Pictured:  Abhi Shrestha, Georgette Verdin, and James Yost.

Interrobang Theatre Project has announced its ninth season and a new artistic associate.

The 2018/19 season kicks off this fall with THE GOAT, OR WHO IS SYLVIA?, Edward Albee’s provocative portrait of a marriage in flux, directed by Co-Artistic Director James Yost. In winter 2019, guest director Abhi Shrestha stages the Chicago premiere of Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s I CALL MY BROTHERS, a day in the life of an Arab-Swedish man who must dodge suspicion after a car bomb rattles Stockholm. The season concludes in spring 2019 with Co-Artistic Director Georgette Verdin helming the Midwest premiere of Emily Schwend’s UTILITY, an intimate look at an East Texas woman’s struggle to make ends meet.

Also this fall, Interrobang will produce Nassim Soleimanpour’s WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT. Featuring one actor with no rehearsal, and a different show every week. WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT runs Monday nights at The Den Theatre.

“This season we landed on the unifying theme of ‘identity/crisis,’” comments Co-Artistic Director Georgette Verdin. “Across three plays and one special event we will tackle the elusive nature of self-definition. The characters in these dramas are desperately trying to discover who they are in a world that has already decided who they ought to be. What happens when this conflict is pushed to the breaking point, and how do we return to sanity once the dust settles?”

Interrobang has also welcomed Joe Lino as its newest Artistic Associate. Lino recently appeared in the company’s production of “Grace.” In Chicago, he has worked with Steppenwolf, Goodman, Victory Gardens, Teatro Vista, Drury Lane, The New Colony, The Cuckoos Theater Project and The Agency Theatre Collective, where he can be seen next in the world premiere of “Tres Bandidos.”

Interrobang Theatre Project’s 2018/19 Season includes (from the press release):

September 7 – October 7, 2018
THE GOAT, OR WHO IS SYLVIA?
By Edward Albee
Directed by Co-Artistic Director James Yost

Martin is an accomplished architect living the American dream. He has a loving wife, a devoted son, and an acclaimed career. But an explosive revelation threatens to destroy everything he has built, and forces Martin to reconcile the man the world has come to know with the man he has always been inside. Shocking theatregoers when it first premiered, The Goat deftly lambastes liberal acceptance, fidelity and family as one man painfully traverses the ultimate taboo.

January 5 – February 2, 2019
Chicago Premiere
I CALL MY BROTHERS
By Jonas Hassen Khemiri
Translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles
Directed by Abhi Shrestha

Stockholm, Sweden. A car bomb rocks the peaceful city, and leaves the Arab-Swedish Amor on guard and on edge. But he doesn’t have time to let his fear get the best of him; he’s got places to be. As Amor attempts to run his errand and grapple with his own anxieties, we follow him through a fraught 24 hours, cautiously navigating the city he calls home. Balancing paranoia and humor, Jonas Khemiri’s nuanced account dares us to question our own perceptions and prejudices, while offering a singular and harrowing take on the labyrinth of global identity politics.

April 5 – May 4, 2019
Midwest Premiere
UTILITY
By Emily Schwend
Directed by Co-Artistic Director Georgette Verdin

Amber is doing everything she can to keep her head above water, but no matter how hard she tries it never seems to be enough. Money is tight, her marriage is in turmoil, and she’s juggling two jobs just to make ends meet. As she struggles to plan her 8 year old daughter’s birthday party, Amber must stay strong as she feels increasingly invisible in her own life. Meticulous and heartbreaking, “Utility” offers a glimpse into the American working class through empathic realism.

September 24 – November 12, 2018
WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT
by Nassim Soleimanpour
Mondays at 8 pm at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago

What happens when you put one artist on a stage and hand them a script they’ve never read before? Pure theatrical magic. This acclaimed solo show creates an intimate exchange between actor and audience in a one-of-a-kind dramatic experience. No rehearsal. A new performer every night. An artistic experiment like you’ve never seen, and won’t soon forget.

Finally, ITP announces THE PLAYWRITING INITIATIVE, in association with DePaul University. Each season, local playwrights will be invited to participate in an immersive and supportive partnership, including one graduate selected from DePaul’s BFA Playwriting program. Each collaboration will be tailored to meet the needs of the individual playwright as the Interrobang Artistic staff aids in the development of the artist’s dramatic vocabulary and theatrical voice, culminating in a public reading of each playwright’s work.