Photo Coverage: First Floor Theater Presents ANIMALS COMMIT SUICIDE, opening November 15th

First Floor Theater (FFT) has unveiled phtoos from the first show of their fourth season, the world premiere of ANIMALS COMMIT SUICIDE, playwright J. Julian Christopher's high-octane and darkly comic story of desire, disease, and contemporary queer life. FFT Artistic Director Hutch Pimentel directs this powerful world premiere, playing November 15 - December 12 at Collaboraction's Room 300 Theater in The Flat Iron Arts Building. Tickets for ANIMALS COMMIT SUICIDE will be available at http://firstfloortheater.com/.

First Floor Theater is also proud to host playwright J. Julian Christopher in Chicago for a series of script workshops around this world premiere production. Christopher will be in town October 8-12.

ANIMALS COMMIT SUICIDE features Ashley Hicks, Michael Kim Lewis, Nik Kourtis, Michael Reyes, and Johnard Washington.

Chance Stevens is a young gay man who seems to have everything...but wants something more. He dives deep into the city's seedy underbelly, picks up a drug habit, and begins a relationship with a handsome, HIV-positive baker, while falsely claiming to be positive himself. But as those close to him begin to call his motives into question, Chance is forced to decide what he values when everything's on the line. New York playwright J. Julian Christopher, winner of the 2009 Public Theater Emerging Playwright award, explores bug-chasing - a complicated and little-discussed subculture within the contemporary queer community - in this sharp, challenging, and haunting new play.

Pimentel says, "I'm excited to bring this important new work to Chicago audiences and start a conversation about a little-known phenomenon that is all too real. So many queer stories focus on the issues of past generations, from coming out to marriage equality, but this play brings us fiercely into the present moment. It explores contemporary queer life without shame or fear of the consequences, and FFT is proud to continue to provide a venue for these vital stories."

The production team for ANIMALS COMMIT SUICIDE includes: William Boles (scenic design), John Kelly (lighting design), Will Cotter (sound design), Marisa Allison (costume design), and Kristin Davis (production manager).

Tickets: $20 general admission tickets. $10 industry tickets on the Monday performances only.

Tickets for ANIMALS COMMIT SUICIDE will be available at http://firstfloortheater.com/.J. Julian Christopher received an MFA in Acting from The New School for Drama. He was awarded the Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group Fellowship in 2009. During his time in the Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group, he developed Man Boobs, which went on to have productions in NYC, Chicago, Montréal, and Melbourne. He was also invited to workshop his play Nico was a Fashion Model, at Labyrinth Theater Company's 2010 Summer Intensive. Julian's plays Metro Psalm and Schwarz! (Hansel und Gretel) were selected as finalists in the Off-Off Broadway Samuel French Short Play Festival two years in a row (2009 & 2010). One of his latest works, Animals Commit Suicide was featured in Terranova Collective's Groundworks Reading Series (2012) and Terranova RX Play Series (2013). His latest play, Locusts Have No King, was featured in Intar's Bright Untamed Queer Play Festival. Julian was just awarded a 2015 Queens Arts Council grant to produce his new musical ¡Oso Fabuloso & The Bear Backs! (music by Steve Sclafani). Julian is also a co-creator, co-producer, director, and lead actor of the hit web series, Bulk - The Series.

For more information on First Floor Theater, visit http://firstfloortheater.com/

Photos by Ariela Subar

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