New play development in Chicago

01 / LET’S TRY SOME STUFF

Development
Nights

Bring a scene, a draft, or just yourself. We read, try things, and see what happens together.

2–3 hours. No fees.
No ongoing commitment.

A little work. A little play.
A room full of people making something.

Take a look around the table.

You're busy. You're tired. Girl, same.

We develop new theatre in Chicago through readings, play-development workshops, and productions. We plan around real lives, talk honestly about availability, and give the work room to grow.

01 / LET'S TRY SOME STUFF

Development Nights

This is just about trying stuff out. Development Nights usually last 2–3 hours, start promptly, and end on time or early. We schedule them roughly three weeks ahead, usually around Six Corners on Chicago’s northwest side. Times and spaces vary to fit the people involved. Come to one reading, bring what you have, and see how it feels. There’s no obligation to take on a larger project.

Writers bring anything from a simple scene, a full draft, or just some ideas they want to talk through. Actors come ready to try brand new characters and give life to new works in active development.

We read it, talk about it, and pay attention to what happens in the room. We notice where people lean in, laugh, or go quiet. Writers get invaluable feedback and actors get to be part of a piece from the very beginning.

02 / LET'S WORK ON SOME STUFF

Play-Development Workshops

Ok. Time to dig in.

Workshops are for pieces that want a little more time, attention, and room to play. Rather than sampling several pieces, scenes and ideas over the course of an evening, we focus on one. We read through the whole thing. Try the same scene several ways. Actors can switch parts and shift their style of delivery. We determine if an ending feels earned. Take a section apart and put it back together again.

Whatever the piece needs. This is how we really explore the work and see what happens when you give it the attention it deserves.

03 / LET'S SHARE SOME STUFF

Productions

You put work into something, you want people to see it, right?

A piece might come through our Development Nights and workshops, or find us another way. When there’s a project we can support, we gather the people, work out the schedule, and give the story what it needs to meet an audience.

04 / CHOOSE WHAT'S NEXT

Revise it, workshop it, share it, or shelve it for a while and try something else for a bit.

Use the feedback that helps. Leave the rest. You decide what to revise, what to try next, and where your work goes from here.
So, what do you say? Want to try something?

Looking to work on your improv?

the Studio offers improv workshops and team coaching. If you’re looking for focused practice and feedback on your improv, start there.

Explore the Studio