Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department faculty, alumni, and students are involved in Raven Theatre‘s current production of Red Velvet, Lolita Chakrabarti’s drama about Ira Aldridge, the 19th-century African-American who became the first black actor to portray Shakespeare’s Othello on the London stage. Set in 1833, the acclaimed play is receiving its Chicago premiere. It runs through November 27 — and tickets are only $13 on “Under 30 Thursdays” for patrons under 30.

The 7:30 PM performance on Thursday, November 3, is followed by a conversation with Susan Padveen, coordinator of the Theatre Directing program at Columbia College; Northwestern University professor Henry Godinez; and Loyola University professor Jonathan Wilson. Tickets for the show are only $13 for patrons under 30. The postshow discussion is free.

The production’s cast includes Columbia College Theatre Department faculty member Scott Olson. Destiney Higgins, a student in the Theatre Department’s Theatre Directing program, is the show’s assistant director. Dialect coach Kendra Thulin is a Theatre Department faculty member. Columbia College alumnus Conor Clark ’13, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s Musical Theatre BA program, is Raven Theatre’s technical director. And Cody Estle ’11, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s Theatre Directing program, is Raven Theatre’s associate artistic director.

Raven Theatre is located at 6157 N. Clark, Chicago. For tickets, call 773-338-2177 or click here.