Testimonials
Caffeine Theatre mines the poetic tradition to explore social questions. In August-September 2009, we presented poet/playwright Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood at the Storefront Theater. It’s difficult to imagine the success of the production without the partnership of the DCA. From the beautiful and well-run space that housed our version of Thomas’ world, to the dedicated box office, press and marketing staffs, the breathtaking production photos, and even a video podcast, their resources and support immeasurably expanded our capacities. The DCA also made possible our grandest-scale Coffeehouse event to-date—hosting The Dylan Thomas Coffeehouse Cabaret in the Storefront Mezzanine, with over 80 people in attendance, and theatre, music and dance pieces from Chicago, Wales, and many points between. Our collaboration with the DCA allowed Caffeine Theatre to perform at our best, and for that enthusiasm and willingness we remain tremendous fans of the DCA Theater.
Silent Theatre has been around for 4 years and has had the opportunity to present works in association with DCA twice. Both times, the productions were artistically and financially successful. There really is only one organization in this city that puts forth the professional staff, state of the art space and endless resources and dedicates them towards the acknowledgment and growth of fringe theatre companies. Since Silent Theatre’s last production of Carnival Nocturne at the Storefront Theater, the company’s email contact list has doubled and the feedback from patrons has been quite great. As advocates of non-traditional theatre, it amazes us that DCA takes chances and risks on companies that push the envelope. A truly fostering experience. And with many companies applying for this gem of an opportunity, Chicago’s best secret isn’t so secret anymore.
Theatre Mir encourages dialogue between artists and audiences about current global, social and political issues through theatrical productions and humanities programs. We presented the Midwest premiere of Robin Soans’ verbatim play, The Arab-Israeli Cookbook, at the Storefront Theater in March and April 2009. We experienced a true partnership, in every sense of the word, with DCA. It was an extraordinary experience in which we felt truly supported and welcomed in our endeavors. DCA enthusiastically embraced our mission to present not only a production, but also to create ancillary programming that enabled greater discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that was presented in the show. They helped us to create and implement a series of moderated discussions, panel events, film screening and cooking class that provided platforms for these discussions and a means to reach new audiences. In addition, the support from the programming, marketing, public relations, box office and technical staffs at DCA were a vital part of our overall success. They were readily available and more than willing to support us in any and all ways. We simply could not have asked for or received anything more from them as partners, and we are sincerely grateful for the extraordinary experience.
500 Clown is a troupe that uses circus arts, improvisation and action-based performance to produce theater that catapults performers into extreme physical and emotional risk. 500 Clown Christmas was first presented in the Storefront Theater in 2006, and the troupe has gone on to perform all over the United States, and has toured Europe. They have now expanded as a company to offer 500 Clown Corps, providing “theater based training and workshops that help business people, teams and cultures flourish in a marketplace that demands constant innovation.”
Collaboraction creates theater through “multidisciplinary collaboration.” Collaboraction first presented its Sketchbook Festival of short plays in 2000, and The Joy of Going Somewhere Definite in the Storefront Theater in 2002. Collaboraction has since earned a reputation as one of Chicago’s most innovative companies, presenting theater full of social interaction, experimental performance, pop music and video art. The Annual Sketchbook Festival is now in its seventh year and receives national acclaim. Collaboraction has grown to employ a fulltime staff of 11 people and has an annual operating budget of $350,000.
Dog & Pony Theatre Company made its debut in the Studio Theater in 2003 with Michael Frayn’s Clouds and returned in 2007 to present Mr. Marmalade in the Storefront Theater. Dog & Pony credits its relationship with the DCA in helping generate loyal audiences, provide a legitimacy that attracts funders and achieve the production quality that has led the company to be named “Best Theater Troupe in Chicago” in 2007 by Chicago Magazine.
House Theatre of Chicago is an ensemble of artists who work together to create new works of popular theater, using theater, music, dance, magic and spectacle to inspire imagination through storytelling. The House Theatre presented Ellen Under Glass in the Storefront Theater in 2006. In January of 2007 the company produced the highly-successful production The Sparrow which received eight Joseph Jefferson Awards including “Best Production” and “Best Ensemble.” The company was recently featured in a New York Times article on Chicago companies to watch.
The Hypocrites create “Theater of Honesty,” defined by a balance of performance and participation that strengthens the connection between artist and audience. The company presented Henry V in the Storefront Theater in 2002 and returned in 2004 to present Camille/La Traviata. In its ten year history, The Chicago Sun-Times has called them one of Chicago’s “most inventive theater companies,” and Artistic Director Sean Graney has been called “Chicago’s Best Avant-Garde Director” by Chicago Magazine and “Chicagoan of the Year” (in Theater only) by the Chicago Tribune. Graney has also collaborated with DCA staff on other projects, including co-directing the 2003 Summer Opera performance The Marriage of Figaro.
LiveWire Chicago Theatre was initially given the opportunity to develop a new work as part of the Chicago DCA Theater’s INCUBATOR series in the fall of 2009. The workshop environment that the DCA helped create was the perfect setting for our piece, Lower Debt, which is set in the turbulent economic climate of modern day America. Being housed in the Chicago Cultural Center provided us the venue to showcase our piece in front of an audience that wouldn’t normally come to see our shows, and offered an open forum to discuss the sensitive and timely issues dealt with in this piece. Most recently, LiveWire presented the critically acclaimed world premiere production of Hideous Progeny at the Storefront Theater in the fall of 2010, which already has a second production slated for the summer of 2011 in Boston. We absolutely loved our time at the DCA on both occasions, and the space afforded our company the chance to develop/produce shows on a scale that we had not yet had the opportunity to explore. The DCA consistently takes the best of the storefront scene and places it at the forefront of Chicago theatre, proving it to be an invaluable city program. For not-for-profit theatre companies like LiveWire, who operate on shoestring annual budgets, we treasure this crucial Chicago resource. We can’t wait to see what’s in store at DCA Theater!
The Plagiarists’ mission is to steal from literature, visual art, history, and the culture at large to create new theatre that finds the familiar in the strange, the unique in the commonplace, and ultimately enlarges the world. Our work, The Wreck of the Medusa, is drawn from actual memoirs, Gericault’s famous painting of the raft, and modern accounts of the disaster. The scope of the story and the source material demanded intensive work and discussion. As a part of the INCUBATOR series, the DCA provided us with an enormously flexible space to workshop The Wreck of the Medusa. We were able to assemble a group of collaborators with the freedom to pursue whatever approaches and activities the process called for, from table discussions to improvisations, to group writing, to staging of full scenes. This month-long workshop culminated in a free public staged reading and discussion organized by the DCA, where we presented the scenes we had developed and had an enormously productive and insightful dialogue with the DCA audience.
ShawChicago was first created in 1994 as a program of the Dept. of Cultural Affairs to present the plays of George Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries in free concert readings at the Cultural Center. While it still regularly presents performances in the Studio Theater, ShawChicago establishing itself as an independent non-profit theater company in 2000, with a current annual budget of $215,000.
Silk Road Theatre Project showcases playwrights of Asian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean backgrounds, whose works address themes relevant to the peoples of the Silk Road and their Diaspora communities to promote dialogue among multi-cultural audiences in Chicago. It presented the world premiere of Precious Stones in the Studio Theater in January of 2003, which went on to tour 16 venues in ten U.S. cities. Later that year, the company became the Professional Theater-in-Residence at The Chicago Temple in downtown Chicago, and has produced seven critically-acclaimed productions.
The Strange Tree Group is a collective of multifaceted individuals dedicated to creating intricate, intimate theatrical experiences that extend beyond the boundaries of a traditional stage. In September of 2010 as part of the DCA Incubator series we were able to workshop the first half of our piece, The Spirit Play, a play about the spiritualist craze of the mid-1900’s. The process was amazing and culminated in a workshop showcase where we were able to give everyone a peek into the world we are hoping to create. The DCA Studio space was a dream. The flexible space gave us an opportunity to workshop this piece in whatever way we chose and being in the gorgeous downtown facility was nothing less then inspiring. The talk back that was hosted by the DCA as part of the workshop showcase was incredibly useful for our Playwright Emily Schwartz and the company as a whole. We had the chance to discuss a work in process with an audience of people who might never normally come to one of our shows. The response was phenomenal and we are so excited to see what happens next as part of DCA Incubator!
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