Victory Gardens Theater announces New Plays for a New Year, a one-night-only online reading of new ten-minute plays on February 12, 2021 from 7pm to 8pm Central. Featured artists include playwrights McKenzie Chinn, Preston Choi, and York Walker, with directors Brian Balcom, Lili-Anne Brown, and Devon de Mayo.
The one-night-only streaming event on February 12, 2021, at 7pm Central is free, but reservations are required at https://victorygardens.org/event/new-plays-for-a-new-year-festival/. Registrants will receive an email with details on how to access the Zoom stream. Capacity is limited to the first 300 RSVPs.
What do you need to say to the world right now? Three playwrights took this question, and used it as inspiration for brand-new, ten-minute plays. Join Victory Gardens Theater for a one-night-only performance of their work at New Plays for a New Year. This festival pairs acclaimed directors with a playwright of their choosing, leading to innovative collaborations between some of the most exciting artists working today.
Acting Managing Director Roxanna Conner says of the festival, “While our stages are dark, it felt essential to find a way to continue Victory Gardens’ mission of highlighting diverse voices, by commissioning new work that reflects our world. We are thrilled to see what comes out of these artistic partnerships, and what theatrical work the past year has inspired.”
Details: New Plays for a New Year
Casting is yet to be announced.
“Cassandra” by McKenzie Chinn, directed by Lili-Anne Brown
“Holcomb & Hart” by York Walker, directed by Devon de Mayo
Date: February 12, 2021
Time: 7-8pm Central
Format: Presented online via Zoom
Tickets: Free with advance registration at
https://victorygardens.org/event/new-plays-for-a-new-year-festival/
Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from the Joyce Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Wallace Foundation.
Additional major funding comes from Crown Family Philanthropies, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Polk Bros. Foundation.
Major funders also include: Allstate, Alphawood Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Edgerton Foundation, Exelon, Ralla Klepak Trust for the Performing Arts, The Harvey L. Miller Supporting Foundation, David Rockefeller Fund, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation.
Additional funding this season: Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Coffman Law Offices, ComEd, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Golden Country Oriental Foods, Goldman Sachs, John R. Halligan Foundation, Illinois Humanities Council, ITW, MacArthur International Connections Fund, MAP Fund, Mayer Brown LLP, The Robert R. McCormick Foundation, The McVay Foundation, Metropolitan Capital Bank and Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, Origin Ventures, PNC Financial Services Group, The Poetry Foundation, Prince Charitable Trusts, Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Pritzker Traubert Foundation, Charles and M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Wrightwood Neighbors Foundation, William H. Weiss Foundation.
In-kind support is provided by: Italian Village Restaurants, Suite Home Chicago, and Whole Foods Market.
Covid-19 Emergency Relief Funding: Arts Work Fund— Arts for Illinois Relief Fund (at the Chicago Community Foundation), Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Business Interruption Grant.
Capital improvement support from Landmarks Illinois—Barbara and Thomas Donnelley Preservation Fund, the Performing Arts Venue Fund at the League of Chicago Theaters, with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Service Club of Chicago. Capacity Building support by Compass-Chicago.
About Victory Gardens Theater
Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals. Victory Gardens Theater is committed to the development, production and support of new plays, which has been the mission of the theater since its founding, set forth by Dennis Začek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater, and continued by former Artistic Director Chay Yew.
Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theater work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens’ core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city’s and nation’s culture through engaging diverse communities, and, in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city’s active student population.
Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Začek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 259-seat mainstage, and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.
For more information about Victory Gardens, visit www.victorygardens.org. Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens, Twitter @VictoryGardens, and Instagram @victorygardenstheater.