Looking Ahead to 2023 at AFT
Winter is a time for rest, dreaming, and allowing new hopes to emerge. As a company dedicated to bringing new plays to life, these darker months are an essential and fertile time for reflection, exploration, and planning and you’re invited to join us.
We already have an exciting slate lined up for the rest of our 2022-2023 season. Explore what’s coming up below.
Beginning in February, About Face Youth Theatre will be gathering for a series of public workshops exploring new plays and new models of play production. Each session will feature a new play and invite conversation around key questions it raises. We’ll also have some food and time to catch up with each other.
All workshops will be free and open to the public. The play titles, lead artists, and location details will be announced in January with an opportunity to reserve your spot.
Co-Created by Will Wilhelm and Erin Murray
Performed by Will Wilhelm, Directed by Erin Murray
In this one-person show, actor Will Wilhelm will conjure the spirit of playwright William Shakespeare to examine the Bard’s works through their own queer perspective and life experiences. Together, Will & Will propose a new reason to keep these old stories alive: not as a relic of what our society has been, but as a testament to seeing ourselves reflected in history. Gender Play, or what you Will will invite guests to share a mystical evening of laughter, poetry, and tarot that coalesces into a celebration of queer joy.
After residencies with About Face, Northwestern University, and Wofford College in South Carolina, Gender Play will make it’s world premiere debut with a full production in May.
Written by Mercy Bell and AFT Artistic Associate Scott Bradley
Based on the book Leatherman: the Legend of Chuck Renslow
by Tracy Baim and Owen Keehnen
Produced by About Face Theatre and Jonny Stax
Leather Daddies: The Musical explores the true story of a pioneering queer community/family created in 1950s Chicago. This energetic new music parallels the rise of the gay leather scene with the rise of rock and roll in the late 50s and early 60s, following the lives of Chuck Renslow, Domingo “Dom” Orejudos, and Sam Steward as they defied the status quo of the time and built their own community.
Conceived and built through residencies in Chicago at About Face and the Leather Archive & Museum, as well a song-writing residency in Nashville, the creative team will present a public workshop performance featuring original songs from the upcoming full stage musical. More details coming soon.
All of these amazing upcoming programs are thanks to people like you who donate to About Face Theatre. Will you help us meet our $35,000 end-of-year fundraising goal to bring these project to life in the new year?