Displaying items by tag: Peter Ferneding

The Story Theatre’s world‑premiere staging of Paul Michael Thomson’s Pot Girls bursts to life in a vivid, full‑throttle production at Raven Theatre. Pot Girls is a sharp, funny, and thought‑provoking new play that fuses feminist history, artistic accountability, and a rainbow haze of 1980s, weed‑soaked poetry and art.

Inspired as a thematic counterpart to Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls, Pot Girls - directed by Ayanna Bria Bakari - leans into humor, theatricality, and a cloud of intoxication to explore how women create, collaborate, and collide both onstage and off. And in a bit of theatrical serendipity, both productions are currently running simultaneously at Raven Theatre. In fact, Raven Theatre and The Story Theatre are even offering special marathon days, giving audiences the chance to catch a matinee of Lucky Stiff’s directed Top Girls, stick around for some conversation with the creative team, then return in the evening for Pot Girls - all at a discounted rate (click here for details).

The story follows Caryl herself, a playwright on the cusp of her first major, Olivier‑eligible production - a show designed to spotlight women in the workplace. The year is 1982 and as she toasts the achievement with friends, her colorful London flat transforms into an impromptu hub where a lively, time‑spanning cohort of feminist writers drop in to drink, smoke, debate, and probe the ideas she’s celebrating.

The haze of a jubilant night eventually clears, and what remains is a sharper truth: this play lays bare the exhausting contortions women are expected to perform just to gain a foothold as authors and playwrights. It highlights not only the uphill battle of competing in a landscape where men still discriminate against women in their productions regarding creative authority, but also the added burden of being scrutinized for perfect political correctness the moment a woman-led production finally reaches the stage.

The many ways that women as authors have been discriminated against and unfairly censored or even hunted over the centuries is thoroughly laid out in a fantastic cast of intelligent expressive women.

The period feels fully realized, aided by Katelyn Montgomery’s evocative scenic work and Racquel Postilgione’s sharp costume design.

As the play unfolds, Caryl is pulled through a tangle of personal and professional upheaval - romantic tension with her partner Edith, pointed accusations about her racial blind spots, and the mounting pressure to tell women’s stories with integrity. Around her, the ensemble slips effortlessly between roles, embodying historical figures, colleagues, and critics who collectively push her toward an uncomfortable, necessary self‑examination.

In Pot Girls, Brenna DiStasio centers the production as Caryl, offering a steady emotional clarity that grounds the play’s wilder turns and quietly establishes her as its moral anchor. Ireon Roach, as Edith, wields her well-rolled blunt with sharp wit and charismatic intelligence, building a lively, charged dynamic with DiStasio that keeps the energy flowing like a river.

Peter Ferneding lends understated but essential texture as he shifts through historical and contemporary figures, his easy timing playing neatly against Tamsen Glaser’s agile, precise turns as multiple feminist icons, which bring warmth, wit, and tonal delicacy.

Vibrant, expressive energy radiates through each of Emily Marso’s roles, elevating every moment and sparking electric interplay with Glaser and Maya Bridgewater. Glaser and Bridgewater, in turn, deliver a fierce yet deep human presence across their characters, adding tension and charge to the ensemble’s debates. One of Bridgewater’s characters delivers a beautifully crafted, cathartic reflection on a young girl’s kidnapping and rape - written with such grace and restraint that it resonates powerfully with the conversations society is having today about trafficking and vulnerability.

Rounding out the cast, Laney Rodriguez displays a great sense of humor and threads emotional nuance through each character she inhabits, serving as a subtle connective force while carving out memorable moments opposite DiStasio and Roach. As a unit, the ensemble stays quick, engaged, and combustible, amplifying the play’s ideas with palpable charge.

Ultimately, Pot Girls crackles with ensemble energy and sharp ideas, offering an engaging, thought‑rich night of theatre for anyone drawn to fresh feminist work.

Highly recommended.

Pot Girls has been extended through March 8^th. For tickets and/or more show information, click here.

This review is proudly shared with our friends at www.TheatreInChicago.com. 

The Story Theatre closes its critically-acclaimed, sold-out, award-winning Season V with the world premiere production of Pot Girls by Governing Ensemble member Paul Michael Thomson* and directed by Governing Ensemble member Ayanna Bria Bakari*. This new play about the power of women, words and weed will play February 12 – March 1, 2026 on Raven Theatre's Schwartz Stage, 6157 N. Clark St (at Granville) in Chicago, with multiple possible extensions. Tickets go on sale Monday, January 12, 2026 at thestorytheatre.org/tickets or by calling (773) 338-2177. The press opening is Monday, February 16 at 7:30 pm.

The production will feature Governing Ensemble member Brenna DiStasio* with Myah Bridgewater, Peter Ferneding, Tamsen Glaser, Emily Marso, Ireon Roach and Laney Rodriguez. Understudies include Jack Bowes, Sierra Coachman, Jennifer Ledesma, Lizzy Mosher and Hannah Rule.

About the Production: 

What is the duty of the artist? Well, tonight, her only duty is to get stoned and celebrate! Caryl is getting her first big Olivier-eligible production with a smart, sexy new play that centers women in the workplace. Her nearest and dearest friends – an assortment of feminist writers from throughout space and time – come to her London flat to kiki and drink grasshoppers. (Did we mention it's 1982?) But when the party's over and Caryl is presented with the ways her new play may be causing harm, she must decide whether or not she'll learn from history or else abdicate her responsibility altogether. What is the role of critique in creation? Can we judge the artist's politics by the artwork's problems? And is any of our art really activism?

An intertextual riff on Caryl Churchill's Top Girls, Pot Girls will run in creative conversation with Raven Theatre's production of Top Girls directed by Lucky Stiff and running on Raven Theatre's Johnson Stage from February 12 – March 22, 2026 The Story Theatre has been the storefront company in residence at Raven Theatre since 2019, and both companies are excited about this new chapter of artistic collaboration. The companies will offer "marathon days" where audiences have the opportunity to experience a matinee of Top Girls, a special event with the creative teams, and then an evening showing of Pot Girls – all at a discounted rate.

The production team for Pot Girls includes Katelyn Montgomery (Scenic Design), Racquel Postilgione (Costume Design), Seojung Jang (Lighting Design), Ellie Fey (Assistant Lighting Design), Gina Montalvo (Sound Design), Spencer Diaz Tootle (Properties Design), Jyreika Guest (Intimacy Direction), Stina Taylor (Technical Direction), Eva Breneman (Dialect Coaching), Emma Sipora Tyler (Dramaturgy), Anastar Alvarez (Stage Manager), Liv Morris (Assistant Stage Manager), Shelbi Weaver (Production Manager), Mark Brown (Master Electrician), David Hagen (Director of Design), Marlene Slaughter (Assistant Director) and Terry Guest* and Brianna Buckley (Producers).

*Denotes a member of The Story Theatre's Governing Ensemble

Content Advisory: If you would like content details before purchasing your ticket, please feel free to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The Story recognizes that individual sensitivities are myriad, and we encourage you to reach out with any questions.

Production Details:

Title: Pot Girls

Playwright: Paul Michael Thomson*

Director: Ayanna Bria Bakari*

Cast (in alphabetical order): Myah Bridgewater (Phillis Wheatley, Naomi, Ayanna), Brenna DiStasio* (Caryl), Peter Ferneding (Edward Carpenter, Max, Paul Michael), Tamsen Glaser (Sappho, Annie, Brenna), Emily Marso (Lady Murasaki Shikibu, Mei-Lin), Ireon Roach (Edith) and Laney Rodriguez (Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Christine). Understudies: Jack Bowes, Sierra Coachman, Jennifer Ledesma, Lizzy Mosher and Hannah Rule.

Location: Raven Theatre Schwartz Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville), Chicago

Dates: 

Previews: Thursday, February 12 at 7:30 pm, Friday, February 13 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, February 14 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, February 15 at 3 pm

Regular run: Thursday, February 12 – Sunday, March 1, 2026 (with multiple possible extensions)

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm.

Tickets: $20 – $48* (tiered options). Discounts available. Tickets go on sale Monday, January 12, 2026 at thestorytheatre.org/tickets or by calling (773) 338-2177 *Pricing includes processing fees

Group tickets: Special group grates are available. For more information, call (773) 338-2177 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Plan Your Visit: 

Free parking is provided in a lot adjacent to the theatre—additional street parking is available.

Nearest El station: Granville Red Line. Buses: #22 (Clark), #36 (Broadway), #151 (Sheridan), #155 (Devon), #84 (Peterson).

About the Artists:

Paul Michael Thomson (Playwright) is an actor, playwright, producer and PhD candidate based in Chicago. He is so grateful to bring this play to life with his fellow Governing Ensemble members and closest friends, Ayanna Bria Bakari, Brenna DiStasio and Terry Guest. As an actor, Paul Michael has worked regionally at Steppenwolf, Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Urbanite Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Southwest Shakespeare, and more, and his on-camera credits include All Happy Families, Drawn Back Home, Chicago Med and Chicago Justice. His plays have been developed and produced around the country, including: brother sister cyborg space (Raven Theatre); Bobby & Lorraine, or Something Left to Love (Rivendell Theatre, with Quenna Lené Barrett); Fremont Junior High Is NOT Doing Oklahoma! (Good Company Theatre, Live Theatre Workshop, Bramble Theatre); What a Time to Be Alive (You Say That Every Time) (Great Plains Theatre Commons, Definition Theatre); Leave Me Alone! (The Story Theatre); The G.O.A.T., or Who Is Ximone? (Theatre L'Acadie, O'Neill Center NPC Finalist); and more. Paul Michael is a PhD candidate in Afro-American Studies through the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and his scholarly work has been published in Theatre History Studies, the Black Theatre Review and Theatre Annual. He is a proud co-founder and Governing Ensemble member of The Story Theatre and is represented by Gray Talent Group. paulmichaelthomson.com @paulmichaelt

Ayanna Bria Bakari (Director) is an actor, producer director and a proud Governing Ensemble Member of The Story Theatre. She is delighted to be making her Directorial debut with the folks she has loved and made theater with for the past 8 years. She graduated with a BFA in acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. Some of her Chicago theatre credits include: Purpose, Last Night and the Night Before (Steppenwolf); Relentless, Too Heavy for Your Pocket (TimeLine Theatre); Relentless, How to Catch Creation (Goodman); As You Like It (Chicago Shakespeare); The Niceties (Black Theater Alliance Award) and Stickfly (Writers Theatre); At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen (Asst. Director, 2019 and Wig Design, 2025 at The Story Theatre), Leave me Alone! (The Story Theatre). Regionally, she has played in Blues for an Alabama Sky (Seattle Rep); The Colored Museum (Studio Theatre); The Salvagers (Asst. Dir. at Yale Repertory Theatre); Clyde's (TheaterWorks Hartford); Sunflowered (Northern Sky Theater); The Rainmaker (Peninsula Players); The Originalist (Indiana Repertory Theatre). Ayanna Bria's television credits include recurring roles in Wu-Tang: An American Saga on HULU and The CHI on Showtime along with guest roles on Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, Empire on FOX and 61st Street on AMC. She made her film debut in Holiday Heist on BET. She is represented by Stewart Talent. @ayannabakari_

About The Story Theatre: 

Founded in 2018, The Story Theatre will pose questions rather than provide answers. We develop and produce new work that is whimsical, melancholic, mythic in vision and intimate in scale. We are run by a Governing Artistic Ensemble, who ensures our work is actively dismantling racism and inequity, while cultivating community through activism and catharsis.

In 2025, The Story Theatre was awarded the Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theatre Award from the League of Chicago Theatres. Our world premiere productions and elevated staged readings have garnered sold-out extended runs and Joseph Jefferson Awards, including: At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen by Terry Guest; the love object by Justine Gelfman; Marie Antoinette & the Magical Negroes by Terry Guest; Las Fantasmas y Frida Kahlo by Spencer Diaz Tootle, and more.

The Story Theatre is funded in part by The Michael and Mona Heath Fund, The Illinois Arts Council, DCASE CityArts and The Cecilia, Marcia and Jay Iole Foundation.

Though Larry Kramer did not live to see the end of the 2020 COVID-19 lock downs, no doubt his contributions to the 1980s AIDS outbreak inspired a new generation to demand accountability for what is widely regarded as a botched response.

Larry Kramer was known as a firebrand who often verged on offensive. His 1978 debut novel titled “Faggots” was a blistering satire of pre-AIDS gay life in New York City. His depictions of fellow gays as shallow and promiscuous earned him a negative reputation in the late 1970s scene.

By the time the AIDS crisis overwhelmed New York in the early 80s, Kramer was seen by many as cantankerous, but nonetheless his brash public appearances and relentless demand for social justice made him an iconic figure in the fight against AIDS.

Redtwist Theatre opens their newly renovated space with a revival of Larry Kramer’s 1985 play ‘The Normal Heart’. Ted Hoerl directs a sizeable ensemble cast to recreate Kramer’s semi-autobiographical story of the inception of one of the country’s first AIDS activist groups—Gay Men’s Health Crisis.

‘The Normal Heart’ begins with a gut-wrenching diagnosis that quickly drops the audience into the moment when AIDS first hit New York in the summer of 1981. Kramer establishes Ned Weeks (Peter Ferneding) as the main character spurned into action by the sight of his friends rapidly dying of an unknown disease.

Ned is inspired to become a leader for AIDS research by Dr. Brookner (Tammy Rozofsky) who sees patient after patient with the same mysterious, but lethal pathology. With his heart in the right place, Ned bickers incessantly with his fellow activists showing how messy progress can be.

Through it all, Ned falls in love for the first time, mirroring Kramer’s own search for love in an era where gay love was still in the closet. The central romance between Ned and Felix (Zachary Linnert) provides Ned a reason to keep fighting for acknowledgement from federal and local health agencies in order to fund research and a cure.

Performances are somewhat inconsistent in Redtwist’s revival, but the play serves to remind its audience of the truly outrageous mishandling of the AIDS crisis by Reagan-era politicians unwilling to help, or even dare say the word AIDS. Kramer’s anger is both palpable and justifiable in nearly every line, even if at times delivered a little melodramatically.

‘The Normal Heart’ is a searing indictment of the dangers of apathy. And that seems even more prescient as we head into an election in which brazenly absurd policies like Project 2025 are on the ballot.  Kramer was deeply disturbed by the Western word’s inaction during the Holocaust and saw many parallels during the AIDS crisis. While not exactly a pleasant subject matter, the world needs people like Larry Kramer to sound the alarm bells.  His play may not be as artful as Tony Kushner’s ‘Angels in America’ but its message is even more dire. In the near three hour run time, in a small theater, Kramer’s gripping script is impossible to shy away from, which is exactly what he intended.

Through September 29 at Redtwist Theatre. 1044 W Bryn Mawr Ave. www.RedwistTheatre.org