David Trujillo & cat mahari at Indiana Humanities

Join us on September 16, 2025, at 6:30 PM at Indiana Humanities for a public lecture with the Speculative Play and Just Futurities program scholars in residence, David Trujillo and cat mahari.

Set in the Vietnam War era, David Trujillo’s stage play Many May Not Return reflects the complex relationship in the Mexican-American community with the concept of national military service as recalled in three wars—the current one, Korea, and World War II. A Chicano/Latino family in crisis as a consequence of two forces: the undeclared Vietnam War and their economic conditions as a working-class family. How do families face the issues of war while living in a nation that is continuously at war?

Nestled by the ecstatic communal of Chicago House and sensual partnership of Chicago Stepping, cat mahari’s Sugar in the Raw is a journey of intimacy, trust, and touch in Blk Chicago.  Dovetailing with contemporary Blk Chicago cultural divergences as part of its process of resonance between the past, present, and future; the project journeys through surrealist animation, powerful vignettes, choreographic passages, archival footage and autobiographical interviews. Spanning multiple generations and crossing relationship paradigms, the film will be a performative tapestry of community through which changes strengthen bonds of commonality, and build on tension between individual expression and partnership.
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David Trujillo (Los Angeles, California) is a labor and community activist and working-class playwright. His company, Community Professionals, was founded in 2019 and provides an outlet for experimental community-based writing and theater presentations. Raised in Fresno, California, where his parents were farmworkers, Trujillo worked in the fields himself. He left to enter college at California State University, Los Angeles; attend the Harvard Trade Union program; and received a Master’s degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is currently retired from union work and continues to write in Los Angeles, California. Trujillo orients himself through politically conscious plays that tackle racism, oppression, and exploitation presented to the audience through creative storytelling that both critiques and empowers them. However, he is not just telling a story; the plot always delivers a message for how to proceed. Trujillo challenges the idea of what theater should be while addressing working-class and social justice issues is paramount. Past stage plays include ‘Filthy Laundry’ (2024), ‘Many May Not Return’ (2022), ‘Legacy of A Garage Band,’ (2023), ‘Vincent’ (2024) and others. He continues to write and believes that in the years to come, class-conscious art and political theater will be more important than ever.

cat mahari (Chicago, Illinois) is founder of the Art Omi: Blk, an international residency program supporting self-identified Black artists, she cultivates spaces for artists to expand their practices through experimentation and community dialogue. mahari is a long-time culture bearer of Hip Hop and House. Her interest lies in thinking through assumptive logics of emotional and psychomateriality. She considers the public-facing practice of her work to require a non-disciplinary imagined root, where she engages visibility through sound and movement as generative architectonics—material, social, and emotional. Her work examines the body as both source and conduit, shaped by lineages and improvisational rigor of the vernacular. cat’s most recent project is blk ark: the impossible manifestation (2022– 2024), performed at MCA-Chicago, Pact Zollverein, and CultureHub NYC, a triptych installation of movement, sound, and text on play and Hip Hop anarcho-choreographies. With a distinctive vision of interdisciplinary art-making, cat’s awards include a 2025 Chicago Dancemakers Lab Award, 2024 DCASE Independent Artist Project grant, a 2023 MAP Fund Microgrant, 2022 Dance/USA Fellowship, and a 2021 3Arts Award.
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Please be advised that this public lecture will explore subjects related to race, violence, and identity. These discussions might include sensitive content that could be distressing or triggering for some participants. We encourage all attendees to prioritize their mental and emotional well-being and feel free to step away from the session if needed.

The Speculative Play and Just Futurities (SPJF) program leverages narrative storytelling and creative worldbuilding in speculative writing and design, including science fiction, fantasy, gaming, and new digital media like virtual reality, to challenge oppression and reimagine our world. It focuses on creating forums for discussing and theorizing literature to envision just futures. Central to SPJF is a residency for emerging scholars and creators, fostering intellectual and creative growth. SPJF also hosts weekly colloquia for students and faculty, featuring resident interactions and collaborative learning opportunities. Speculative Play and Just Futurities is made possible through the generous support of the Mellon
Foundation. SPJF is a collaboration between the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute, the Center for Africana Studies and Culture, and the Ray Bradbury Center.