New York's Chautauqua Theater Company, the resident theatre company of Chautauqua Institution, will present the world premiere of C.A. Johnson's Tell Me You’re Dying next year.

CTC Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll will direct the CTC-commissioned work in August 2025 during the final two weeks of the nine-week Summer Assembly. Casting and additional creative team members will be announced at a later date.

Johnson's play is described as "a post-apocalyptic lesbian love story." The new work follows Millicent and her chosen family who are facing illness, mortality, and the shared urgency of dwindling time.

“With this play, C.A. is sharing her true power as a playwright, inviting us to delve into what it means to be alive,” says director Carroll in a statement. "She is expanding upon her remarkable talent for navigating effortlessly between realism and the surreal. I cannot wait to share this compelling world premiere as part of Chautauqua Theater Company’s 2025 season.”

Playwright Johnson adds, “Since my original commission in 2022, Jade and her team have supported every iteration of Tell Me You’re Dying. To say I’m excited is an understatement! More than anything, though, I am grateful for what this production represents. Every playwright wants to know a company is committed to their voice, but at Chautauqua, I feel an even deeper commitment to lifelong artistic curiosity. I can’t imagine a better first home for this play and look forward to the work ahead.”

CTC will also support this project with an industry reading in New York City in January 2025.

Johnson is a Brooklyn-based playwright originally from Metairie, Louisiana. Her plays include All the Natalie Portmans (MCC Theater), Thirst (2017 Kilroys List, CATF), The Climb (Cherry Lane Mentor Project, InterAct Theatre Company), An American Feast (NYU Playwrights Horizons Theater School), I Know I Know I Know, Somebody’s Body, and Tell Me You're Dying.

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