I could not be more excited about our 2025 – 2026 season. Ensemble Members Matthew C. Yee and Kevin Douglas are two brilliant playwrights, each with a genius knack for dark humor. Both White Rooster and Untitled Vampire Play hit you in the gut with poignancy and in the sides with laughter from two entirely different angles. The human mind is incredible!
Heidi Stillman directs our Lookingglass Young Ensemble this season, providing the next generation of theatre makers with a masterclass in the devising of new work, the creation of spectacle, and the physical storytelling techniques that Lookingglass is known for.
We continue to bring our free and accessible programming to neighborhoods throughout the city with our Lookingglass Outdoors events and performances such as Sunset 1919 and circus in the parks.
And, we open our doors even wider to organizations and artists looking for a home including hosting TimeLine Theatre’s production of Hundreds and Hundreds of Stars this fall.
It’s time to gather and build one another up, to applaud and embrace every generation, and to reintroduce the value of shared laughter, love, and learning. This is what our 2025 – 2026 season is all about.
– Kasey Foster, Artistic Director
YOUNG ENSEMBLE PRODUCTION
December 2025
Heading into its 27th year, The Lookingglass Young Ensemble is a group of Chicago-area young adults, ages 13-18, committed to building their theater skills, lifting their voices and developing their creativity through collaborative creation.
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WHITE ROOSTER
March – April 2026
White Rooster is a darkly funny tale of love, loss and the strange things we inherit. After a family tragedy, Min is pulled into a world of restless spirits, old curses and mysterious traditions. Her fiancé won’t stay dead, her sister won’t stay buried and a rooster won’t be ignored. Blending spooky folklore with offbeat humor, White Rooster is a haunting tale of grief, family and the messiness of moving on.
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UNTITLED VAMPIRE PLAY
June – July 2026
Hilarity (and tragedy) ensue in the world premiere of Untitled Vampire Play when Val, a vampire, is in a new relationship with a mortal, Dom, each having different ideas about where their relationship should go. Rose, Val’s progeny, wants Val to consider leaving the country, and on top of that, Val’s estranged brother has returned, coincidentally, as a serial killer terrorizes the streets of Chicago. Untitled Vampire Play explores love, codependency, unwavering convictions and vampires.
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SUNSET 1919
Saturday, July 27, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Launched in July of 2020, Lookingglass established Sunset 1919, an annual artistic ritual featuring music, movement and word commemorating the start of the 1919 Chicago race riots. Incited by the tragic murder of Eugene Williams, a Black teenager stoned to death by a White man, George Stauber, after drifting into a “Whites Only” section of Lake Michigan. Sunset 1919 is meant to honor the lives of Black people impacted by the deadly racial attacks that swept the nation that summer, the roots of which stretch back across centuries, the fruits of which we continue to pluck – a moment in an unbroken line.
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MEMBERSCRIPTIONS
Memberscriptions are just like they sound, a theatre membership and a subscription all mashed up into one new Lookingglass creation. Memberscribers get tickets to each show, PLUS many other ticketing treats, bar benefits, and plus perks. Memberscriptions are the best way to join the journey.
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Season Artwork graphics by Matthew C. Yee and Allie DiSanto
New! This season, go behind the scenes of every Lookingglass show with workshops and classes designed to spark your curiosity. During Circus Quixote, join Lookingglass and the Actors Gymnasium before the show for a juggling lesson that will lift your spirits and get you ready to show off new party tricks. Let's play! Best for …
Theatre loving, Chicago area teens are invited for pre-show pizza and Circus Quixote artist chat before heading into the theatre for the performance. Tickets are LIMITED.
A Reflect Panel Discussion Series The REFLECT Panel Discussion Series draws on a theme or social issue inherent in the current production and gives space to speak on them and with each other. Lookingglass Ensemble Member and Teatro Vista Producing Artistic Director Wendy Mateo and Teatro Vista Managing Director Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel examine Cervantes’ text as a tool …
Latine culture is the world. And the world is here in our Chicago. The fiesta begins at 5:30 p.m. with a pre-show mixer featuring full bar service and a vast curation of Latine Music spun by DJ Charly Garcia of Sonorama Discos and Lumpen Radio. The evening continues with the main event – the night’s performance …
A Reflect Panel Discussion Series in partnership with Instituto Cervantes The REFLECT Panel Discussion Series draws on a theme or social issue inherent in our current production and gives us a space to speak on them and with each other. Manuel Valenzuela (Administrador del Instituto Cervantes) joins public media personality Narimon Safavi to engage in a fascinating …
Have you just begun your quest to create professional theatre? Want to meet other emerging artists but aren't sure where to start? Join us before Circus Quixote on March 25 for a meet and greet! Circus Quixote tickets are always $25 for students, but for this special event students also get half off all beverages. Your artistic …
Join Lookingglass before the show for drag performances from Luv Ami-Stoole, Fantasy Banks, and Spirit Apothrosis. Remember to bring dollar bills to tip the performers! Meet members of the Center on Halsted staff in the lobby and learn about their healthcare and advocacy work. Throughout June, sales from a special drink at the bar will support …
Get to know Chicago in this fun-filled evening of variety entertainment and conversation with the inaugural offering of Lookingglass Presents. This month the evening includes Brian Babylon (comedian and fashion designer), Ensemble Member Atra Asdou (writer and performer) and Third Coast Chorus, a 40-person choir! Suggested ticket is $20. BUY TICKETS
Lookingg to find your artistic home? Want to meet other early career artists? Join Actors Gymnasium and Lookingglass at 6 p.m. for Emerging Artist Night. Early career and new-to-Chicago artists may participate in a free pre-show workshop, see Iraq, But Funny at the industry rate and stick around after the show for a meet & …
Before the show, explore the art in our lobby gallery and meet the women and femme artists representing and reshaping cultural traditions from across Southwest Asia and North Africa. After the show, join Iraq, But Funny playwright and performer Atra Asdou for a panel discussion celebrating women in the arts--past, present, and future. Featuring
New! This season, go behind the scenes of every Lookingglass show with workshops and classes designed to spark your curiosity. During IRAQ, BUT FUNNY, join Lookingglass artist John Gregorio before the show for a gentle introduction to improv that will leave a laughing impression. Bringing a group? Request a custom workshop. Let’s play!
Southwest Asia and North Africa: a crossroads for the world. The SWANA community in CHI itself is vast and diverse. Cause enough to congregate around our production of IRAQ, BUT FUNNY and celebrate Chicago’s SWANA community. Join us on July 10th for a pre-show mixer at 6pm featuring live music and scrumptious bites. Stick around after the …
Lookingglass Theatre and Actors Gymnasium team up once to again, as part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks, to bring you an original, circus-infused story that showcases the transformative magic of a simple act of kindness. Conveyed without spoken language, and through dance, clown, and circus, Ice Cream Circus! is designed …
For the first time in Lookingglass’ history, audiences are invited to go behind the scenes and experience its new play development program, gglassworks, with the inaugural GglassFest. Attendees will have the opportunity to see how the Lookingglass Ensemble proposes new work to one another, to preview stories coming to the Lookingglass stage, and to participate …
MEMBERSHIPS
Membership & Ticket information coming soon!
