The Lightbulb Factory

Our creative branch, microChicago, is opening submissions for 1, 2 and 3pg plays for their upcoming paper festival "Swing States", to be rolled out prior to the 2024 Presidential General Election.

With the impending Presidential Election looming around the corner, we want to invite playwrights to explore the small moments that everyday Americans from the various swing states could be navigating on the most consequential Election Day in American history.
The digital “paper” festival will begin mid-October with a potential live reading roughly the weekend before the Election. 
microFest 2 brings back our flagship “paper” festival, and for the first time, under the microChicago banner! 

Deadline: Thursday, October 4th.

We're stoked without measure to be back with another LIGHTS UP! Q&A, this time with playwright, producer, et al. Hannah Blau as she talks about her world premiere play "Problem Play".

Learn more about Hannah Blau and her interests in devising adaptions from classical works, the work of self producing, and how you can support an original Chicago storefront production!

And catch "Problem Play" thru September, playing at Color Club! Links to donate and tickets are in the bio!

If you do have time the next few weeks, make it a point to go see “Problem Play” written by my friend Hannah Blau and directed by my friend Rashaad A. Bond over at Color Club before September’s out.

Writing, producing and sharing your work is one of the most remarkable, vulnerably beautiful, and difficult things a person can do. I’ve been fortunate to get to see Hannah and Rashaad among countless others, rise to meet these insurmountable odds and consistently inspire me and others in their ability to create truthful and meaningful, affective stories.
And it is a time to be a part of the Chicago theatre scene, with so much coming in the way of our storefront renaissance; so choose to be an active participant in it, and this seems to me a perfect way to support those people out there, helping(either consciously or unconsciously) to re-lay the foundations of this
Chicago theatre.

So go see “PROBLEM PLAY” at Color Club in the next few weeks, and give some good vibes to the folks out there asking the questions, living the moments and telling the stories.

TICKETS:
Problem Play by Hannah Blau Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite

Our latest Lights Up! Q&A with our friends at A Short Leap Theatre Company.

Meet founding co-artistic directors Josh Leeper and Nathan Dale Short, as they share a little about how they met, how and why they started A Short Leap and the excitement that comes with beginning a new Chicago theatre company, along with what took be looking out for in the coming Season!

To learn more about A Short Leap, leap on over to and follow their IG or email them at: [email protected], and stay tuned for more information on their forthcoming Study Sesh Season 3 and the beginning of the road to their company premiere of “CLEARING” by Beth Hyland, opening March 2025 at the Portage Arts Lofts, 4041 N Milwaukee Ave. 

Thanks again to and for letting us throw a few questions their way!

So many thank you's to Yippiefest and everyone who popped over to see our 2-play r***e "Slants of Light" at The Chopin last Friday and...
To Scott and Lydia for creating some striking and vibrant worlds to play in...
To Rashaad for your care and wonderful direction of "Coconut Tree"...
To the casts of "Naked and Afraid" and "Cocnut Tree" for being open to the process and being fearless in it!

The lights come down for now, and we'll see you when they come back up!💡

Lights Up! Q&A - Yippiefest 2024, with playwrights Scott Carter Cooper and Lydia Moss!

Join The Lightbulb Factory and the participating shows of Yippiefest 2024, at 7:00pm(LF goes up at 7:45p) this Friday, August 23rd, following our friends , at The Chopin Theatre(Division Blue Line). 
And before then, here's a Yippie-quick Q&A with the minds behind the two pieces making up our r***e, “Slants of Light”, Scott Carter Cooper(Naked and Afraid) and Lydia Moss(Coconut Tree)!
Scott Carter Cooper  is a Chicago-based playwright whose work is tailored to small professional companies with diverse ensembles looking for economical plays to produce. His short-form pieces have been successful with several local companies including American Blues, The Artistic Home, Chicago Dramatists, and The Lightbulb Factory as well as nationally and beyond. Cooper holds a BFA – Theatre from Drake University and an MA – Writing from DePaul University.  scottcartercooper.com
–
Lydia Moss  (she/her) is a dramaturg, playwright, 
and actor, who's called Chicago home since 2020. Her recent playwriting credits include two of her short pieces premiering in Chicago: SKIN (Fat Tuesday PlayFest, 2024), and The Outline (Cut to the Chase Play Festival, 2024), and one of her full length plays being 
workshopped at the Understudy: Ocean and Her 
Madness (Freshly Brewed, 2024). She is also a finalist 
for the Amplify New Play Commission at Definition 
Theater for her full-length play, Death of Eve. Her other theater interests include scenic painting, theater administration, Shakespeare education, and Theater for Young Audiences. Her recent performing credits include  Celia in As You Like It (Montana Shakespeare in the Schools, 2023), and The Being in Flatland: A Multi-Dimensional Romance (ImprovPlayhouse, 2024). You can catch her this fall as Jasmine in Within a 
Shadow going up at the Den! She's excited to work with The Lightbulb Factory again and thank you for supporting the show!

AND LASTLY, ALL proceeds from Yippiefest will go to supporting Howard Brown Health, Deborah’s Place and Northwestern Food Pantry! 
We hope to see you there!

Our next Lights Up! Q&A: 420 Shakespeare!

Jay Krien shares a little about 420 Shakes and it's upcoming performance opening Yippiefest 2024 at The Chopin Theatre next Friday, August 23rd, 7pm festival start time!

All donations go to participating charities!

We’re back with another Lights Up! Q&A!

We’re excited to share ensemble member Jordan Large’s upcoming run of their original full length play “VIVI MORTES MOTEL”, running at Green Shirt Studio the next few weekends, opening August 9th!

Visit their IG for ticket and production info as well as the link in our bio!

Announcing the body of work that will be Announcing the body of work making up our “Slants of Light” …

“Coconut Tree” 
by Lydia Moss

and

“Naked and Afraid” 
by Scott Carter Cooper

Playing Yippiefest 2024, 7:45pm on Friday, August 23 at The Chopin Theatre
in collaboration with Yippiefest and participating charities!

Excited to share our creative branch, microChicago’s upcoming paper festival, RED LINE, dedicated to all 33 stops on the Howard→95th/Dan Ryan ‘L’ Line. 

Who: microChicago
What: Red Line Series, part of The ‘L’ Cycle
When: End of July-August 2024
Where: Paper festival through microChicago’s IG, and shared to The Lightbulb Factory IG and page. Potential live reading at end of paper festival, and digital publication on forthcoming New Play Exchange page. 

Join us for Red Line, premiering in the next few days!

We're a-glow to share our branch project's special announcement: microChicago’s: The ‘L’ Cycle.

"The ‘L’ Cycle will be a complete collection of micro-theatre and art dedicated to each of the 145 stops that comprise all eight of the lines on the Chicago ‘L’ track system. Beginning in July 2024 with the rollout of our “Red Line” series, we will curate and produce a quarterly paper festival for each Line, with the hope to culminate each series into a final read through of the collection, which we hope to include in a digital collection to be available on our forthcoming New Play Exchange page. 

With that, we’d also love to share the rollout breakdown for our first series of the cycle!
“Red Line” will be a collection of microplays and other microtheatre, to be rolled out in three tracks, southbound from Howard to 95th/Dan Ryan…
Track 1: Howard → North/Clybourn(with moratorium between Berwyn and Argyle)
Track 2: Clark/Division → Roosevelt
Track 3: Cermak-Chinatown → 95th/Dan Ryan
Stay tuned in the coming days as we announce our playwrights for Track 1 of the Red Line!
We couldn’t be more excited(and a little anxious, tbh) to share this with our growing community, and to hopefully bring you all along as we continue to explore the infinite space of small! 

*microChicago is a branch of The Lightbulb Factory, formerly a co-collaboration with Production Productions."

Hey friends!

Just throwing out some info in case any of you all happen to know folks who would vibe with this really cool project! Here are the details!

DESIGNER LISTINGS FOR:
Problem Play
Written by Hannah Blau and Directed by Rashaad A. Bond
Stipends: $400
--
PROP DESIGNER:
Problem Play is seeking a props designer to source and create props for a 9-show run at The Color Club. Materials budget will be provided.
--AND--
LIGHTING:
Problem Play is seeking a lighting designer to design, hang, and serve as board operator for a 9-show run at The Color Club. Limited instruments are available.
--AND--
STAGE MANAGER to assist director and production, may include board operation.
Problem Play expands, challenges, and redefines the movement by asking its characters tough questions about consent and forgiveness, all through the lens of one of Shakespeare’s most complex plays. Set in a high school in Alabama, a group of students rehearse their school production of Measure for Measure as they try to learn about s*x, adulthood, and doing the right thing.
CW: This play deals with issues of s*xual assault, abortion, and arrest.
Tech:
September 9th & 10th
5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Performances:
September 11th - 27th at The Color Club
Wednesday - Friday 7:30 pm
--
PLEASE EMAIL: [email protected]
attn: Hannah Blau..
Thanks ahead for any shares you're able to do!

One week ago we went second to the right and straight on til morning.

Both grateful for the rest of this process, but missing making magic with some of our favorite people and theatrecrafters!

Stay tuned for more info on all the moving pieces! We got some staffing shifts, a slot at Yippiefest, and some other playful ideas in the wings!

See you soon, and until then, light the sky on fire!💡

The Declaration of Indpendence(Jefferson): a VERY Cold Reading

www.instagram.com

A Thank You from The Lightbulb Factory!

Like all great things that come to pass, this was, for a simple piece of theatre, both challenging, cathartic, stressful and nourishing. Over the past four weeks, we’ve gotten to see 12 completely different first meetings, from a cast of 9 different Peters and Wendys, directed by two Lightbulb Factory faves.
Unending thanks to The Labyrinth Club, and to Diane and Ramona, for being such a wonderful home and hosts; to Stefan, Caleb and Beau, to Charlotte and to Prop Thtr and Curious Theatre Branch for the opportunity to get to play in this world a little a bit again as a part of their 2024 Rhinoceros Festival. And to all our donors who contributed to our GoFundMe campaign(packets went out in the mail this Thursday!)!
This play would not have played the way it would have without Eliza and Moni’s collaborative vision, or without our ensemble of Peters and Wendys: Charlotte Harris, Zachary Osterman, Nate Vangine, Zoe Deprez, Ariana Lopez, Carolyn Waldee, Julia-Kaye Rohlf, Dakota Pariset and Jordan Large.
And to everyone who came out to see us, thanks for stopping by, for being so receptive to this experiment of ours! We’ll be seeing you again, real soon!

A few snaps from last weekend’s penultimate WPW!

Join our stellar closing night cast for an especiall exciting alternate ending tonight as we send this project off to Neverland!💫💡

Prelude - Epilogue: Wendy & Peter, before “When Peter Met Wendy”, a 2024 Rhinofest production.

Happy opening to the ast and creative team of our Rhinofest premiere of "When Peter Met Wendy".

It's a wonderfully strange and beautiful thing to see something that you have taken from deep inside of you and to see life breathed into it by some of the most talented, wonderful and passionate humans, whom I luckily get to call my friends, and to be able to do it as a return trip to Rhinofest with the stellar folks at Curious Theatre; it really gives on a chance to pause and take a step back to see the scene and really just let it be what it is, a gift.

I truly truly hope that you can join us for tonight's opening performance at The Labyrinth (3658 N Pulaski), or for any of our following Friday night performances, just catch us at 8pm! These people are making magic, and it's a special thing.

With that, we welcome the last of our Actor Profiles, with:

ARIANA LOPEZ

Come see their brave performance in “When Peter Met Wendy”, with an alternate ending(!), on June 28th, 8pm at The Labyrinth Club as a part of Curious Theatre Branch’s 2024 Rhinofest!

Our penultimate set of Artist Profiles, featuring…

Jordan Large(Wendy)
Dakota Pariset(Peter)
Nate Vangine(Peter)

Come see the vulnerable, raw performances in “When Peter Met Wendy” playing June 7, 14, 21 and 28, 8pm at The Labyrinth Club as a part of Curious Theatre Branch’s 2024 Rhinofest!

Prelude No. 3: Peter & Bella, before “When Peter Met Wendy”, a 2024 Rhinofest production.

And welcoming our next set of Artist Profiles, featuring…

Zoë Deprez(Wendy)
Zach Osterman(Peter)

Come see the blazing performances in “When Peter Met Wendy” playing June 7, 14, 21 and 28, 8pm at The Labyrinth Club as a part of Curious Theatre Branch’s 2024 Rhinofest!

Introducing out first set or Artist Profiles, featuring...

Carolyn Waldee(Wendy)
Charlotte Harris(Peter)
and
ensemble member Julia-Kaye Rohlf(Wendy)!

Come see their stellar performances in "When Peter Met Wendy" playing June 7, 14, 21 and 28, 8pm at The Labyrinth Club as a part if Curious Theatre Branch's 2024 Rhinofest!