Schaumburg presents Black History Month play, ‘School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls’

Schaumburg’s usually annual Black History Month play returns next week after a year’s hiatus with a new nonprofit production company.

Though the play itself, “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” is a comedy by Jocelyn Bioh, the new company Dreamscape Theatre is the latest brainchild of Maurice Proffit, the longtime overseer of the Schaumburg tradition.

Separate from his other artistic production companies, the nonprofit with its own board of directors puts its focus firmly back on theater. Its first performance at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts is a simultaneous win for both the Black History Month play and Dreamscape, Proffit said.

“Theater had got lost in the sauce,” he added. “I wanted to rebound in a very responsible way. I wanted to look at 2026 as a brand new clean slate. We wanted to debut with a show that was very relatable. We couldn’t be more excited. It brings some legitimacy to the organization.”

For most of its history, Schaumburg’s Black History Month play was often written and directed by Proffit before he took a step back a few years ago to spotlight other artistic voices.

He was aware of the script of “School Girls” from its successful 2021 run at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. And this year’s director is his friend Crissy Johnston of Elk Grove Village, who also handled 2024’s “Cadillac Crew.”

The cast of nine cast members is a combination of Chicago talent and actors from such Northwest suburbs as Arlington Heights, Streamwood and Elgin.

The play is set in 1986 at an elite girls boarding school in Ghana that’s preparing to compete in a prestigious national beauty pageant. That’s the spark for rivalries to ignite, alliances to shift and the girls to grapple with questions of identity, tradition and Western influence.

But as the secondary title emphasizes, humor and wit are never far from the drama. And for Profitt, those are the elements that help a play live on effortlessly in an audience member’s mind.

“The script was hilarious,” he said. “It was very fun to read and to visualize. It’s so easy to find drama and heavy subjects everywhere. When I go out to a show, I want to be taken away from the turmoil outside of the building and go to a joyful place. This show is a perfect outlet.”

Though focused on young female characters, Proffit believes the play demonstrates why a sense of self-worth is essential to girls, boys, women and men.

Partnering with the show are both the Hoffman Estates-based Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Chi Alpha Omega Chapter that will have a voter registration booth set up and the Schaumburg-based group iCU Community that organizes community events.

Tickets, which are $25 in advance or $30 at the door, can be purchased online at prairiecenter.org. The Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts is at 201 Schaumburg Court in Schaumburg.