Say Gay Plays playbill

Say Gay Plays playbill

From About Face Theatre’s Artistic Director

Welcome to Say Gay Plays!

Thank you for coming out to support this special project. We’re thrilled to share the Midwest Premiere of Say Gay Plays, expanding the reach of Voyage Theatre’s original vision.

Today’s program includes the premiere reading of four new plays from Chicago-based playwrights on the theme of Queer Joy & Activism plus two additional plays drawn from the Say Gay Plays canon. The writers have created these new short works that will join the Say Gay Plays growing collection and be available royalty-free for use around the country to raise funds and greater awareness of LGBTQ+ issues and community needs.

An idea this big takes strong partnership and the kind of flourishing collaboration that our Chicago theatre community does so well. This marks the third time that About Face and Silk Road Cultural Center have collaborated, a tradition we’re proud to continue today and into the future. Silk Road Cultural Center introduced us to their partners at NEIU and the resulting opportunity to produce this staged reading at the historic Carruthers Center has been a true gift. We’re proud to build on the powerful legacy of this place. The Goodman Theatre included us in their 100 Free Acts of Theatre initiative to expand our reach. On top of all of that, the talent and enthusiasm of the writers, directors, stage management, and ensemble of actors have demonstrated solidarity and care every step of the way.

Enjoy today and thanks for being with us to launch these bold voices into the world. Let’s stay loud and proud and look out for each other.

With gratitude,

Megan Carney
About Face Theatre Artistic Director

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Say Gay Plays Credits

Production Team

Cast

Jyreika Guest
Brandi Jiminez Lee
Alec Phan
Cary Shoda
Drew Slager
Larry Trice

Playwrights

Run of Show

question (ˈkwɛs.tʃən) vb., the imperative form

by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen
Directed by Denise Yvette Serna

Couch Surfing

by Emilio Williams
Directed by Denise Yvette Serna

Say What?!?

by Lani T. Montreal
Directed by Chip Payos

our own f*cking play

by Esho Rasho
Directed by Chip Payos

Trust Faith and Confidence

by Brian Quirk
Directed by Chip Payos

#SisterNeighbors Rainbow Mission

by Hannah li-Epstein
Directed by Denise Yvette Serna

Artist Bios

Playwrights

Mashuq Mushtaq Deen

Playwright (question (ˈkwɛs.tʃən) vb., the imperative form)

Mashuq Mushtaq Deen is an award winning Brooklyn based playwright. A CORE writer at the Playwrights Center, and winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Draw the Circle, Deen has had his plays produced by PlayMakers Rep, Mosaic Theatre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Kansas City Rep, Keen Company, as well as others. Deen’s work has been supported by a number of institutions, some include: the Siena Art Institute, Sundance Theatre Institute & the Ucross Fundation, Blue Mountain Center, The Public Theater, NYTW, New York Foundation for the Arts, InterAct Theatre, Page73, Ma-Yi, as well as numerous others. They have also been supported by a number of festivals and universities and have received grants from places like the New York Foundation for the Arts,the Bronx Cultural Council, and TCG. He is a member of the NYTW Usual Suspects and the Dramatists Guild. He is an alum of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, the Public Theater Writers Group, and New Dramatists. He earned his MFA from the Actors Studio Drama School/New School for Drama

Hannah Ii-Epstein (she/her)

Playwright (#SisterNeighbors Rainbow Mission)

Hannah Ii-Epstein is a Native Hawaiian creative writer and award-winning dramatist born and raised on the North Shore of ʻOahu. She holds an MFA from Northwestern University and is Artistic Director of Nothing Without a Company and a founding member of BearCat Productions. A resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists and 50th season writer at Kumu Kahua Theatre, Hannah also serves on the board of Aloha Center Chicago and is a member of the Ke Aliʻi Victoria Kaʻiulani Hawaiian Civic Club and Tree Moss Hawaiʻi. She works as a freelance dramaturge and cultural specialist supporting Native Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-based works. Hannah co-curated Chicago’s Legacy Hula exhibit at The Field Museum (closing Oct. 2025) and was a panelist/playwright at the inaugural APIDA Arts Festival in Chicago. She is currently a cohort member of the Native Hawaiian Storytelling Program, created by Native Hawaiian Philanthropy, Kū-A-Kanaka LLC, EA Ecoversity, and Michael Andres Palmieri.

Lani Montreal

Playwright (Say What?!?)

Lani T. Montreal writes to create her home in the diaspora. She is a queer feminist Filipina writer, performer, educator, and community activist based in Chicago. Lani has worked as a playwright and resident artist with CIRCA-Pintig, Chicago Danztheatre, and Free Street Theatre. Her play Panther in the Sky, which premiered at Chicago Danztheatre in May 2024, was described by Buzz Stage Theater’s Wesley David as “a play that challenges us to confront the harsh realities of gun violence while inspiring us to act and make a difference in the world.” Her solo show Anak ni Tapia: Leaving Mother about living in the shadow of her celebrity mother in the Philippines premiered in June 2024 as part of Links Hall’s New Works Festival. It was also featured at Artemisia Theatre’s #WeWomen Festival in November 2024. Lani has since taken the show to Milan, Los Angeles, Toronto, and this August, it will be in San Francisco as part of Playground’s Free Play Festival. Montreal is a 2-time 3Arts Residency Awardee (2009 and 2016), 2017 alumna of the VONA Writers of Color Workshop, and 2024 Links Hall Co-MISSION Artist Fellow. She was also a semi-finalist for the Dramatist Guild 2023 Fellowship, and voted 1st runner up for Best Playwright in Chicago Reader’s 2024 Best of Chicago.

Brian Quirk

Playwright (Trust Faith and Confidence)

Quirk’s plays include MARROW, text from which was part of (IM)PULAE; Spectrum Dance, produced in Association with Seattle Repertory Theater and directed by Donald Byrd; WARREN (or) Those People, produced at Boise Contemporary Theater and nominated for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize; MAPPLETHORPE/The Opening, produced at The Provincetown Playhouse, San Francisco’s New Conservatory Theater Center, San Diego’s Sixth@Penn, and The Bahama’s Popop Studios, directed by John Stix. Developmental work and readings include: Playpenn, Seven Devils, Primary Stages, The Atlantic Theater Company, Ensemble Studio Theater, Hudson Stage, The Actors Studio, Thingamajig Playwrights Festival, The Caldwell Theater, Dixon Place, id theater, The Axial Theater, and Emerging Artists. Quirk is Weissberger nominated and the recipient of The Robert Chelsey award given to an emerging gay/lesbian playwright, the Erik A Takulan memorial endowed fellowship from Djerassi Resident Artists Program, a Leon Levy Foundation Grant, a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Grant both from the MacDowell Colony, an Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation Grant and The Jane Geuting Camp Fellowship from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. A three time MacDowell Colony Fellow, with residencies at The Ucross Foundation and The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation. Quirk received his BFA from New York University and is proud member of id theater’s “id-IOTS at play” writing group. He is also a Dramatist Guild member, and an alum of the Actors Studio Playwright/Directors Unit and Project Y Playwrights group.

Esho Rasho

Playwright (our own f*cking play)

Esho is a first-generation Assyrian-American actor & writer who graduated with a BFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. His solo play, Dummy in Diaspora, which he wrote and performed, made its UK Premiere at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, earning 4 stars from The Scotsman, Broadway Baby, ThreeWeeks, and Culture Fix. The show then made its U.S. Premiere at Jackalope Theatre Company in Chicago. Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune gave the U.S. premiere 3 (out of 4) stars, praising it as “authentic work about the complexities about identity”. Esho was also featured in Playbill and The Chicago Reader for this work.

Emilio Williams

Playwright (Couch-Surfing)

Emilio Williams is a bilingual Spanish/English, award-winning non-fiction writer, playwright, translator, and educator. His writing and scholarship explore experimental dialogues with literary traditions. ¡Bernarda!, Emilio’s latest play, is a bilingual trans-adaption of Federico García Lorca’s classic tragedy. It was co-presented by Teatro Vista and Steppenwolf 1700 in 2023 and produced by Teatro Audaz in 2024. His other plays have been produced in Argentina, Estonia, France, Ireland, México, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Washington DC. He teaches at The Theater School of DePaul University and the Department of English at Dominican University in Chicago. Emilio holds a BA in Film and Video and an MFA in Writing. He is a proud board member of The Physical Theater Festival in Chicago.

Directors

Chip Payos

Director (our own f*cking play, Say What?!?, and Trust Faith and Confidence)

Chip Payos is excited to be a part of this significant event, the Say Gay Plays. He has been a long time fan of About Face Theatre, their work, passion and mission. Chip has been seen at the Drury Lane Oakbrook, Paramount Aurora, Porchlight, Notre Dame University, Theatre at the Center, Circa-Pintig and has been a company member of the Joel Hall Dancers for many seasons. After his chorus boy days, he continues to pursue his passion in acting. He recently completed the Stella Adler Art of Acting School’s Film and TV Intensive summer program 2025 in LA. He is a licensed physical therapist in Illinois with doctorate degree in PT (DPT). He dedicates this project to all LGBTQ people especially the forgotten and the marginalized. Special thanks to Gordon Chow & Jamil Khoury for trusting him with this endeavor. And to his supportive partner Gordon H & son JLu, the core, much love.

Denise Yvetter Serna (she/ella)

Director (#SisterNeighbors, Couch-Surfing, and question (ˈkwɛs.tʃən) vb., the imperative form)

Denise Yvette Serna is an award-winning theatre practitioner living in Chicago, Illinois. Directing credits include productions with Teatro Vista Productions, Lyric Opera of Chicago, MCA Chicago, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Neo-Futurists, Strawdog Theatre Company, The Latinx Theatre Commons, Curious Theatre Company and Pemberley Productions. deniseyvetteserna.com

Anti-racism Statement

About Face Theatre is dedicated to being an intentionally and increasingly anti-racist organization. Due to the intersectionality of our identities, we understand our work to advance LGBTQ+ equity as directly connected to movements for racial justice.

Learn more about About Face & our history

Meet the About Face staffMeet the About Face board

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