Sports & Recreation, Theatre & Performing Arts
All Eight by Lilly Camp November 15, 2026
The Committee on Theatre and Performance Studies (TAPS) at the University of Chicago opens its 2026-2027 season with Lilly Camp’s “All Eight”, featuring an all-femme/nonbinary cast that explores the highs and lows of a collegiate rowing team. The complicated bonds and power dynamics of eight freshmen, competing with themselves and each other.
The Chicago premier opens at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, Friday, November 13th at 7:30 p.m., and runs until November 15. A preview performance will be held Thursday, November 12, at 7:30 p.m.
Directed by Associate Professor of Practice in the Arts and Director of Creative Research, Leslie Buxbaum, “All Eight” follows a group of collegiate athletes, navigating the intensity of their first year being on a competitive team. The production examines themes like identity, desire, control, loyalty, and ambition. Friendships are tested, camaraderie is challenged. The play makes space to discuss belonging and power. Who gets heard when competition enters the room?
- Title: All Eight
- Playwright: Lilly Camp
- Director: Leslie Buxbaum
- Cast: All-femme/nonbinary ensemble
- Venue: Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts. Theater East
- Preview: Thursday, November 12, 7:30 p.m.
- Performances: November 13-15 (opening night November 13 at 7:30 p.m.)
- Tickets: $6 in adavance/$8 at the door. Purchase here: UChicago Arts About the Playwright
Lilly is a queer Brooklyn-based writer. A zillenial raised in the final days of Hollywood, the child of a film industry father and a stand up comedian mother. If you’ve seen Karen’s Comedy Career Act II, you’ve seen a bit of Lilly’s work as a script doctor for hire. They are also an MFA-carrying educator and a reader for a few Institutions.
About the Director
Leslie Buxbaum is a Chicago-based theater-maker, writer, director, and academic who specializes in devised physical theater. Her work frequently integrates multiple performance styles, including dance-theater, circus, clowning, and music. Most recently, Leslie is the bookwriter and co-lyricist for the new musical OUT HERE, which premiered at Court Theatre in spring 2026.
About the Design Team
A Inn Doo, Scenic Design
Rasean Davonté Johnson, Projections & Sound Design
Regina Harris, Lighting Design
Lia Wallfish, Costume Design
Jenny Pinson, Props Design
About TAPS
Positioned at the heart of a world-renowned academic institution and housed in a state-of-the-art presenting facility, the Committee on Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS) seeks to animate the intersection of practice and theory in the arts. TAPS offers studio classes, seminars, and studio-seminars, which combine academic and practice-based inquiry. To learn more about TAPS, visit https://taps.uchicago.edu/ or follow @taps.uchicago on Instagram.
