About Face Theatre to Present the Return of Re/Generation Studio

 About Face Theatre will present the return of Re/Generation Studio, a weekend of community building, education, and performance to help build the future of queer theater. Re/Generation Studio will be held March 28-30, 2025, with free events at The Alice at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St and About Face Theatre HQ, 1922 W. Irving Park Rd.
 
All events and workshops are free and open to the public. Re/Generation Studio is recommended for ages 12 and older. Attendees are encouraged to register in advance at aboutfacetheatre.com/regeneration/, or in-person at the events. Early registration is encouraged to help About Face prepare space and food, and some events may reach capacity. See individual event listings below for more details.
 
Re/Generation Studio 2025 is a powerful expression of the About Face mission to advance LGBTQ+ equity through community building, education, and performance. Through a dynamic series of events, attendees can participate in new play development, dreaming and planning sessions, a wellness circle, intentional meetups and discussions, and other opportunities to connect and learn. 

"Re/Generation Studio was born out of vulnerable, passionate, and hopeful exchanges in the Fall of 2021. The pilot year was organized around a series of Saturday afternoon play readings. One of those plays, Lavender Men, was so well received we decided to move it forward into full production in our 22-23 season. The second time around, the Re/Gen schedule was expanded into a festival format adding workshops and intentional community gatherings. One of the devising sessions led to a new model for developing work and that has been a major focus of our current season. Building on this remarkable trajectory, we are thrilled to introduce our third round of Re/Gen Studio with special thanks to our generous colleagues at The Goodman," comments Artistic Director Megan Carney. “At About Face we are dedicated to ongoing evolution for the field and our culture. Re/Generation Studio is one of those bright spots in our theatre ecology.”

About Face first premiered Re/Generation Studio in February 2023. It was envisioned as a space for reconnecting and re-imagining after the social and creative isolation of the pandemic. The first iteration of Re/Generation Studio included five play readings and workshops, featuring a wide variety of playwrights, directors, actors, and audience members. The overwhelmingly positive response to these workshops proved that Chicago’s creative communities are eager for a chance to rebuild community bonds and engage in collective dreaming and creating.
 
The current Re/Generation Studio 2025 schedule follows. Additional events will be announced soon.

New Play Reading Workshop: Phases of the Moon

Written by Bryna Turner
Directed by Keira Fromm
Friday, March 28 at 6:00pm
The Alice at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn Street
Before she mastered the art of losing, the poet Elizabeth Bishop was a socialist vegetarian in a peacoat at Vassar College during the Great Depression. Following "Bishie" and her friends over a single lunar cycle during their senior year, Phases of the Moon begins with a ceremony gone awry and asks what's real under all the pretending.
 

Creative Sound Play for All

A Music and Wellness Workshop with Zahra Baker and Dionne Addai
Saturday, March 29, 2:00pm-2:45pm
The Alice at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn Street
Join us for a 45-minute workshop on practicing how to use your voice amidst community. We’ll experiment with sounds and learn about the ways that sounds and reverberation can be used for self-soothing and regulation. All ages and experience levels are invited to engage in this workshop and wellness circle.
 

New Play Reading Workshop: Untitled Queer Romance or The Subject of You

Written by Michael Turrentine
Directed by Catherine Miller
Saturday, March 29 at 3:00pm
The Alice at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn Street
Matthew and Pat have met, gone on a few dates, and are awkwardly adorable. Autumn and Talia have been together for years and still have a spark about them. Lyle and Deja are about to embark on a journey neither are ready for. However, while we see Matthew and Pat in the midst of starting their relationship, Autumn and Talia are going from their ending to their beginning. “Untitled Queer Romance” is an exploration of how and why we connect, what differences we choose to highlight over our similarities, and makes us ask the question “Why are we here, together?”
 

Town Hall for Theater Directors and Makers: What do we need now?

Saturday, March 29, 5:00pm-6:00pm
The Alice at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn Street
As our producing landscape evolves and career development paths can feel murky, what support and opportunities do we need in order to grow in our craft? What kinds of community and institutional support would help? Directors and theatre artists of ALL experience levels are welcome − whether you've been directing and creating for years, or maybe you're curious about doing it someday − We want to hear from you! Please join us for this town hall discussion at Re/Gen 2025 to identify ways we can close gaps, share resources, and level up our field to sustain the people paving the way for the future of theatre. LGBTQ+ directors and makers will be centered though everyone is welcome at this Town Hall. About Face plans to organize and uplift our findings to the larger Chicago theatre community to help build the future.
 

New Play Reading Workshop: An Army of Lovers

Written by R. Eric Thomas
Directed by Mikael Burke
Saturday, March 29 at 6:00pm
The Alice at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn Street
Page Freemont, an aging queer activist is invited to the sleek, enclosed campus of a global communications company, by Chuck Dillahunt, an estranged friend from her early days. The company wants to give her an award at their first Pride celebration. She accepts but she does not come in peace. An Army of Lovers is a play about radical acts of existence, corporate culture as an oxymoron, and the freedom to be public.
 

Theatre for Learning and Liberation

Sunday, March 30 at 2:00pm
The Alice at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn Street
Calling all students, teaching artists, organizers, and educators! What makes a space inclusive and affirming? How are you navigating systems to connect in a meaningful way? What's working and what do you need? Let's connect, share resources, and strategize for the moment. This session is a space to share tips, games, and techniques about theatre as a tool for teaching and learning. No matter where you are in your teaching artist, peer educator, mentor, or student journey, we hope you'll come out for this interactive and fun session. Please plan to stick around to participate in About Face Theatre's interactive touring show, Life Out Loud: Voices of Pride starting at 3pm.
 

Performance and Discussion: Life Out Loud: Voices of Pride

Based on original writing and stories from the archives
Directed by Dionne Addai
Theatrical Consultation by Lexi Saunders
Featuring Haven A.J. Crawley, Sharon Pasia, and Ua Smith
Sunday, March 30 at 3:00pm
The Alice at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn Street
Three friends journey through a gallery filled with stories from LGBTQ folks from the past and present. Together we’ll look back to move forward, gathering inspiration to inform our current choices, and build confidence in our voices. This interactive play uses monologues and improv to introduce the audience to gender expansive and inclusive vocabulary as well as healthy coping mechanisms and boundary setting.
 
Life Out Loud: Voices of Pride is one of our current touring programs. Since 1995, About Face has reached thousands of people each year by taking the power of theatre on the road to support personal and organizational growth. We provide touring workshops and performances that combine fun, interactive, and accessible theatre-based activities to increase a sense of belonging, invite brave dialogue, and move individuals and groups toward action. Join us for this session to enjoy some theatre for social change in action!

Trans Workplace Inclusion in 2025

To post a comment, you must register and login.