Strawdog Theatre Company is pleased to continue its 32nd season, “Truth,” with the Midwest premiere of C.A. Johnson’s dystopian drama “Thirst,” directed by Andrea J. Dymond, playing January 9 – February 15, 2020 at 1802 W. Berenice Ave. in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Single tickets are currently available at www.strawdog.org.
The cast includes Saniyah As-Salaam, Gregory J. Fields, Tamarus Harvell, Laura Resinger, Tracie Taylor and Johnard Washington.
After a devastating water shortage and war, Samira and Greta have made a life for themselves and their son Kalil in a clearing in the woods. When Kalil returns home one day without their water rations, Samira and Greta find themselves in conflict with the local political leader. Set in a tense segregated society, “Thirst” is a complex look at family and love in wartime. C.A. Johnson explores the politics of race and redefines community in this fierce post-apocalyptic story.
Comments Artistic Director Leda Hoffmann, “I am so excited to have director Andrea Dymond and playwright C.A. Johnson at Strawdog for the second ever production of ‘Thirst.’ During my interview pro- cesses to become Artistic Director at Strawdog, the ensemble brought this play to me and I loved it the first time I read it. Both intimate and epic, this play asks big questions about who we are as a society and what the future brings, by looking at the very specific lives of two women making a home in the woods and their families, past and present.”
C.A. Johnson (Playwright) hails from Metairie, Louisiana, but currently lives and writes in Queens, NY. Her plays include “Thirst” (2017 Kilroys List, The Contemporary American Theater Festival), “An American Feast” (NYU Playwrights Horizons Theater School), “The Climb” (2018 Cherry Lane Mentor Project), “All The Natalie Portmans” (upcoming at MCC Theater in 2020) and “Mother Tongue.” She is a Core Writer at the Playwrights Center. She was previously the 2018 P73 Playwriting Fellow, among other prestigious distinctions.
Andrea J. Dymond (Director) is very pleased to be working at Strawdog, on this fascinating new play. A Chicago-based freelance director, specializing in developing and directing new work, she most recently directed world premieres of “The Greatest Theatrical Event…EVER!” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Shepsu Aahku’s “Black and Blue” for MPAACT. Andrea was formerly Resident Director at Victory Gardens Theater, where she directed 11 productions, including seven world premieres, and helped to develop and launch the The Ignition Festival of New Plays. A teacher at Columbia College Chicago, she was also facilitator of the Theodore Ward Award for African American Playwriting.
Dates of performances: Thursday, January 9 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, January 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, January 12 at 4:00 p.m.
Regular run: Thursday, January 16 – Saturday, February 15, 2020
Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 4:00 p.m.
Tickets: Previews $18. Regular run $35. Seniors: $26. Tickets are currently available at www.strawdog.org. Half price rush and student tickets available at every performance and other discounts available. Call (773) 644-1380 for details.
Since its founding in 1988, Strawdog Theatre Company has offered Chicagoland the premiere storefront theatre experience and garnered numerous Non-Equity Jeff Awards with its commitment to ensemble acting and an immersive design approach. The celebrated Com- pany develops new work, re-imagines the classics, melds music with theatre, asks provocative ques-
tions and delivers audiences the unexpected.
Strawdog Theatre Company is supported in part by The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Alphawood Foundation, The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
