Displaying items by tag: Samuel Ashayla Calvin

Director/designer Hagan's production team also includes eight-time Jeff nominee Rachel Lambert (costume design), two-time nominee Ellie Fey (lighting design), six-time Jeff nominee and winner for REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT Petter Wahlbäck (sound design and original music), Randy Rozler (properties design), and Eve Pahoresky (Stage Manager).
 
LISTING INFORMATION

US premiere of an Irish drama that was revived in 2024 at Dublin's Abbey Theatre. Set in Dublin, 1850: The delicate balance at the heart of an affluent Dublin couple's marriage and family business is challenged when two visitors come to Ireland to speak to the public about trade, money and slavery. Exploring the dark side of global commodities like sugar, the play asks the question: if your wealth is built on exploitation, can it really be used to build a better world?

BIOS

Kevin Hagan (He/Him, Director, Scenic Designer) is a graduate of the College of Art & Design at LSU and received an MFA in scenic design from the Theatre School, DePaul University. Kevin is a founding member of Timeline Theatre Company and was resident scenic designer at Shattered Globe Theatre for over a decade, where he also made his directing debut. Chicago design credits include twenty-one productions for Eclipse Theatre Company where he also directed productions of AH, WILDERNESS!, and HAUNTING JULIA. Kevin recently designed DANTE 360 and ANTIGONE for the Athenaeum Center as well as COLLECTED STORIES and THE NORMAL HEART for Redtwist Theatre. For The Artistic Home, Kevin has designed eleven productions including DYING FOR IT (2024 Non-Equity Jeff Award for Best Scenic Design) and he directed THE RIVER as well as THE SUGAR WIFE for The Artistic Home's Summer on the Patio series. 

Elizabeth Kuti (Playwright) is a playwright and lecturer in drama. Her play THE SUGAR WIFE won the 2006 Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Her plays include: FISHSKIN TROUSERS (Finborough Theatre, 2013; revived at Park Theatre, London, 2017); THE SIX-DAYS WORLD (Finborough Theatre, London, 2007); and THE SUGAR WIFE (Rough Magic, Project Arts Centre, Dublin, 2005; Soho Theatre, London, 2006; Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 2024).She teaches drama and playwriting at the University of Essex; and is a long-term collaborator with director Robert Price, with whom she founded Lubkinfinds Theatre.
 
ABOUT THE ARTISTIC HOME
 
The Artistic Home is noted for their innovative and intimate presentations of rarely produced classics as well for developing new works. The company has been frequently honored in the Jeff Awards. For 2025, the company was named with two nominations for Performer in a Principal Role - Play (Brookelyn Hebert in HEDDA GABLER and Scott Westerman in  SUPERIOR DONUTS) and a nomination for Performer in a Supporting Role – Play (Todd Wojcik in HEDDA GABLER). Kevin Hagan, who won a Jeff in 2023 for his  scenic design of DYING FOR IT, has again been nominated this year for his scenic design of HEDDA GABLER. Rachel Lambert has been nominated for her costume design of HEDDA GABLER, and David Blixt has received an Artistic Specialization nomination for his fight choreography of SUPERIOR DONUTS. In 2022, they received nine nominations and two wins – one for New Work (MALAPERT LOVE, written by ensemble member Siah Berlatsky) and one for Supporting Actor in a play (Todd Wojcik – in THE PAVILION). The company's 2022 nominations also included two for Best Play production (MALAPERT LOVE and THE PAVILION). The Artistic Home was one of the big winners in the 2019 Jeff Awards, with four awards including Production of a Play, Director of a Play, Principal Performer in a Play, and Sound Design, all for REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT. Brookelyn Hebert won a Jeff as Principal Performer in a Play for the company's 2020 production of ADA AND THE ENGINE. The company was nominated for Jeff Awards in 2019 for ROCK 'N' ROLL, and in 2018 for HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE. 
 
Other memorable productions of recent years include 2017's WEDDING BAND, BY THE BOG OF CATS and THE SCHOOL FOR LIES; their Jeff-nominated productions of THE SEAGULL, WATCH ON THE RHINE, MACBETH and THE LATE HENRY MOSS; and their 2013 Jeff Award-winner THE GODDESS. Other Artistic Home productions include the Jeff-Award-winning production of JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK, which also received three After Dark Awards, the Jeff-Nominated SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH, THE TALLEST MAN, LANDSCAPE OF THE BODY, NATURAL AFFECTION, FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS, AFTER THE FALL and PEER GYNT (which also received an After Dark award for Direction).
 
For more than 27 years, The Artistic Home has consistently produced compelling theatre in Chicago. First formed in 1998 with the belief that the actor is at the heart of great theater, the company strives to give birth to unforgettable moments; to touch audiences who are increasingly distanced from human contact; to readdress the classics and explore new works with passion.