rap concert) that pulls back the curtain on every theater experience the audience has had before.

Homunculus by Andrew Piechota
2023-10-19 20:00 - 22:00, 2023-10-21 20:00 - 22:00 | The Understudy, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
CLICK HERE for Tickets

Homunculus by Andrew Piechota

Two debt-laden young workers, Ash and Sage, toil in the depths of a decrepit mansion-turned-crypto-mine deep in the woods near the Columbia River Basin, looking after a massive rig of computer servers. They receive food via airdrop, rest in sleeping bags, and are forbidden from contact with the outside world. As they struggle to adapt to the demands of a distant authority, they spiral, each in their own way, toward mysticism and obsession.
There is someone watching them; there is something in the walls; there is something within themselves, aching to be free- here at the intersection of technology, nature, and the occult.
Cast:
Owen Hickle-Edwards as Ash
Stephanie Fongheiser as Sage
Peter Ferneding as Felix
Martina Logan as Avery

Dramaturg:
Felix Abidor

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 readings, feedback sessions, and mentorship, culminating in a workshop production of the plays at the end of the process. Chicago theatre leaders such as artistic directors, literary managers, and creative producers are invited to the workshop productions in order to provide playwrights access to companies who may be interested in producing the plays. The purpose of the Next Draft Series is to fully develop the most exciting and challenging new plays being written in Chicago today, to foster a community that is supportive of writers, and to provide opportunities for these plays to go on to receive full productions.

body, no organs by Dizzy Turek
2023-10-20 20:00 - 22:00, 2023-10-22 20:00 - 22:00 | The Understudy, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
CLICK HERE for Tickets
Hallelujah has died. As she descends from the earth, she finds herself after life, waist deep in floodwaters, no sun, seemingly no land, and no other souls in sight. All she has are the clothes on her back and a giant gash down the middle of her chest. Inside this gash, she finds her organs which she can take out and hold in her hand. Oh, look, there’s a man sitting on a porch; wonder what he thinks of all this.
Cast:
Diana Slickman as Hallelujah
Jenn Geiger as Herself
Guy Wicke as Man on Porch
Faiz Siddique as Bird Man & Imp/Goblin/Demon
Alice Wu as Fish Lady & Farmer
Martina Logan as Hoi Polloi
Grant Brown as Hoi Polloi

Dramaturg:
Alexander Utz

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 readings, feedback sessions, and mentorship, culminating in a workshop production of the plays at the end of the process. Chicago theatre leaders such as artistic directors, literary managers, and creative producers are invited to the workshop productions in order to provide playwrights access to companies who may be interested in producing the plays. The purpose of the Next Draft Series is to fully develop the most exciting and challenging new plays being written in Chicago today, to foster a community that is supportive of writers, and to provide opportunities for these plays to go on to receive full productions.

The Red Fortune Cookie by Karissa Murrell Myers
2023-10-23 19:30 - 21:00 | The Understudy, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
Click Here to reserve tickets
We’re hosting our neighbors Bramble Theatre for their Fall Reading Series.
Join us October 23rd for The Red Fortune Cookie by Karissa Murrell Myers
When a hot air balloon with two dead strangers in it crashes on top of some prize tomatoes in Reese’s backyard, he teams up with his eccentric aunt and bad-tempered little sister to uncover the truth about the murder, his family, and himself.
Karissa Murrell Myers is a Filipino American theatre artist based in Chicago, where she works as an actor, playwright, director, producer, and casting director. As a playwright, her work has been developed and/or produced at Strawdog Theatre, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, American Blues Theatre, A Red Orchid Theatre, The Gift Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Avalanche Theatre, Our Perspective: Asian American Plays, and Bramble Theatre Company, where she serves as Artistic Director. Karissa received an “Outstanding New Work” Jeff Awards nomination for the world premiere of her play, On the Greenbelt. She was featured in American Theatre Magazine’s “Theatre Workers You Should Know” and in Newcity Stage’s “Players 2023: Who Really Performs in Chicago Right Now”. MFA in Performance from University of Hawaii, BA in Directing and Acting from Boise State University, and graduate of The School at Steppenwolf 2019. Proud member of the Dramatist Guild and SAG-AFTRA. www.kmurrellmyers.com | @kmurrellmyers

CROOKED hosted by Betty Theft
2023-10-27 20:30 - 22:00 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Join host Betty Theft alongside a sordid cast of drag things. CROOKED is a show for villains, freaks, and petty thieves. A show that celebrates all things strange, dark, bizarre, fringe, and alternative!
CROOKED is a theatrical platform for dark and alternative drag- ominous, expressive, and dramatic.
Stay tuned for info on performer lineup.
Doors open at 8 PM for an 8:30 PM show. The Understudy cafe will be open for refreshments.

Play Reading Club: ENFRASCADA
2023-10-30 19:00 - 20:30 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Join us for the next iteration of Play Reading Club, happening every month at The Understudy. No need to RSVP, just show up ready to discuss the play! Our book club begins at 7 PM.
This month, we’re reading Enfrascada by Chicago playwright Tanya Saracho.

About the play:

When Alicia finds out that her boyfriend of nine years has been cheating on her, she is devastated beyond belief. Luckily her friends are ready to help her – by any means necessary. They urge Alicia to experiment with brujería, hoodoo, and santería magic; not only to heal her broken heart, but to help get her man back. Reminiscent of Sex and the City, Tanya Saracho’s comedy explores the truly magic side of love.

Enfrascada
$11.95
Buy now

About the playwright:
Tanya Saracho was born in Sinaloa, México. She is a playwright and television writer who’s worked on How To Get Away With Murder and HBO’s Looking, among other shows. Currently, she serves as the creator and showrunner of the series VIDA on Starz. She is also developing a television series called Brujas with Big Beach, which deals with the intersection between Brujería culture and feminism.
Named “Best New Playwright” by Chicago magazine, Saracho has had plays produced at: Dallas Theatre Center, Victory Gardens Theatre, Theatreworks, Primary Stages and 2nd Stage in NYC, Denver Theatre Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Goodman Theater, Steppenwolf Theater, Teatro Vista, Teatro Luna, Fountain Theater, Clubbed Thumb, NEXT Theater and 16th Street Theater. Saracho was named one of nine national Latino “Luminarios” by Café magazine and given the first “Revolucionario” Award in Theater by the National Museum of Mexican Art. She is the founder of Teatro Luna (all-Latina Theatre Company) as well as the founder of ALTA (Alliance of Latino Theatre Artists). She is currently under commission with South Coast Repertory and Two River Theatre.

QUEER HORROR with Bruce Owens Grimm and Adam M. Rhodes
2023-11-01 19:30 - 20:30 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Queer Horror
This event celebrates the one year anniversary of the Los Angeles Times bestseller It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror. Closet contributor Bruce Owens Grimm will be in conversation with writer, activist, and queer horror nerd, Adam Rhodes, about Grimm’s queer reading of Hereditary and why queer audiences love horror movies.
Contributors
Adam M. Rhodes is a nonbinary first-generation Cuban American journalist whose work primarily focuses on queer people and the criminal justice system. Their recent work has examined HIV treatment access in Puerto Rico, HIV criminalization laws and a homophobic capital murder trial in Illinois, as well as housing of transgender prisoners in New Jersey. Rhodes was most recently a staff writer and social justice reporter at the Chicago Reader, and they have been published in outlets including The Appeal, BuzzFeed News and The Washington Post.
Bruce Owens Grimm’s work appears in, among others, The Rumpus, Zócalo Public Square, and in the Los Angeles Times bestseller, It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror. They coined the term “haunted memoir.” They are one of the co-editors of Fat and Queer: An Anthology of Queer and Trans Bodies and Lives. They are a PEN/America grant recipient, a Pushcart nominee for their essay, “Inventory of a Haunted House, No.4,” and are at work on a nonfiction book about ghosts, queer horror movies, and all the ways they’ve lived on the borderline.

A Perfect Map of Everything by Connor Geary
2023-11-08 19:30 - 22:30 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Hugo, obsessed with perfection, decides on cartography as his next project. Hamlin, his roommate, can only pack Hugo’s lunchbox on his brief returns home, which are becoming less and less frequent. Connor Geary’s A Perfect Map of Everything manifests the irrational, all-consuming, heartbreaking lengths a person will go to get someone to love them back.
This reading marks Connor Geary’s Chicago playwriting debut.
Doors open at 7pm for a 7:30pm reading. The Understudy Cafe will be open for refreshments.
CAST
Bennett Petersen as Hugo
Brandon Acosta as Hamlin
Juliet Kang Huneke as Mrs. Galloway / Mr. McGully
Artist bios:
Connor Geary (he/him) is a Chicago based playwright and director. He is a recent graduate of Northwestern University’s theatre department where he completed the playwriting module and the advanced playwriting sequence. Other plays include The Endless Stream of Junk and Propus. Directing credits include The Aliens (Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts), The Fig and the Wasp (Sit and Spin Productions), and March Nine (Vertigo Productions). He also dabbles in black and white 35mm film photography which can be found on his Instagram @connorshootsfilm. He is extremely grateful to all of you for showing interest in his work. Keep up with him at connorgeary.com.
Bennett Petersen (he/him) is a Chicago-based actor, director, and writer. He graduated from Northwestern University in 2022, where he studied Theatre and Musical Theatre Writing. You may have seen him as Gene Wilder in HEIST! (Eclectic Full-Contact Theatre) or as Victor in DRY LAND (Snails on a Bike). He wrote lyrics for an original one-act musical titled HOME FOR THE SUMMER with his costars Brandon and Juliet, produced by the American Music Theatre Project at Northwestern University. He could not be more grateful to breathe life into Connor’s words, and to work with Brandon, Juliet, and Connor once again. Any inquiries can be made to bennettpetersen2018@gmail.com or on Instagram @bennettscottpetersen.
Juliet Kang Huneke is an actor, playwright, and teaching artist who is passionate about theatre that is larger than life. Chicago acting credits include: Arviragus in CYMBELINE (Midsommer Flight), Joan 3 in JOAN AND THE FIRE (Trap Door Theatre), Fanny in THE UGLY ONE (Trap Door Theatre), and WHEN THE SUN MELTS AWAY (Token Theatre). As a writer, she was recently awarded the ReImagine: New Plays in TYA grant to develop her new play for young audiences, HANNAH AND HALMONI SAVE THE WORLD!. When she’s not acting or writing, Juliet teaches silly theatre classes at Chicago Children’s Theatre. Northwestern 2022! https://www.julietkanghuneke.com/
Brandon Acosta (he/him) is a Chicago based Actor/Composer. A proud recent graduate of Northwestern University, Brandon has appeared onstage at Metropolis Performing Arts Center, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre, and Paramount Theatre. When he is not performing or writing, Brandon works as the Arts Department Coordinator for PBS Kids’ Donkey Hodie. Special thanks to Connor for his beautiful, silly, touching story! (@pfgum2)

G. L. O. W. : A Queer Sober Open Mic Night
2023-11-10 20:00 - 22:00 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
The Understudy presents G.L.O.W.: a Queer Sober Open Mic Night

ABOUT THE EVENT
Join The Understudy for G.L.O.W., a queer sober open mic night hosted by K.J Whitehead and Sharon Pasia. Expect comedy, drama, and stunts galore.
Stay tuned for performer signups!
Doors open at 7:30. Performances begin at 8. The Understudy Cafe will be open for refreshments!

Absence of Proof Friendsgiving
2023-11-11 19:00 - 22:00 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
CLICK HERE for Tickets
Join Absence of Proof & The Understudy for an evening of unlimited non-alcoholic beverages, small bites & great vibes. Grab your friends & ease into the holiday season with a night off of drinking! Let’s party! xx

Included in your ticket:

Unlimited non-alcoholic cocktails made with Ritual Zero Proof, Curious Elixirs
Unlimited Non-Alcoholic Beer from Partake
Small Bites

Please Note (Important):
This event is 21+.
All drinks offered will be below 0.5% ABV (non-alcoholic). Some drinks will utilize non-alcoholic spirits that mimic the taste and aroma of alcohol, without the intoxicating effects. If you are in recovery or are potentially triggered by the taste of alcohol, please do not consume these beverages.
Our events also mimic the environment of a bar (music, socializing, and may be held in venues that otherwise serve alcohol). If this is triggering, please do not attend.
If you are pregnant or nursing, please consult with your healthcare provider before consuming any of our beverages. Your doctor can provide personalized advice based on your individual circumstances.
Our beverages are not guaranteed to be Halal or Vegan. Upon request, we are happy to provide full ingredient lists.
We understand that everyone has unique preferences and dietary requirements and our number one priority is respecting your individual choices. We encourage you to reach out to us with any questions or concerns that may not have been addressed here.
By entering an event or program of Absence of Proof, you are entering an area where photography, audio and video recording may occur.
Your entry and presence on the event premises constitutes your consent to be photographed, filmed, and/or otherwise recorded and to the release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction of any and all recorded media of your appearance, voice, and name for any purpose whatsoever in perpetuity in connection with Absence of Proof and its initiatives, including, by way of example only, use on websites, in social media, news and advertising.
By entering the event premises, you waive and release any claims you may have related to the use of recorded media of you at the event, including, without limitation, any right to inspect or approve the photo, video or audio recording of you, any claims for invasion of privacy, violation of the right of publicity, defamation, and copyright infringement or for any fees for use of such record media.
You understand that all photography, filming and/or recording will be done in reliance on this consent. If you do not agree to the foregoing, please do not enter the event premises.

A Taste of RED with A Red Orchid Theatre
2023-11-14 19:30 - 21:00 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Tickets Coming Soon
Hang out with our friends from A Red Orchid Theatre on October 17th 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?
Doors open at 7pm and the reading begins at 7:30pm. The Understudy Cafe will be open for refreshments.

Broadway Open Mic Hosted by Porchlight Young Professionals
2023-11-17 20:00 - 23:00 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
CLICK HERE for Tickets
Porchlight Young Professionals are thrilled to host our first fundraising event to support Porchlight Music Theatre: Broadway Open Mic! Join us for a fun night of karaoke with a live pianist (the always-incredible Alex Newkirk) hosted by Porchlight’s own Producing Artistic Associate Frankie Leo Bennett.
Your ticket includes entry to the event, complimentary beer and wine, access to The Understudy’s coffee and tea menu and an optional song included!
Pay $5 to sing a song or to nominate your friend to sing – pay $10 to get out of singing when you’ve been nominated! All funds raised will support Porchlight Music Theatre’s 29th season, featuring Anything Goes and Porchlight in Concert: Sunday in the Park with George.

THE BIG FINISH hosted by Stephanie and Tiki Vonté
2023-11-18 20:30 - 21:30 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Join hosts Stephanie and Tiki Vonté for a drag night for the theatre girlies comprised exclusively of 11 o’clock numbers. THE BIG FINISH is a show for full of stunts, drama, and theatrics.
STAY TUNED for full cast announcement.
Doors open at 8 PM for an 8:30 PM show. The Understudy cafe will be open for refreshments.

I Can't... I Have Trivia
2023-11-20 19:30 - 21:00 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Theatre nerds, your time has come! Join us for another round of trivia at 7:30 on November 20th, 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 20th!

RING OF KEYS Meetup and Screening
2023-11-21 19:00 - 21:30 | The Understudy, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640, Chicago, IL, 60613, United States
Click Here for Tickets

Join Ring of Keys, the artists’ service and advocacy organization supporting queer women, trans, and non-binary musical theater artists for a bit of community and the screening of our 2023 concert Queering the Canon: Jerry Herman, featuring Chicago Keys!

At 7pm, we invite all current Chicago-based Keys and anyone interested in joining to meet up for a social hour with Executive Director, Aislinn Frantz (she/her).

At 8pm, we’ll invite in anyone else who would like to catch our concert of Queering the Canon: Jerry Herman, originally performed at The Ubique, with direction by Elizabeth Swanson (they/she), music direction by Harper Caruso (she/they), and brand new queer songs and performances of Herman standards by the Key community.

Tickets are $15 for non-Keys and $5 for Keys.

Play Reading Club: THE THANKSGIVING PLAY
2023-11-27 19:00 - 20:30 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Join us for the next iteration of Play Reading Club, happening every month at The Understudy. No need to RSVP, just show up ready to discuss the play! Our book club begins at 7 PM.
This month, we’re reading The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse.

About the play:

Good intentions collide with absurd assumptions in Larissa FastHorse’s wickedly funny satire, as a troupe of terminally “woke” teaching artists scrambles to create a pageant that somehow manages to celebrate both Turkey Day and Native American Heritage Month.

The Thanksgiving Play/What Would Crazy Horse Do?
$16.95
Buy now

About the playwright:
Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota Nation) is an award-winning writer and 2020-2025 MacArthur Fellow. Her satirical comedy The Thanksgiving Play made her the first known female Native American playwright on Broadway, at the Helen Hayes under the direction of Rachel Chavkin. Her new plays in 2023 are Wicoun (Cornerstone Theater Company), Democracy Project (Federal Hall), Fake It Until You Make It (CTG Mark Taper Forum), For the People (Guthrie), and the national tour of Peter Pan (Networks). Selected past plays include What Would Crazy Horse Do? (KCRep), Landless and Cow Pie Bingo (AlterTheater), Average Family (Children’s Theater Company of Minneapolis) and Teaching Disco Squaredancing to Our Elders: a Class Presentation (Native Voices at the Autry), as well as numerous productions of The Thanksgiving Play, making it one of the most produced plays in America.
Larissa created the nationally recognized trilogy of community engaged theatrical experiences with Cornerstone Theater Company; Urban Rez, Native Nation and Wicoun. She and her collaborator, Michael John Garcés, spend years on each project in an Indigenized community engagement process. “The engagement itself is the art form.” These projects have earned them national funding and an appointment to Arizona State University.
Larissa’s company with Ty Defoe, Indigenous Direction, recently produced the first land acknowledgement on national television for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC and continues to consult for them. They also consult for the largest theater organizations in the country.
Larissa also writes in film and television, most recently as a creator for NBC, Disney Channel, Dreamworks, Muse, Netflix and others. She is based in Los Angeles with her husband, the sculptor Edd Hogan, and represented by Jonathan Mills at Paradigm NY. She is especially honored to follow in the footsteps of the last known Native American playwright on Broadway, Lynn Riggs. hoganhorsestudio.com

Thank You Five: LIVE with Strawdog Theatre
2023-11-29 19:30 - 21:00 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Join panelists from across Chicago for an engaging, wide-ranging discussion on the industry, the art, and the future!

From Strawdog Theatre, a weekly show bringing theatre artists from around the globe into a conversation about live theatre and digital storytelling with a spirit of gratitude and innovation.
Usually convened digitally, Thank You Five is recording LIVE at The Understudy for one night only.
In addition to viewing in-person, the show will be streamed live online.
Doors open at 7pm, and the recording begins at 7:30pm.
Panelists announced soon.
Click here to catch up on previous episodes of Thank You Five.

Flock and Flower: Climate Change Theatre Action @ The Understudy
2023-11-30 19:30 - 21:00 | The Understudy Coffee and Books, 5531 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Joe Schupbach and Alyssa Mohn are co-curating a reading as part of Climate Change Theatre Action.
Launched in 2015, Climate Change Theatre Action is a worldwide festival of short plays about the climate crisis presented biennially to coincide with the United Nations COP meetings. Every other year, 50 professional playwrights, representing all inhabited continents as well as several co-cultures and Indigenous nations, are commissioned to write five-minute plays about an aspect of the climate crisis based on a prompt. This year’s prompt is “All Good Things Must Begin.” The event includes a reading of climate action-centered short plays that will be performed in rep, creating an evening of live reading, community galvanization, and measurable actions to make an impact on climate change.
Doors open at 7pm. Performance begins at 7:30pm.
