Role Call
Refracted’s ongoing play reading series
In 2023, Role Call took place monthly at Third Space Chicago in Lakeview. This year, we’re expanding Role Call, while doing it less. Stick with us. Instead of doing Role Call every month, we’ll be doing it quarterly, but they’ll be bigger, better, and move around the city to locations that will be more convenient for different audiences. We can’t wait to see you there!
next up:
“At our time of life we simply cannot deal with this shit.”
- Hazel, The Children
April 18, 2024 at 6pm
Third Space Chicago
718 W Addison St
ABOUT THE PLAY
Hazel and Robin are seemingly happy to live out the rest of their marriage in a remote coastal cottage while the rest of the world tries to recover from a natural disaster. After 38 years away, Rose, a former colleague from their days as physicists at the nuclear power plant, appears and Hazel begins to question her intentions. And anyways, how does she know her way around the kitchen so well?
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
LUCY KIRKWOOD (Playwright). Theatre includes: Rapture (Advertised as That Is Not Who I Am), Maryland, The Children, NSFW (Royal Court); Like Rabbits (Brighton Festival); Chimerica(Almeida/Headlong/West End); Hansel & Gretel, Beauty & The Beast (National); Housekeeping(Theatre Uncut/Southwark/Latitude); Small Hours(Hampstead); Bloody Wimmin (Tricycle); It Felt Empty When the Heart Went at First But it is Alright Now (Clean Break/Arcola); Psychogeography, Guns or Butter (Union); Tinderbox (Bush); Hedda (Gate). Awards include: Olivier Award for Best New Play (Chimerica); Evening Standard Award for Best New Play (Chimerica); Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (Chimerica). Up next: The Welkin at Atlantic Theatre Co.
WHAT ARE WE DOING?
Part book club, part performance, part debate and part community healing, Refracted is calling together its talented artistic community together with the theatrically-curious Chicago community to investigate exciting works of theatre…in a setting where everyone has a role to play!
WHAT DOES IT COST?
This event is always free to attend! We are asking for a suggested donation of $10 (mostly to cover snacks, but also just to keep going!) Just register at the Eventbrite link provided so we have a sense of how many people are coming.
WHERE ARE WE DOING IT?
Stay tuned for where we’ll be first in 2024!
WHEN ARE WE DOING IT?
Stay tuned for when we’ll meet first in 2024!
WHAT TO BRING TO IT?
Make sure you bring a device (like your laptop, ipad, or even just your phone) to read on.
Also, this event will be BYOB! Feel free to bring your own wine/beer/booze and also SNACKS!
(Or dinner if you get hangry between 6 and 9 PM with no food. We will have some snacks but it’s hard to say how many snacks might be left if you don’t bring your own snacks so just make sure you bring some snacks cuz never enough snacks, am I right, you little snack?)
HOW ARE WE DOING IT?
Before we start reading the play, we’ll assign each participant who would like to “act” a role from the character list (it’s also okay to come just to listen if you prefer!)
At the end of each scene, the roles will be reassigned to new people, so that everyone who wants a chance to “act” while reading gets one!
At the end of the play, Refracted will host discourse around what got everyone thinking:
What do you think the play is trying to ask? What side of the story do you think was left out? What made you excited? Angry? Inquisitive? The goal of this conversation is to find areas where we disagree and investigate those points of disagreement from a place of empathy and curiosity.
When possible, Refracted will invite special guests, those who are experts and/or have experiential relevance pertinent to the play’s subject matter, to offer facts and firsthand accounts to inform the post-read discussion. Participants will have the chance to share feedback with the Refracted team about what they enjoyed about the play and where they found themselves in opposition to the story or characters.
We want to hear what you have to say! We approach the conversation from a spirit of inquiry and a hunger to learn about ourselves and each other from those with whom we disagree.
Follow our socials at @refractedco and join our email list to be first to hear which play we’re exploring next!
past role calls
March 2023: Hilary and Clinton by Lucas Hnath
April 2023: Fremont Junior High is NOT Doing Oklahoma! by Paul Michael Thomson
May 2023: CORONATION by Laura Winters
June 2023: Which Way to the Stage by Ana Nogueira
July 2023: Heroes of the Fourth Turning by Will Arbery
August 2023: Black Hat Duncan by Paige Scott
September 2023: Homeless Garden by Matt Minnicino
November 2023: The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa Fasthorse