For “Use It or Lose It,” my fellow playwrights and I are thrilled to combine our love for theater and for the ACLU of Illinois into one exciting evening. Right after the election, we had formed the MC-10 Playwrights Ensemble so we could use our voices to help fight for what’s right in the world and for our local community. The collective was the brainchild of Tanya Palmer, Brett Neveu, and Jacob Harvey at the Greenhouse Theater Center. We all decided that we wanted to create something for the ACLU as our inaugural event. I couldn’t be more thankful for everyone’s creativity and hard work

In my mind, the evening will be about four things: celebration, education, entertainment and fundraising for an important cause. We hope to educate people about the ACLU, its mission and court cases in a fun and engaging way. We aren’t here to give a lecture but to provide an evening of entertainment that makes you think and hopefully donate.

The ACLU has a rich and complicated history – there is a very large scope in the types of cases the organizations takes on. We wanted to take a look at some of the more obscure cases out there, alongside some of the most seminal. Many cases don’t initially seem to have a clear “right or wrong” to them. Often, they are thorny and multifaceted.

Each writer found a case that spoke to them and worked to show the human (or in one case, canine) story underneath it. As a collective, we are a diverse set of people, which means we all write and think differently. There are many different styles at work for the evening: humorous, musical, atypical. But ultimately, our running theme is about how the ACLU sticks up for people, even when there aren’t any easy answers.

As an ACLU board member, I’ve always felt a great deal of pride for having any small part in the organization. For so long, the ACLU has been the last line of defense in stopping many terrible things from happening or being put into law. We can always rely on the ACLU to fight for what’s right. I hope you enjoy this energizing evening of theater!

All tickets are Pay-What-You-Want. Spaces are limited, so please reserve your seat below or by calling the box office at (773) 404-7336.   

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