Dragonfly Theatre Company

SUBTEXT STUDIO TC PRODUCES NEW PLAYS THAT ARE BY, FOR AND ABOUT TRADITIONALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES AND PEOPLES IN ORDER TO EXPRESS THE IDEAS, VOICES, AND EXPERIENCES OF ALL PEOPLE. WE SPECIFICALLY FOCUS ON THE STORIES AND ARTISTS OF BIPOC, LGBTQ+ AND FEMALE IDENTIFYING COMMUNITIES. AS AN ITINERANT COMPANY, WE ENDEAVOR TO BRING THEATER TO NEIGHBORHOODS THAT DO NOT READILY HAVE ACCESS TO LIVE THEATER PRODUCTIONS. FOR SUBTEXT STUDIO TC, CREATING MULTICULTURAL THEATER IS IMPERATIVE. WHEN WE CREATE THEATER, IT IS THE SHARED LIFE EXPERIENCES THAT MOST IMPACT OUR WORK AND DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY. WE HAVE PRODUCED SHOWS ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND THE EFFECTS IT HAS ON INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES AND WE ENDEAVOR TO MAKE THESE SHOWS ACCESSIBLE NOT ONLY FOR MEMBERS OF THE LATINE COMMUNITY, BUT FOR ALL PEOPLE, BECAUSE A SHARED EXPERIENCE CAN FOSTER UNDERSTANDING AND EMPATHY. WE OFFER LOW AND NO COST THEATER TO REMOVE ANY BARRIERS TO THE CULTURAL ARTS AND PROVIDE ACCESS TO THEATER IN MULTIPLE COMMUNITIES. OUR PROGRAMMING INCLUDES PRODUCTIONS OF NEW PLAYS, FREE SPECIAL COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS FEATURING THE NEWLY DEVELOPED WORK OF A PLAYWRIGHT, MUSICIAN OR POET AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND FREE STAGED READINGS OF PLAYS BY A SEASONAL FEATURED EMERGING PLAYWRIGHT. EACH SEASON WE PRODUCE TWO NEW PLAYS THAT FOCUS ON THE SEASON'S THEME. THE PLAYS ARE BY BIPOC OR LGBTQ+ PLAYWRIGHTS AND CONTAIN DIVERSE CASTS. THE 2023-24 SEASON WAS ENTITLED WORTHY AND THE PLAYS WE PRODUCED WERE THE AMERICAN DREAM BY JUAN RAMIREZ, JR., WHICH FOCUSED ON THE IMMIGRATION EXPERIENCE AND PARTICIPATED IN THE 6TH INTERNATIONAL CHICAGO LATINO THEATER FESTIVAL AND QUALIA BY ASHLEIGH ANN GARDNER, WHICH FOCUSED ON HUMAN IMPERFECTION, AI AND PURSUING THE BODY YOU WISH TO HAVE. THE SPECIAL COMMUNITY PRESENTATION IS A SERIES OF FREE PERFORMANCES OF A NEW PIECE OF THEATER ART. IN 2023, 'WHAT EARTH DOES WHILE YOU'RE SLEEPING' BY FILIPINO TRANS POET ALARIC HINCHCLIFFE WAS PRESENTED, AND THE 24-25 SEASON WILL FEATURE MEXICAN AMERICAN POET YON YONNI'S LA PATRIA, A NEW PLAY THAT EXPLORES THE STRUGGLES OF FIRST-GENERATION IMMIGRANT FAMILIES. THE SPECIAL COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS ARE PERFORMED IN VARIOUS CHICAGO COMMUNITIES AND ARE TICKETED AS PAY WHAT YOU CAN. THE FREE STAGED READINGS ARE OFFERED TWICE A YEAR IN VARIOUS COMMUNITIES AND FEATURE THE NEWLY DEVELOPED PLAYS OF THAT SEASON'S FEATURED EMERGING ARTIST. OUR PRODUCTIONS ARE STAFFED BY CHICAGO ACTORS AND DESIGNERS, REHEARSE IN CHICAGO AND HAVE PERFORMED IN (OR ARE SCHEDULED TO PERFORM IN) VARIOUS VENUES IN BERWYN, OAK PARK, LITTLE VILLAGE, WEST TOWN AND VENUES SUCH AS URBAN THEATER, FRIENDLY COMMUNITY ROOM AND GREENHOUSE THEATER. WE HOST FREE STUDENT PERFORMANCES AT UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CHICAGO, MORTON EAST AND WEST HIGH SCHOOLS (AND OTHERS) EACH SEASON, AND APPROACH CHICAGO-BASED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS TO PARTNER WITH US IN PRESENTING FREE STAGED READINGS AT THEIR ORGANIZATIONS FOR THEIR COMMUNITY. WE SERVE AN ESTIMATED 750-1000 COMMUNITY MEMBERS EACH YEAR AND EMPLOY 25-35 CHICAGO AREA ARTISTS.