CHICAGO: Rivendell Theatre Ensemble has announced their 2020 season, celebrating the company’s 25th anniversary.

“As we approach what may be the most critical election in U.S. history, Rivendell is committed to meeting the future head-on and with 2020 vision,” founder and artistic director Tara Mallen said in a statement.

The season will begin with the world premiere of The Tasters (Jan. 10-Feb. 16, 2020) by Meghan Brown. The new play follows the lives of professional tasters who sample meals for government officials to check for poison. The cast will feature Paula Ramirez, Eric Slater, Shariba Rivers, Daniella Pereira, and Collin Quinn Rice. Devon de Mayo will direct.

Next up will be the world premiere of SPAY (April 23-June 7, 2020) by Madison Fiedler. The play focuses on a woman struggling with addiction who is offered sterilization for money. The cast will include Rae Gray, and Hallie Gordon will direct.

The season will continue with 45 Plays for America’s First Ladies (Sept. 24-Oct. 31, 2020) by Chloe Johnston, Sharon Greene, Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, Bilal Dardai, and Andy Bayiates. A co-production with the Neo-Futurists, the show surveys the lives of the women who have served—and have avoided serving—as First Lady.

Rivendell’s season will also include their Solo Voices Workshop (April 1-12, 2020), a festival of three one-woman pieces to be announced in February 2020.

Founded in 1994, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble cultivates the talents of women artists and is the only Equity theatre in the Chicago area dedicated to producing original plays by and about women.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misspelled Madison Fiedler’s last name as Fielder. An earlier version also incorrectly described the play SPAY—the work centers on a woman, not a man.