THE FRONTIER PROGRAMMING
Jackalope Theatre Company is ​dedicated to new works and is a Midwest leader in new play development. In addition to our Mainstage programming at Broadway Armory Park, we offer programming for every stage of development in our storefront space, The Frontier. Here's what's coming up for Season 12...
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SEASON 12: GROUNDWORKS SERIES
The GroundWorks Series is part of our new works programming at The Frontier. The series is dedicated to works in progress, that are beyond the "first read". The series features showcases workshop productions of new plays by emerging Chicago playwrights. GroundWorks gets plays on their feet for the first time, and in that way, is designed for works that would benefit from a physical staging in order to continue development.
The Pack
by Diego Colón
dir. by Liz Sharpe
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January 10-12, 2020
There’s a monster inside you, but what if a beast is everything you’ve ever wanted to be? THE PACK is a sharp-toothed rock musical about the drive it takes to reach your full potential and dragging your family, chosen and blood, along with you, biting and clawing. Shed your human form, grab a guitar, bring your pack, and let the animal inside of you loose, knowing it is your best self.
The Retribution Play
By Calamity West
dir. by Dani Wieder
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February 14-17, 2020
When Maybelle’s lover Boon abandons her, she leaves the only home she’s known to seek retribution. On her bloodthirsty adventure, Maybelle acquires a ragtag group of ragged hearts on their own paths to redemption. THE RETRIBUTION PLAY is an action-packed Western with grit and heart about one woman’s quest to find her place in a mad, mad world.
SEASON 12: CIRCLE UP! READING SERIES
The CIRCLE UP! Reading Series is a collaboration between Jackalope Theatre Company and The Chicago Inclusion Project, and is part of our new works programming at The Frontier. The free series is dedicated to amplifying diverse stories of scope and providing safe harbor for evolving work. Readings feature new works from emerging playwrights from across the country. Each reading includes a post-show discussion, encouraging our audience to share and engage with the play over drinks and light fare.
Shola's Game
by Osiris Khepera
dir. by Wardell Julius Clark
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Monday, Feb. 24th, 2020 @ 7:00pm
This Black, Queer love story is set at Penn State University amidst the tumultuous realities of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. It focuses on a group of six African American friends who, while representative of the seven percent of the Black Population in Happy Valley, PA, are forced to tackle their own biases of tradition, intra-racial politics and class.
This is Not a True Story
by Preston Choi
dir. by Brian Balcom
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Monday, May 4, 2020
The heroine of Madame Butterfly completes her tragic suicide, only to wake up trapped in a never ending loop of her story. Then Miss Saigon is born thrusting another heroine into the deadly cycle, until a mysterious office woman throws the world out of balance. This Is Not A True Story is a dark comedy unraveling a history of Orientalist theatre, cycles of cruelty, and the danger of fiction becoming reality.
Jackalope will develop a work for young audiences by Daria Miyeko Marinelli at the Kennedy Center’s New Visions/ New Voices Festival, and mount a subsequent summer production funded by a CityArts grant.
SEASON 12: SPECIAL PROGRAMMING
this is what i chose no i'm not sorry and yes if you'd ask i'd do it again
by Daria Miyeko Marinelli
dir. by Will Kiley
August 7-16, 2020
*A DCASE CityArts Special Project
Even after William’s death, high school life has trudged on. But when Sara starts planning an “Alive Together” assembly to honor William, his sister Vivian finally takes a stand and ask/demands Sara to cancel the event. Does it matter that William and Sara were “a thing” or that Sara may also use the event on her college applications? With the piece's narrative changing based on the audience's choices, Will Kiley directs Daria Miyeko Marinelli's modular play which explores: who has ownership over a tragedy? And what course of action is best in the aftermath?
Want to Support New Plays? Join The Pioneers!
The Pioneers is our inaugural donor club, specifically designed to support the development of new works. Membership is through a monthly donation of $10/month. Your monthly donation goes directly to support our developmental programming at The Frontier, which includes the Circle Up! Reading Series, the Groundworks Series, the Jackalope Playwrights Lab, and the Living Newspaper Festival. Benefits of membership include tickets for you and a guest to attend all of Jackalope's Frontier programming (6 unique events), invitations to quarterly salons with company members and associated artists, concierge service for reservations, and the dedication of a seat in The Frontier.