PrideArts' 2026-27 season will open in August with the world premiere of Chicago-based playwright Matt Schutz’s WINDOWS, a comedy of LGBT Gen Z-ers finding their ways through career and relationship challenges. WINDOWS was developed through PrideArts’ Queery Playwrights Lab, in which 33 scripts with an LGBTQ focus were submitted for consideration and six were selected for further development. Scenes from those six scripts were performed publicly, and with the audience’s help, WINDOWS was chosen for this full production, to be directed by with QUEERY Festival Director Taylor Pasche. WINDOWS will open to the press on Monday, August 10 at 7:00 pm, following previews on Friday, August 7 and Sunday, August 9; and will play through August 23 in the Hoover-Leppen Theatre at Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago.
Pasche announced the cast and crew for WINDOWS today. Playing Olivia, a once-promising soccer player recovering from a career-ending injury who spends her days watching her neighbors and imaging what might be going on in their lives, will be Lucabella Sangin. Sangin is a recent BFA graduate of Emerson College in Boston making her Chicago debut. Olivia’s partner Natalie, who is frustrated with her part-time job at a furniture store, will be played by Vinita Dixit. Dixit is another recent arrival to Chicago, having earned her BFA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. In Chicago, she has performed with Theatre Momentum and the queer sketch comedy group Fun House. The third member of WINDOW’s trio of GenZ-ers is Natalie’s roommate Clay, who is hoping to receive a long-awaited job promotion and is conflicted about his feelings toward the ex-boyfriend who has unexpectedly reentered his life. River Ruiz, a theatre and screen actor from Humboldt Park whose credits include understudying the title role in LOBBY HERO with Shattered Globe Theater and the Netflix series EASY, will be Clay.
Playing multiple roles as the neighbors this trio observes, and others, are David Lipschutz and Ashley Kramer. Lipschutz’s credits include productions by Hell in a Handbag, Kokandy, Broken Nose, Victory Gardens, and Black Button Eyes, most recently as the understudy for the sole role of the one-actor play ST. NICHOLAS. Kramer is a recent BFA graduate of the University of Michigan making her Chicago acting debut. Understudies are Claire Thompson (u/s Olivia), Colin Callahan (u/s Clay and Actor 1), and Elyssa Treviño (u/s Natalie and Actor 2).
Top row L-R: Vinita Dixit, River Ruiz, Lucabella Sangin, Ashley Kramer.
Lower row L-R: David Lipschutz, Claire Thompson, Colin Callahan, Elyssa Treviño.
The production’s designers are Hayley E Wallenfeldt (Scenic Designer), Emily N. Brink (Costume Designer), Lea Davis (Lighting Designer), Valerio (Val) T. Gardner (Sound Designer), Maddi Waneka (Props Designer), and Paulina Martz (Intimacy Director). Also on the production team are Corbin Paulino (Stage Manager), Inaija Butler (Production Manager), Reese Sheldahl (Technical Director), and Eve Pahoresky (Assistant Stage Manager).
LISTING INFORMATION
WINDOWS
By Matt Schutz
WORLD PREMIERE
Directed by Taylor Pasche
August 7 - 23, 2026
Previews Friday, August 7 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, August 9 at 3:00 pm
Press Opening Monday, August 10 at 7:00 pm
Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm
Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago 60613
Tickets $35 for regular performances, $25 for previews. Seniors and students receive a $5 discount off all performance prices. Tickets and more information at www.pridearts.org.
773-661-0770
Olivia is a former soccer player still recovering from a career-ending injury. Her girlfriend, Natalie, is stuck in a job she’s not passionate about, caught between finding her own happiness and caring for Olivia’s. Meanwhile, Natalie’s roommate Clay is trying to take the next step in his life – towards a new promotion, away from a past relationship, and into his own power. As all three maneuver through the ever-present reality of Olivia’s injury, they find escape however they can.
BIOS
Matt Schutz (Playwright) is a playwright and actor currently based in Chicago. His play .PDF PREFERRED was included in PlayGround-Chicago's Best of Chicago production. Most recently, his play WINDOWS was selected as the winner of PrideArts’ Queery Workshop and will receive its world premiere in 2026. He has developed plays with the University of Iowa, Intrinsic Theatre, the Pride Arts Center, and Inkwell Theater.
Taylor Pasche (she/her, Director WINDOWS) is a Chicago-based Director and Dramaturg experienced in new works, musical theatre, and mental health coordination. She is a graduate of Texas State University's Performance and Production Department with a degree specializing in Directing. Taylor pulls from her experience as a queer, neurodivergent, female artist, and always looks to challenge preconceived stigmas and beliefs. Recent credits include THROBBIN’ WOOD, QUEERY WORKSHOP, and [TITLE OF SHOW] (PrideArts), DIE HARD 4 YOUR LUV (The Factory Theater), A CHRISTMAS STORY (JPAC), as well as collaborations with Fat Theatre Project, Rhinofest, and Red Theatre.
Jay Españo (Artistic Director). Born in Manila, The Philippines, he joined the prestigious Tanghalang Pilipino’s Actors Company in 1998, where he trained with acclaimed Filipino director Nonon Padilla. He acted in several commercials, television series and films.
Since moving to the Chicago area, Jay has worked with storefront theater companies such as Silk Road Rising, Prologue, Ghostlight, Halcyon, and PrideArts, where he has directed A NEW BRAIN, [TITLE OF SHOW], GIRLFRIEND, GAY CARD, TOMMY ON TOP and the THINGS I NEVER COULD TELL STEVEN. At City Lit Theater, he directed the world premiere musical AZTEC HUMAN SACRIFICE. He has played the role of the King in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I with various theater companies in the US and in Canada.
ABOUT PRIDEARTS
PrideArts tells queer stories on a variety of platforms, including both live and virtual performances. Since its founding in 2010, PrideArts has had several chapters, including operating as an itinerant theater for their first six seasons, the developer and primary tenant in the Pride Arts Center from 2016 to 2024, and its current residency in the Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted.
The company produces full seasons of plays and musicals, as well as events including cabaret, and more. The company has earned 50 Jeff Awards and nominations, and six nominations in the 2019 ALTA Awards from the Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists of Chicago. Programming has reflected the diversity of queer communities by including work made by and illuminating the experiences of women, gay men, transgender people, and BIPOC.
PrideArts is supported by Illinois Arts Council, a State Agency; City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), Alphawood Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Arts Work Fund, Driehaus Foundation, The Saints.
PrideArts is a member of Northalsted Merchants Association, League of Chicago Theaters, Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce of Illinois, Lakeview East Merchants Association.
For more information and to donate, visit www.pridearts.org or call 773-661-0770.