A Gardener's Almanac
A Gardener’s Almanac - Volume 1 is a collection of new short plays that explore the connection between plant life and humanity.
CHICAGO DRAMATISTS
(798 N Aberdeen Ave.)
A Gardener’s Almanac
A Gardener’s Almanac - Volume 1 is a collection of new short plays that explore the connection between plant life and humanity.
Cultivated by the Museum of Unnatural history of Chicago (MUnCh), new performance work by Howard Friedman, Hannah Ii-Epstein, Rebekah Joy, David Nesbitt Taylor, and Kevin Sparrow will offer a garden of delights and seeds of empathy to sprout between people and the natural world.
“Truffle Pig”: Howard Friedman is a Chicago-based actor and writer. He has performed in and written for the original revue “Mind The Gap” at Second City and has acted for their Sketch Cast series. He has been in additional improv and sketch shows at Improv Olympic, The Bughouse Theater and The Factory Theater. He performed and wrote for “White Unders,” which had a run at Chicago Dramatists as part of the 2023 Rhino Fest.
“Toa Teine”: Hannah Ii-Epstein (she/her) is a Native Hawaiian creative writer and award-winning dramatist from the North Shore of Oʻahu. Her work centers Native Hawaiian identity and LGBTQIA+ experiences across theatre and film. She is the Artistic Director of Nothing Without a Company in Chicago and a 50th season writer at Kumu Kahua Theatre.
Coming up: Nothing Without a Company's next production, The Trouble With My Hair by Ada Cheng, runs at five site-specific locations across Chicago this August. Learn more at NothingWithoutACompany.org.
“Love in the Weeds”: Rebekah Joy is a writer and gardener, mother and maker. She has an MFA in Creative Writing, and is also a certified Zen Shiatsu practioner and craniosacral therapist. Her most current written work can be found on Substack [https://templeofease.substack.com/about]. She has also been published by American Letters & Commentary, Passages North, Pioneer Town Lit, among others.
“Love in the Weeds” : David Nesbitt Taylor graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a BA in Theater, afterwards he became a full time father and performed less frequently. He regularly performs with the Museum of Unnatural history Chicago (MUnCh) and was most recently seen during RhinoFest 2023 in "White Unders" performed at Chicago Dramatists. A multi talented creator, he has a high level of respect for all sentient beings, and will continue to advocate for the well-being of them all. His ultimate goal is to be himself because being our most authentic self is the key to healing the world.
“Rose-of-Sharon” : Kevin Sparrow (they/them) is a writer, performer, and curator of live and time-based work. Their 2000s-era pop-punk musical, Sofa King Queer, premiered in November 2024 with Nothing Without a Company. In January 2021, they presented the immersive, interactive "The Kingdom of Slovenalia: Virtual Tour", following a live work-in-progress production at Chicago's Rhino Fest in February 2020. Kevin is Literary Manager for Nothing Without a Company, where their credits include: Cornerstone (April 2018; Playwright); New World Play Festival (October 2018; Producer and Playwright, "D.P.N.B."); 4Plays New Play Festival (2017; Playwright, "Shotgun Preemie"); [Trans]formation (2016; Co-Deviser and Performer); and Dramaturg for ThroatPunch (2018) and Down the Moonlit Path (2015). In addition to their own independent performance practice, the Museum of Unnatural history Chicago (MUnCh), they have served as Production Manager for the triennial IN>TIME Performance Festival (Winter 2019 and Winter 2016).
Fri 10/2 at 7:00pm
Fri 10/9 at 7:00pm
Fri 10/16 at 7:00pm