A THIRD WAY

Open Space Arts presents the Chicago premiere of A THIRD WAY, the award-winning new play by Lee Osorio that reimagines what love, marriage, and family can look like in the 21st century.

Winner of the 2023 Del Shores Foundation Playwriting Award, this sharply funny and deeply compassionate comedy-drama comes to Chicago following its acclaimed world premiere in Atlanta.

Nico and Matt are renovating a house — and discovering that rebuilding a life together is far more complicated. When familiar figures from the past and unexpected new connections enter their world, long-held assumptions are quietly — and sometimes explosively — challenged.

With humor, warmth, and razor-sharp insight, A THIRD WAY explores the fragile balance between desire and responsibility, freedom and commitment. Rather than offering easy answers, the play invites audiences to sit inside uncertainty — asking what it truly means to choose love when there are no clear rules.

Intimate in scale yet expansive in implication, this production is perfectly suited to Open Space Arts’ 25-seat theater in Uptown.

Lee Osorio is an award-winning playwright and actor whose work centers queer lives, cultural intersections, and the emotional complexity of modern relationships. Based in Atlanta, he is a longtime collaborator with Actor’s Express, where he has developed and premiered multiple works.

Recipient of the 2023 Del Shores Foundation Playwriting Award, Osorio was recognized for A THIRD WAY for its originality, compassion, and contribution to contemporary queer theater. His writing blends humor with emotional honesty, resisting easy moral conclusions in favor of deeply human portraits.

Chris Sylvie is an Equity Membership Candidate represented by Lily’s Talent Agency, Chris Sylvie has appeared with Open Space Arts in SUNSETS: TWO ACTS ON A BEACH and with Janus Theatre Company, Pride Films and Plays, Hell in a Handbag, and The Factory Theatre. A trained stage combat performer, he brings athletic precision and emotional immediacy to the stage.

Zak Wilson holds an M.F.A. in Acting from the FSU/Asolo Conservatory. His credits include CLYBOURNE PARK, STUPID F**ING BIRD*, and GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, among others. He brings both psychological depth and technical precision to his work.

A Columbia College Chicago graduate with training at The Second City, Oliver Maalouf has performed with Steep Theatre Company and The Otherworld Theatre. An improviser, drag performer, and writer, he brings sharp comic instincts and fearless emotional honesty to the ensemble.

Director of Open Space Arts, David G. Zak is a seven-time Jeff Award winner, including four awards for Direction. Recent OSA productions include MY LIFE AS A COWBOY, MR. PARKER, SUNSETS: TWO ACTS ON A BEACH, and MASSAGE THERAPY. He continues OSA’s mission of presenting bold, intimate queer storytelling that challenges and inspires.

The production team for A THIRD WAY includes Zach Sennett (Sound Design), Jade Andrews (Costume Design), Devin Maseke (Scenic Design), Ethan Brentlinger (Lighting Design), Greta Zandstra (Intimacy Director), and Claire Ragusa (Stage Manager).