CHICAGO (September 20th, 2022) — Jackalope Theatre Company announces its return to in-person productions with its 2022-23 season featuring the Among the Dead by Hansol Jung, directed by Jackalope Artistic Director Kaiser Ahmed*; and the world premiere of Pretty Shahid written by company member Omer Abbas Salem* and directed by Sophiyaa Nayar. The season will also see the return of the 14th Annual Living Newspaper Festival in the spring of 2023.
"We're thrilled to announce Jackalope's 15th Season of plays, all housed in our recently expanded and revamped venue at the Broadway Armory Park." Artistic Director, Kaiser Ahmed says of Season 15, "This season begins with the kaleidoscopic Among The Dead by acclaimed playwright Hansol Jung, which is the first play in the company's history to expand the definition of American Identity beyond our nation's shores. The 14th Annual Living Newspaper Festival will present fully produced one-act plays alongside opportunities for community engagement and activism. The season concludes with Pretty Shahid, a play born and developed at Jackalope, and our first production centered in the muslim, SWANASA (South West Asian, North African, and South Asian) diapora. Through these stories, the 22/23 season sets out to investigate the past through the lens of the present. Jackalope remains a place to see the city's greatest established and rising talents in an intimate space. We hope you'll join us for every beat."
"Our industry and our world has evolved rapidly over the past two years. Jackalope is heartened by the opportunity to welcome audiences back with a season of offerings that invite us to reflect upon and confront all that we've learned and experienced during that time" shares Managing Director, Tina El Gamal "This season's plays explore the relationships between loss, hope, and our collective dreams for the future - which so many of us have become keenly aware of in the past few years"
Season subscriptions can be purchased for $80 and include one ticket to each mainstage production and one ticket to the 14th Annual Living Newspaper Festival. Single tickets are $15-35. Subscriptions and single tickets are on sale now (TICKETS HERE) or by calling the box office at 773-340-2543.
SEASON 15
Among the Dead
Written by Hansol Jung. Directed by Kaiser Ahmed*
October 29th - December 4th, 2022, Jackalope Theatre in the Broadway Armory, 5917 N Broadway Tickets are $15-35
SYNOPSIS:
Among the Dead is a dark comedy about a family broken apart by betrayed promises. They find each other again through SPAM, journals, and Jesus. Mostly Jesus.
Ana is a Korean American who travels to Seoul in 1975 to retrieve her recently deceased father's ashes. Luke is a young American soldier fighting in the jungles of Myanmar in 1944. Number Four is the name of a Korean comfort woman camping out on a bridge in Seoul in 1950, waiting for the return of the young American soldier who fathered her daughter. Three separate time periods collide in a small hotel room in Korea, mediated by a shape-shifting Jesus, who first shows up as a bellboy.
Pretty Shahid
Written by Omer Abbas Salem**. Directed by Sophiyaa Nayar (she/her)
June 16th - July 23rd, 2023, Jackalope Theatre in the Broadway Armory, 5917 N Broadway. Tickets $15-35
SYNOPSIS:
The Kazem family immigrated to Chicago from Iraq and are attempting to assimilate and live - when 9/11 happens. This romantic comedy uses classic film tropes to examine identity and which knots we choose to untie to become our ideal American. This is a play about self discovery.
14th Annual Living Newspaper Festival
May 4th - May 8th, 2023, Jackalope Theatre in the Broadway Armory, 5917 N Broadway. Tickets $15-$20
An evening of new short plays and engagements inspired by news articles.
ABOUT JACKALOPE THEATRE:
Jackalope Theatre Company, now in its 15th season, is committed to cultivating theatre that expands the definition of American identity by engaging with our communities to produce works that celebrate diverse perspectives. Each season, the company produces full-length plays in Broadway Armory Park and a series of ancillary new play development programming. All of this is done in the epicenter of the Edgewater community, enhancing the cultural vibrancy of the Thorndale Station corridor.
Jackalope Theatre was founded in the Spring of 2008, incorporating and filing for non-profit status that summer and producing their first world premiere production in the Fall in Chicago's West side. In 2012, Jackalope began a long-term residency at Broadway Armory Park and in 2013, Time Out Chicago named Jackalope the best up-and-coming theatre company. In 2014, Jackalope received the Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theater Award and the world-premiere production of Ike Holter's Exit Strategy received 4/4 Stars from the Chicago Tribune and won Best New Work at the Jeff Awards. Nearly every production since has received award nominations, critical praise, and full houses of diverse patrons, solidifying Jackalope as a premier mid-sized venue for high quality theatrical experiences.
All of Jackalope's programming is in partnership with the Chicago Parks District and will abide by the evolving COVID safety protocols as outlined by Parks and the CDC. Applicable protocols will be announced as early as one month prior to performance dates.
For complete and current information about the 2022-23 season and artists, visit jackalopetheatre.org .
