American Blues Theater has announced “Recent Unsettling Events” by Andrea Stolowitz as the recipient of the 2020 Blue Ink Playwriting Award

A staged reading of the play will be presented as part of the 2020 Blue Ink Playwriting Festival, along with new work by finalists “Football Football Football Football (or I Love Lave Dash)” by Kristoffer Diaz, “The Mermaids’ Parade” by Gina Femia, and “Crying on Television” by R. Eric Thomas.

“We’re honored to celebrate the works of these four incredible playwrights in our annual Blue Ink Playwriting Festival. Their bold voices and relevant themes make them distinct American writers. We’re thrilled to showcase their work this May,” says Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside.

The schedule for the 2020 Blue Ink Playwrighting Festival (per the press release):

Saturday, May 2 at 12:00pm
THE MERMAIDS’ PARADE
by Gina Femia

Biron has been deployed to Iraq, and Islande is stuck in Coney Island. A fable of a mermaid connects them both as they are forced to confront their personal horrors in order to try to find one another and themselves during a time of war.

Saturday, May 2 at 4:00pm
FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL (or I LOVE LAVE DASH)
by Kristoffer Diaz

One professional football team must choose between two potential top draft picks: charismatic multiethnic finesse machine Lave Dash and salt-of-the-earth muscle monster Mervin Gufflinson the First. But when these two young legends join forces, it not only changes the game, but also all sports, and also the whole world, and maybe the entire universe. An insane comedy about masculinity, most likely featuring women.

Sunday, May 3 at 2:30pm
RECENT UNSETTLING EVENTS
by Andrea Stolowitz

A small liberal arts college erupts in protests over its required Western Civilization class. As the fights intensify and the entire campus takes sides, the complexities of identity politics, the limits of free speech, and the consequences of preserving the status quo are examined. The play takes its inspiration from real-life events.

Monday, May 4 at 7:00pm
CRYING ON TELEVISION
by R. Eric Thomas

Four strangers; one apartment building; unlimited channels. After a chance meeting in the elevator of an apartment building, Mackenzie, a video editor, realizes that she’s seen Ellison somewhere before. Namely as a contestant on a reality dating show 10 years earlier. Struck by the girl she remembers from the decade-old clip, Mackenzie decides they should be friends and quickly gets caught up in an escalating series of hijinks to make that happen in this platonic romcom. Mackenzie’s quest pulls in Chris, her brother’s ex who is doing his best to be a weird loner, Taffy, an amateur sleuth who never met a stranger, and Kenley, a praise and worship leader at Chris’ church who seems to have figured out life’s greatest mystery: how to make friends as an adult.

The Blue Ink Playwriting Festival runs May 2-4, 2020 at 4809 N Ravenswood, Suite #126, in Chicago. Tickets for the Blue Ink Playwriting Festival, priced at $10 general admission per play or $20 for an all-access Festival pass, are available by contacting (773) 654-3103 or [email protected]. Reservations are recommended as seating is limited.