Jackalope’s current production of PROWESS. Photo by Joel Maisonet.

Jackalope Theatre Company announced its 16/17 season today. The company’s 9^th season features three productions: a world premiere, a U.S premiere, and a Midwest premiere and will take place at Jackalope’s space at The Broadway Armory Park in the Edgewater neighborhood.

“I wanted Jackalope’s 9th season to focus on new work that’s willing to take risks,” says Artistic Director Gus Menary. “This year we feature playwrights, all who bring unique perspectives and ask difficult questions. From rebellious slam poets,to modern religious families, to the closed-door meetings of secretive corporations, this season investigates the America of today, and challenges audiences to consider what assumptions we make, what prejudices we carry, and which values we hold most dear.”

J A C K A L O P E   S E A S O N   9:  U P – C L O S E

OCTAGON
U.S. Premiere
By Kristiana Rae Colón. Directed by Tara Branham
October 19 – November 20, 2016
After Wall Street and Tahrir Square, after ISIS and the NSA, after Ferguson and Eric Garner: here come the poets. In a downtown poetry slam with a place on the team to be won, eight young poets prepare to do battle. But backstage it’s all kicking off with love triangles, families to feed and wounds to rip open. And in the end, is it about winning – or finding the words that need to be said?

THE SNARE
World Premiere
By Samantha Beach. Directed by Elana Boulos
February 22 – April 1, 2017
Ruth is your average eighth-grader, keeping busy with basketball, preparing for her school’s Civil War Day, and trying to be more like her babysitter. One night, in the quiet of her bedroom, Ruth hears the voice of the devil, telling her to take action. Unprepared, Ruth’s pastor mom and family struggle to walk a path between pragmatism and faith. In this world premiere play about good vs. evil, and growing up, the question is: who will you believe?

IDEATION
Midwest Premiere
By Aaron Loeb. Directed by Gus Menary
May 10 – June 27, 2017
Jackalope Theatre presents the Midwest premiere of the critically acclaimed play the New York Times called “Amusing and intriguing…Triumphant…First-rate.” Aaron Loeb brings a dark comic edge to this psychological suspense thriller, in which a group of corporate consultants work together on a mysterious and ethically ambiguous project. As the lines between right and wrong are blurred, these characters must navigate the cognitive dissonances and moral dilemmas to decide for themselves if everything is as it really seems.

In addition to the season at The Broadway Armory Park, Jackalope will present an entirely curated season of work in The Frontier.  The full details of this programming will be announced in the fall, and will include collaborations with other Chicago theatre companies, a lineup of developmental workshops, and presentations by guest companies.