Pictured: Playwright Shay Youngblood

Pegasus Theatre Chicago has announced its 2017/2018 season, “Legacies,” that includes SHAKIN’ THE MESS OUTTA MISERY, the 31st Annual Young Playwrights Festival, and THE GREEN BOOK.

Pegasus Theatre Chicago’s 31st season (from the press release):

SHAKIN’ THE MESS OUTTA MISERY
Written by Shay Youngblood
Directed by Pegasus Artistic Director Ilesa Duncan
November 8 – December 10

SHAKIN’ THE MESS OUTTA MISERY is the story of a young black girl’s coming of age in the 1960s South. “Daughter,” the main character and 25-year-old narrator lost her mother when she was very young and a community of women raised her, some blood related, some not. As she remembers how her ‘Big Mamas’ prepared her for womanhood, the women enter to tell their stories and “Daughter” becomes a child again reliving her vivid memories of growing up–recalling the rituals, the faith healings, the stories she was told and the lessons she learned about survival, healing, deep faith and mystery. Pegasus Artistic Director Ilesa Duncan originally directed this hit play in 1998 at Chicago Theater Company.

31st Annual Young Playwrights Festival
January 5 – 28, 2018

The Young Playwrights Festival (YPF) celebrates the 31st Anniversary of the program that inspires Chicago students to explore their histories, research their communities and mine their personal journeys to write dynamic one-act plays for the stage. YPF is the only event of its kind in Chicago and is the second largest in the country.
Under the auspices of Pegasus Theatre Chicago, the winning teen playwrights’ productions are work-shopped and staged as part of its main stage season with full casts and production teams. The competition enhances language arts, encourages independent, high-level thinking, strong personal values and influences career development for Chicago’s teens.
The 2018 31st Young Playwrights Festival includes:
Bullet With Butterfly Wings, student playwright: Maday Favela, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, teacher: Elizabeth Danesh
Monster, student playwright: Mairi Glynn, Von Steuben High School, teacher: Margaret Sullivan
Decision Day, student playwright: Abigail Henkin, Lane Tech College Prep, teacher: Brian Telles
Pencils and Pens, student playwright: Aaron Powdermaker, Lane Tech College Prep, teacher: Kirsten Hanson.

THE GREEN BOOK
A co-production with ShPIeL Performing Identity
Written by Calvin Ramsey
Directed by Ilesa Duncan
March 2 – April 1

THE GREEN BOOK, written by the award-winning co-author of “Ruth and the Green Book,” is homage to the historical travel book and centered on the Davis family, an African-American family in Missouri, who open their home to black travelers in the south during the civil rights era. In addition to its honoring of a chapter in history, the play is also an investigation of the impact of civil rights on contemporary American issues. Inspired by Victor Hugo Green’s historical “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” the setting takes place during the weekend that the Davis’ are celebrating the work of Dr. W.E. B, DuBois. The appearance of a white visitor (who turns out to be a Holocaust survivor) sets off a chain of events that galvanize the community.

The 2017/2018 season will be presented at Chicago Dramatists, 773 N. Aberdeen, where Pegasus is a resident artist. For more information visit PegasusTheatreChicago.org.