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who we are
Experienced artists. Ambitious work. Room for real life.
A Chicago theatre company built to grow together.
Careers. Family. School functions. A much-needed night out. The calendar fills up fast, but the part of you that wants to make something does not disappear.
Narrow Victory develops new plays through readings, workshops, and productions. Led by experienced artists Kyle Slagell and Nicole Perez, we’re building a growing circle of collaborators who value strong work and thoughtful process. Through the Studio, we also offer improv coaching and workplace training. Ambitious, joyful work. A more human way to make it.
WHY WE’RE HERE
Ambitious art. Without the burnout.
NARROW VICTORY STARTED AT HOME
Kyle Slagell & Nicole Perez
Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors
We’re married artists and working professionals raising two young kids. Narrow Victory brings together years of experience in theatre, voiceover, coaching, and employee development, plus a healthy respect for bedtime.
Kyle is a writer, director, improviser, and learning and development professional, and the artistic director of Las Tinas. His companywide onboarding and training work at JC Licht was featured in a 2025 NHPA case study. He brings clear goals, thoughtful practice, and useful feedback to the Studio.
Nicole is a Chicago voice actor, improviser, and director with more than a decade behind the mic. Her voiceover work includes McDonald’s and the National Park Foundation, across a career spanning commercial, eLearning, and corporate narration. She brings that experience to our artistic work and forthcoming voiceover courses.
Narrow Victory grew from a simple idea: our full lives weren’t making us less committed artists. They were making us more interesting ones.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Your life isn’t in the way of your art. It’s what gives your art something to say.
You make better art when you’re not running on empty.
Calendars change. Trains run late. Kids get sick. We can be flexible without caring any less about the work.
New work is allowed to be messy, weird, and not quite there yet. That’s how it gets there.
We’ll tell you what we noticed. What you do with that is always yours.
The best part of collaboration is discovering the thing none of us would have made alone.
We can care deeply about the work and still have a good time making it.
The work matters. So does the rest of your life.
WHY NARROW VICTORY?
Because most of us aren’t working with wide-open calendars and unlimited energy. We fit in the little wins wherever we can.
Sometimes the victory is finishing a draft. Other times, it’s showing up to a script reading after a long day. Hell, sometimes it’s getting everyone fed, finding your keys, and leaving the house on time.
It all counts.
We’re here for the artist you are right now, not some future version of you with more time, more energy, and fewer responsibilities. Bring the half-finished page. Bring the weird idea. Bring whatever you have to give that day. We’ll start there.
We still believe in the big swing. We just know it usually happens one narrow victory at a time.
STOP WAITING FOR LIFE TO CALM DOWN
Maybe it will eventually. For like twenty minutes or something. But we’re here now. And so are you. Your life isn’t something you need to leave at the door before you get to make art. It has given you stories, a point of view, things you still laugh about, and a whole collection of weirdly specific talents. That’s the good stuff! Bring all of it.
We’d love to make something with you.
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