Red Theater is thrilled to open our 24/25 season with the world premiere of Chicago playwright Hanna Kime’s DOGS, directed by Becca Holloway, running November 1 - 24, 2024 at The Edge Off Broadway in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. Tickets are available now at www.redtheater.org.
The production features Elisabeth Del Toro, Stephanie Shum, Allyce Torres, Tatiana Pavela, Isabella Moran del Cueto, and Julian “Joolz” Stroop, understudied by Jordan Levene, Haley Bolithon, Jaime Nebeker, and Daniel Martin.
“It is the Fourth of July sometime in the future, and history is about to be made. We are about to witness the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest. The five women invited to this stage have set out to conquer nature, destroy their own limits, and shatter our perception of what the human body is or isn’t capable of. DOGS is a dizzying, anti-plot, high-intensity exploration of capitalism, competition, and consumption that begs the question: how long can we keep all this up?” - New Play Exchange
Comments playwright Hanna Kime on her world premiere, “I wrote DOGS in an effort to explore the lengths people - and particularly women - will go to in order to be ‘the best.’ More and more, our culture encourages everyone, everywhere to destroy themselves for the smallest bit of recognition. This play uses the hot dog eating contest to crack open the systems - capitalism, diet culture, nationalism, fame - that pit women against one another, and asks if the sacrifices those systems demand are really worth it.” In other words, director Becca Holloway aims to ask three questions with this production: “What does it mean to be an American? What does it mean to be a woman? What does it mean to be a hot dog?”
Comments co-Artistic Directors Clare Brennan and Wyatt Kent, “Hanna has been recognized throughout Chicago and across the country as an exciting and unique theatrical voice, and we’re so honored to be the first professional company to produce her work. With a veteran director of new work leading an absolutely knockout cast, audiences don’t want to miss this hilarious, lightning-fast roller coaster of a show.”
The production team includes Ella Johnson (stage manager), Katy Campbell (assistant director), Chas Mathieu (props design), Madeline Felauer (costume design), Jack Goodman (lighting design), Sebby Woldt (sound design), Hunter Cole (scenic design), Jamie Macpherson (fight & design), and Andy Cahoon (production manager).
PRODUCTION DETAILS
Title: DOGS
Playwright: Hanna Kime
Director: Becca Holloway
Cast: Elisabeth Del Toro (One), Stephanie Shum (Two), Allyce Torres (Three), Tatiana Pavela (Four), Isabella Moran del Cueto (Five), Julian “Joolz” Stroop (The Host), Jordan Levene (One/Five U/s), Haley Bolithon (Two/Three U/s), Jaime Nebeker (Four U/s), and Daniel Martin (The Host U/s).
Location: The Edge Off Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave, Chicago
Opening night: Friday, November 1, 2024 at 7:30P
Run dates: Friday, November 1 - Sunday, November 24, 2024
Curtain times: Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays at 7:30P, Sundays at 3P; Saturday 11/16 @ 2P
Tickets: General admission tickets are $30. As part of Red’s mission to make theater by putting people first, a limited number of $10 access tickets are available for students, artists, or anyone on a tight budget. Purchasing a ticket at our $50 pay-it-forward tier helps us sustain Red’s accessibility efforts. Tickets are currently available at www.redtheater.org. Use code ACCESS at checkout for $10 tickets.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Hanna Kime | Playwright – Hanna (she/her) is a Chicago-based playwright and screenwriter originally from St. Louis, Missouri. Her full-length work has been presented or developed with Goodman Theatre, Berkeley Rep, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Steep Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, the New Coordinates, UP Theatre, Broken Nose Theatre, Sideshow Theatre, where she was an ensemble member, and First Floor Theater, where she previously served as Literary Manager. Most recently, her script THE BEST DAMN THING served as the first fully produced play at The Understudy: Coffee and Books. Kime is a two-time O’Neill Finalist, was the winner of OKC Rep’s New Voices Contest, and has been named a semifinalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Ashland New Play Festival, and Premiere Stages Play Festival. She holds degrees from the University of Chicago in English and Gender and Sexuality Studies. Outside of her own writing, Kime works as a freelance dramaturg and teaching artist. She is represented by UTA.
Becca Holloway | Director – Becca (she/her) is a Chicago-based director, casting director and producer. A huge supporter of new work, she is the curator of the monthly Readings at Red series to help support and develop new plays written by Chicago local playwrights. She is also the resident casting director for Red Theater. Directing Credits (Selected) : WISE GUYS, DIE HARD 4 YOUR LUV, LOUIS LEPRINCE (Factory Theater), MUTED., DOGS (Red Theater), DISASTER! THE MUSICAL (Upcoming: Big Noise Theater). Casting Credits (Selected) : VINEGAR TOM, Jeff Award-Winning INDOOR CATS, CAVEMAN PLAY, HAMLET (Red Theater), WISE GUYS, PARTY AT THE PANTHEON, DIE HARD 4 YOUR LUV (Factory Theater), ROMEO AND JULIET (Midsommer Flight), THREE SISTERS, NETWORK, MACBETH (Invictus Theatre).
ABOUT RED THEATER
Red Theater’s mission is to make theater by putting people first. Founded in 2013, Red’s productions have included 10 Chicago premieres and 8 world premieres. We work from our core values of radical transparency, community care, and meaningful experience. These ideals drive us to bring access to theater to anyone who wants it, with an intentional focus on those restricted by financial and physical disability. Red Theater is funded in part by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, and the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity’s Back to Business grant.