Lizzy May

Lizzy May

Lizzy has been creating and directing work in Chicago's nooks since 2011. Her original work as a playwright (I'll Give You the Moon, 2013) and director (Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice, 2014) has been performed in venues throughout Chicago, at readings with the Woolgatherers in NYC (The Between, 2019) and at the Midtown International Theater Festival (The Angels Will Let You Fall, 2016). She is currently...
Lizzy has been creating and directing work in Chicago's nooks since 2011. Her original work as a playwright (I'll Give You the Moon, 2013) and director (Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice, 2014) has been performed in venues throughout Chicago, at readings with the Woolgatherers in NYC (The Between, 2019) and at the Midtown International Theater Festival (The Angels Will Let You Fall, 2016). She is currently directing as part of the Nightlight Festival for young audiences with Ghostlight Theater. Next Stop, a dance film created in collaboration with choreographer Keli Gunn will be featured at Jump/Cut, a dance film festival in NYC in February 2020.



Lizzy May devises theater work with young people as the Executive Director of Backyard Chicago Ensemble. She has worked creatively with youth in Chicago Public Schools since 2013 and is a teaching artist at the Chicago Children's Theatre.

Plays

  • The Between
    In The Between Act 1 17 year old Kit (he/him) drowns in his grief over his mother’s death. He seeks to navigate his trauma through a questionably intimate relationship with his math teacher, Ms. Bloom; explorations of the connection between rhythm and memory with his mysterious acquaintance, Lorraine; and painful conflict with Mya, the sister that is stuck raising him.

    In Act 2, in an alternate...
    In The Between Act 1 17 year old Kit (he/him) drowns in his grief over his mother’s death. He seeks to navigate his trauma through a questionably intimate relationship with his math teacher, Ms. Bloom; explorations of the connection between rhythm and memory with his mysterious acquaintance, Lorraine; and painful conflict with Mya, the sister that is stuck raising him.

    In Act 2, in an alternate timeline, 18 year old Lorraine (they/them) seeks refuge from the rift left by their mother’s death through the healing power of poetry and a deep friendship with mysterious Kit as they are tragically misunderstood by adults at school. At the end of Act 2, Kit successfully crosses timelines only to find that in this reality, Lorraine is facing the loss that was his originally.

    Ultimately, their friendship and experiments with time result in confrontation with their deepest desires and fears as they come face to face with the ruptures they have created in the present.
  • The Between (10 minutes)
    As teenager Kit drowns in his grief over his mother’s death, he seeks to navigate his trauma through a relationship with his math teacher, Ms. Bloom, and private explorations of the connection between rhythm and memory. Ultimately, his experiments lead him to confront new ruptures he is creating in the present with Mya, the sister that is stuck raising him.
  • Honey Child
    June's unplanned pregnancy hosts the only hope for the endangered beehive and our eroding world.
  • The Angels Will Let You Fall
    In this one act play, a girl is guided through grief by her ancestors and celestial guides.