Kudos To Sideshow Theatre Company Winners of Broadway in Chicago's Emerging Theatre Award

 Sideshow Theatre Company 

to be awarded 

the 2016 Broadway In Chicago 

Emerging Theatre Award

 Award to be presented at the League of Chicago Theatres Annual Gala

May 23 at the Chicago History Museum

The League of Chicago Theatres announces Sideshow Theatre Company as the winner of the 2016 Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award.  The award will be presented at the League of Chicago Theatres Annual Gala, an elegant event that brings together friends of Chicago theatre to raise funds for programs to support Chicago’s 240 member theatre companies, on May 23, 2016 at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St.

Tickets for the Gala are available for $325 per person, and all proceeds benefit the League of Chicago Theatres which promotes, supports, and advocates for theatre in Chicago.  To purchase tickets, or for sponsorship opportunities and participation information, visit www.chicagoplays.com or call 312-554-9800.

The Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award was created in 2007 to encourage, support, and promote young theatres in Chicago that have demonstrated great ability and promise, artistic excellence and fiscal responsibility in business practices.  Eligible companies are members of the League of Chicago Theatres, have been incorporated at least 3 and no longer than 10 years, and have demonstrated artistic excellence, fiscal responsibility, community leadership and potential for future growth.

Nominated by a committee of industry professionals, educators and League of Chicago Theatres board members, five finalists are selected each year, and from those, a majority vote from the League membership determines the winner.  Broadway In Chicago provides a $5,000 cash prize and marketing support, including a substantial advertising package for the recipient.

Sideshow Theatre Company Artistic Director Jonathan L. Green comments, “We are so grateful to be recognized by the League of Chicago Theatres and Broadway In Chicago. For nearly a decade, Sideshow has been dedicated to boldly deconstructing and reconstructing our shared stories. This award embodies what makes our city so unique as a theatre town: a collaborative community where 250 diverse companies, big and small, thrive and support each other's work. As we approach our 10th anniversary season, we hope to serve as an inspiration for the next generation of Chicago theatres.”

 “It is a great honor for Broadway In Chicago to sponsor this award every year," said Eileen LaCario, Vice President of Broadway In Chicago. "We are proud to be a part of the Chicago Theatre Community which is unique and unlike any other in the country where theatres of all sizes mentor and support each other.  This year we celebrate Sideshow as the 2016 Emerging Theatre, recognized by their peers for their work and contributions to Chicago Theatre."

 The other nominees for the 2016 Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award were: Chicago Fringe Festival, Definition Theatre Company, Filament Theatre and Route 66 Theatre. Jackalope Theatre Company, Oracle Productions, The House Theatre of Chicago, Silk Road Theatre Project (now Silk Road Rising), the side project, Steep Theatre, The New Colony, Theatre Seven of Chicago and 16th Street Theater are previous recipients of the award.
 

About the League of Chicago Theatres Gala
On May 23 at the Chicago History Museum, the Chicago theatre community will honor Sideshow Theatre Company with the Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award, philanthropist Merle Reskin with the Tribute Award, Chanel Coney with the Emerging Philanthropist Award, and Founders of the Candlelight Theatre Bill Pullinsi and Tony D’Angelo with the Lifetime Achievement Award.  Cocktails will begin at 5:30pm with an elegant dinner and entertainment at 7:00pm. 

The Gala Co-Chairs are John Collins (General Manager, Goodman Theatre), Neel McNeill (Managing Director, Definition Theatre Company), David Schmitz (Managing Director, Steppenwolf Theatre Company) and Ivan Vega (Executive Director, UrbanTheatre Company).

 About Chicago theatre

Chicago theatre is the leader in the U.S. with more than 250 theatres throughout Chicagoland, comprising a rich and varied community ranging from storefront, non-union theaters to the most renowned resident theatres in the country, including 5 that have been honored with Regional Tony Awards, and the largest touring Broadway organization in the nation. Chicago’s theatres serve 5 million audience members annually and have a combined budget of more than $250 million. Chicago produces and/or presents more world premieres annually than any other city in the nation. In 2015-16 alone, Chicago theatre companies produced more than 100 world premiere productions and adaptations. Each year, Chicago theatres send new work to resident theatres across the country, to Broadway, and around the world. 

 About the League of Chicago Theatres

The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theatres which leverages its collective strength to promote, support, and advocate for Chicago's theatre industry locally, nationally, and internationally. The League of Chicago Theatres Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the art of theatre in the Chicago area through audience development and support services for theatres and theatre professionals.  For more information, www.chicagoplays.com.

HELP OUT: Inaugural Family Gala on July 12 Seussapalooza at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

Chicago Shakespeare Theater Producers’ Guild hosts

Inaugural Family Gala on July 12

Seussapalooza

Benefitting Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks

Chicago—June 26, 2014—Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s (CST) 

Come ChiIL out with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and ChiIL Mama. We can't wait to experience both Seussical AND Seussapalooza this Saturday! And all this fun will funD another true treasure, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks. Break out your funkiest Dr. Seuss attire and help out. You can say you were there at the FIRST CST Family Gala EVER. Tickets start at a reasonable $45 and the event is family friendly, with stage combat demos, crafts, hands on activities, and more!

CST’s inaugural Family Gala, Seussapalooza on July 12, 2014, 11:00 a.m. at the Theater’s home on Navy Pier. This family-friendly event invites guests to enjoy the summer musical production of Seussical in CST’s Courtyard Theater, followed by a lively reception with hands-on activities and crafts for all ages. In keeping with the Producers’ Guild’s mission to support access to Shakespeare for all, funds raised will benefit the celebrated Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks program, which brings a free Shakespearean production to neighborhood parks across Chicago in the summer. 

Click here for Shakespeare in the Parks 2014 dates/locations and ChiIL Mama's photo filled review of the show.

Seussapalooza guests will first be treated to a performance of Seussical in CST’s magnificent Courtyard Theater. This 75-minute Broadway musical comedy brings the humor and magic of Dr. Seuss to life onstage. Playful, energetic and full of whimsy, Seussical engages the imagination with clever lyrics and melodies, unforgettable characters and the vibrant rainbow of Dr. Seuss’s colorful world.

The Cat in the Hat (Alex Goodrich) shows JoJo (Emily Chang) that, through the power of her imagination, anything can happen in the song “It’s Possible” in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Seussical, directed by Scott Weinstein, in CST’s Courtyard Theater now through August 17, 2014. Photo by Michael Brosilow. Following the performance, attendees will proceed to a whimsical reception taking place throughout the Theater’s 6th floor lobbies and performance spaces, featuring a delicious luncheon, vivid décor and soaring views of the city’s skyline. Hands-on activities for children of all ages will include stage combat demonstrations by professional fight choreographers, a photo booth with theatrical props and artful face painting, as well as crafts and other games. A silent auction with exclusive family fun packages will further support Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks.

Proceeds from Seussapalooza will fully fund a designated park on this summer’s Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks tour of the wildly popular A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which will travel to 18 neighborhood parks across the city, July 18–August 17, 2014. Since its inception in July 2012, this annual summer tradition has touched over 27,000 audience members on the north, south and west sides of the city. At each stop on the citywide tour, families and neighbors come together to share in the delight of a professional Shakespearean production.









CST’s Producers’ Guild, led by Rachel Bronson and Justine Jentes, is a dynamic auxiliary board for emerging leadership in Chicago’s cultural community that advocates and supports CST’s work on the Theater’s stages, in the community and abroad. The Family Gala is co-chaired by Karen and Tuey Connell and Robin and Timothy Sheehan.

Seussapalooza Lead Sponsors include Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company, Biagio Events, the Butler Family Foundation and Make It Better Magazine.


Tickets for the Seussapalooza event begin at $45. To join Chicago Shakespeare Theater in celebration of Seussapalooza, please contact Margaret Reeder at 312.667.4951 or mreeder@chicagoshakes.com.

A musical adventure through the world of Dr. Seuss Seussical Directed by Scott Weinstein Chicago Shakespeare Theater brings the humor and magic of Dr. Seuss to life onstage this summer for young audiences and their families in the Broadway musical comedy Seussical. Playful, energetic and full of whimsy, this 75-minute musical adventure engages the imagination with clever lyrics and melodies, unforgettable characters and the colorful world of Dr. Seuss. Every performance features special opportunities for audiences to interact with the actors for one-on-one conversations and photos. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, CST partners with the Chicago Children’s Museum (CCM) to offer hands-on craft activities in CST’s Lobby. Seussical is being presented in CST’s Courtyard Theater now through August 17, 2014.