See what's on tap for Happy Hour in March

Join us for a theatre happy hour where short plays by local and national playwrights are what’s on tap! On Tuesday, March 18, Ghostlight presents a staged reading of eight plays with one thing in common — they’re all set in bars.

Happy Hour: A Staged Reading of Short Plays Set in Bars will take place, naturally, in a bar. My Buddy’s is opening up on a Tuesday just for us. The show starts at 7 p.m.

The eight stories include tales of new loves, old loves, connections new and old, grief, joy and craft beer.

Selected scripts include:

• The Last Pub in Burtonsville, NY by DC Cathro. Late Christmas Eve at a shut-down bar, two people come to say goodbye to the business in very different ways. An unconventional Christmas tale. Directed by Alexis Vaselopulos.

• PS I Love You, Gerard Butler by Scott Carter Cooper. A funny story of grief and the impact Hollywood has on the process. Directed by Zoe Sjogerman.

• Mind the Gap by Rishi Chowdhary. A group of people find commonalities as they mind the generational gap at a bar one evening.  Directed by Maria Burnham.

• Swiping Right by Bruce Karp. Two friends, a gay man and a straight woman, feeling old and invisible, lament their frustrated love lives in a gay bar...on Wet Underwear Night. Directed by Justin Broom.

• The Grape Nerds Reunion by Alli Hartley-Kong. Mike and Alyssa are connected by a past he can’t remember. When they meet at a high school reunion, Alyssa confides in Mike her mental health history — and he realizes the impact an encounter from a decade ago could have. Directed by Khnemu Menu-Ra.

• LOL by Annie Hogan. Gus and Eleanor have a budding online relationship and have decided to take the leap to an in-person meeting.  Gus, afraid of disappointing Eleanor, brings Aiden, a digital communication liaison, to their date.  The couple explores what it means to connect in person versus online. Directed by Sean Harklerode.

• Jury Selection by Karissa Murrell Myers. Jesse is in Florida, defending one of the most hated men in America. When his ex, Raina, surprises him with a job offer in Chicago, will he take it? Based on the real-life events surrounding the trial of Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz. Directed by Kaeli Meno.

• Beer Culture by James Nelson. Two craft beer connoisseurs have their evening ruined by a guy with terrible taste. Directed by John Gleason Teske.

Auditions announced for Drink the Past Dry

Ghostlight Ensemble is seeking actors for its May production of Drink the Past Dry, a vignette-style, site-specific production set in a nondescript neighborhood bar in the middle of Chicago. It looks like every other bar in every other neighborhood in the city with a few regulars sipping drinks, making small talk, doing the things people always do in bars. But this bar has a secret. It can take you anywhere in time, but only once and only within the walls of the bar (so it turns out it’s not as popular a place as one might think). But there are some souls who still need to reach out to the past – or to the future – and this is where they come when they do.

Character Type:
Ghostlight will be casting for 8 actors. Roles range in age and are not restricted to gender. We are seeking a strong, ethnically diverse cast of all shapes and sizes that represent the culturally rich fabric of Chicago. In addition, we are ideally seeking an older Greek-American actor to play a mother who has just been diagnosed with dementia. A few actors will play multiple roles. We are also seeking understudies for three roles. There will be a guaranteed understudy performance.

Time Commitment:
Rehearsals will be 3-4 times/week on weeknight evenings and/or weekend days in April 2025. Final dates will be confirmed after review of cast conflicts.

Cast members and understudies MUST be available the following dates:

• Tech: Thursday, April 24 and rehearsals on Friday, April 25 in the evenings and Saturday, April 26 during the day. 

• Preview: Sunday, April 27 at 3 p.m.

• Performances:  

  • Friday & Saturday, May 2 & 3

  • Friday & Sunday, May 9 & 11

  • Friday & Sunday, May 16 & 18

  • Friday, Saturday & Sunday, May 23, 24 & 25

  • Thursday & Friday, May 29 & 30

  • Sunday, June 1

Thursday May 29 is a designated understudy performance. There will be a put-in rehearsal for the understudies on May 27 or May 28, depending on actor availability.

Performance take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays. The performance will take place upstairs at Mrs. Murphy and Sons (3905 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60613). Call for preview and performance will be an hour before showtime.

Pay:
Actors and understudies will receive a $100 stipend for rehearsals, tech and preview, plus $25 per performance stipend.

Audition Time & Location:
Auditions will be held at the Lincoln Square Presbyterian Church Community Space at 4635 N. Rockwell St, Chicago, IL 60625. (Across and a few buildings down the street from the Rockwell Brown Line Station.)

Auditions will take place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19. Callbacks will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 22.

Materials To Prepare:
Please submit your headshot and resume to Maria Burnham at casting@ghostlightensemble.com. Please clearly indicate if you have any conflicts during indicated audition times on March 19 or callbacks on March 22.  Sides will be provided.

Contact:
Maria Burnham
Email: casting@ghostlightensemble.com

Call for Scripts: Seeking short plays set in bars for readings

Ghostlight Ensemble is seeking short scripts (under 30 minutes) for a staged reading series at Black Eagle Club. The only requirement is that the scripts are set at a bar.

This is open to playwrights in any geographic area, though writers in the greater Chicago area will receive priority. There is no payment for selection, but there is also no fee to submit.

Selected plays will be presented in a series of staged readings during the spring of 2025 as part of our revamped series of live events at Black Eagle.

Pieces can be previously produced and playwrights may submit more than one play.

Electronic submissions only, please. Please submit a brief synopsis of script in the body of your email, along with contact information, and attach a copy of the full script to Maria Burnham at scripts@ghostlightensemble.com. Please use the following format in the email’s subject line: Bar Project Script Submission: [play name] - [playwright name]

The deadline for submissions is March 2, 2025.