Today I'm joined by Michelle Renee Bester! Michelle is an actress, writer, and lover of all things arts from Chicago. She has been seen on Chicago Fire, Amazon Prime’s Electric Dreams, and CBS’ Red Line as well as on several different stages in Chicago theater. In this episode, Michelle and I discuss her latest role in the upcoming Chicago premiere of Black Cypress Bayou at Definition Theatre! She's tackling a huge role in this production. We discuss her approach to character building, storytelling, research, and what audiences can expect from this razor sharp play!

Follow Renee on IG: @michellerbester

Follow Definition Theatre on IG: @definitiontheatre

Get tickets to Black Cypress Bayou here!

On this episode of Evil Thespian, I am joined by Colm Summers! Colm Summers is the Artistic Director of Working Theater ! Working Theater is a working-class theater company that partners with labor unions, and cultural organizations to create contemporary performance work made for the 21st century. As an Artistic Director, Colm works hard to make certain that the company's ecosystem is built for, and by, underrepresented individuals, intellectuals, and families. Over the course of our conversation, Colm discusses his educational background as a thespian, his work as an Artistic Director at the company, and the details of his journey as an immigrant from Ireland. Listen today!

Find Colm Summers on IG here: Colm_Summers

Visit Working Theater's website Here! https://theworkingtheater.org

Instagram: @Working.Theater

TikTok: @Working.Theater

Read the Jacobin article on Working Theater: https://jacobin.com/2025/12/theater-working-class-access-unions

Today we are joined by Sarah Groustra!!! Sarah Groustra is the editor-in-chief of 1319 Press, an indie play publisher that platforms emerging playwrights and advocates for newplay development! In this episode, Sarah tells us all about the publishing process at 1319 Press, and how she got into play distribution. We talk about the challenges of play distribution, the benefits of getting work published early, and the idea of play curation as an art form.

Submit your play to 1319 Press today! Visit their website here!

Visit their instagram here!

Visit Sarah's Instagram here!