TEATRO VISTA PRODUCTIONS
PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
BY PALOMA NOZICKA
DIRECTED BY GEORGETTE VERDIN
CO-PRESENTED WITH
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
-Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
TEATRO VISTA PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
BY PALOMA NOZICKA
DIRECTED BY GEORGETTE VERDIN
CO-PRESENTED WITH STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY
Xochi has it all: a perfect boyfriend, a baby on the way, a family that hates her...wait, no, not that last one. After the devastating loss of her twin brother Sebastian, Xochi tries to navigate her life (and keep her sanity) without her best friend. But then the impossible happens: Sebastian reappears…or does he?
BOTH is an eerie examination of family, love, memory, and which version of the truth is the one worth believing.
APRIL 11 - MAY 10, 2026
BOTH was developed by and received its world premiere at Teatro Vista Productions, Chicago, IL, Lorena Diaz, Executive Director + Wendy Mateo, Artistic Director in April 2026.
BOTH was originally developed in the Writers’ Room at Geffen Playhouse and developed by the Cape Cod Theatre Project, Hal Brooks, Artistic Director.
CAST AND ARTISTS
Happy families are all alike;
every unhappy family is
unhappy in its own way.
-Anna Karenina,
Leo Tolstoy
COVER CAST
Playwright | Paloma Nozicka^
Director | Georgette Verdin
Assistant Director | Janyce Caraballo
Intimacy and Violence | Greg Geffrard
Scenic Design | Sotirios Livaditis+
Costume Design | Johan H. Gallardo^
Associate Costume Designer | Katherin (Kat) Poon
Lighting Design | Maximo Grano De Oro+
Sound Design | Satya Chávez
Properties Design | Shokie Tseumah
Casting Director | Adelina Feldman-Schultz^
Production Stage Manager | Julie Jachym*
Assistant Stage Manager | Olivia Ellery
Production Manager | Estrellita Beatriz
1700 Theater Producers | Kara Davidson and Patrick Zakem
1700 Production Supervisor | Matthew Chapman
Technical Director | Axel Adams
Wardrobe Supervisor | Nora Sammons
Fight Captain | Eddie Martinez
^Denotes Teatro Vista Production’s Artistic Collective member.
*Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.
+Denotes member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829 of the IATSE.
FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT
BOTH is a play about trying your hardest but still falling short. It is about grief. It is about family. It is about that nagging feeling that because something good has happened, it must be followed by something bad. It's about people who are truthful to a fault, although it's only other people who think it's a fault, never the person who is truthful. It was inspired by the pandemic, and by Antigone, and by all of the scary stories that I've loved since I was very young-- and the fact that those stories never featured Latine characters. It is about gray areas. It is about memory. It is about what could have been. It is about what we can accept. Mostly, it is about love, in all of its weird, unflattering, heartbreaking forms.
BOTH is my second full-length play, and something I've learned about myself as I continue to further my career as a writer is that I don't really know how to talk about my writing (I tend to err towards David Lynch's thoughts on discussing your work: "The film is the talking"). That being said, I'll try to define what this play is to me, scattershot as that definition may be.
Speaking of love, I’m sending you a lot of it. I hope you enjoy our play. Thank you for being here.
-Paloma Nozicka, Playwright
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S NOTE
BOTH is a gritty, character-driven look into complicated family dynamics and chosen truths. Great family dramas are a signature of the Steppenwolf brand. To provide our artists with this stage, in the birthplace of ensemble theater in Chicago, is a dream come true. This synchronicity is a moment of profound pride for our theater. As we celebrate our 35th year, we continue to lean into the idea of radical abundance. And with the support of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, we get to do just that. Pa’lante, Juntos. Forward, Together.
Teatro Vista Productions believes we are stronger together — across disciplines, across experiences, across mediums, across diasporas. We center our collective of artists at the heart of everything we do. We empower our artists to create with their own authentic voice by providing the tools and resources they need to thrive in the industry. Our work is timely, relevant and authentically reflects our community. Now, as always, We Are Theater With A View.
When the Chicago theater world wasn’t ready for us, Teatro Vista Productions made space. For 35 years, we’ve told true stories that reflect our community. We’re not just building on this amazing legacy; we’re strengthening and expanding it for the future. Today we continue to actively engage in advocacy that seeks to increase the authentic representations of us on stage and screen.
- Wendy Mateo, Artistic Director of Teatro Vista Productions
SPECIAL THANKS TO
OUR TVP CHAMPIONS
Purple Group
Gustavo Bamberger & Martha Van Haitsma
OUR IN-KIND SPONSORS
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