The Understudy Dares You to Produce This Play: Poor Clare
September 28 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
FreeThe 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
Ortolana: Mari De La Rua
The Poor/Beggar: Izzy Valdes
About the Play
It’s 1211 in Assisi, Italy, and Clare’s got beauty, wealth and a rich suitor who showers her with expensive presents. So why is she so drawn to this guy Francis who gave up all his possessions just because poor people are suffering? Everyone in town says he’s crazy. And yet… she starts seeing everything in her life differently. This hilarious, anachronistic telling of the real story of St. Clare considers the cost of doing good – and how little has changed for the haves and the have-nots in almost a millennium.
Other Events
Workshop: a love story and poetry event with Hot Potato Hearts
September 9 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Calling all poets and writers who wanna write and possibly *find* love. Join us for an evening of reading and writing poetry with our friends Leah and Katie.
Workshop: a love story and poetry event with Hot Potato Hearts
September 9 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Re:working – Culture of Care, a Toolkit
September 10 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Hear Nicole, Sheryl, Kiaran, and Chels dream up more updated, common standards for care with Gabriela. Since Not in Our House and the Chicago Theatre Standards, our city has been considered an epicenter of caring innovation. It’s time, after We See You White American Theater and the pandemic’s gap in knowledge transmission, to reexamine our best practices and share a more common vocabulary. In this roundtable, a cultural consultant, an intimacy choreographer, an access specialist, and the founder of Anti-Racist…
Re:working – Culture of Care, a Toolkit
September 10 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Steppenwolf Learner Chats: Topdog/Underdog
September 11 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Steppenwolf Theatres' Learner Chat series invites our community to learn from expert guests through engaging conversations. Steppenwolf Theatres’ Learner Chat series invites our community to learn from expert guests through engaging conversations that explore the major themes of each play. Participants are guided on a journey that dives deeper into motifs, design elements, and dramaturgy, offering new perspectives, insights, and opportunities for discovery beyond the stage. The event will start at 7:30p and will include a facilitated conversation between Steppenwolf…
Steppenwolf Learner Chats: Topdog/Underdog
September 11 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Steppenwolf Learner Chats: Topdog/Underdog
September 11 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Steppenwolf Theatres' Learner Chat series invites our community to learn from expert guests through engaging conversations. Steppenwolf Theatres’ Learner Chat series invites our community to learn from expert guests through engaging conversations that explore the major themes of each play. Participants are guided on a journey that dives deeper into motifs, design elements, and dramaturgy, offering new perspectives, insights, and opportunities for discovery beyond the stage. The event will start at 7:30p and will include a facilitated conversation between Steppenwolf…
Steppenwolf Learner Chats: Topdog/Underdog
September 11 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Midsommer Flight presents: Adelinda by Hannah Brand
September 14 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
A reading of Adelinda – a comedy that offers audiences a witty and entertaining exploration of love, intrigue, and mistaken identities. Adelinda by Hannah Brand Directed by Joshua Pennington Cast Adelinda D’Olstain – Ahlora Victoria Marquis D’Olstain – Barry Irving Count D’Olstain – Alexander Garza Marchioness D’Olstain – Hannah Mary Simpson Strasbourg – Brandon Beach Zella – Koshie Mills Dorcas – Brynley Halverson Flora – Siyi Wang Synopsis The willful and rebellious Adelinda is set to marry the wealthy Count…
Midsommer Flight presents: Adelinda by Hannah Brand
September 14 @ 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
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…