Enjoy plays written and produced by UIC Theatre Students!

Friday, March 10 at 6:30pm

satellite skies by Francisco Rodriguez,
DEJA AND VENUE by Aisha Romer
HALFWAY THERE by Jessica Espinoza

Saturday, March 11

12pm DISTANCIAS CORTAS by Octavio Montes De Oca

2pm  SEXOPOLY by Omar Vicente Fernandez

4pm LIMERENT: PSYCHOSIS OF THE HEART by Paloma Lozano

7pm TO GET HER TOGETHER by Noella Bonsol

Sunday, March 12

12pm  TERMS AND CONDITIONS by Tim Grave

2pm TO EMILY DICKINSON ON THE OCCASION OF OUR TWENTY-FIFTH, EIGHTY-SECOND and ONE-HUNDRED AND NINETIETH BIRTHDAYS by K. Nicole Batson

Student Producer Angelina Davila
Faculty Producer Bonnie Metzgar
Directed and dramaturged by UIC Faculty members: Lydia Diamond, Eddie Torres, Rick Corley and Bonnie Metzgar

Meet the Authors:

Franny Rodriguez (They/He) is a Theatre-Maker, Activist, and a ‘pleasure to have in class’. Their recent
onstage credits include Passage and the strangers at UIC. They’re an ensemble member and writer at
UIC’s premier comedy troupe Red Light School District seen regularly at UIC, Bughouse Theater, and iO.
Currently a Junior BA Theatre & Performance. Co-Creator of #notafacelesscrime. They would like to
thank their family and friends for their constant support, love, and migraines throughout this process.
Love and Light!

Hello everyone! My name is Aisha Romer I am a senior studying Theatre and Performance with a minor in Entrepreneurship, I am also on the improv comedy team here on campus called Redlight School District.
A little bit more about me is I was born in The Bahamas and moved to the U.S when I was six months
old. I’m a southside native, and yes the Red line is the best line, and I’m the youngest of 8 siblings! I also
love going on nature walks, watching horror movies/anthologies, and I’m absolutely obsessed with fidget
toys.

Jessica Espinoza is a 20 year Chicagoland creative, who has a passion for acting whether it be for film or theater. She believes as a young artist it is important to build bridges between young creatives of all ages, genders and races. As an artist she is really into Japanese storytelling, and she is currently exploring haikus, Miyazaki films and artwork. You can find her on instagram @jessicajamiee and
@icasdeliveryservice. Jessica is thrilled to be a part of the UIC’s School of Architecture,
design and the arts! The world is waiting to hear from us!

Octavio Montes De Oca (He/Him) is a multi-hyphenate theatre artist based in Chicago. As a
first-generation Mexican-American, he’s passionate about Latine stories that stem from lived experience
and movement. Currently, he is pursuing a BFA in Acting at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Select
theatre credits include: The Goodman Theatre, Free Street Theater, UIC Theatre, Children’s Theatre
Company, The Albany Park Theatre Project, and Definition Theatre.

Omar Vicente Fernandez (He/Him/His) is a Mexican American artist born in Chicago and raised in
Berwyn, Illinois. As a playwright, Omar centers a lot of his work around identity and the new generation
of art in America. “As timeless as some stories are and will be, the next groundbreaking,
generation-defining, and untold stories are out there waiting for us to find them.” Omar is also the current Artistic Director and Founder of Subtext Studio Theatre Company.

Paloma Lozano is a Mexican American Playwright, Screenwriter and Actress from West Lawn. In 2019,
she was in the NEIU’s Stage Center Theater play called How to Hero: A Subway Play by Georgette Kelly.
In 2020, she had the opportunity to perform in an online streaming reading of Shakespeare’s The Last
Jedi. Where she played both DJ and Maz Kanata. The stream was raising money for communal living
spaces for Transgender individuals. In February 2023, she was Archangel #2 for Teatro Vista’s Romero
Reading which was shown at Steppenwolf, Centro Romero and UIC Theater. Paloma hopes to write,
produce and act in Limerent and turn it into a Television Series. Paloma Lozano is currently a senior at UIC’s Theater and Performance BA program. She loves her family and writes funny female fantasy stories with a lot of heart. She hopes everyone sees themselves in
her work.

Noella Bonsol is a Senior in the BA Theater and Performance program. She has a focus in directing and playwriting, and has made it her artistic mission to create theater that is diverse, welcoming, and healing. She is currently working as a freelance stagehand in the Chicago area, as well as an actor and assistant director. She would like to wish you a wonderful time at the new play festival!

Tim Graves (He/Him): Is a third year working for his BA in Theatre and Performance. This is his
3rd play written, and first full length play. His other works include The Leo Parable and Divine
Intervention. Tim would like to thank the faculty for their help in the creative process and his
fellow students for their help in the reading.

Kimberly Nicole Batson comes to Chicago from Memphis, TN, and currently explores disability and
queer representation onstage as a graduate student in the department of Disability and Human
Development at UIC. They hold a MA in Theatre Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana
Champaign and have a passion for their job as an undergraduate teaching assistant. While they are a beginner playwright, so far, they have found playwriting to be an incredibly challenging, and rewarding experience.
Nicole would also like to express immense gratitude to the generous faculty and young artists of the UIC School of Theatre and Music for welcoming their participation and is so excited to enjoy their fellow students’ beautiful work.