Chicago Season in Review 2020/21: A Season in Transition

Jul 28, 2021

Chicago Banner for Season in Review 2020/21

Artwork by Bekka Lindstrom, Drawings by Ian Sklarsky

Reflecting on the past year in the Chicago region, our theatre community moved through uncertain circumstances. The pandemic, a polarized political environment, and issues of equity, public health, and diversity set the context for a season in transition. Throughout it all, regional membership endured with signature resilience. Members honed their craft, developed work, created their own opportunities, or simply took the time to care for themselves and the community. In this season in review, we acknowledge various phases of transition, highlighting process over product and the enduring spirit of members.

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Dolores Díaz

(she/her) is a Chicago-based Chicana playwright originally from the border city of Laredo, Texas. Díaz is a resident at Chicago Dramatists and has developed and produced work with a diverse array of companies. She has taught students at Columbia College Chicago, Texas Tech University, Northwestern University, and various Chicago public schools. She is a graduate of Northwestern University’s MFA Program in Writing for the Screen and Stage.

Derek McPhatter

is a Creative Capital Awardee who creates forward-facing theatrical narratives at diverse cultural and technological intersections. Derek is published in multiple anthologies, including 25 Plays from The Fire This Time Festival (Bloomsbury Press) and the special Afrofuturism volume of Obsidian: Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora.

Related Dramatist(s)

Derek L. McPhatter,

Dolores Diaz

Related Organization(s)

Steppenwolf Theatre Company,

Victory Gardens Theater