Chicago Dramatists

So I went to my first Saturday reading series today, visiting my fellow Obies Andrew Mooney and Alex Huntsberger (currently interns over there). I won't talk about the play here, but what I will say is this: I found yet another reason why I love this place called Chicago.

Now, to be fair, I cannot say whether or not I could find something like this in NYC. I just don't know. BUT, at Dramatists, I paid $5, got to see a staged reading of a brand new play by a Chicago playwright, produced by a pretty well-renowned Chicago company, got to fill out a response form afterward, and was then able to take part in a talk-back with the playwright after the show, giving feedback and being part of an immediate theatrical dialogue. I felt so comfortable just raising my hand, commenting on a play by a writer I do not know, at a company I have never been to before, in a city I still only recently arrived in.

This is Chicago theatre. Heaven.