"Calamity West is one of the best playwrights in Chicago. Or maybe the country. Or the universe." - Chicago Reader

ENGINES AND
INSTRUMENTS
OF FLIGHT:
A FANTASIA
IN THREE ACTS by Calamity West

Calamity West is thinking about writing a new play. A fantasia. She imagines that it's 1986, and The Playwright is writing his next play. Or, rather, struggling to write it. Or, rather, struggling to start it. After an ugly breakup with his boyfriend, The Playwright is left to face his own creative inertia as his best friends grapple with freshly-exposed feelings of romance, sexuality, and heartbreak. Caught inside a maelstrom of secrets, lies, and ghostly premonitions, he begins to find inspiration for his new work ... but it starts to look a little too familiar for his friends' tastes. In writing a play that might just make it big, The Playwright must untangle the conflicting responsibilities that come with being an artist and being a friend.

DEVELOPMENT
& READING HISTORY
THE GOODMAN
New Stages Festival
Fourth Public Presentation
November 2019
ROUNDABOUT
Roundabout Underground
Third Public Presentation
January 2018
THE HOUSE THEATRE
& THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Second Public Presentation
July 2017
THE GOODMAN
Playwrights Unit Showcase
First Public Presentation
July 2016



