Victory Gardens Theater opens its 2021/22 Mainstage Season with Queen of the Night, written by travis tate and directed by Victory Gardens Artistic Director Ken-Matt Martin. Queen of the Night features Terry Guest (Ty) and André Teamer (Stephen) and runs January 29 – March 13, 2022 at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. Press performances are Friday, February 4 and Saturday, February 5, 2022 at 7:30pm.
A divorced father and his queer son head to the woods of southeastern Texas to relive the camping trips of earlier, easier days. But even without cell service, certain things are inescapable. Playwright travis tate explores masculinity and queerness through the lens of multi-generational Blackness, offering a hilarious, heart-rending family portrait about reckoning with the wilderness of a shared past, while facing an uncertain future.
The Queen of the Night creative team includes Sydney Lynne (Scenic Design), Rueben D. Echoles (Costume Design), Sim Carpenter (Lighting Design), G Clausen (Sound Design) and Caitlin McCarthy (Props Design). The stage manager is Sammy Brown and the production manager is Jennifer Aparicio. Casting was managed by The Chicago Inclusion Project.
“I’m thrilled to have my debut work at Victory Gardens be Queen of the Night,” shares Artistic Director Ken-Matt Martin. “This is a piece I’ve been engaged with for over two years, and I’m so excited to work with Terry and André after wonderful collaborations during my time at Goodman Theatre. I look forward to sharing this play with Chicago theater-lovers.”
About the Artists
travis tate (they/them, Playwright) is a queer, black playwright, poet and performer. Their plays include Seneca, MotherWitch, The Cove, and negro spirit/dream monument. They are currently in Theatre East's Writers Room and was a fellow in Liberation Theatre Company's 2020-2021 Playwriting Residency. Their poetry has appeared in Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, Underblong, apt and Cosmonaut Avenue, among other journals. Maiden, their debut poetry collection, is out on Vegetarian Alcoholic Press. They earned an MFA from the Michener Center for Writers. You can find more about them at travisltate.com.
Ken-Matt Martin (he/him, Director) is the Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theater. He is the co-founder of Pyramid Theatre Company in Des Moines, Iowa where he served as Executive Director from 2015 until 2018. Martin’s producing and directing credits in Des Moines have received thirty-four Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Award nominations, including two awards for Best Play and a Special Honor for Martin in 2016 for his exemplary service to the Des Moines arts community. From 2019 to 2021 Martin served as the Associate Producer of Goodman Theatre. Prior to his time at Goodman, he served as the Producing Director of Williamstown Theatre Festival from 2018-2019. Select directing credits include: Civil Sex, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Prowess, tick..tick..Boom (Brown/Trinity Rep), Fences, Mississippi Goddamn, Prowess, The Amen Corner (Pyramid Theatre), Tripping Over Roots (Rites and Reason Theatre), Shakuntala (Gateway Dance Theatre), and A Son, Come Home and Brotherhood (Williamstown Theatre Festival). He received two undergraduate degrees from Drake University and his M.F.A. in Directing from Brown University. In addition to his producing credits, Martin has numerous directing/acting credits: more info can be found at http://www.kenmatt.com.
Terry Guest (he/him, Ty) is a Chicago-based playwright, actor and teaching artist. He wrote and starred in At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen, which was the recipient of the 2018 Out Front Spectrum Series Grant and had its World Premiere in Chicago at The Story Theatre. Other acting credits include: Incendiary (Goodman Theatre), Wolves (Exit 63), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Alliance Theatre), A Child’s Garden of Verses (Alliance Theatre), Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet (Actors Express). Terry’s writing work includes: A Ghost in Satin (The Williamstown Theatre Festival), Marie Antionette and the Magical Negros (The Story Theatre), The Madness of Mary Todd and The Magnolia Ballet (About Face, Spring 2022). Follow along on Instagram @terryexplainsitall or at terrycguest.com.
André Teamer (he/him, Stephen) was previously seen at Victory Gardens in Sucker Punch. Other Chicago credits include: Sweat (Goodman Theatre), Ruined (Eclipse Theatre), The Trial of Moses Fleetwood Walker (Black Ensemble Theatre), Pantomime (Pegasus Players), Jitney (Court Theatre), and Warm On The Coolingboard (MPAACT). He has been a proud company member of MPAACT (Ma’at Production Association of Afrikan Centered Theatre) for over 15 years. His television and film credits include: Axis Mundi, The Christmas Tree, Love Shorts, Market Value, Spokes, The Playboy Club, Chicago Med, Chicago PD (NBC), and Empire (FOX). André is represented by Paonessa Talent and by NV Talent for voice-over.
Fact Sheet/Queen of the Night
- Title: Queen of the Night
- By: travis tate
- Directed by: Victory Gardens Artistic Director Ken-Matt Martin
- Featuring: Terry Guest (Ty) and André Teamer (Stephen)
- Creative Team: Sydney Lynne (Scenic), Rueben D. Echoles (Costumes), Sim Carpenter (Lights), G Clausen (Sound), Caitlin McCarthy (Props), Sammy Brown (Stage Management), and Jennifer Aparicio (Production Management)
- Previews: January 29 – February 3, 2022
- Press Performances: Friday, February 4 and Saturday, February 5, 2022
- Regular run: February 6 – March 13, 2022
- Schedule:
- Tuesdays: 7:30pm (except February 1, 8 & 15)
- Wednesdays: 2:00pm (February 16 only); 7:30pm
- Thursdays: 7:30pm
- Fridays: 7:30pm
- Saturdays: 3:00pm (February 12 only); 7:30pm (except February 12)
- Sundays: 3:00pm; 7:30pm (January 30 only)
- Accessible Performances: Word for Word (open captioning): Wednesday, February 16 at 2:00pm; Friday, February 18 at 7:30pm; and Saturday, February 19 at 7:30pm
- ASL Interpretation: Friday, February 18 at 7:30pm
- Audio Description/Touch Tour: Friday, February 18 at 7:30pm (Touch Tour at 6:00pm) and Sunday, February 27 at 3:00pm (Touch Tour at 1:30pm)
- Location: Victory Gardens Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood
- Tickets: $29 - $62
- Box Office: The Box Office is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago. * 773.871.3000; www.victorygardens.org.
Victory Gardens Theater 2021/22 Mainstage Season
The Victory Gardens Theater 2021/22 Mainstage Season includes Queen of the Night by travis tate, directed by Ken-Matt Martin, January 29 - March 13, 2022; the World Premiere of In Every Generation by Ali Viterbi, directed by Devon de Mayo, April 2 - May 1, 2022; and the Regional Premiere of cullud wattah by Erika Dickerson-Despenza, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, June 11 - July 17, 2022.
Flex Passes to the 2021/22 Season are currently on sale at victorygardens.org or by phone at 773.871.3000, and offer 20% savings over single ticket prices. Single tickets for Queen of the Night are on sale now at victorygardens.org and range from $29 to $62.
The Ignition New Play Program
The Ignition New Play Program (formerly the Ignition Festival of New Plays) consists of two events for the 2021/22 season: the Ignite Chicago reading series, offering six free readings of new works between October 2021 and July 2022, and the 20/50 Festival in June 2022, featuring three new works by playwrights over 50, staged by VG Directors Inclusion Initiative Fellows. Ignite Chicago readings will take place not only at Victory Gardens’ home in Lincoln Park, the Biograph Theater, but at partner locations throughout the city, to bring new plays into Chicago’s many communities.
Upcoming Ignite Chicago readings include:
● February 2022: exercise your demons: a play on the trauma of a gay male body by Gage Tarlton
● April 2022: Primary Trust by Eboni Booth
● July 2022: Nancy by Rhiana Yazzie
All readings are free to attend, but RSVPs will be required, as capacity for each reading is limited. Registration will be available at victorygardens.org approximately one month before each event.
For complete details on the 2021/2022 Season and artists, Flex Passes, and the Ignition New Play Program, please visit victorygardens.org.
Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Bradshaw Family Foundation, Exelon Corporation, Illinois Arts Council, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation,Prince Charitable Trusts, Pritzker Foundation, The Small Business Administration, and The Joyce Foundation.
Victory Gardens also receives support from the Alphawood Foundation, Charles and M.R. Shapiro Foundation, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund,Mayer Brown LLP, TheNational Endowment for the Arts, thePritzker Pucker Family Foundation, the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, The Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, The Seabury Foundation, and The Venturous Theater Fund of Tides Foundation.
Victory Gardens Theater COVID-19 Attendance Policy
To protect the health of all who attend Victory Gardens productions, the following policies are in place for the 2021/22 Season: All audience members must be masked for the duration of their visit. Masks are available onsite if needed. All audience members ages 5+ must show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination; audience members ages 16+ must also show a valid photo ID at the door to be admitted to the theater. These policies follow state and local guidelines for safe operation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and are subject to change based on the current recommendations.
About Victory Gardens Theater
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Ken-Matt Martin and Acting Managing Director Roxanna Conner, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals. Victory Gardens Theater is committed to the development, production and support of new plays, which has been the mission of the theater since its founding, set forth by Dennis Začek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater, and continued by former Artistic Director Chay Yew.
Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theater work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens’ core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city’s and nation’s culture through engaging diverse communities, and, in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city’s active student population.
Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Začek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 259-seat mainstage, and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.
For more information about Victory Gardens, visit www.victorygardens.org. Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens, Twitter @VictoryGardens, and Instagram @victorygardenstheater.