Testimonials

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.

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.