Pictured (top, l to r): Salar Ardebili, Monty Cole and Gloria Imseih Petrelli (bottom, l to r) Arti Ishak, Sami Ismat, and Cassidy Slaughter-Mason.

Haven Theatre has announced the cast and design team for the Chicago premiere of “Kiss” by Guillermo Calderón,

Directed by Monty Cole with associate director Abhi Shrestha, the production features Salar Ardebili, Monty Cole, Gloria Imseih Petrelli, Arti Ishak, Sami Ismat, and Cassidy Slaughter-Mason.

The production team includes William Boles (scenic design), Kotryna Hilko (costume design), Claire Chrzan (lighting design), Jeffrey Levin (sound design), Emily Boyd (props design), Liviu Pasare (projections designer), Marika Mashburn (casting director), Angela Salinas (production manager), Josh Prisching (technical director), Corbin Paulino (production stage manager) and Mitch Ward (stage manager).

In “Kiss,” two couples meet for their weekly soap opera viewing party, but that standing double date quickly starts to feel like a soap opera itself when the friends unpack scandals, secrets and their heart-rending passions.

Comments Artistic Director Ian Damont Martin, “Bringing this play to Chicago in this moment is particularly exciting as we all start to ask some new and difficult questions about our work, questions about story and perspective – questions about our role and responsibility as artists. Who gets to tell what story? Can we tell stories that are not our own? And what happens when impact doesn’t necessarily line up with intent? What is learned in that space? These are the types of questions playwright Guillermo Calderón and director Monty Cole are asking in their respective work. We are glad to be facilitating some space to grapple with these questions which feel so necessary today.”

“Kiss” plays July 18 – August 18 at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. For more information visit haventheatrechicago.com.