Hyde Park Community Players

Mid-South Side, Chicago Theatre

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Want to be involved in a staged reading? Not sure how?
Hyde Park Community Players welcomes people at all levels of theater experience -- including none! Is there a short play (or excerpt of a play) that you'd love to share with an audience? Or a poetry collection or other literary work that has some dramatic possibilities? Would you like act, or direct? If so, please contact producer Laura MacGregor at stagedreadings@hydeparkcommunityplayers.org to learn more about the Staged Reading Series. We currently host 2 staged readings per month, on the First Friday of the month, and the Second Saturday. In a staged reading, the actors have their scripts with them, so no memorization is required. Support is available for inexperienced or first-time directors as you learn how to work with your cast to bring a short play to life. Because of COVID-19, all readings are currently held on Zoom, YouTube, or other virtual platforms. The Friday reading is a rehearsed performance, and the Saturday readings are read-along style: everyone who want a role plays one. The typical length for a reading is about 45 minutes followed by discussion. If you're not on the Hyde Park Community Players mailing list, make sure to sign up at the bottom of our homepage, so you can find out about the next reading. Attending one (or more) will help give you a better idea of what's involved in putting a performance together. We would love for you to be part of this series, whether as an audience member, an actor, or a director!

FRIDAY STAGED READING: We Have Always Lived in the Castle By Shirley Jackson, Adapted and Directed by Marilyn Cavicchia, September 14, 2018

August 25, 2018 Leave a Comment

Friday, Sept. 14, 8 pm at Augustana. (Note–this is the 2nd Friday) See Marilyn’s original adaptation of the 1962 novel by American mystery/horror writer Shirley Jackson.  Jackson was a prolific writer, and HPCP previously performed her most famous work, The Lottery, for one of our Radio Shows. Since the mysterious murders of four family members, the […]

Filed Under: Events, Friday Staged Readings, Readings

FRIDAY STAGED READING: Midsummer Night’s Scream (Part Two) by Fran Zell & Sidney Friedman, July 6 2018

May 21, 2018 Leave a Comment

On July 6 the Staged Reading series premieres Part 2 of an original musical: MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S SCREAM  Music by Sidney Friedman, Book and Lyrics by Fran Zell Directed by Corinna Christman Music direction by Sidney Friedman Midsummer Night’s Scream transforms Midsummer Night’s Dream into the tale of a Chicago ghost tour gone awry on a moonlit night rife with […]

Filed Under: Events, Friday Staged Readings, Readings

Friday Staged Reading: MENTAL, written and directed by Sasha Austin Schmidt. Friday, February 2, 2018.

January 30, 2018 Leave a Comment

Friday,February 2, 2018.  8:00pm at Augustana Lutheran Church (5500 South Woodlawn). Admission $5. Mental. Written and directed by Sasha Austin Schmidt. Featuring: Vanessa Ellis, Corinna Christman, Amelia Snoblin, Tom Lariviere, Bill Hohnke, Leslie Halverson, Samantha Fenno, Michelle Heinz, Oroki Rice. Mental is a one-act play composed of four vignettes which offers a lighthearted look at feeling down […]

Filed Under: Events, Friday Staged Readings, Readings

First Staged Reading of 2018: TOM’S A-COLD by David Egan, directed by Paul Baker

December 28, 2017 Leave a Comment

January 12, 2018 at 8:00pm at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5500 South Woodlawn Avenue. Admission $5 Tom’s a-cold written by David Egan, directed and enacted by Paul Baker & David Egan   On May 19, 1845, HMS Terror and Erebus set sail from London to find a Northwest Passage over the Canadian Arctic and across into the Pacific. Neither […]

Filed Under: Events, Friday Staged Readings, Readings

Friday Staged Reading: Holiday Children’s Stories

November 28, 2017 Leave a Comment

Augustana Lutheran Church December 1, 2017 at 7:00pm (please note earlier family-friendly start time) Admission $5 Is Christmas not incomplete without some special story?  Perhaps the Gift of the Magi, or the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, or The Night Before Christmas?  Come be a child again–and bring any children you may have!–and hear some favorite tales about the […]

Filed Under: Events, Friday Staged Readings, Readings

FRIDAY STAGED READING: Blues for Mr. Charlie by James Baldwin

October 27, 2017 Leave a Comment

Friday, November 3, 2017 at 8pm Augustana Lutheran Church, 5500 South Woodlawn Avenue Admission $5 Blues for Mr. Charlie by James Baldwin directed by Oroki Rice In a small Southern town, a white man murders a black man, then throws his body in the weeds. With this act of violence–which is loosely based on the […]

Filed Under: Events, Friday Staged Readings, Readings

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Who Are We?

Founded in January of 2009, the Hyde Park Community Players is a non-profit, amateur, volunteer organization whose mission is to create compelling theatre by and for residents of the South Side. Read More »

Support the Players

You can make your contribution to our work here at the Hyde Park Community Players. There are lots of ways to give! Read More »

Friday Staged Readings

In addition to our major productions, the Players present a monthly staged-reading series, typically on the first Friday night of each month.
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Auditions

Auditions usually take place a few months before a show, in two sessions, one on a weekend afternoon and one on a weekday evening.
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Production History

Since our founding in 2009, the Hyde Park Community Players have been putting on between 2-3 shows per season.
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Find out about upcoming events, auditions, and more!

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