Content warning: This story contains mention of sexual assault. Forget summer camps and tie-dye T-shirts. Vertigo Productions’ “Blood Pact” points a lens on the darker aspects of girlhood, where...

One cup of butter, half a cup of sugar, two eggs, two teaspoons of vanilla extract, two cups of flour. This recipe ― pinned to a bulletin board ― is the first thing the audience sees when walking into...

At the Piccolo Theatre in Evanston, life can be funny. First Laugh, a one-act comedy festival, kicked off its inaugural year Friday with the premieres of three short plays submitted by local playwrights. The...