Displaying items by tag: strong women

Artemisia Theatre is proud to announce the return of the WeWomen Play Festival, its annual celebration of new feminist work. This year’s festival features six playwrights and a slate of directors bringing their work to life through staged readings.

The 2026 WeWomen Play Festival runs November 16–18 at Bramble Arts Loft. Each evening will feature two staged readings, along with artist talkbacks and networking opportunities designed to bring Chicago’s theatre community together.

This year’s announced playwrights are Zeyy Fawaz with The Tenants, Lauren M. Gunderson with Paradise, Samantha Hurley with COUNTESS JOSEPHINE AND LADY

PHILOMENA du BOURBON TRY TO HIDE A BODY, Sonja Lynn Mata with White Thorn of Color, Elenna Stauffer with Woman’s Work, and Brandy Victoria with Holy Smoke.

The 2026 festival directors are Dinah Berkeley directing White Thorn of Color, Julia Farrell Diefenbach directing Paradise, Kayla Menz directing COUNTESS JOSEPHINE AND LADY PHILOMENA du BOURBON TRY TO HIDE A BODY, Zoë Nisam directing The Tenants, Stephanie Mattos directing Holy Smoke, and Denise Yvette Serna directing Woman’s Work.

The WeWomen Play Festival production team includes Julia Farrell Diefenbach (Producer), Ema Kester (Stage Manager), and members of their Artist Leadership Coalition: Whitney Dottery, Leanna Gianoutsos Oliveira, Samie Jo Johnson, Abigail Karr, Jabari Khaliq, Candice Mason, Grayson May, Dionna Ndlovu, Seoyoung Park, Sydni Charity Solomon, and Jessica Swim.

The festival schedule has networking events starting at 6 pm, with readings and talkbacks starting at 7 pm. On November 16, Woman's Work by Elenna Stauffer then Paradise by Lauren M. Gunderson. November 17 will have COUNTESS JOSEPHINE by Samantha Hurley and The Tenants by Zeyy Fawaz. And finally, November 18 will end the festival with Holy Smoke by Brandy Victoria and White Thorn of Color by Sonja Lynn Mata.

The 2026 WeWomen Play Festival will take place at Bramble Arts Loft, 5545 N. Clark Street, 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60640, in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood.
Single-day tickets are $23 and three-day passes are $48, and may be purchased online at artemisiatheatre.org.

Access: Bramble Arts Loft is located on the second floor of the building and is accessible by an ADA-accessible guest elevator. Guests with specific accessibility questions or accommodation requests are encouraged to contact Artemisia Theatre in advance of their visit.

Visit artemisiatheatre.org for more information, including content warnings, and news of special events. Find and follow the company on social media @artemisiatheatre on Facebook and Instagram

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS

Zeyy Fawaz (The Tenants, she/her) is a multilingual playwright, actress, and vocalist. A community organizer and activist, Zeyy weaves her advocacy into her artistic expression. Her body of work spans film, television, theater, commercial, and voiceover productions. A firm believer in art as a powerful political tool, Zeyy is committed to centering activism in her work, contributing to numerous productions that spotlight pressing social justice issues. In addition to holding a degree in the arts, she earned a master’s in International Relations and Development, with a concentration in Languages and Diaspora Studies. It is this unique intersection of diplomacy and artistry that informs and propels her creative and professional pursuits.

Lauren M. Gunderson (Paradise, she/her) has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list 4 times, including 2025/26. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in Theatre Award, the Lanford Wilson Award and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Her plays have been translated into a dozen languages and produced across the world, and her anthology, “Revolutionary Women,” is published by Bloomsbury. LaurenGunderson.com and @LalaTellsAStory

Samantha Hurley (COUNTESS JOSEPHINE AND LADY PHILOMENA du BOURBON TRY TO
HIDE A BODY, she/her) is a Maine-raised, Chicago-based playwright. Her debut play, I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire, premiered Off-Broadway at Nancy Manocherian’s The Cell Theatre to critical acclaim and a sold-out run, followed by its international debut at London’s Southwark Playhouse. The play is published by Concord Theatricals and has been featured in Teen Vogue, Interview, and Pleaser. Her second full-length play, RE(VULVA), was an O’Neill Semifinalist, Princess Grace Award Semifinalist, and Relentless Award Honorable Mention. Her plays have been developed at the Cell Theatre, Pocket VR/Theatre L’Acadie, Impostors Theater Co, Two Chairs Theatre Company, and Avalanche Theatre. samhurleywrites.com

Sonja Lynn Mata (White Thorn of Color, she/her) is an actor-creator, clown, and playwright hailing from the suburbs of Chicago. She graduated with a BFA from Ohio University and has completed the Professional Training Program at Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater. She has worked with the National Theatre of Ghana in their nation's capital, Accra and has toured nationally with Theater Unspeakable. Sonja is a year-round cyclist, an avid connoisseur of pizza and is currently working on her solo show: ¡Abuela más panqueques, por favor! IG: @sonjathepayasa or www.sonjalynnmata.com

Elenna Stauffer (Woman’s Work, she/her) is a NYC based playwright and actor. Her writing has been produced or developed by Thrown Stone, Detroit Rep, UC Davis, Second

Act New Works, Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol, Pittsburgh New Works, and the New York International Fringe Festival. Macha Distillery, Pegasus, and SWTP Finalist and O’Neill, WP Lab, Lanford Wilson, Hidden River, DVRF, and Frank Moffett Mosier Semi-finalist.

HYSTERICAL! and THE AUNTIE NETWORK are published/licensed by Broadway Play Publishing, and monologues appear in Smith+Kraus Best Monologues compendiums. Proud member AEA, SAG/AFTRA, Dramatists Guild, Climate Reality, and the 2025 PlayPenn Playwrights Cohort. Yale (BA) and Columbia (MFA).

Brandy Victoria (Holy Smoke, she/her) is a playwright, essayist, and performance artist whose work has been produced by the Obsidian Theatre Festival, the Fade to Black Reading Series, the Barter Theatre, and the Abingdon Theatre Company. In 2023, Brandy was named a Hurston/Wright Foundation Fellow and featured as a playwright in the literary publication Obsidian: Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora. She graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia, earning degrees in Film and Media Arts and African-American Studies. Learn more at brandyvictoria.com

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS
Dinah Berkeley (White Thorn of Color, they/them) is a Chicago-based theatre-maker, Arts Educator and Community Facilitator whose work is deeply rooted in the embodied practices of clown, mime, puppetry and dance. They seek out work that aligns with their values of centering authenticity, making space for curiosity, wonder, and awe as essential parts of process before product, and moving towards liberation through collective communal care, collaboration, and play. Directing credits include Everybody Thrashing The Cherubs program at Northwestern University, We Tell Each Other Stories, a workshop reading as part of A Red Orchid Theatre’s Incubator series, and they were a featured Director at Direct Address, produced by The Understudy Coffee Shop and Book Store. Additionally, Dinah has been a performer and deviser for over ten years; their work has been witnessed globally, from San Francisco to Edinburgh, NYC to El Bolsón. Dinah is delighted to be working with Artemisia Theatre for the first time during the WeWomen Play Festival. Take clown with them for free as part of the Healing Arts Chicago program, which seeks to bridge the gap between arts and health by providing free arts services across the city.
Julia Farrell Diefenbach (Paradise, she/her) is a director and dramaturg drawn to strange, dark, and unconventional stories. Recent directing credits include Kate Hamill’s Sense and Sensibility, The Haunting of Hill House (Twin City Players), and the sold-out Los Angeles production of One Exit (The Halogen Company). Other credits include work with Chicago Dramatists, Haven Chicago, Shattered Globe Theatre, Collaboraction, Midsommer Flight, and Citadel Theatre. Julia has a particular love for immersive work and for digging into historical stories to find what still feels urgent, messy, and recognizable today. She currently serves as Director of Marketing & Community Engagement at Shattered Globe Theatre and Managing & Marketing Director at

Artemisia Theatre. Julia is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago and is a proud member of LMDA.

Kayla Menz (COUNTESS JOSEPHINE AND LADY PHILOMENA du BOURBON TRY TO HIDE
A BODY, she/they) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist who primarily focuses in directing and intimacy directing these days. Recent directing credits include Radical Futures, The Sporting Life (Factory), The Meaningful Action Theatre Company Presents A Workshop Reading Of "Muffed: A Recounting Of Farmington, Maine's 43rd Annual Chester Greenwood Day Devised By The Members Of The Meaningful Action Theatre Company" (Factory, 3Bros), Lavinia Andronicus is YOUR Spin Instructor (Meat Machine), and Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln (Impostors). They are a graduate of Cleveland State University and the directing apprenticeship program at Capital Stage in Sacramento. Connect with Kayla at www.kaylamenz.com or on Instagram @kaylabanana797.

Zoë Nisam (The Tenants, she/her) is very excited to work with Artemisia on this project! She is a recent graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University, where she studied Theatre Arts and Nonprofit Organization. Originally from Minneapolis, Zoë has called Chicago home for 4 years and has fallen in love with the arts scene here. Her work spans directing, dramaturgy, stage management, and teaching, and she is an ensemble member with Sub Rosa Theatre Company. Recent credits include The Snow Queen with The Impostors Theatre Co. (Stage Manager), In Pursuit Of with Sub Rosa (Dramaturg), Pinto with TTS and A Red Orchid Theatre (Asst. Director), and she is a teaching artist and administrative assistant with Creative Root. Learn more about her work here: https://sites.google.com/view/zoe-nisam/home

Denise Yvette Serna (Woman’s Work, she/her) is an award-winning theatre practitioner in Chicago, Illinois. Credits include productions and new play development with Teatro Vista Productions, Lyric Opera of Chicago, MCA Chicago, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Neo-Futurists, Paramount Theatre, Bramble Theatre Company, Strawdog Theatre Company, Prop Thtr, and Global Hive Laboratories. Denise has facilitated international workshops, productions, readings, fundraisers, panels, and festivals to promote activism for racial equity, accessibility, climate justice, gender based violence, immigration, literacy, community collaboration, and collective joy. deniseyvetteserna.com

Stephanie “Stevie” Mattos (Holy Smoke, she/her) is an actor, fight director and combatant in Chicago and a member of the Society of American Fight Directors. BFA in Performance Arts - Acting, Western Kentucky University. Directing: Women of 4G (Asst. Director, Babes with Blades Theatre Co.), Lonely Hearts in Lockdown (Birch House Immersive), Twelfth Night (Midsommer Flight). Fight Direction: Do You Feel Anger (Here's The Exit Theatre Co.) Andy Warhol Presents: The Cocaine Play (Jackalope Theatre Co.), Black Cypress Bayou (Definition Theatre), A Lie of the Mind, Gorgeous, OAK and The Prodigal Daughter (Raven Theatre); Brothers from the Deep (Factory Theater), The Duchess of Malfi (Asst. Fight Director, Babes with Blades Theatre Co.). Film: Rent’s

Due, Go To the Body (Asst. Stunt Coordinator). Represented by Big Mouth Talent. Ensemble member of Midsommer Flight. www.stephaniemattos.com. IG: asmattering.

ABOUT ARTEMISIA

Artemisia produces plays that empower women, creating career-altering opportunities for ALL women theatre artists of all racial and ethnic backgrounds; sexual orientations and identities; economic status; ages and disabilities. We make women heroes of their own lives by sharing their stories and amplifying their voices. We invite anyone and everyone who wants to empower women to join us as artists and audience.

Artemisia aims to be at the forefront of the fight for women and their allies through outstanding performances that push the envelope. From world premieres to the virtual stage, our mission is and will always be to better our world for everyone.

Artemisia is led by a volunteer coalition of Chicago-based artists and administrators who are fully committed to the theatre’s mission and its core values of empowerment, diversity, and inclusion. The coalition creates a safe space for ALL Chicago artists while practicing pay equity, amplifying the voices of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists, and engaging the community in plays driven by the idea that her story empowers us all. If you are interested in joining the coalition, email artemisia.org for more info.

Visit www.artemisiatheatre.org to learn more.