Julian Hester News

Experience seven world and Chicago premieres at the CUT TO THE CHASE festival of one-act plays presented by The Artistic Home.

Watch as Sylvia Hernandez DiStasi, the Acrobatic Coordinator of Moby Dick, discusses her approach to circus arts - and David Catlin, the Director and Adaptor of Moby Dick discusses how aerial acrobatics can add depth to creative storytelling.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary awarding recognition for Non-Equity theater, the Joseph Jefferson Awards has revealed its nominations for theater excellence among Non-Equity theater during the 2023 season.

Watch an all new trailer for Moby Dick, which comes to The Rep February 6-25. The Repertory Theater of St. Louis (The Rep) presents the captivating timeless classic, Moby Dick at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Campus of Webster University.  Moby Dick is based on the book of the same name by Herman Melville and adapted and directed by Lookingglass Theater Company founding ensemble member and former Artistic Director David Catlin. 

 The Repertory Theater of St. Louis (The Rep) presents the captivating timeless classic, Moby Dick this February 6-25, 2024 at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Campus of Webster University. 

The Heartstrings Awards serve to acknowledge the most meaningful performances and productions of the year in Chicago. They are bestowed by Life and Times, under the direction of chief theatre critic Rikki Lee Travolta. Learn more about this year's winners here!

 The Artistic Home will stage Jen Silverman’s WITCH – in which a charming devil arrives in the quiet village of Edmonton to bargain for the souls of its residents in exchange for their darkest wishes. Learn more about the production and how to get tickets here!

Kicking off the new year, the Joseph Jefferson Awards announced its nominations for theater excellence among Non-Equity theater. See the full list!

The Actors Gymnasium will present CIRCUS QUIXOTIC, an original circus theatre production adapted and directed by David and Kerry Catlin, with circus choreography by Artistic Director Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi.

See photos of the Artistic Home's world premiere of Siah Berlatsky’s Shakespeare-inspired, gender-bending romantic comedy Malapert Love, developed as part of the company’s Summer on the Patio series.

The Artistic Home will present the world premiere of Siah Berlatsky’s Shakespeare-inspired, gender-bending romantic comedy Malapert Love, developed as part of the company’s Summer on the Patio series. Directed by ensemble member Julian Hester, Malapert Love will play November 5 – December 11, 2022 at The Den Theatre’s Upstairs Mainstage.

 The Artistic Home will present Craig Wright’s drama The Pavilion, directed by ensemble member Julian Hester*, playing April 30 – June 5, 2022 at The Den Theatre’s Upstairs Mainstage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood.

The Artistic Home present Craig Wright's drama The Pavilion, directed by ensemble member Julian Hester*, playing April 30 – June 5, 2022 at The Den Theatre's Upstairs Mainstage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood.

The Artistic Home will return from its “pandemic pause” with a production of Sarah Ruhl's EURYDICE, to be performed at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Avenue.

The Artistic Home is inviting the public to share in their process of play selection this summer by offering free admission each weekend to staged readings and open rehearsals of three contemporary plays.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater will welcome artists back to make theater again as dozens of actors, directors, designers, and technicians are busy creating upcoming productions, captured live in the Theater's performance spaces and streaming on-demand for audiences at home via the new Chicago ShakesSTREAM platform. 

Upon arrival at Windy City Playhouse's flagship venue in Irving Park, audience members are handed an acceptance letter welcoming them to Brown University's class of 2011. Thus begins an intimate journey through the world of THE RECOMMENDATION, written by Jonathan Caren and directed by Jonathan Wilson. For its Chicago premiere, Windy City Playhouse artistic director Amy Rubenstein has overseen a revised script and a new concept that stages Caren's play in the theater's signature immersive style. Audiences follow the actors from room to room and even drink alongside them, from slurping Jello shots in a college dorm to sipping sake in a Hollywood lounge.

Windy City Playhouse, known for presenting unique and immersive theater pieces that create an intimate audience experience, is set to debut its newest immersive production with the Chicago premiere of Jonathan Caren's "The Recommendation" at its Flagship location (3014 N. Irving Park Road).  Fresh off successful productions at The Old Globe (in San Diego) and the Flea Theater in New York, the psychological thriller follows two friends through the trials and tribulations of life and tests just how far they will go to get what they want. The cast of "The Recommendation" includes Michael Aaron Pogue as Iskinder Iodouku, Julian Hester as Aaron Feldman and Brian Keys as Dwight Barnes.

Raven Theatre continues its 2018-19 season with Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle.

Raven Theatre continues its 2018-19 season with Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle. This artful, surprising and often-funny memory play that explores how we are shaped by the people who hurt us will play February 7 - March 24, 2019 on Raven's 99-seat East Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago.