The RefrAction Lab Showcase 2022 is a view inside five brand new plays by a selected cohort of thrilling Chicago-based playwrights. Each play was created as part of Refracted Theatre Company's eight month new work lab and was generated by looking at a divisive issue through the lens of a question. From there, these five playwrights worked to refract those complicated issues through creative, daring playwriting.

The showcase will take place on December 4th and 11th, 2022 at 7 pm at iO Theater –The Weed Cabaret (2nd floor), 1501 N. Kingsbury St. in Chicago.

Tickets ($10 general admission).

The RefrAction Lab Showcase line-up: Sunday, December 4th at 7 pm

Grown by Alica Daine Benning

Rust by Amy Crider

Swallow by Ryan Oliveira

Running time: two hours including Refracted Reflections; a talkback with dramaturg Kenya A. Hall and the playwrights.

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The RefrAction Lab Showcase line-up: Sunday, December 11th at 7 pm

The Quarrel Floor by Adonis Holmes

Akna, At The End by maiya a. corral

Running time: 90-minutes run time including Refracted Reflections; a talkback with dramaturg Kenya A. Hall and the playwrights.

Each playwright will present an excerpt of their work, followed by a chance for the audience to engage with the playwright to share reactions. Refracted is inviting the audience to see inside the playmaking process, as these writers experiment with a specific point of entry as the writer. Come for the theatre, stay for the discourse!

RefrAction Lab is a playwriting lab for emerging Chicago playwrights interested in developing plays by way of a specific point of entry as the writer. We’re asking: how can a playwright turn a question into the action of a play? 

Playwrights will generate questions that look at divisive social, political, historical and interpersonal issues from multiple sides. Over the course of eight months of bi-monthly meetings with a cohort of fellow playwrights and the Refracted artistic team, playwrights will:

• curate these questions 

• research the “two sides” of the story, identifying prevailing biases on all sides of the issue

• use this research to create characters and plot

• generate and workshop pages of their script 

• and ultimately, present their work at a RefrAction Lab showcase

The goal of this program is to support playwrights in creating a strong first draft of a full-length play (with the option of that being a one-act play) generated from scratch by the final RefrAction Lab meeting in February 2023. 

Each playwright will be supported with:

• A $400 playwright stipend 

• Monthly and bi-monthly playwright cohort meetings 

• The ongoing support and guidance of Refracted’s artistic team

• 15 hours of rehearsal over two weeks to workshop a 30 minute section, including actors and a director chosen by the playwright (all collaborators will be paid with a small stipend)

• A RefrAction Showcase of a 30 minute section of their developed play for an audience in December 2022

• An optional final meeting in February 2023 to review final drafts or any rewrites based on any showcase feedback

• The opportunity to have developed work considered for a proper commission by Refracted’s artistic leadership for a full production in a future Refracted season

Applications are now closed

Please check back for updates on cycle 2023.

Kenya ann hall, Dramaturg

Kenya Ann Hall is an actress, writer, director and dramaturg based in Chicago, raised in Oakland, CA. Her writing has been featured at Mudlark Theater Company, Victory Gardens as part of the Each & Her Performance showcase, the inaugural Ain’t I a Woman Festival, the 2015 Northwestern Senior Writing Showcase, and received honorable mention for the Dr. Floyd Gaffney Playwriting Award. Her dramaturgy credits include Kill Move Paradise (asst./Timeline Theatre), Saint Joan (Poetic Forum Collective), The Good Fight and The Lady Demands Satisfaction (Babes with Blades). She is an artistic associate at Prop Thtr and a graduate of Northwestern University and is represented by BMG Talent.

If you have any questions about your application or about Refracted, feel to reach out to admin@refractedco.com with the subject line “RefrAction Question.” We look forward to the possibility of creating with you!