NEW FRONTIER SERIES
New Play Development • Presenting Visiting Artists • Civic & Community Engagement
Check out what's featured and playing on Jackalope's new frontier!
Submit your event, idea, or request to The New Frontier Series - a collaboration with Jackalope for programs at our home venue in the Broadway Armory Park.
10/30/2025
NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT
Jackalope Theatre Presents A Reading of
THE YO-YO ORGAN
Written by Kaeli Meno​
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Directed by Joel Willison. Featuring Sunnie Eraso, Loreto Delgado III, Miriam Lee, Emily Marso, Mia Park, and Nate Whelden
PERFORMANCE DATE:
ONE NIGHT ONLY | Thursday, Oct. 30th 2025 at 7:00 PM
Jackalope Theatre in Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N Broadway, Chicago, IL
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SYNOPSIS:
A CHamoru myth rooted in a multigenerational, immigrant family relationship. Set on the island of Guam, and spanning several generations and mythologies, the play explores family, friendship, grief, identity, and belonging.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT:
Kaeli Meno (they/she) is a Queer and Chamorro director and playwright with an emphasis on new work. Her writing has been supported or developed by (W)rites of Summer (Story Theatre), Sad Boy Hours, Jackalope Theatre, and the Valdez Theater Conference. They assistant directed MedeaMedeaMedea (Theatre Evolve) and Thanksgiving Play (Steppenwolf Theatre Company). Originally from Alaska, Kaeli received their Bachelor's in Theater and History from the University of Alaska.
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VISITING
ARTISTS
10/25/2025
Chicago-based Playwright Maddie Powell Presents
A reading of her new play...
WE SENT HER TO THE SEA
Written by Maddie Powell
Featuring Sunnie Eraso, Sonia Goldberg, Nadya Naumaan, Hayley O'Toole, Hudson Therriault, and Emily Zhang.
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PERFORMANCE DATES:
October 25th, 2025 | Saturday @ 11:00 AM & 2:00 PM
Jackalope Theatre in Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N Broadway, Chicago, IL
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SYNOPSIS:
In eighteenth-century Europe - well, eighteenth-centuryish “Europe” - difficult women are sent to the seaside, where they are kept out of sight and out of mind. Five such women find themselves at The Sea, a remote treatment center spearheaded by the absurd Mr. Doctor (who may or may not have actually studied medicine?). Powered by irreverence, hijinx, and a passion for musical improv, Maddie Powell’s new comedy We Sent Her to the Sea explores how we tend the garden of progress, and what we can do when we discover rot in the roots
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.
NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT
Jackalope Theatre: The New Frontier Series Presents
A Reading of
THE SPORTING LIFE
Written by Marjorie Muller
Directed by Monét Felton; Featuring Ethan Evans, Campbell Krausen, Ziare Paul-Emile, DeKyi Ronge, Christopher Wayland, and Scott Westerman
PERFORMANCE DATE:
ONE NIGHT ONLY | Tuesday, May 20th 2025 at 7:00 PM
Jackalope Theatre in Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N Broadway, Chicago, IL
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SYNOPSIS:
16-year-old Dot still hasn’t gotten her period. Lucky for her, there’s a Witch in the woods who can get it started. However, in exchange, Dot must offer her the life of a man who has wronged her. And who better to offer than a math teacher? When Dot gets her elusive first period and becomes witness to the Witch’s murder, they become bonded in literal blood, sending Dot down a path of self-understanding, bitterness, and perhaps a little bit of violence too (as a treat). The Sporting Life is a "coming of rage" story brutally snapped open to expose the, sometimes literal, entrails of growing up girl.
VISITING
ARTISTS
Jackalope Theatre: The New Frontier Series Presents
Here's The Exit Theatre Collective's U.S. Premiere of
THE HUNS
Written by Michael Ross Albert
Directed by Hudson Therriault
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PERFORMANCE DATES:
October 17th - 27th, 2024 | Thurs-Saturdays @ 7:30 PM, Sundays at 2:00 PM
Jackalope Theatre in Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N Broadway, Chicago, IL
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SYNOPSIS:
The morning after a break-in at a tech company, three co-workers assemble for a conference call to discuss the burglary. What starts as a civilized, professional meeting swiftly devolves into a brutal showdown that puts everyone’s careers -- and their hopes for future happiness-- in jeopardy.
NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT
Jackalope Theatre: The New Frontier Series Presents
A Staged Reading of
SGT. HANK COLE'S DRAMA CLUB OF ALGONA
Written by Calamity West
PERFORMANCE DATES:
ONE NIGHT ONLY | Friday, August 9th 2024 at 7:30 PM
Jackalope Theatre in Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N Broadway, Chicago, IL
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SYNOPSIS:
After being captured by Americans during WWII, a group of young foot soldiers from the German army are transported to a P.O.W. Camp in Algona, Iowa where they are recruited to join a Drama Club led by Sgt. Hank Cole. Inspired by actual events, this new play by Calamity West explores the brutal hypocrisies of the war machine, the dangers of nationalism, and the magic of theater.