- This event has passed.
RED BELL by Katherine Swan
July 20 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
When ex-dancer Rina shows up at Hank’s gym wanting to learn how to box, she embarks on a journey that will forever transform who she is and who she will become.
But when a past trauma surfaces, Rina must confront a painful history that she’s struggled to leave behind. As she hurtles towards her first fight, Rina will be forced to reckon with what she fears the most.
Playwright: Katherine Swan
Director: Faith Hart
Dramaturg: Madie Doppelt
Stage Directions: Karina Patel
Rina: Noelle Oh
Hank: Scott Westerman
Alex: Harsh Gagoomal
Annie/Jessie/Wanda: Laila Rodriques
Jason/Rina’s Father: Huy Nguyễn
Larissa: Marissa Stephens
Freshly Brewed Team:
Nadya Naumaan – Co-Artistic Producer
Joel Willison – Co-Artistic Producer
Danny Fender – The Understudy Co-Owner
Adam Crawford – The Understudy Co-Owner
About Freshly Brewed
Freshly Brewed seeks to invest in Chicago’s emerging playwrights and theatre artists in keeping with The Understudy’s commitment to Community, Collaboration, and Discovery. The series features monthly readings of new plays in various stages of development. Each artist conrtibuting– playwrights, directors, and actors– will receive a stipend underwritten by the series’ anonymous donor.
Freshly Brewed is a collaboration between The Understudy Coffee and Books and Pocket Theatrics
Other Events
Ramallah by Kayla Karnesky
September 21 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Set in 1950s Ramallah, Palestine, the play follows a young woman coming of age as she discovers love, family, independence, and adulthood. Set in 1950s Ramallah, Palestine, the play follows a young woman coming of age as she discovers love, family, independence, and adulthood. Through the everyday lives of Margo and her loved ones around her, the play explores what it means to grow up, fall in love, build a life, and hold onto hope while the world around you…
Ramallah by Kayla Karnesky
September 21 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
FEM/THEM Comedy Open Mic at The Understudy
September 23 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
If you identify as funny and not-a-dude-onstage, this is your night diva! Hosted by Preeti Thaker Preeti & Jordan present: A Comedy Open Mic for Women + Non-Binary Comics! If you identify as funny and not-a-dude-onstage, this is your night diva! WHAT’S THE PLAN? • 7:30 PM — arrive responsibly early, wonder what the vibe is gonna be like. Support the space by buying a drink! • 8:00 PM — the mic starts, the chaos begins • Sign-ups close…
FEM/THEM Comedy Open Mic at The Understudy
September 23 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
The Understudy Dares You to Produce This Play: Poor Clare
September 28 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
A monthly reading series highlighting plays that have not yet been produced in Chicago The Understudy Dares You to Produce This Play is a monthly reading series highlighting plays that have not received a Chicago production. Produced by The Understudy’s bookstore team, this series works to expand the variety of playwrights and titles in our vibrant community. This month, we’re reading Poor Clare by Chiara Atik Clare: Felicia Oduh Beatrice: John-Payne Francis: Andrew Shipman Alma: Jordan Levene Peppa: Preeti Thaker…
The Understudy Dares You to Produce This Play: Poor Clare
September 28 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
New Playwrights/Established Companies: The Path to Production
September 29 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Phanésia, Zach, and Netta discuss how their plays (Dead Girl's Quinceñera, The Pilon, and Hayward) found their way to full production. Over the last year we have seen new playwrights be produced by larger theatre companies: Phanésia Pharel’s Dead Girl’s Quinceñera is making a triple collective world premiere (Barrington, Goodman Theatre, and Hartford Stage). Zach Barr’s The Pilon produced by Red Theatre, won the ATCA New Play award. Netta Walker’s Hayward is debuting at Steppenwolf Theatre, presented by The Gift…
New Playwrights/Established Companies: The Path to Production
September 29 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
A Toast to Poetry with Muffy Films
September 30 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE by by Joseph Kesselring
October 5 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
A play reading of THE OUTSIDER by Paul Slade Smith produced by Exit, Pursued by a Play Reading. Drama critic Mortimer Brewster’s engagement announcement is upended when he discovers a corpse in his elderly aunts’ window seat. Mortimer rushes to tell Abby and Martha before they stumble upon the body themselves, only to learn that the two old women aren’t just aware of the dead man in their parlor, they killed him! Between his aunts’ penchant for poisoning wine, a…
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE by by Joseph Kesselring
October 5 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Mia Schachter: How to Do Consent (without Sounding Like a Robot)
October 8 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
a modern guide for moving sex and boundaries past rigid rules and toward real connection, personal fulfillment, and self-discovery. ABOUT THE BOOK Essential, up-to-date guidance on consent and sex for anyone who’s having it—and everyone who wants to do it better. Empowered practices, embodied skills, and frame-changing advice for navigating consent, pursuing pleasure, and building connection in the real world. Part practical guide, part cultural critique, this book offers braver, more creative, and more empowered visions of what sex can…