The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is pleased to announce the 4 awardees of the Chicago Cultural Center New Play Residency. The selected works will be showcased with free public readings during Chicago Theatre Week, February 15-16, and February 22-23, 2025, at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Studio Theater (78 E. Washington St). All readings are free and open to the public; all are encouraged to RSVP. A full schedule is available at ChicagoCulturalCenter.org. The New Play Residency supports local dramatists and producers of new plays and musicals with time, space, and funding (up to $12,000 for a play, $16,000 for a musical). The goal is to help bring new projects to life and provide resources for their development. The 2024-2025 awardees are: 

• The Last Senior Home in Bronzeville (Nikki Carpenter, produced by Quenna Lené Barrett) – A comedy/drama about gentrification and senior citizens’ fight to stay in their community. 

• Las Fantasmas y Frida Kahlo (Spencer Diaz Tootle, produced by The Story Theatre) – A dark comedy exploring historical legacy and identity in Frida Kahlo’s haunted home. 

• frikiNation (Krystal Ortiz, produced by UrbanTheater Company) – A bilingual jukebox musical about rebellious youth in 90s Cuba confronting political oppression. 

• Your Hands Are Like Mine (Kiara Rivera, produced by Victor Hugo Jaimes) – A magical realism play about eating disorders and body dysmorphia as a form of generational coping mechanisms. 

Photo Credit: Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events