It’s around midnight. In a sleepy side-street apartment in Chicago’s North side, Sam and Daina are faced with an unexpected visitor. After two years and zero communication, Crystal arrives out of the blue, just in time to help prepare for their friend Jaime’s scheduled release from prison. But she doesn’t exactly get a warm welcome. Unresolved tension surrounding Jaime’s arrest brews immobilizing hostility between old friends. THE BACK POCKET PLAY unearths issues of class, race, and privilege: can our individual identities blind us from the surrounding world? Sam, Daina, and Crystal start the conversation.

The Scripted Studio Series: an extension of the Drama Department’s main stage offerings, this series features staged readings new plays by contemporary playwrights, as well as works from the traditional dramatic canon. Minimum production allows for a short rehearsal process and invites student actors of all years, majors, and levels of experience to participate. Monthly selections highlight a variety of current social issues, with particular focus on plays and characters featuring marginalized and underrepresented voices. Selections for the series are curated by students under faculty mentorship.  When possible, filmed and live-streamed presentation allows for wider distribution of the work, upholding theatre as a social imperative.