The intimate ‘Meanwhile Park’ announces season

Meanwhile Park has announced this year’s summer shows, set to be a live-theater double feature. Audiences will enjoy two shorter, world-premiere plays in one night. Chosen after reviewing over 170 submissions, the winners of the 2025 Meanwhile Park Playwright Prize are “Vacation” by Nathan Johnson and “Red Devil” by Andrea Berting. The first is a spy vs. spy gay romp, the second, a heartwarming comedy of cancers. “Vacation” will be directed by Jason Bowcutt and “Red Devil” by Teresa Sanderson; both renowned local theater practitioners.

The shows run July 10–20 and audiences will be treated to an evening of drinks, snacks, and theatrical fun, all of which are included in the ticket price. Meanwhile Park, which is near the Herman Franks Dog Park, opens at 8:30 p.m. on performance nights, and the shows start as the light fades.

Vacation by Nathan Johnson

Nathan Johnson, who wrote “Vacation,” is a queer performer/playwright/artist. He was a finalist for the Dramatists Guild Fellowship, a recipient of the National Queer Theatre-WIO Fellowship and a recipient of the Primary Stages Mary Louise Rockwell Scholarship. His plays have been performed and/or received finalist positions at Primary Stages Echoes Writing Group, The Artistic Home, B Street Theatre, Trinity Theatre, The SAUK, American Stage, Woven Theatre, Bite Sized Theatre, The Chain Theatre, The Magnetic Theatre, and now Meanwhile Park.

As an actor, he’s worked in Off Broadway theater television, and film (“My Big Gay Italian Wedding,” “Party Planner with David Tutera,” “One Life to Live”). He has also done makeup for hundreds of celebrities including Paul McCartney, Liza Minnelli, Kate McKinnon, Lea Michele, Paula Abdul, Annette Bening—and his most beloved Charles Busch and Julie Halston. He is most recognized from his time as the on-air artist on two seasons of “Project Runway.” He has been featured as a writer/expert in “Harper’s Bazaar,” “Glamour,” “Brides,” “New Beauty,” and many others.

Johnson, who has an MFA from Columbia University, talked about what compelled him to write “Vacation.”

“I started writing ‘Vacation’ to prove to a friend that I couldn’t write comedy,” he said. “Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with the characters and the world… who knows, I might only write comedy about the uber-rich from here on out.”

He also spoke about some of the themes he felt it important to touch upon.

“The play was written to make people laugh,” he explained. “That was the only goal — until the themes snuck in, as they tend to do. So yes, there’s the absurdity of the ultra-rich, the even more absurd lives of the gay ultra-rich, our collective obsession with youth (especially when it starts slipping), and the way money and greed can rot you from the inside — whether you’re hoarding it or clawing for it.

“But…underneath all the champagne and chaos, it’s a simple love story. A ‘God, I love him so much, but I sure could kill him’ kind of love story. You know — the sort that might make one do deranged and fabulous things just to keep the flame alive.”

He added: “It’s for anyone who wants to laugh ’til their sides hurt, gasp, whisper ‘oh my f***ing god’ to their seatmate, and maybe leave the theater feeling a tiny bit more alive (or at least more entertained). It’s especially for you if you like your comedy a little unhinged, a little glamorous, and just barely holding it together—like your favorite gay after an edible.

“Also: if you’ve ever loved someone so much but still thought, ‘I could murder him’—welcome home.”

He also spoke about why this is an important story to tell now.

“Because people need to laugh — now more than ever… don’t they?” he said. “The world’s on fire, everything feels suffocating, and so many people are trying to hold it together the best they can. This play lets you laugh at the chaos, the vanity, the ridiculousness… Plus, who doesn’t need a reminder that love is messy, dramatic, and, in all its chaos, still worth showing up for. (Says the single guy, lol…)”

Red Devil by Andrea Berting

Berting, who wrote “Red Devil,” is a live theater professional, having spent most of her career backstage in the world of wardrobe. It took a global pandemic closing down theaters worldwide to get her to sit down and write her first screenplay, but now that she’s started, she says she can’t stop. Her dramedy feature “Breast in Show” won Best Original Comedy Feature at the 2022 Richmond International Film Festival, as well as earning her a position as an ISA Fast Track Fellow. She was also named one of NetworkISA’s Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2024.

Considering her professional background in live theater, it took a surprisingly long time for Berting to start writing for the stage, she says, but she is now a proud, produced playwright. Her 10-minute play “Little Kasia Meets the God of Death” was a part of the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theater’s 10 Minute Plays festival, and was also selected to represent the festival on the TV show “North Dakota Today.”

As a young breast cancer survivor who struggles with bipolar disorder, Berting uses real-life experience to inspire women-centered stories about finding the joy and levity inside heartbreak and tragedy. She received her BFA in Theater Education from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, and lives in Chicago with her husband and very anxious rescue dog.

Berting explained what compelled her to write “Red Devil.”

“‘Red Devil’ is partially inspired by my own experience as a young breast cancer survivor, having been diagnosed with Stage 2B breast cancer at age 30,” Berting said. “I wanted to bring to light the experience of being the youngest person in the waiting room by 30+ years, while still calling attention to the older patients in the room struggling to come to terms with their own mortality.

“This play was initially written as part of a new play incubator with Pocket Theatre VR here in Chicago. I was paired with a local director to create a new piece of theater, and I wrote ‘Red Devil’ with her assistance and guidance. The first 30 minutes received a staged reading in Chicago through that incubator program, but aside from that excerpt reading, this will be the first full production this play has received.”

She also spoke about some of the themes she felt it important to touch on.

“In any of my writing, I strive to find the joy and levity that exists inside of tragic circumstances,” Berting said. “So, finding the funny, finding the happiness here was very important to me, because a chemo infusion center as the setting is sort of inherently tragic. Exploring Emmie’s experience as a young cancer patient and what that means for someone in that age group was a major focus, as was thinking about what love and romance might mean for those who are facing death head-on. Who sticks around when we go through our darkest moments?”

She also talked about who should come and see the show and why this is an important story to tell now.

“My answers to the above two questions have made this play sound like kind of a bummer but I promise it’s funny!” she said. “Anyone who’s open to laughing at dark subjects should definitely come see this play. After I went through cancer treatment, I did a solo stand-up comedy piece about it, and I think when I performed it, I went through a really special experience with that audience. This piece has a similar opportunity to leave its audience thinking about what it’s okay to laugh at and find joy in.

“Unfortunately, cancer is a really common experience as a part of the human lifespan, and I feel like just about everyone has personal experience with it, whether it was themselves or a loved one who has dealt with it. I feel it’s really timeless and always important to tell joyful stories about darker subject matter; joy is resistance, silliness is resistance, and we’re all doing the best we can in this life so why not laugh and love as much as we can?”

Meanwhile Park was created by Salt Lake City art and theater lover Jeff Paris in 2021 who built a playing space in his own backyard. The space is designed to allow audience members to gather before the production for an hour-long pre-performance celebration, which includes complimentary drinks and snacks, with the idea that you can socialize with your fellow theatergoers before the play begins.

Tickets are available at meanwhilepark.com for $36 until April 30, then $42 from May 1.