top of page
17th Annual Living Newspaper Festival
August 20th - 24th, 2026
Event Info:
LNF 17
VENUE: Broadway Armory Park
5917 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60660
RUN-TIME: 75 min.
TICKETS: $20 - $35
View prices and ticket calendar Here.
​Thursday, Aug. 20th, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Friday, Aug. 21st 2026 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 222nd, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, Aug. 23rd, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Monday, Aug. 24th, 2026 at 7:30 PM
contact hudson@jackalopetheatre.org for any accessibility requests
world premiere 10-min. plays inspired by recent news articles.
It's the 17th Annual! This year's Living Newspaper Festival features five original 10-minute plays from a thrilling lineup burning hot playwrights – presented together in one electric evening at Jackalope Theatre in the Broadway Armory.
THE PLAYS & PLAYERS
Let them East Cake
By Anelga Hajjar
Directed by Kaiser Ahmed
Featuring: Yourtana Sulaiman, Chris Chmelik and Claudia Quesada
​
It's Selma's birthday but the cake is uneaten and something seems terribly off. Can her mom and boyfriend get to the bottom of what's infected her? Let them Eat Cake, exposes the insidious consequences of our bodies being injected with public opinion.
​
Inspired by GLP-1 drugs are changing how Americans eat. Food companies are racing to catch up
Fellow Mortals
By Aurora Real de Asua
Directed by Janyce Caraballo
Featuring: Sierra Phan, Katie Bevil and Z Mowry
​
Three individuals, trapped in a cage. Who put them there? And why? And how the hell are they going to get out?
​
Inspired by Mouse study shows repeated cloning causes grave genetic mutations
Turning
By Netta Walker
Directed by Sydney Charles
Featuring: Jalbelly Guzman and Morgan Lavenstein
​
2048. Post Civil War. On a forest creek bed, south of the Mason Dixon, a young woman flees a colony only to be confronted by a relic of the past.
​
Inspired by Newly declassified FBI documents detail UFO sighting by Anoka officers — and one of them filmed it
The Day The Night Came Down
By Ike Holter
Directed by Stephanie Diaz
Featuring: Laura Lodewyck and Pedro Jimenez
​
After a life changing encounter with an unexplained aerial phenomena, a rookie cop weighs the cost of speaking truth to power.
​
Inspired by Newly declassified FBI documents detail UFO sighting by Anoka officers — and one of them filmed it
Picture Day
By Madie Dopelt
Directed by Breon Arzell
Featuring: Miriam Lee, Niko Kourtis and Reilly Oh
When Reddit users loosely link a school photography company with the Epstein files, parents in Coulee Dam, Washington express their concerns. As the school decides how to handle their upcoming picture day, the parents take matters into their own hands.
​
Inspired by Epstein-Linked Rumors Ignite Panic Over School Photos in Coulee Dam
WHO'S WHO
Top Row:
PICTURE DAY: Playwright Madie Dopelt and Director Breon Arzell
LET THEM EAT CAKE: Playwright Anelga Hajjar and Director Kaiser Ahmed
Second Row:
FELLOW MORTALS: Playwright Aurora Real de Asua and Director Janyce Caraballo
TURNING: Playwright Netta Walker and Director Sydney Charles
Third Row:
THE DAY THE NIGHT CAME DOWN Playwright Ike Holter and Director Stephanie Diaz
The 17th Annual Living Newspaper Festival is made possible by:
Season Sponsors The Michael and Mona Heath Fund.
bottom of page