Spotlight Turns Ten
Court Theatre’s Spotlight Reading Series celebrates its 10th anniversary from August 7–22, 2026, with A Century of Black Progress, a festival that explores the past, present, and future of Black storytelling through the lens of Chicago’s cultural ecosystem. The festival features a film screening, archival unfurlings at the Harold Washington and Woodson Regional Libraries, and readings of works by August Wilson, Beah Richards, and Zora Neale Hurston, among others, culminating in a special iteration of the Chicago Critics Circle roundtable series in collaboration with the University of Chicago’s Arts + Public Life.
Dive deeper into the making of this series over the past decade with Spotlight Turns Ten, a 10-episode podcast series that accompanies the festivities. Five introductory episodes will explore the series’ origins, directorial insights, and playwright highlights, while five concluding episodes document the live critic roundtables and facilitate vital discussions on how this project has benefited from enduring support from the Joyce Foundation, as well as the future of Black storytelling at Court Theatre through the lens of this ongoing legacy project.
Listen on Spotify and get an up-close look at the inspiration, process, and creators behind one of our most popular programs.
Episode 1
In the Beginning: Spotlight’s Origin
Released Monday, August 3, 2026
A deep dive into how the Spotlight Reading Series began. Featuring Aaron Mays (playwright, director, and Spotlight co-founder) and Kamilah Rashied (Director of Engagement, Court Theatre).
Episode 2
Stewarding the Text: A Director’s Round Table
Coming Soon
Ron OJ Parson (Resident Artist, Court Theatre) discusses the unique craft of the “staged reading” and the responsibility inherent in directing Black classics with four Chicago directors—Aaron Mays, Malkia Stampley, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, and Charles Andrew Gardner.
Episode 3
Speak the Speech: An Actor Prepares
Coming Soon
In this episode, actor Shariba Rivers and actor and director Michael Aaron Pogue, both previous contributors to the Spotlight Reading Series in leading and supporting roles, speak with Aaron Mays (playwright and director) about actors’ contributions to the Spotlight Reading Series.
Episode 4
Sankofa as Praxis
Coming Soon
A dialogue between Richard Wesley (playwright) and Pemon Rami (director) on the evolution of Black drama and the Chicago cultural ecosystem from the Black Arts Movement to the present moment, moderated by Aaron Mays (playwright and director).
Episode 5
Passing the Mantle
Coming Soon
Aaron Mays (playwright, director, Spotlight co-founder, and former Court Theatre Community Programs Manager) and Kamilah Rashied (creative producer of the Spotlight Reading Series and Director of Engagement at Court Theatre) discuss the Spotlight Reading Series’s evolution.
Episode 6
Black Futures: Placemaking and Keeping
Coming Soon
A conversation between Tyrone Phillips (founding Artistic Director, Definition Theatre), Tina Fakhrid-Deen (playwright), Jarrett King (Director of Education, Court Theatre), Kamilah Rashied (Director of Engagement, Court Theatre) about Definition’s Amplify New Play Festival and their upcoming collaboration with Court Theatre as part of the Spotlight 2026 festivities.
Episode 7
Chicago Critics Circle I: Black Authorship: Writing Our Worlds
Coming Soon
In response to the Spotlight festival’s 2026 theme, A Century of Black Life, Arts + Public Life (APL) co-presents two Chicago Critics Circles, a series of live, facilitated roundtable conversations that are an extension of APL’s ongoing Chicago Critics Table project. In this discussion, panelists from across Chicago’s Black publishing landscape discuss Black authorship. Featuring Candace Hunter, Adrienne Brown, Camille Bacon, Anna DeShawn, Skyla Hearn, and Donna Rose Weems.
Episode 8
Chicago Critics Circle II: Claiming Space and Being in Public
Coming Soon
In response to the Spotlight festival’s 2026 theme, A Century of Black Life, Arts + Public Life (APL) co-presents two Chicago Critics Circles, a series of live, facilitated roundtable conversations that are an extension of APL’s ongoing Chicago Critics Table project. In this discussion, panelists who create and sustain Black placemaking in Chicago explore the politics of taking up space. Featuring jada-amina, Tara Betts, Tempestt Hazel, Adam McMath, and Regina Victor.
Episode 9
Planting Seeds: A Funders Round Table
Coming Soon
A high-level discussion between Kamilah Rashied (Director of Engagement, Court Theatre) and Angelique Power (President and CEO, The Skillman Foundation) about sustainability and what’s required to keep the Spotlight Reading Series thriving.
Episode 10
On the Horizon: Court Theatre Looks Ahead
Coming Soon
In the series finale, Court’s executive leadership, Avery Willis Hoffman (Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director) and Angel Ysaguirre (Executive Director), discuss the upcoming 2026/27 season and hopes for the future with Kamilah Rashied (Director of Engagement, Court Theatre).