Incubator Series

About the Incubator

Experiments with New Artists & New Ideas

The Incubator at A Red Orchid Theatre was created to get to know emerging talent, encourage dreaming, and foster exploration in Chicago’s theatre community. Leading with curiosity, it provides artists with the space, stage, and time to incubate new work, new artistic relationships, and new artistic forms. A Red Orchid’s ensemble maintains the conviction that live theatre is the greatest sustenance for the human spirit, and that passionately committed artists will draw passionately committed audiences. The Incubator is an active manifestation of that conviction and of A Red Orchid’s mission to cultivate new audiences for the modern stage.

Season 2025-26 Incubator Projects

The 2025-26 Incubator Program is made possible by the generous support of

The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.

Previous Incubator Projects

INFINITY BURNS by Felix Abidor Directed by Patrick Starner Cast: Faiz Siddique (Bruno), Guy Wicke (Bellarmine), Grant Brown (Paul), Julian “joolz” Stroop (Hermes), Cam Frontain, Evelyn Wohlbier, Gardy Gilbert, and Noelle Oh (Infinite) Production Team: Martina Logan (Stage Manager), Macy Mateer (Assistant Director/Dramaturg), Riley Woods (Lighting Designer), Ethan Korvne (Composer & Sound Designer), Brandii Champagne (Scenic Designer), Kotryna Hilko (Costume Designer), Aja Singletary (Movement Designer), James Cullinane (Fight Choreographer), Grace Archer (Assistant Dramaturg), Hope Campbell (Graphic Design) August 3 - 17, 2025 A defiant philosopher faces execution for claiming the universe is infinite. As the Inquisition closes in, Giordano Bruno battles torturers, gods, and his own fear; meanwhile, the Inquisitors try to figure out what the proper snack is to serve at a stake-burning
 Popcorn hasn’t been invented yet. S’mores? A little on the nose
 With a chorus of infinite voices and the god Hermes whispering in his ear, Bruno must decide what he’s willing to die for—and what might be worth lying to save. Infinity Burns is a kaleidoscopic collision of history, heresy, and the terrifying beauty of belief.

Infinity Burns

INFINITY BURNS

by Felix Abidor
Directed by Patrick Starner

Cast: Faiz Siddique (Bruno), Guy Wicke (Bellarmine), Grant Brown (Paul), Julian “joolz” Stroop (Hermes), Cam Frontain, Evelyn Wohlbier, Gardy Gilbert, and Noelle Oh (Infinite)

Production Team: Martina Logan (Stage Manager), Macy Mateer (Assistant Director/Dramaturg), Riley Woods (Lighting Designer), Ethan Korvne (Composer & Sound Designer), Brandii Champagne (Scenic Designer), Kotryna Hilko (Costume Designer), Aja Singletary (Movement Designer), James Cullinane (Fight Choreographer), Grace Archer (Assistant Dramaturg), Hope Campbell (Graphic Design)

August 3 – 17, 2025

A defiant philosopher faces execution for claiming the universe is infinite. As the Inquisition closes in, Giordano Bruno battles torturers, gods, and his own fear; meanwhile, the Inquisitors try to figure out what the proper snack is to serve at a stake-burning
 Popcorn hasn’t been invented yet. S’mores? A little on the nose
 With a chorus of infinite voices and the god Hermes whispering in his ear, Bruno must decide what he’s willing to die for—and what might be worth lying to save. Infinity Burns is a kaleidoscopic collision of history, heresy, and the terrifying beauty of belief.
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PRETTY SHAHID by Omer Abbas Salem Directed by Laura Alcalá Baker Featuring Omer Abbas Salem, Gloria Imseih Petrelli, Sahar Dika, H. Adoni Esho, Debo Balogun, Sarah Price, Em Modaff, and Yourtana Sulaiman. June 29 and 30, 2025 A young Iraqi immigrant is hit in the head with a thrown bottle the day after 9/11 and he wakes up sounding just like his favorite American – Julia Roberts. As he and his family navigate the racist days that followed the tragic day, he uses his new voice and lost memory to become more American. This is a play about assimilation and what we choose to forget about ourselves to fit in. It’s a romantic comedy, though. And gay. And has singing and dancing, just like any Julia Roberts movie, but way more political resistance. Please join us for some culture, comedy, and an uprising!

Pretty Shahid

PRETTY SHAHID

by Omer Abbas Salem
Directed by Laura AlcalĂĄ Baker

Featuring Omer Abbas Salem, Gloria Imseih Petrelli, Sahar Dika, H. Adoni Esho, Debo Balogun, Sarah Price, Em Modaff, and Yourtana Sulaiman.

June 29 and 30, 2025

A young Iraqi immigrant is hit in the head with a thrown bottle the day after 9/11 and he wakes up sounding just like his favorite American – Julia Roberts. As he and his family navigate the racist days that followed the tragic day, he uses his new voice and lost memory to become more American. This is a play about assimilation and what we choose to forget about ourselves to fit in. It’s a romantic comedy, though. And gay. And has singing and dancing, just like any Julia Roberts movie, but way more political resistance. Please join us for some culture, comedy, and an uprising!

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THE H TWINS by Hope Campbell Featuring Hope Campbell Gundlah, Tess Cameron Gundlah, Timothy Weinert, Jennifer Jelsema, and Meghan Maureen McDonough March 3-5, 2025 Identical twins Hilda & Helga are the blonde-haired, blue-eyed ideal- at least according to Uncle M, the researcher-turned-father-figure who supervises their highly controlled children’s home in 1940s Germany. After accidentally being exposed to American movies and music, the H Twins become convinced they’re destined to be vaudeville stars. But as they develop their song-and-dance acts and fret about impending adulthood, they grow less and less identical- and more and more questioning of their “ideological education” and the experiment in which they’ve been raised. The twins tell their story via a darkly funny, musical, reality-bending variety show. 

The H Twins

THE H TWINS

by Hope Campbell

Featuring Hope Campbell Gundlah, Tess Cameron Gundlah, Timothy Weinert, Jennifer Jelsema, and Meghan Maureen McDonough

March 3-5, 2025

Identical twins Hilda & Helga are the blonde-haired, blue-eyed ideal- at least according to Uncle M, the researcher-turned-father-figure who supervises their highly controlled children’s home in 1940s Germany. After accidentally being exposed to American movies and music, the H Twins become convinced they’re destined to be vaudeville stars. But as they develop their song-and-dance acts and fret about impending adulthood, they grow less and less identical- and more and more questioning of their “ideological education” and the experiment in which they’ve been raised. The twins tell their story via a darkly funny, musical, reality-bending variety show. 

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The Meat Machine presents A Red Orchid Incubator production of THE WORM MY SISTER Conceived of and directed by Ramona Rotten Devised and performed by The Meat Machine Featuring Lynda Cortez, Sam Hurwitz, Kelsey Rich, John Francis Klingle, Quinn Leary, Melissa Jane Carlson, Paul Brennan, Lou Smith & Emily Cobb December 5 - 15, 2024 Enter the fractured world of The Worm My Sister, a haunting experiment from Ramona Rotten and the Meat Machine, running December 5th-15th. Born from a fevered process of communal creation, this piece unveils a fog-bound island where reality dissolves, and two figures—Miranda and her clone, Not-Miranda—drift between presence and performance under the looming eye of Father Daddy. Inspired by The Tempest, the lives of the Dionne quintuplets, and Guy Debord’s critique of spectacle, The Worm My Sister is a ritual of voyeurism, exploitation, and transformation. Texts unravel nightly, bleeding new meanings with each performance.

The Worm My Sister

The Meat Machine presents A Red Orchid Incubator production of

THE WORM MY SISTER

Conceived of and directed by Ramona Rotten
Devised and performed by The Meat Machine

Featuring Lynda Cortez, Sam Hurwitz, Kelsey Rich, John Francis Klingle, Quinn Leary, Melissa Jane Carlson, Paul Brennan, Lou Smith & Emily Cobb

December 5 – 15, 2024

Enter the fractured world of The Worm My Sister, a haunting experiment from Ramona Rotten and the Meat Machine, running December 5th-15th. Born from a fevered process of communal creation, this piece unveils a fog-bound island where reality dissolves, and two figures—Miranda and her clone, Not-Miranda—drift between presence and performance under the looming eye of Father Daddy. Inspired by The Tempest, the lives of the Dionne quintuplets, and Guy Debord’s critique of spectacle, The Worm My Sister is a ritual of voyeurism, exploitation, and transformation. Texts unravel nightly, bleeding new meanings with each performance.
Read more
Token Theatre presents the World Premiere of ZAC EFRON By David Rhee & Wai Yim Directed by Alan Muraoka Featuring Hansel Tan, Wai Yim & Gordon Chow with special appearances by Cheryl Hamada & Wai Ching Ho June 20 - July 21, 2024 Zac Efron glimpses into a world that is rarely seen on the American stage: two Asian Americans looking for love and the complexities that come with their adventures. It is a poignant opportunity for radical self-acceptance through YouTube, tarot readings, and of course, one of America’s favorite sweethearts, Zac Efron. Hold onto your harness and clutch your pearls, it’s gonna be a wild ride!

Zac Efron

Token Theatre presents the World Premiere of

ZAC EFRON

By David Rhee & Wai Yim

Directed by Alan Muraoka

Featuring Hansel Tan, Wai Yim & Gordon Chow with special appearances by Cheryl Hamada & Wai Ching Ho

June 20 – July 21, 2024

Zac Efron glimpses into a world that is rarely seen on the American stage: two Asian Americans looking for love and the complexities that come with their adventures. It is a poignant opportunity for radical self-acceptance through YouTube, tarot readings, and of course, one of America’s favorite sweethearts, Zac Efron. Hold onto your harness and clutch your pearls, it’s gonna be a wild ride!

Read more
Kalliope & Co. presents THE RECEPTIONIST By Adam Bock Directed by Kyle Stoffers Featuring AROT Ensemble Member dado with Jessica Ervin, Jacob Alexander & Dano Duran May 15 - June 2, 2024 At the start of a typical day in the Northeast Office, Beverly deals effortlessly with ringing phones and her colleague’s romantic troubles. But the appearance of a charming rep from the Central Office disrupts the friendly routine. And as the true nature of the company’s business becomes apparent, The Receptionist raises disquieting, provocative questions about the consequences of complicity with evil.

The Receptionist

Kalliope & Co. presents

THE RECEPTIONIST

By Adam Bock

Directed by Kyle Stoffers

Featuring AROT Ensemble Member dado with Jessica Ervin, Jacob Alexander & Dano Duran

May 15 – June 2, 2024

At the start of a typical day in the Northeast Office, Beverly deals effortlessly with ringing phones and her colleague’s romantic troubles. But the appearance of a charming rep from the Central Office disrupts the friendly routine. And as the true nature of the company’s business becomes apparent, The Receptionist raises disquieting, provocative questions about the consequences of complicity with evil.

Read more
ACT FIVE Conceived & installed by Ensemble Member dado Script by Katherine Swan | Musical curation by Sam Clapp What if the orchard was not destroyed, and we return years later to find our musicians still playing out there? In this exploration of an imagined Act Five of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, we finally get to meet and experience the offstage musicians in person. Act Five will be shared with our patrons via five open rehearsals.  REAWAKENING DESIRE Directed by Ensemble Member Shade Murray Leaning into the sexy, the giddy, and the heartbreaking of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, this project aims to investigate a world where desire is ignited in the most wonderfully unexpected ways. This workshop will culminate in a free, salon-style reading.

Act Five & Reawakening Desire

ACT FIVE

Conceived & installed by Ensemble Member dado

Script by Katherine Swan | Musical curation by Sam Clapp

What if the orchard was not destroyed, and we return years later to find our musicians still playing out there? In this exploration of an imagined Act Five of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, we finally get to meet and experience the offstage musicians in person. Act Five will be shared with our patrons via five open rehearsals. 

REAWAKENING DESIRE

Directed by Ensemble Member Shade Murray

Leaning into the sexy, the giddy, and the heartbreaking of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, this project aims to investigate a world where desire is ignited in the most wonderfully unexpected ways. This workshop will culminate in a free, salon-style reading.

Read more
Purpose: CELEBRATION was developed to experiment with combining theatrical and musical forms and further exploring relationships between the artists. Set on the eve of an anniversary party held in an elite London restaurant, Harold Pinter’s Celebration explores the bizarrely acute and darkly hilarious condition of human disconnection. This theatrical event imposes Pinter’s restaurant onto an experimental performance of Mauricio Kagel’s music, exacerbating the tensions in human relationships and the ensuing existential disposition.

Celebration

Purpose: CELEBRATION was developed to experiment with combining theatrical and musical forms and further exploring relationships between the artists.

Set on the eve of an anniversary party held in an elite London restaurant, Harold Pinter’s Celebration explores the bizarrely acute and darkly hilarious condition of human disconnection. This theatrical event imposes Pinter’s restaurant onto an experimental performance of Mauricio Kagel’s music, exacerbating the tensions in human relationships and the ensuing existential disposition.

Read more
Purpose: SICK BY SEVEN was developed to explore the combination of video multimedia with theatrical forms in new work while exploring relationships with new artists and raising funds for a charitable organization. Anxiety, phobias, mental illness, mysterious diseases, and medication are among the issues explored by artists in SICK BY SEVEN. The seven interconnected works, part of A Red Orchid Theatre's Incubator series, combine live theater and video to investigate physical, mental and societal health in the modern world.

Sick by Seven

Purpose: SICK BY SEVEN was developed to explore the combination of video multimedia with theatrical forms in new work while exploring relationships with new artists and raising funds for a charitable organization.

Anxiety, phobias, mental illness, mysterious diseases, and medication are among the issues explored by artists in SICK BY SEVEN. The seven interconnected works, part of A Red Orchid Theatre’s Incubator series, combine live theater and video to investigate physical, mental and societal health in the modern world.

Read more
Purpose: PUGET SOUND was a play development workshop that explored new work and new artistic relationships, culminating in a staged reading that invited audience feedback. Two beach combers' lives are disrupted when a severed foot washes ashore.

Puget Sound

Purpose: PUGET SOUND was a play development workshop that explored new work and new artistic relationships, culminating in a staged reading that invited audience feedback.

Two beach combers’ lives are disrupted when a severed foot washes ashore. “Puget Sound” explores what happens when the mysteries of the ocean collide with the mysteries of life and death.

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