Photos:“Work Hard Have Fun Make History” from First Floor Theater
CHICAGO, Illinois (May 13, 2026) – Chicago’s First Floor Theater today released production images for the Chicago premiere of WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY, written by reid tang and directed by Tina El Gamal, running May 14 – June 6, 2026 on The Schwartz Stage at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St. Tickets ($40) available at www.firstfloortheater.com. .
Photo Credit: Michael Brosilow
Originally developed through Clubbed Thumb’s Summerworks Festival, WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY is an experimental dark comedy that explores chaos, alienation, and the absurdities of modern capitalism. Framed as “a catalog of all the possible phone calls that exist,” the play, which is “not about Amazon, not about Jeff Bezos, and certainly not about Elon Musk,” unfolds through surreal encounters and fractured conversations, creating a genre-bending theatrical experience that blends humor, technology, and existential dread.
FACT SHEET:
WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY
Title: WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY
Written By: reid tang
Directed By: Tina El Gamal
Cast: Sahar Dika (Yes / Open / Baby / Human / Jeff), Jenn Geiger (No / Stop / Left / No Baby), and Alice Wu (Machine / Go / Closed / Right / Young / Elon), with understudies Joelle Denhof (u/s Yes / Open / Baby / Human / Jeff), Kennedy Frazier (u/s No / Stop / Left / No Baby), and Maliha Sayed (u/s Machine / Go / Closed / Right / Young / Elon)
Production Team: Conchita Avitia* (Lighting Designer), Spencer Donovan* (Scenic Designer), Adelina Feldman-Schultz (Casting Director), Olivia Gregorich (Assistant Director & Dramaturg), Samantha Kaufman (Violence & Intimacy Director), Kendyl Meyer* (Stage Manager), Lolo Ramos (Props Designer), Jae Robinson (Sound Designer), and Nathan Rohrer (Costume Designer), Eve Pahoresky (Assistant Stage Manager), Peter Wilde (Technical Director)
*Denotes First Floor Theater Company Member
Dates: May 14 – June 6, 2026
Press Opening: Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Schedule: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m.
Run Time: 90 minutes
Location: The Schwartz Stage at Raven Theatre (6157 N. Clark St., Chicago)
Tickets: General Admission: $10 - $40
Limited number of $10 access tickets available for all public performances.
Box Office: www.firstfloortheater.com
Images: Available for download at First Floor Theater media center
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ABOUT FIRST FLOOR THEATER
Founded in 2012, First Floor Theater is known for pairing cutting-edge scripts with innovative design. As a vanguard for what’s next in Chicago theater, FFT aims to pave a new path for American theater, centering equity, radical interrogation, and unapologetic live performance that challenges the status quo. Shortly after its inaugural season, FFT was named “Best New Theater Company” by the Chicago Reader and has since received numerous Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, along with national recognition, including the 2018 Francesca Primus Prize from ATCA. Notable productions include Hooded, or Being Black For Dummies; Mike Pence Sex Dream; Peerless; Plano; Pro-Am; and One Party Consent. Continuing its commitment to new work, in 2020 FFT launched The Blueprint Commission, made possible by Michael and Mona Heath, a program that has produced new plays by artists such as Ariel Zetina, Omer Abbas Salem, and Gloria Imseih Petrelli. First Floor Theater is in residence at the Raven Theatre.