The 2026 Blue Ink Playwriting Festival at American Blues Theater presents staged readings of new works, including the award-winning Overnight at the Museum by Nia Akilah Robinson, along with finalist plays and thou shalt be healed by Benjamin Benne and The Scouts of America Don't Sell Cookies, B*tch by Claire Crowley. Overnight at the Museum follows two Black night security guards who steal Ghanaian artifacts from a gentrified American neighborhood, racing to return them before the opening of a "Neo-African Museum" — a heist story that examines history, legacy, and art. Robinson, a Yale MFA playwright and Juilliard alumna whose work has been developed at Steppenwolf Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company among others, receives the Blue Ink Award's $3,000 prize along with the staged reading. The Blue Ink Award, established in 2010, is a nationally recognized platform that has supported 16 winners and hundreds of finalists, with winning plays going on to premiere in major theater markets across the country.
Cast and Creative Team for The Scouts of America Don't Sell Cookies, B*tch at American Blues Theater
Creative Team
Gwendolyn Whiteside
Executive Artistic Director
News About The Scouts of America Don't Sell Cookies, B*tch at American Blues Theater
We have no news on this show at the current time.
About the Theatre
American Blues Theater Frequently Asked QuestionsFAQ
Always...Patsy Cline (5/1/26-6/7/26)
Overnight at the Museum (8/1/26-8/31/26)
and thou shalt be healed (8/1/26-8/31/26)
Come Back, Little Sheba (2/6/26-3/22/26)
It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! (11/21/25-12/28/25)
Things with Friends (8/25/25-10/4/25)
It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! (11/29/24-12/22/24)
The Lion (1/15/21-1/15/21)
It's a Wonderful Life (11/14/19-1/4/20)
Five Presidents (9/6/19-10/19/19)
The Spitfire Grill (7/12/19-8/17/19)
The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (3/29/19-4/27/19)
On Clover Roadd (2/1/19-3/16/18)
More Chicago Coverage
Videos