Raven Theatre Unveils Two New Commissions And A Play In Development For 2025–26 Season

Raven Theatre has commissioned two new works and begun development on another for the company’s 2025–26 season. The plays include BLOODMOBILE: 1988 by Alex Lubischer, an untitled commission by Omer Abbas Salem, and MERCY by Felicia Oduh. The selections continue the theater’s investment in Chicago-based artists and in work that interrogates questions of memory, fear, justice, and the American experience.

“Raven has always been home to bold, complicated stories,” said Sarah Slight, Executive Artistic Director of Raven Theatre. “These three playwrights are asking enormous, necessary questions about fear, forgiveness, identity, and community. We're continuing to support their visions and to bring Chicago audiences new work that challenges, surprises, and moves them.”

Lubischer’s BLOODMOBILE: 1988 follows a Nebraska farming community navigating suspicion, illness, and moral uncertainty. The piece centers on a sick child who has contracted “the disease homosexuals get,” sparking debate among parents who fear for their children’s safety, while rumors spread that a landlord may be undead. Lubischer, a queer Midwestern writer raised on a Nebraska farm and now based in Rogers Park, brings a blend of dark humor and small-town tension to the commission. His previous works include Bobbie Clearly, Pivot, You Deserve To Be Here, Do Wasps Have Desires?, Weird Kids, The Quonsets, and Survey No. 5. He is a former Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence and teaches at DePaul University and Bramble Theatre.

Salem’s untitled new play examines what happens when a child begins recounting memories from a past life—memories that belong to the parent’s own childhood abuser. The commission explores reincarnation, trauma inheritance, and the ethical dilemmas that arise when caring for someone tied to unresolved harm. Salem’s work has been produced by The Goodman, Steppenwolf Theatre, About Face Theatre, Steep Theatre, First Floor Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, The New Coordinates, The Story Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, National Queer Theatre, and other companies. They are a recipient of multiple commissions, including from Audible Theater and Steppenwolf Theatre, and are a 2022 3Arts Award winner in Theater.

Oduh’s MERCY, currently in development, follows Eric, a man returning home after 18 years of wrongful imprisonment. The drama traces the efforts of Eric and his family as they navigate forgiveness, accountability, and the long-term consequences of systemic failure. Oduh is a first-generation Nigerian-American actor and playwright whose work has been supported by Definition Theatre, Jackalope Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre, Vertigo Productions, and Black Lives, Black Words. Her accolades include recognition from the O’Neill Theater Center, the Kilroys List, and the Reva and David Logan Foundation.