Auditions announced for Angry Fags

Ghostlight Ensemble is casting for its fall production of Angry Fags by Topher Payne.

Summary:
An out lesbian state senator is up for re-election. Her female opponent is a moderate conservative who has aligned herself with right-wing extremists. They’re locked in a tight race in which each side caters to its base and any event can become instantaneously politicized.

When a gay man is bashed with a baseball bat and left to die, his ex-boyfriend, a campaign aide for the incumbent senator, is enraged. But his boss’s unwillingness to label it a hate crime tips him over the edge. Frustration and fear eventually turn to rage and he teams up with his best friend to embark on a vendetta of sabotage and more, reasoning that if gays aren’t respected enough to win justice, fear will achieve what good intentions and politics cannot.

Character Type:
Ghostlight will be casting for the following roles and understudies. Please note that understudies will cover more than one role. Casting for the following:

• BENNETT RIGGS – any race, 30s, male-presenting. Speechwriter for a state senator. Cautiously optimistic, affable. Conflicted.

• COOPER HARLOW – any race, 30s, male-presenting. Bennett’s roommate. Caustic, clever, unpredictable. A fancy badass.

• SENATOR ALLISON HAINES – White, 40s, female-presenting. A former activist, now the only out lesbian in the Georgia State Senate. Pragmatic, thoughtful, flawed. A dedicated public servant now wondering what happens when she’s no longer celebrated by the public.

• KIMBERLY PHILLIPS – any race, 30s, female-presenting. The senator’s office manager, a married mother of two. Good-humored, quick, overworked. Probably really enjoyed her early twenties.

• ADAM LOWELL – any race, 30s, male-presenting. The senator’s chief of staff. Undeniably appealing and charmingly square. Likely owns a lot of books about Bobby Kennedy.

• PEGGY MUSGROVE – Black, 40s, female-presenting. The senator’s opponent. Genuine, witty, nimble. A Black female Republican, with all the conflicts and potential advantages that implies. She’s found a way to weaponize being othered.

• DEIRDRE PRESTON – any race, 30s-50s, female-presenting. A local broadcasting legend. Has the shrewd and discerning eye of a brilliant woman who believes her best days are still ahead of her.

Please Note:
This script contains the use of slurs referring to characters who identify as LGBTQIA+. Almost all characters will engage in a form of on-stage violence, while the characters of Bennet, Cooper, and Adam also have moments of physical intimacy and appear in a state of undress. A fight & intimacy choreographer will be available to stage these scenes. There will be NO full-frontal nudity.

Time Commitment:
Rehearsals will be 3-4 times/week on weeknight evenings and/or weekend days in September and October 2025. Final dates will be confirmed after review of cast conflicts.

Cast members and understudies MUST be available the following dates:

• Tech week: Sunday, Nov. 2 in the afternoon and Monday, November 3 through Thursday, Nov. 6, in the evenings.

• Performances: will run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoon matinees from Thursday, Nov. 6 through Sunday, Nov. 23.

Please note that performances will be held at Lifeline Theatre (6912 N Glenwood Ave. Chicago, IL 60626).

Materials To Prepare:
To be considered, submit via the audition form. Do not send an email.

Sides will be provided.

Actors will receive an email confirmation if they have been selected with their audition slot. Please clearly indicate the roles you are interested in and if you have any conflicts during indicated audition times on July 27-28 or callbacks on Aug. 4.

Please submit for any role that you feel comfortable portraying based on your gender expression/identity.

Please only submit if you are available for callbacks and ALL performance dates.

Pay:
Main cast: $300 stipend for production. Understudies: $150 stipend + $25/show performed.

Audition Time & Location:
General: Sunday, July 27, 1-5 p.m. AND Monday, July 28, 7-10 p.m. at City Lit Theatre Company (1020 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Chicago, IL 60660)

Callbacks: Monday, Aug. 4, 7-10 p.m. at City Lit Theatre Company (1020 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Chicago, IL 60660)

Job Posting: Stage Manager needed for Angry Fags

Ghostlight Ensemble is seeking a Stage Manager for its fall production of Angry Fags by Topher Payne.

An out lesbian state senator is up for re-election. Her female opponent is a moderate conservative who has aligned herself with right-wing extremists. They’re locked in a tight race in which each side caters to its base and any event can become instantaneously politicized.

When a gay man is bashed with a baseball bat and left to die, his ex-boyfriend, a campaign aide for the incumbent senator, is enraged. But his boss’s unwillingness to label it a hate crime tips him over the edge. Frustration and fear eventually turn to rage and he teams up with his best friend to embark on a vendetta of sabotage and more, reasoning that if gays aren’t respected enough to win justice, fear will achieve what good intentions and politics cannot.

Stage Manager will attend all rehearsals and performances. Rehearsals in September/October 2025. In general, expect three to four rehearsals per week on weeknights or weekend days, to be scheduled according to cast availability.

Production Schedule:

• Rehearsals in September and October 2025 on weeknights and/or weekend days

• Tech week: Sunday, November 2 in the afternoon and Monday, November 3 through Thursday, November 6 in the evenings

• Performances: Show will run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoon matinees from Thursday, November 6 through Sunday, November 23, 2025.

• Strike: Sunday, November 23, 2025.

Instructions to Apply: To be considered, please send resume and portfolio/website link to via Google Forms at this link.

Pay Rate: $400 stipend

Job Posting: Production Team Positions for Angry Fags

Ghostlight Ensemble is seeking several production team roles for its fall production of Angry Fags by Topher Payne. Please review the following.

PLAY SUMMARY
An out lesbian state senator is up for re-election. Her female opponent is a moderate conservative who has aligned herself with right-wing extremists. They’re locked in a tight race in which each side caters to its base and any event can become instantaneously politicized.

When a gay man is bashed with a baseball bat and left to die, his ex-boyfriend, a campaign aide for the incumbent senator, is enraged. But his boss’s unwillingness to label it a hate crime tips him over the edge. Frustration and fear eventually turn to rage and he teams up with his best friend to embark on a vendetta of sabotage and more, reasoning that if gays aren’t respected enough to win justice, fear will achieve what good intentions and politics cannot.

KEY DATES
Production team members will be available for virtual production meetings, in-person designer run, tech week, strike, and wardrobe fittings in September-October. Dates confirmed according to cast and production team availability.

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

• Rehearsals in September and October 2025 on weeknights and/or weekend days

• Tech week: Sunday, November 2 in the afternoon and Monday, November 3 through Thursday, November 6 in the evenings

• Performances: Show will run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoon matinees from Thursday, November 6 through Sunday, November 23, 2025

• Strike: Sunday, November 23, 2025

POSITIONS

1. Costumer
Will dress 7 actors and 2 understudies in modern dress.

Pay Rate/Range: $300 stipend

2. Sound Designer
Pay Rate/Range: $300 stipend

3. Lighting Designer
Lighting Designer will have access to the rep lighting plot for Lifeline Theatre.

Pay Rate/Range: $300 stipend

4. Projection Designer
Pay Rate/Range: $300 stipend

5. Fight & Intimacy Choreographer
Will be responsible for choreographing a brief moment of intimacy and multiple scenes of stage violence including the use of a stage firearm.

Additional Key Dates: Fight & Intimacy Choreographer will be available for anticipated 3-4 rehearsals. Dates confirmed according to cast and production team availability.

Pay Rate/Range: $150 stipend

6. Scenic & Prop
Pay Rate/Range: $300 stipend

Instructions to Apply: To be considered, please send resume and portfolio/website link via Google Forms at this link. (Select the position you’d like to apply for on the form)

‘Love As A Verb’: Ghostlight Kicks Off its Season Celebrating Otherness with Pride Fundraiser

Ghostlight Ensemble announces its Season 9 lineup, which includes the fall production of Angry Fags by Topher Payne, in a season that will focus on celebrating otherness and uplifting Queer characters and voices.

“The climate we find ourselves in right now demands action. We cannot be passive in our support or love for communities that find themselves at risk. We, as a theatre company, are in the unique position with our art to center community building,” Co-Artistic Director Justin Broom said.

“From the people we work with, to the stories we tell and the audiences we build, we can be hubs of resource sharing, networking and education that not only brings people together but keeps our community safe.”

 The 2025-2026 season will feature two mainstage productions, a play for young audiences, staged readings, a three-part cabaret experience and ongoing collaborations with Chicago area museums. All productions center around love and relationships with an emphasis on queer characters and themes.

“As a queer theatre artist, I think it would be irresponsible of me to not do everything in my power to meet this moment in a way that uplifts, not just our ensemble and audiences, but the community as a whole,” Broom said. “While we need to raise funds for our company to create quality entertainment, there are so many LGBTQ+ organizations that also need our attention and funds right now – particularly those serving our Trans siblings who are especially at risk.”

To meet that need, Ghostlight is also announcing its Love As A Verb fundraising campaign to support our most ambitious season to date and also raise money for two Chicago area LGBTQ+ organizations.

The fundraiser is live with a base goal to raise $5,000 by November. Donations from the fundraiser will go toward artist stipends and production costs with a portion of the proceeds going to local Chicago charities Brave Space Alliance and Gerber Hart Library & Archives.

Brave Space Alliance is a Black, trans-led center on Chicago’s South Side that creates and provides dignified essential services, develops programs and initiatives for individuals and families, co-creates community spaces of care and connection and conducts advocacy on issues that directly impact LGBTQ+ and Black communities.

Gerber Hart Library & Archives collects, preserves and provides access to the history and culture of LGBTQ+ communities in Chicago and the Midwest in order to advance the larger goal of achieving justice and equality.

Those interested in supporting the campaign can make a tax deductible donation to Ghostlight Ensemble here. Upon conclusion of the fundraiser, Ghostlight will publish the receipts of donations to other organizations.

Love As A Verb is inspired by a passage from All About Love by bell hooks: “The word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet all the more astute theorists of love acknowledge that we would all love better if we used it as a verb.”

“This is a thrilling season from Ghostlight, with bold and compelling artistic programming that includes full-length productions, theatre for young audiences, immersive performance and cabaret,” Co-Artistic Director Holly Robison said. “Now, more than ever, art is essential, and I hope our season will challenge, inspire, move and comfort our audiences. Art at its best can do all these things and more. I hope our audiences will feel that way too, that our work truly echoes our season’s theme ‘Love is a Verb’.”

Ghostlight will present its first full production, Angry Fags written by Topher Payne and directed by Jack Bowes, in November at Lifeline Theatre in Rogers Park.

An out lesbian state senator is up for re-election. Her female opponent is a moderate conservative who has aligned herself with right-wing extremists. They’re locked in a tight race in which each side caters to its base and any event can become instantaneously politicized. When a gay man is bashed with a baseball bat and left to die, his ex-boyfriend, a campaign aide for the incumbent senator, is enraged. But his boss’s unwillingness to label it a hate crime tips him over the edge. Frustration and fear eventually turn to rage and he teams up with his best friend to embark on a vendetta of sabotage and more, reasoning that if gays aren’t respected enough to win justice, fear will achieve what good intentions and politics cannot.

Angry Fags asks how far is too far to protect your community? Where is the line between helping and making things worse?

The production runs November 6-23, 2025, at Lifeline Theatre (6912 N Glenwood Ave, Chicago, IL, 60626).

In mid-December, Ghostlight and the Driehaus Museum are excited to announce the return of Holiday Spirits: A Collection of Victorian Yuletide Ghost Stories, a multi-story and multi-storied immersive, site-specific adaptation of classic Victorian ghost stories at the museum. In its second year, the production will expand from one night to three – one for Driehaus museum members and two for the general public. Be prepared to move through the mansion with the actors as they uncover these otherworldly visitors.

In February, our Nightlight young audience series returns with The 8th Dwarf. The new work by Olivia Sieck tells the story of Binky, an outsider dwarf who, inspired by the kindness and motherly affection of Snow White, longs to find the courage to join the most special of their kind – the dwarves that get to work in the mines. The play shows that courage, kindness and wit matter more than anything and actions mean more than material goods.

Ghostlight will close out its season in the spring of 2026 with The Dover Road by A.A. Milne (of Winnie-the-Pooh fame), directed by Co-Artistic Director Holly Robison. The Dover Road is set in the home of the eccentric Latimer, who waylays couples who are running away together and gives them a taste of what their lives together might be like by forcing them into sustained exposure to each other's habits and idiosyncrasies. The 1921 comedy is a not-so-subtle dissection of romantic love, but buried beneath is a less obvious commentary on the homosexuality, bisexuality and gender nonconformity that has always existed in society if you knew where to look.

In addition, Ghostlight will produce Ensemble Member Khnemu Menu-Ra’s, 3 Stages of Love, this season. The semi-autobiographical three-part cabaret experience features a blend of Shakespeare and song – along with original pieces. The company also plans a staged reading of Lady Lazarus, a new play in development by Ghostlight collaborator Haley Basil, and Ghostlight will continue its popular Live Movie Reading Series periodically throughout the season, as well as the For Your (Re)Consideration staged reading series, which explores the works of historically overlooked female writers.