Festival of Unfinished Work
JUNE 25-28, 2026
Thurs-Sat @ 7:30PM, Sat-Sun @ 3PM
Our fifth annual Festival will feature six (6) short scenes from original full-length plays currently in process, written by Chicago-based playwrights. This year’s festival will feature work by Will Burdin, G. Riley Mills & Willie Round, James Kelsey Nelson, Dan Washelesky*, Victor Yang, and Catherine Yu.
FESTIVAL LINEUP
SNAKES
Before she's covered in snakes, Medusa is just another Athenian woman trying out for the last spot on Prayer Squad—Athena's priestess-team. But her best friend Arachne is trying out too. Surely this won't end in a generational curse, right?
Playwright | Will Burdin
Director | Ben Locke*
Actors | TBA
FEATHERS
A child and a grandmother try to connect once more, a pair of ex-lovers recall a past that may not have existed, and a filmmaker travels across the country trying to capture the last days of his life. These fleeting moments pass us by at the blink of an eye, but they also stay with us for the rest of our lives. This is an excerpt from one of those stories.
Playwright | Victor Yang
Director | Jessica Love
Actors | TBA
HELL-BURNT
In order to save the love of their life, Zed must play a high stakes game of Texas Hold 'Em with an archdemon named Demogorgon.
Playwright | Dan Washelesky*
Director | Jess Yates
Actors | TBA
MUD LIFE
Mud Life follows two West Side hip-hop artists trapped under a predatory club owner. When a charismatic outsider suddenly arrives on the scene, they are forced to choose between loyalty and a shot at freedom—risking their music, their future, and their bond.
Playwrights | G. Riley Mills & Willie Round
Director | Denise Yvette Serna
Actors | TBA
ANOTHER COUNTRY
Two refugees arrive in a Western democracy. One is haunted by the past. The other is looking to the future. Will they survive their own opposition before they face insurmountable odds outside the door of their shelter?
Playwright | Catherine Yu
Director | Marie Tredway
Actors | TBA
SCULTORE
At the height of the Italian Renaissance, the great sculptor Scalavanti suddenly drops dead in his workshop. With a huge commission due and no means to support themselves, his two workers scramble to figure out a plan.
Playwright | James Kelsey Nelson
Director | Jonathan Shaboo*
Actors | TBA
Production Team
Production Manager | Faramade F. Oladapo
Stage Manager | Alishiana Uyao
Assistant Stage Manager | Kelly Bork
Sound Designer | Heath Hays
Lighting Designer | Henry Toohey
Intimacy Designer | Tristin Hall
Casting | Karissa Murrell Myers*
Assistant Directors | TBA
Understudies | TBA
*denotes Bramble ensemble member
The show runs 90 mins with a 15 min intermission.
If you’d like to access our list of content advisories for this production, please go here.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Here in the City of Chicago, we continue to occupy the traditional unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires - composed of the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi Nations - as well as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, Fox, Kickapoo and Illinois Nations. Today, one of the largest urban Native communities in the United States resides in Chicago. Members of this diverse community continue to contribute to the life of this city and celebrate their heritage, practice traditions, and care for the land and waterways.
Bramble Theatre Company recognizes and is grateful for the Original Peoples who laid the foundation for the City of Chicago, and we embrace our commitment to cultural equity and racial justice.
PLAYWRIGHTS
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Will Burdin
SNAKES
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G. Riley Mills
MUD LIFE
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James Kelsey Nelson
SCULTORE
-
Willie Round
MUD LIFE
-
Dan Washelesky*
HELL-BURNT
-
Victor Yang
FEATHERS
-
Catherine Yu
ANOTHER COUNTRY
DIRECTORS
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Ben Locke*
DIRECTOR (SNAKES)
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Jessica Love
DIRECTOR (FEATHERS)
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Denise Yvette Serna
DIRECTOR (MUD LIFE)
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Jonathan Shaboo*
DIRECTOR (SCULTORE)
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Marie Tredway
DIRECTOR (ANOTHER COUNTRY)
PRODUCTION TEAM BIOS
FARAMADE F. OLADAPO (Production Manager) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Chicago. She graduated in 2024 with her BFA from The Theatre School at DePaul University. Her credits in Chicago include: Frankenstein’s Family Therapy (Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre) Shakin’ The Mess Outta Misery (Pegasus Theatre), Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea (Pegasus Theatre), 3 Sisters Forced To Face The Sky (The Gloria Bond Clunie Playwright’s Festival), Native Son (Lifeline Theatre), London Road (Shattered Globe Theatre). In addition, she worked with Cinema Chicago as a member of the 2023 CineYouth Programming Committee. Faramade invites you to see some of her work at www.faramadeophotography.com
ALISHIANA UYAO (Stage Manager) is a multi-hyphenate Chicago-based, Filipino artist involved with theatres like Bramble, Pegasus Theatre, Backyard Theatre Co., GreatWorks, AlphaBet Soup Productions, and Facility Theatre. Select credits include The Pets (SM) and Rooted (ASM) with Bramble, 3 Little Pigs (SM, AlphaBet Soup), Pigeon (SM, GreatWorks), 39th Annual Young Playwrights’ Festival (ASM, Pegasus Theatre) and Tender Napalm (SM, Backyard Theatre Co.). Outside of rehearsals/shows, Ali and her collaborators are working on a queer modern adaptation of A Doll’s House with the Riveter Theatre. She cannot wait to share all of these lovely plays with you. Love to all!
KELLY BORK (Asst. Stage Manager) (she/they) is thrilled to be collaborating with Bramble Theatre as an Assistant Stage Manager on their Festival of Unfinished Work. She has also worked as a Stage Manager for Stage Center Theatre for a number of shows, including Hundreds and Hundreds of Stars, Black Bear Island, In the Belly of the Whale, and Holler River.
HEATH HAYS (Sound Designer) was born and (mostly) raised in the verdant rolling hills of northeast Indiana. By middle school, he had burgeoning career portraying street urchins, in many permutations, at the local high school and community theatres. This all changed in college. Leaving behind the limelight, he took the mantle of designer, and has been such ever since. After moving to Chicago in 2003, he has worked for too many theatre companies, collectives, ensembles, co-ops, and loose knit groups to name. And he had a good time in every show except one. Heath is an ensemble member at Strawdog Theatre Company. Previous Bramble credits include EVIL PERFECT and the staged reading of CANCELINA.
HENRY TOOHEY (Lighting Designer) (he/him) is excited to be back at Bramble! His lighting and technical work has been seen at theaters in and around the Chicago area, including the Paramount, Greenhouse, the Den, the Marriott, and Cornservatory. He is a proud member of IATSE 2 and received his BA in Theater from Kenyon college.
TRISTIN HALL (Intimacy Designer) (they/them) is beyond thrilled to be back with Bramble! They are a Chicago born and raised actor, Intimacy and Fight Choreographer trained with IDC, SAFD, and BASSC. Previously they have choreographed at Northlight, Steep, Strawdog, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Writers, Bramble Theatre, Theater Evolve, Imposter Theatre, The Plagiarists, Raven, and Timeline. Recently, they performed as Essence with Herstory Theatre’s production of MIA. Tristin is also one of the founding members of Gladiator Fight Night and Point Theatre Project. All the love to their family for their constant support!
KARISSA MURRELL MYERS* (Casting) (she/her) does the casting around here and other places sometimes. Love to Mark and Sibby.
*denotes Bramble company member
Bramble Festival Literary Committee 2026
Every year, our ensemble and guest readers read and evaluate play submissions from local Chicago playwrights to make the final selections that you get to watch at Festival! Submissions are blind, which means that the playwright’s name is not on their submission. We don’t know who wrote them until after the plays reach the final round of evaluation. This helps us to evaluate the plays on artistic merit alone.
This year, our Literary Committee consisted of Dan Washelesky (Leader), Haley Bolithon, Rasheeda Denise, Gabriela Diaz, Owen Hickle-Edwards, Suzy Krueckeberg, Ben Locke, Alex Morales, Henry Toohey, and Emily Zhang.
