Broken Nose Theatre, recipient of the 2018 Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award, is pleased to announce the full line-up for BECHDEL FEST 6: REVOLUTION, the company's annual festival of new short plays featuring an ensemble of female-identifying and non-binary actors talking about things other than men. Presented as part of Steppenwolf's LookOut Series, BECHDEL FEST will play three performances only July 29, 30 & 31, 2018 at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Tickets for all BNT productions are available on a "pay-what-you-can" basis, allowing patrons to set their own price and ensuring theatre remains economically accessible for all audiences. Suggested price is $25. Tickets are currently available at www.steppenwolf.org or by calling (312) 335-1650.
All the works in BNT's perennial feminist festival are inspired by the famous Bechdel-Wallace Test. Created by cartoonist Alison Bechdel, the test asks whether a work of entertainment features at least two women in conversation about something other than a man. Since the fest's first iteration in 2013, Broken Nose has worked with some of the most exciting voices in the Chicago theater landscape on over 40 stories that, by design, do not revolve around men. This year's lineup includes both female-identifying and non-binary characters.
The full line-up for BECHDEL FEST 6: REVOLUTION includes:
EVERY OTHER TUESDAY
Written by Elise Marie Davis* | Directed by Spenser Davis*
A suburban book club is on track to reserve a booth at their neighborhood's annual Community Cookout -until the cookout sponsors realize the book club focuses exclusively on lesbian erotica.
FOR THE CULTURE
Written by Michael Allen Harris+ | Directed by Martin Hanna*
The Society - a secret spy organization founded, funded, organized, and run by black women - is about to send their most skilled agent on a brand new mission: a covert infiltration with the potential to change the world.
GOLDSTAR
Written by Cleo Shine | Directed by JD Caudill^
A shy highschooler decides to reveal her true self to her girlfriend, even if it risks changing everything.
HOLY INAPPROPRIATE
Written by Allison L. Fradkin | Directed by Kim Boler^
A devout mother and her three daughters seem perfectly comfortable within the confines of the restrictive "Christian Patriarchy Movement." That is, until sex education gets unexpectedly added to their home-schooled curriculum.
NO, JENNIFER
Written by Nancy Garcia Loza | Directed by Laura Baker
Two Mexican-American friends struggle with the ups and downs of seeking help, dealing with trauma - and setting boundaries with their hard-to-ignore families.
OCCUPY GAMBIER
Written by Beth Hyland | Directed by Brian Balcom
As the "Occupy Wallstreet" protests rage on the East Coast in 2011, several college students strive to be part of the movement... on their tiny liberal arts campus in Gambier, Ohio.
PORCH PROBLEMS
Written by Kristi Parker-Barnhart | Directed by Julia Skeggs
Two neighbors. One shared back porch. This means war.
PROM REBEL
Written by Loy Webb | Directed by Deanna Reed Foster
On the eve of her high school prom, a young woman decides to break the rules in her own special way.
TAKING A (ONE-NIGHT) STAND
Written by Benjamin Brownson* | Directed by Adrienne Matzen
Two strangers find their night of casual fun unexpectedly lengthened when a neighborhood riot erupts around them.
* BNT Company member ^ BNT Artistic associate + BNT Resident Playwright
About Broken Nose Theatre:
Broken Nose Theatre is a Pay-What-You-Can theatre company. Founded in 2012, BNT has produced and developed 11 full-length plays (including 8 Chicago or World Premieres) and over 40 new womencentric short plays through our annual Bechdel Fest. We strive to spark conversation, cultivate empathy, and amplify underrepresented voices, and are committed to making new, exciting and relevant theatre that is economically accessible to all audiences. For more information, please visit www.brokennosetheatre.com.
About Steppenwolf's LookOut Series:
LookOut is Steppenwolf's performance series that presents the work of artists and companies across genre and form, emerging artists and performance legends, quintessential Chicago companies and young aspiring ensembles, familiar Steppenwolf faces and new friends. steppenwolf.org/lookout
PHOTO CREDIT: The playwrights featured in Broken Nose Theatre's BECHDEL FEST 6 include (top, l to r) Benjamin Brownson, Elise Marie Davis, Allison L. Fradkin and Michael Allen Harris with (bottom, l to r) Beth Hyland, Nancy Garcia Loza, Kristi Parker-Barnhart and Loy Webb.
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