Chicago Dramatists

I love moms. I love 90’s nostalgia. And I love live theater. So when a friend wanted us to schlep to see The MOMS: Fannypackin’ Heat I said «okeydokey artichokey!»
The play was winsome and cute. Moments where a plot point, costume, and quip resonated with the audience were rampant. Lots of head nods and chuckles as we recognized a bit of out parents or ourselves.
The theater is intimate. Or a mom would say… cozy and comfy. The actors come out after and chat with the audience so you feel like family, it’s a great touch. And they sell beer, wine, sodie pops, and snacky snax lots of hospitality.(no doggies allowed in the house)
Put on your mom jeans, ugly sweaters or pleated dockers and see this show which runs until ¹²⁄₂₉ or any of the other programs! Feel the love.

I’ve seen two plays at Chicago Dramatists in recent months: «BLIZZARD ’67» (a dramatic storytelling about the infamous snowstorm of that year) and «I AM GOING TO CHANGE THE WORLD» (a young man who dreams of working for Goldman Sachs ends up oversleeping the day of his interview and his life takes a sad turn).
I thoroughly enjoyed «Blizzard» but I’m kind of on the fence about «IAGTCTW.» What I do love about Chicago Dramatists is that in both plays, the City plays a central role in the storytelling. In fact, in «Blizzard» it may as well have been the fifth character.
It’s also worth noting that Chicago Dramatists features new, original plays, by largely undiscovered playwrights. Uncharted territory, if you will.
It’s an intimate venue, but still very much provides a true theater experience. The lobby waiting area is elegant and it has a bar, and the staff is engaging and polite.
I fully support the live theater community in Chicago. We have so much talent in our town and little theaters like this highlight the fertile creative ground that regularly draws reviewers from New York to our vital theater scene.
After all, the play’s the thing.

My friend lives roughly two blocks from this theater and I have been wanting to see a play here, since the summer.
Well, finally the time arrived and my friend and I saw Blizzard ’67. The space is intimate and the seats remind me of an «old school» movie theater. Does that matter?!? Not a bit. Especially, if all the performances are as entertaining as Blizzard ’67. The story was intriguing and the dialogue was witty. Also, the characterization was spot-​on.
Other perks of the theater? Besides a few tasty snacks and beverages offered, there are a few cocktail and wine choices as well.
As we were leaving, the actors came out and talked to the theater goers. The snack man/​bartender said, «bye,» too. It was nice to be acknowledged on the way out.
What another great theater in the Windy City!

Went to a Saturday staged-​reading session & was delighted! The staff was down to earth & the venue intimate. We stayed for the discussion after. Our fellow audience members were respectful to other’s opinions even when they disagreed. Can’t wait to see a full production here!
Parking is a pretty challenging in the area, so plan to get there in plenty of time for the great spot-​hunt!

Really cool venue with what seems like a great story or stories behind it. We had a great time at «Lucindas Bed.» The last play I went to was Little Shop of Horrors several years ago. I forgot how much fun plays are. Looking forward to Everything Freezes! Really had an enjoyable night and we will be back very soon!

While all the cool kids and their plus ones were enjoying themselves at Mars Gallery for the Unilocal night. I and my band of rejects (Ralphy pants & Jackfruit Jassira) decided to hit up a free play (preview show) at the Sideshow Theatre. Adding another storefront theatre to my list is never a problem in my book and free how can you pass it up.
Being a fairly new theatre house (2007) I think that they will do well for themselves. It’s your basic small stage and maybe 40+ seats, but at least they have a fairly large waiting area. My biggest problem were the seats, whoever said that they were comfortable was lying!!! We all were twisting and turning to the point our chairs were squeaking louder then the actor’s voices. At least the theatre was clean.
As for the play «Everything Freezes Another Winter’s Tale», an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale, it was a complex in the telling of multiple stories within one big story but not so in-​depth that you can’t follow or understand the big picture. It’s marked as a comedy as the original but I really feel that it is everything except. Like Shakespeare’s play it had intense psychological drama playing more on expressions then words, running in circles, a little supernatural occurrence, and then ends with love. Don’t get me wrong you laugh at a line or two, plus Jackfuit and I saw a little plumbers crack and couldn’t stop laughing like children. I understand that we went preview showing but the actors were deep in character and gave a FANTASTIC performance. My only quarrel is that the play ran way too long, the first half could be cut up dramatically but the second half was very moving. But I am sure that they have worked out all of the bugs.
I would recommend seeing it before it leaves in April

This is a nice, intimate theatre. I went the see «How I Became an Interesting Person» recently which was a great play and very well done. The employees at the theatre are nice and generally helpfully. The streets in the area are a little confusing but a plus about this theatre is that they have a free parking lot about ½ a block away. The only big (yet minor) issue I have with the place is the coffee in the lobby is not the greatest.
I’ll definitely be back for another production. It’s a nice theatre for a night out.

We love our friends over at the Chicago Dramatists!

There’s not a lot of places you can go in Chicago if you’re interested in taking playwriting classes without getting into a program at one of the universities. Believe me, I’ve looked. Luckily, there’s Chicago Dramatists. I’ve taken the playwriting fundamentals course twice now, with two different instructors, and it’s absolutely worth the money. They give their instructors a lot of freedom to teach how they want to teach, and so you get a different experience each time you take a class. And it will be a good experience, since the instructors are working playwrights who also teach at local universities, and have had their plays produced.
In the Fundamentals course, which is an introductory level class, you’ll find students with a range of talent. Some are actually pretty good, some are beginners. If you’re a beginner, don’t be nervous. The environment is very supportive. Taking a class is a great way to develop your «tools», and a good framework to get you to just sit down and write.
For a unique theater experience, they offer a Saturday afternoon series, where playwrights workshop a play in progress. It’s fun to see a staged reading and give your feedback, and it’s a cheap (like $ 5) way to have a fun Saturday afternoon.
Now I’ve got to quit writing Unilocal reviews, so I can go back to working on my play. It’s good. I’m going to win a Pulitzer.

i’ll make a full disclosure here: my father’s the President of the Board of Directors at Chicago Dramatists, and is actively involved in their workshops as an aspiring playwrite. that being said, i’m not recommending you read HIS plays (ugh). i’m also placing this review in a bit of context: i’m a 28 year old single guy who spends far more time in bars than in theaters, and my dad usually has to drag me to the few shows he can convince me to join him at… a number of which have been painfully boring. he even got me to the opera once, which i haven’t forgiven him for. in short… this is a theater review from a non-​theater guy.
chicago dramatists is (one of) the best kept artistic secrets in chicago.
i say that because they’ve up until recently had a very difficult time cultivating an audience significantly populated with young adults… most of their frequenters have been seeing their shows for 20+ years.
nevertheless, the material they bring to the stage is phenomenal, engaging, and most importantly highly entertaining. their artistic director, russ tuterow, is a genius of selection and consistently finds work that audiences love. i’m sure it helps to have a vibrant commnunity of writers and actors using their workshops and weekend classes to hone their skills!
dollar for dollar it’s some of the best theater in town. that’s the thing… it’s easy to get tickets, cheap, and makes going to see a play far less of a production than it would be at major theaters around town. it’s an indie/​non-​profit kind of experience, with a small theater, friendly staff, and usually the actors will meet you right outside the theater after the performance.
i’ve seen most of their productions (thank you, dad) and then usually try to get friends to come back to the best ones.
‘a steady rain’ was one of the best plays i saw there, and it’s the first play in CD’s history to get commercially produced. you can go see it now at the Royal George Theater.

This is one of the most prestigious, well-​respected theatres in Chicago with the best roster of new and established playwrights in town. All their plays are critically acclaimed and many Jeff award recommended. Their monthly «Instant Theatre» which is an hour of short plays on the same theme is a must-​see and giving Second City a run for their money.

Very low key group of thespians. I’ve lived in Chicago all of my life and hadn’t heard of this place until an unexpected bus ride (due to a train derailment last summer) with one of their regulars. I’m hard up on remembering her name, but that’s me digressing.
I bought a couple tickets for the opening night of «Water,» just to do something different on a Friday night. The tickets were very easily purchased online, and included free parking. If you don’t know the area, free parking is a big plus.
Walking in, I immediately realized that this group is a very tight-​knit group. People were milling about saying hello and striking up conversations like they had know each other since a previous life. That’s particularly good when you walk into the theatre, and realize there’s only room for about forty. (On a side note, the chairs are really, really comfortable.)
The set was almost perfect, in walking that thin line between engineering and art.
The play, I can’t really comment on. I’m not a guy who watches plays, so all I’ll say is I wasn’t bored.
The actors were believable in their roles, though I think after a little time in the roles they’ll be much more. (The intimacy of it all really accentuated the first night foibles.)
But I’ll bring everything back to this one basic fact: this was a great time. The show was enjoyable, not too heavy on the wallet (student discounts available), and this venue makes use of a very under utilized and under appreciated asset of Chicago, it’s thespians.

cheap fringe theatre.
we saw «intelligent design of jenny chow». props to the dramatist for mounting a play where a coupla of white people start spitting out lines of unintelligible Mandarin Chinese with live/​instant translation.
my question remains: why use 2 Korean girls for clearly Chinese roles? were there no China-​woman interested in playing these parts? Or am i totally missing the point?
I’d totally give my $ (for tickets and for donation) to this troupe.