Face Off Theatre Company Launches 2026 Season With FREEDOM ISN’T FINISHED: BLACK MIDWEST VOICES PROJECT
A staged reading festival will run in February at the Carver Center.
By: A.A. Cristi Jan. 29, 2026
Face Off Theatre Company will open its 2026 season with Freedom Isn’t Finished: Black Midwest Voices Project, a staged reading festival highlighting Black playwrights from across the Midwest. Performances will take place February 12–15, 2026, at the Carver Center at Kalamazoo Civic Theatre.
The project marks the formal launch of the company’s Living Stage philosophy, a community-centered approach to theatre-making that emphasizes process as well as presentation. Rather than focusing solely on fully realized productions, the Living Stage framework incorporates public readings, dialogue, and audience engagement as new work is developed.
Freedom Isn’t Finished centers Black authorship, legacy, and regional voice through a series of staged readings that invite audiences to experience new plays as they take shape. The festival is designed to foster connection between artists and community members, positioning the audience as witnesses to works in progress rather than passive observers.
The festival will feature new plays by six Midwest-based playwrights. Shawntai Brown’s Cut Short will be presented alongside Krystle Dellihue’s Hattie and WWFD (What Would Fannie Do). Additional works include SAD AND LOW by Brandon Foxworth, Black, White, Gray by Vickie G. Hampton, and Different by Brooke Lindley.
According to the company, the project affirms Black communities as active creators and carriers of their own stories, emphasizing authorship and future-making through regional perspectives.
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