First Floor Theater

06/09/2026

We've packed the last box and said goodbye to the Chicago Premiere of reid tang's WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY.

Thanks to everyone who clocked in for a warehouse shift ❤

Director: Tina El Gamal
Playwright: reid tang
Assistant Director & Dramaturg: Olivia Gregorich
Fight and Intimacy Director: Samantha Kaufman
Scenic Designer: Spencer Donovan*
Costume Designer: Nathan Rohrer
Lighting Designer: Conchita Avitia*
Sound Designer: Jae Robinson
Props Designer: Lolo Ramos
Stage Manager: Kendyl Meyer*
Assistant Stage Manager: Eve Pahoresky
Casting Director: Adelina Feldman-Schultz
Technical Director: Peter Wilde
Production Electrian: Brenden Marble

06/05/2026

Our play full of absurd machines and humans is down it's final three shows this weekend.

If you haven't gotten a chance to get your tickets yet, don't miss miss out. Reserve your seat for one of the most experimental plays of the season at firstfloortheater.com/work-hard-have-fun-make-history

📸 Michael Brosilow

Scenic Design by Spencer Donovan
Costume Design by Nathan Rohrer
Lighting Design by Conchita Avitia
Sound Design by Jae Robinson
Props Design by Lolo Ramos

06/01/2026

Our 2026 Blueprint Commission recipient is having a year to remember.

We're so happy to see Netta Walker's feature in the Chicago Reader detailing her rise as an artist from her early days in Chicago storefront to landing world premieres across the city.

With keerah opening this week with Definition Theatre, and Hayward coming up with Gift in October, Walker is a writer to watch.

05/31/2026

"This play is itself a testament to that very spirit, to our desire to hold fast to all the things that make us human." —Shane Hogan, Manage the Stage

Read more on Manage the Stage about our hilarious and unsettling absurdity comedy about corporations and service.

We're entering the final stretch of WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY with only two chances left this weekend. Get your tickets before we close June 6!

managethestage.substack.com/p/smiling-through-the-pain

First Floor Theater’s ‘Work Hard Have Fun Make History’ is like getting bunch of bricks thrown at you

05/28/2026

Tomorrow begins the final two weekends of WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY— a "...a theatrical experience of existential dread and cerebral laughs" (BroadwayWorld)

Don’t miss your chance to catch the absurdist comedy before we close June 6. Tickets at firstfloortheater.com/work-hard-have-fun-make-history

📸 Michael Brosilow

Scenic Design by Spencer Donovan
Costume Design by Nathan Rohrer
Lighting Design by Conchita Avitia
Sound Design by Jae Robinson
Props Design by Lolo Ramos

05/27/2026

Experience Tina El Gamal's thrilling direction in reid tang's experimental comedy.

WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY continues performances this weekend at the Raven Theatre

Get tickets at firstfloortheater.com/work-hard-have-fun-make-history

05/27/2026

From our friends at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble:

The next world premiere in Rivendell’s 30th Anniversary Season

DO SOMETHING PRETTY by Melissa Ross�
Directed by Jessica Fisch
Featuring RTE member Katherine Mallen Kupferer in her Rivendell debut with Jasper Johnson, Reilly Oh and Jocelyn Zamudio

Summer of 1992. The United States is in a recession. Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton is about to run for president. Kurt is married to Courtney. Yo MTV Raps is on the TV. And Zach Morris is the only kid with a cell phone.

On a hot August night in a small Massachusetts town the last few weeks before school starts. Three teens try to navigate their way through the murky path to adulthood. Phoebe wants to grow up. Jason wants Evie. And Evie just wants to get as far away from everyone as she possibly can.

Now extended through June 14th!

Tickets at rivendelltheatre.org/dosomethingpretty

05/27/2026

Coming up next: Netta Walker, our 2026 Blueprint Commission recipient!

Her play, "Nordica", draws inspiration George S. Schuyler’s Harlem Renaissance novel "Black No More" and will explore culture, mythology, and identity through a contemporary lens.

The Blueprint Commission is made possible with the generous support of Michael and Mona Heath.

05/20/2026

Get an inside look into the warehouses of WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY.

reid tang's absurdist comedy that "isn’t afraid to get weird" (Chicago Tribune) continues performances this weekend at the Raven Theatre.

Get your tickets for this limited run at firstfloortheater.com/work-hard-have-fun-make-history

📹 Rhett Thompson

Scenic Design by Spencer Donovan
Costume Design by Nathan Rohrer
Lighting Design by Conchita Avitia
Sound Design by Jae Robinson
Props Design by Lolo Ramos

05/16/2026

“WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY uncovers truths about our current moment and where we are headed if nothing changes through genre-bending depth and humor.” — Angelina Lin, BroadwayWorld Chicago.

Don’t miss our Chicago premiere by reid tang—“a theatrical experience of existential dread and cerebral laughs.”

When you really stop to think about it, the late stage capitalist grind we find ourselves in (or rather, that billionaires and certain politicians have forced upon us) has created a disembodied culture marked by rampant labor, optimized efficiency, and fractured connections — and that’s a pretty...