Photo Flash: First Look at Haven's KISS

Haven concludes its 2018-19 Season with the Chicago premiere of KISS by Guillermo Calderón, Chile's most acclaimed playwright-director. Monty Cole directs and performs in this bold theatrical experience that asks if art is a tool for empathy, what are the limits? Abhi Shrestha associate directs. KISS plays July 18 - August 18, 2019 at The Den Theatre's Janet Bookspan Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at havenchi.org. The press opening is Tuesday, July 23 at 8 pm.

KISS features Salar Ardebili, Monty Cole, Gloria Imseih Petrelli, Arti Ishak, Sami Ismat and Cassidy Slaughter-Mason.

Two couples meet for their weekly soap opera viewing party, but that standing double date quickly starts to feel like a soap opera itself when the friends unpack scandals, secrets and their heart-rending passions. Guillermo Calderón has written a bold and political theatrical experience that explodes the romantic drama and asks what it means to empathize with a culture and conflict that is not your own.

Comments Haven Artistic Director Ian Damont Martin, "Bringing this play to Chicago in this moment is particularly exciting as we all start to ask some new and difficult questions about our work, questions about story and perspective - questions about our role and responsibility as artists. Who gets to tell what story? Can we tell stories that are not our own? And what happens when impact doesn't necessarily line up with intent? What is learned in that space? These are the types of questions playwright Guillermo Calderón and director Monty Cole are asking in their respective work. We are glad to be facilitating some space to grapple with these questions which feel so necessary today. Haven is also pleased to welcome back some members of the Haven family, Monty Cole who directed Weird Kids in our inaugural Director's Haven, and Abhi Shrestha, who previously served as Haven's Literary Manager."

The production team for KISS includes William Boles (scenic design), Emily Boyd (props design), Kotryna Hilko (costume design), Claire Chrzan (lighting design), Zach Gipson (technical director), Adam Goldstein (dialect coach), Gaby Labotka(intimacy direction), Katelyn Le-Thompson (associate lighting design), Jeffrey Levin (sound design), Liviu Pasare(projections designer), Marika Mashburn (casting director), R&D Choreography (violence design), Angela Salinas(production manager), May Truehaft-Ali (dramaturg), Corbin Paulino (production stage manager) and Mitch Ward (stage manager).

Photo Credit: Austin D. Oie

Arti Ishak, Monty Cole, Cassidy Slaughter-Mason and Salar Ardebili
Arti Ishak and Salar Ardebili
Salar Ardebili, Arti Ishak, Monty Cole and Cassidy Slaughter-Mason
Monty Cole and Arti Ishak
Monty Cole, Cassidy Slaughter-Mason, Salar Ardebili and Arti Ishak
Monty Cole, Arti Ishak and Salar Ardebili
Salar Ardebili and Arti Ishak
Arti Ishak and Salar Ardebili