Our Events
We’ve designed The Understudy from the ground up to support a variety of events. Join us after close for play readings, drag performances, concerts, meetups, and more! The calendar is always updating, so check back often.
The Understudy believes curiosity is a powerful, generative force for transformation. We seek to feed our collective creative lives by nourishing deep curiosity– whether toward your own vision, or through engaging generously with the work of another. We see curiosity, empathy, and justice as interdependent ideals. Our work seeks to foster deeper connections to our passions, our neighbors, and to contemporary life.
We’re always on the lookout for new ways to share our space and bring creative people together. If you have an idea for a new one-off event or series at The Understudy, please fill out the form below. Please note that we give priority to theatre related events, and, though we really want to, we can’t accommodate every request. Let’s chat!
recurring series
I Can’t … I Have Trivia: An evening of Theatre Trivia at The Understudy
August 3 @ 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Come join us for a night full of theatre trivia and fabulous prizes! Hosted by Patrick Zakem and Ben Kaye Aaaaand we are back with another round of trivia at […]
I Can’t … I Have Trivia: An evening of Theatre Trivia at The Understudy
August 3 @ 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Instrumental Theatre Presents: Chicago Theatre Composers Club
August 11 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
A cabaret featuring short pieces from composers, lyricists and other Chicago musical artists. Hosted by Instrumental Theatre. Instrumental Theatre, in collaboration with The Understudy, is proud to introduce the Chicago […]
Instrumental Theatre Presents: Chicago Theatre Composers Club
August 11 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
The Understudy Dares You To Produce This Play: The House Party
August 17 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Amonthly reading series highlighting plays that have not received a Chicago production The Understudy Dares You to Produce This Play is a monthly reading series highlighting plays that have not […]
The Understudy Dares You To Produce This Play: The House Party
August 17 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
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[post_content] => Come join us for a night full of theatre trivia and fabulous prizes! Hosted by Patrick Zakem and Ben KayeAaaaand we are back with another round of trivia at 7:30 on October 13th with new categories, spoopy drinks and fabulous prizes! 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? Come through✨
We recommend playing with a team of four and if you’re thinking of coming alone — no worries! We’ll find a group for you to join :^)
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[post_content] => A cabaret featuring short pieces from composers, lyricists and other Chicago musical artists. Hosted by Instrumental Theatre.Instrumental Theatre, in collaboration with The Understudy, is proud to introduce the Chicago Theatre Composers Club or CTCC!
This cabaret show will feature short pieces from composers, lyricists, and other musical artists, to shine a spotlight and rock out to their tremendous work. Tickets are $10 or PWYC. You can purchase a PWYC Ticket through the donation page~
Interested in showing new work? Submissions for composers are now open🎶
Line-up to be announced!
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[post_content] => Amonthly reading series highlighting plays that have not received a Chicago productionThe 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 The House Party by Laura Lomas
Julie: Magdalena Dalzell
Christine: Isabella Maria Valdes
Jon: Diego Rivera-Rodriguez
About the Play
A wild party. A friendship. A cherished pet. And a night that changes everything. It's Julie's eighteenth birthday, and she's throwing a party in her father's extravagant townhouse. Her boyfriend has just dumped her and her longsuffering best friend Christine is trying to pick up the pieces. As the revellers pile into the booze, down in the kitchen Christine and her boyfriend Jon – son of Julie's cleaner – clear up and dare to dream of the future. But as the volume goes up and the shots go down, Julie concocts a twisted cocktail of privilege, desire and destruction.
The House Party spins Strindberg's classic play Miss Julie into intense, fizzing life for today's generation. Laura Lomas's play was first performed at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in 2024, and then toured the UK in 2025, co-produced with Headlong in association with Frantic Assembly.
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IN THE NEXT ROOM by Sarah Ruhl
July 27 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
A play reading of In the Next Room (or, The Vibrator Play) by Sarah Ruhl produced by Exit, Pursued by a Play Reading. In the Next Room or the vibrator […]
IN THE NEXT ROOM by Sarah Ruhl
July 27 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Love Detectives
July 24 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Band Practice combines a real live dating show with a real live clown detective show to find out the true nature of this so-called "love". Drat! LOVE has been ripping […]
Love Detectives
July 24 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
FEM/THEM Comedy Open Mic at The Understudy
July 22 @ 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 and Jordan Levene Preeti & Jordan present: A Comedy Open Mic for Women + […]
FEM/THEM Comedy Open Mic at The Understudy
July 22 @ 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
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 her. When ex-dancer Rina shows up at […]
RED BELL by Katherine Swan
July 20 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Leftovers Night with Band Practice
July 17 @ 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
An open stage for clowns, goofs, and funny people who'd like to test out first drafts. Hosted by the iconic clown duo, Band Practice Leftovers Night is a strange and […]
Leftovers Night with Band Practice
July 17 @ 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Kokandy Book Club presents: A Streetcar Named Desire
July 13 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
A musical cabaret inspired by A Streetcar Named Desire produced by your friends at Kokandy Productions! Join The Understudy and Kokandy Productions for the latest installment of our BOOK CLUB […]
Kokandy Book Club presents: A Streetcar Named Desire
July 13 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
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[post_content] => A play reading of In the Next Room (or, The Vibrator Play) by Sarah Ruhl produced by Exit, Pursued by a Play Reading. In the Next Room or the vibrator play is a comedy about marriage, intimacy and electricity.
Set in the 1880s at the dawn of the age of electricity and based on the bizarre historical fact that doctors used vibrators to treat “hysterical” women (and some men), the play centers on a doctor and his wife and how his new therapy affects their entire household.
In a seemingly perfect, well-to-do Victorian home, proper gentleman and scientist Dr. Givings has innocently invented an extraordinary new device for treating “hysteria” in women (and occasionally men): the vibrator. Adjacent to the doctor’s laboratory, his young and energetic wife tries to tend to their newborn daughter – and wonders exactly what is going on in the next room. When a new “hysterical” patient and her husband bring a wet nurse and their own complicated relationship into the doctor’s home, Dr. and Mrs. Givings must examine the nature of their own marriage, and what it truly means to love someone.
** CAST TO BE ANNOUNCED **
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[post_content] => Band Practice combines a real live dating show with a real live clown detective show to find out the true nature of this so-called "love".Drat! LOVE has been ripping up the streets leaving people wounded, broken, confused, and perhaps with a bad haircut and useless evidence of its nefarious behavior. You are invited to join the investigation to find love and catch it once and for all. Band Practice combines a real live dating show with a real live clown detective show to find out the true nature of this mysterious mastermind. Highly interactive and slightly chaotic, leave the apps at home and expect to meet new eligibles as we collect clues, hear eyewitness accounts, go undercover, and hopefully set some traps to catch the damn thing. With a villain this cunning at large, no one should search for it alone! This show is welcome to anyone looking for love, OR anyone interested in questioning its true nature. This is a two hour show with an intermission included.
Meet Band Practice
A theatre making duo made of Ash Willison and Lisa Ullrich. We create shows, characters, and theatrical happenings exploring and stretching the live experience of performance.
Strange, cheeky, and wonderfully modern, we use elements of clown, physical theatre, improv, and music to interact with the audience through all the ways you love: tech conferences, bardic serenades, exorcisms, musical theatre showcases – to name a few.
quest to the Midwest tour
leftovers 17.07.26 the understudy // Chicago
love detectives 24.07.2026 the understudy // Chicago
DON'T BE SCARED 26+29 the Newport theatre // Chicago
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[post_content] => If you identify as funny and not-a-dude-onstage, this is your night diva! Hosted by Preeti Thaker and Jordan LevenePreeti & 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 at 9 PM because of boundaries
SET DETAILS
• 4 minutes of pure lightning
• 5 minutes if you buy a drink — please support and tip our bartenders ♥️
CAN MEN ATTEND?
Of course!
Men can sit, watch, hydrate, clap, and support women (a skill we’d love to see more of)
We kindly ask that you practice not-mansplaining
If you feel a mansplanation rising in your throat, please swallow it
ANYTHING ELSE?
Bring the vibes baby! This is our first time doing a comedy open mic and we’d love to make it a tradition. Come through!
xx
Preeti & Jordan
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[post_content] => 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 her.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
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[post_content] => An open stage for clowns, goofs, and funny people who'd like to test out first drafts. Hosted by the iconic clown duo, Band PracticeLeftovers Night is a strange and delicious feast of alternative comedy acts that are in the making, need experimenting, or somehow didn't quite make it to the main event just yet. Berlin based idiot duo Band Practice is teaming up with Chicago's Pocket Theatre to host this celebration of comedy anarchy. This evening originated back in Berlin and has been running since 2021 as a space for nourishing the genre-less comedy art scene in the fallout of COVID times. We are happy to get our first tour across the Atlantic started connecting with old friends, new artists, and a good old evening of hilarity. This is a mutual aid show, proceeds will go to assisting local charities (tba).
Want up to 5 minutes of stage time? Reach out to bandpracticeduo.com or on socials @bandpracticeduo to snag a slot.
Tickets are $10 or $15.
Meet Band Practice
A theatre making duo made of Ash Willison and Lisa Ullrich. We create shows, characters, and theatrical happenings exploring and stretching the live experience of performance.
Strange, cheeky, and wonderfully modern, we use elements of clown, physical theatre, improv, and music to interact with the audience through all the ways you love: tech conferences, bardic serenades, exorcisms, musical theatre showcases - to name a few.
quest to the Midwest tour
leftovers 17.07.26 the understudy // Chicago
love detectives 24.07.2026 the understudy // Chicago
don't be scared 26+29 the Newport theatre // Chicago
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[post_content] => A musical cabaret inspired by A Streetcar Named Desire produced by your friends at Kokandy Productions!Join The Understudy and Kokandy Productions for the latest installment of our BOOK CLUB series!
Summer is here—the air thick with music, perfume and sweltering heat. It's Tennessee Williams weather! Book Club is back, storming into town like a long lost sister you thought you'd never see. We're tickled to tackle A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, Williams' masterful, Pulitzer Prize-winning tale of Blanche, Stella, Stanley and all their New Orleans friends. Inspired by what is widely considered to be one of the best plays of the 20th century, we'll use music celebrate sisterhood, southern hospitality and standing in the middle of the street to scream your lover's name. It'll have you hollering "Book Club! Boooook Club!!!"
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