About Face Theatre begins its 27th season with the World Premiere of Samantha Mueller’s drama LACED, running March 17 through April 16, 2022, at the Den Theatre. Set in the aftermath of the vandalism of a beloved queer bar, LACED is a timely story about the importance of queer-positive spaces and of what it takes to come back together after your world has been shaken. Three bartenders arrive at their beloved queer bar to find that the establishment has been vandalized. As they try to piece together the events of the night before, the three friends grieve, riot, point fingers, and ultimately must decide: is it better to understand what and why this happened, or to just clean up and move on? Fiery, poetic, and up-to-the-minute contemporary, LACED ferociously celebrates the spaces in which we find our truest selves and the spectrum of ways the LGBTQ+ community comes together in the face of trauma. The press opening is Friday, March 25 at 7:30 pm, at The Den Theatre.
LACED will be directed by About Face Artistic Associate Lexi Saunders (American Blues Theatre’s ROAN @ THE GATES). Saunders' cast is Mariah Copeland, Aida Delaz, and Collin Quinn Rice, as the three bartenders.
Pictured left - right: Mariah Copeland, Aida Delaz, Collin Quinn Rice.
LACED Playwright Samantha Muller is Chicago-born and New York-based. Their play THE WAY THIS CITY BLEEDS was a 2017 semi-finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, as well as a 2015 winner of the Agnes Nixon Playwriting Award.
Director Lexi Saunders says, "What struck me most about this play are these unapologetically queer femme identities we hardly ever get to see onstage,” says director Lexi Saunders. “Samantha Mueller has crafted a world full of laughter, heart, and muscle in the midst of absolute ruin. LACED is a poetic ode to Stonewall, to Pulse, to Berlin, to the places we make home and the strangers we call family. In a landscape that wants to only further politicize and vandalize our bodies, our love, our spaces – how can we keep ourselves and each other safe?”
The production team is Jacinda Ratcliffe (Choreographer and Assistant Director), Sydney Lynne (Scenic Designer), Regina Garcia (Associate Scenic Designer), Heather Sparling (Lighting Designer), Thomas Dixon (Sound Designer), Ariel Zetina (Associate Sound Designer), Jos N. Banks (Costume Designer), Caitlin McCarthy (Properties Designer), Amalie Vega (Stage Manager), Audrey Kleine (Production Manager), Hannah Herrera Greenspan (Dramaturg), Becca Venable (Technical Director).
LISTING DETAILS
LACED
By Samantha Mueller
Directed by Lexi Saunders
March 17 – April 16, 2022
Performing at The Den Theatre, 1331 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
PERFORMANCE TIMES
Previews: Thursday, March 17 – Thursday, March 24
Press Opening: Friday, March 25
Performance Run: Saturday, March 26 – Saturday, April 16
Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm
TICKETS
Tickets go on sale January 17 online at AboutFaceTheatre.com, by calling 773.697.3830, or in-person at the Den Theatre box office. Ticket prices range from $5 to $35.
AFT offers a ticket pricing system that allows each patron to decide the price that they can comfortably afford to pay for a ticket. Ultimately, About Face wants everyone who wants to attend a show to be able to do so. Please note, there are limited quantities available at each pricing level.
ARTIST BIOS
SAMANTHA MUELLER (they/them): Playwright
Samantha is a Chicago-born, New York-based playwright. Their play THE WAY THIS CITY BLEEDS was a 2017 semi-finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, as well as a 2015 winner of the Agnes Nixon Playwriting Award. They are an artistic associate with the NYC theater collective G45 Productions and a proud graduate of Northwestern University, where they first began working with Seesaw Theatre to create pieces of theater for children with disabilities. They have published two articles about immersive theater on Howlround, including one about Seesaw's 2017 production.
LEXI SAUNDERS (she/they): Director
Lexi is a queer director, writer, performer, and teaching artist originally from Los Angeles with a BA in Theatre from UC San Diego. She has been part of the About Face’s touring Outreach Ensemble since 2015.Saunders’ recent Chicago directing credits include ROAN @ THE GATES (American Blues Theatre), EURYDICE (Jedlicka Performing Arts Center), MISSED OPPORTUNITIES (Cuckoo’s Theatre Project), THE DEPARTURE (Haven Theatre), GROUNDED (Theater of Thought/Pride Arts), FIFTY SHADES OF SHAKESPEARE ((re)discover theatre), SUPER (Mudlark Theater), and various other workshops, readings, and short plays at The Gift, Victory Gardens, Chicago Dramatists, 2nd Story, Something Marvelous, and Pride Films & Plays. She currently teaches theatre with TimeLine Theatre, The Viola Project, 2nd Story, Mudlark Theater, Silk Road Rising, Camp Bravo, and Chicago Children Theatre’s Red Kite Project.
MARIAH COPELAND (she/her): Audra
Mariah has worked in productions at Northlight Theatre, Boho Theatre, Emerald City Theatre, Filament Theatre, the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, and others. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she received a BA in Theatre. Mariah is represented by the wonderful folks at Grossman and Jack Talent. You can see more of her work as an actress and Equity & Inclusion specialist by visiting mariahcopeland.com.
AIDA DELAZ (she/her): Minnow
Aida Delaz was born in Spain to Cuban parents, and then later raised in Southern California. As a multicultural and bilingual artist, she has worked in Chicago on stage, on screen, and in voice-over, after receiving both a BFA in Acting and a BA in Spanish from DePaul University. Aida has worked with several theatres in Chicago, including Court Theater, Griffin Theater, and Timeline Theater, and can also be seen on Amazon Prime’s UTOPIA and NBC’s CHICAGO PD. Aida is proudly represented by Gray Talent Group. More information, including a full list of credits, can be found at her website aidadelaz.carrd.co
COLLIN QUINN RICE (they/them): Cat
Collin is a queer actor and photographer based in Chicago. They made their Chicago debut with About Face in LE SWITCH and are over the moon to be returning! Collin was most recently seen in THE TASTERS (Rivendell), ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (Red Tape Theatre), MIKE PENCE SEX DREAM (First Floor Theater), TRANS VOICES CABARET (Steppenwolf LOOK OUT Series), THE HARVEST (Griffin Theatre), HATFIELD & McCOY (The House Theatre), MASQUE MACABRE (Strawdog Theatre), GOING TO A PLACE… (Redtwist Theatre), THE ODE AT PINT’S END (Birch House Immersive), and THE HILARY DUFF PROJECT (MCL Chicago). TV/Film credits include WORK IN PROGRESS, THE RIGHT SWIPE, and THE PLAY CYCLE. Collin is a graduate of Northwestern University, and they are represented by DDO Chicago. Collin also moonlights as a headshot photographer and choreographer—their comprehensive work can be found at collinquinnrice.com.
ABOUT FACE THEATRE creates exceptional, innovative, and adventurous theatre and educational programming that advances the national dialogue on sexual and gender identity, and challenges and entertains audiences in Chicago and beyond.