Professional Development

Now Accepting Applications for August Wilson Youth Intensive

The August Wilson New Voices Competition (AWNV) is a city-wide competition open to all Chicago high school students in honor of the late Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, August Wilson. To participate, students engage in three rounds of competition by either performing a 2-3 minute monologue or creating a visual design presentation from one of the ten plays in August Wilson’s Century Cycle. The top two students from the Chicago Regional Finals receive a cash prize and are granted the opportunity to compete at the AWNV National competition with students from across the …

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A Message from DCASE

Dear Performing Arts Community, We have spent the last several weeks compiling and digesting the great feedback offered by this community at the recent Performing Arts Convening. A summary of your feedback can be accessed/downloaded here. In response to what we heard, we also want to share information and resources related to DCASE programs, events, and services that connect back to the four main pillars that were identified as areas of interest that structured our discussions at the Convening: 1. Cultural grants program flyer that details eligibility and tentative 2023 program calendar …

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Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation

9/19/22 (Application Deadline) – Looking to grow your board? Or looking for help with a specific area of expertise? From the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation at the University of Chicago School of Business: “Is your organization looking for strategic thinkers who can offer support in finance, marketing, crisis management, and more? Apply to one of the Rustandy Center’s nonprofit governance and strategy programs, which connect Booth MBA alumni and students with Chicagoland area nonprofits.” More info on the ALUMNI BOARD CONNECT PROGRAM. More info on the NET IMPACT BOARD FELLOWS PROGRAM.

Processing Pandemic Grief for Theater Artists

The global pandemic has led to specific and significant losses for folks involved with theater. We’ve been deprived of our artform and the community it fosters, leaving us financially unstable, isolated, and confused. Many of us grieve what’s been lost in our creative lives, our collaborations with other artists, and the potential development of our careers that never got to unfold. We at Red Theater know those feelings well. After some serious hibernation and a lot of transformation, we felt a need to foster a space of healing for our fellow theater …

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Coming Back Stronger: Using the Shutdown to Rebuild Audience Loyalty

Thursday, February 18, at 11:00 a.m. PST, hosted by Arts Reach Presenters: Michael Mael & Karen Freeman Led by The Advisory Board for the Arts’ Michael Mael & Karen Freeman, this session will offer: • Practical steps for attracting and retaining new loyal audiences at this moment • Data to back up these recommendations and create a path to move forward • Tangible tools to help your organization effectively market to, communicate with and engage audiences during this extended pandemic period Research from past downturns and crises shows that audiences typically don’t …

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Webinars: Trauma Informed Arts Education for a Trauma Informed Illinois

Chicago Children’s Theatre and Lurie Children’s Center for Childhood Resilience are hosting a series of live webinars called Trauma Informed Arts Education for a Trauma Informed Illinois. TYA artists, early childhood educators and youth mental health experts will discuss, share and learn how to identify children impacted by trauma, and how to use theater and other art forms to address their emotional and learning needs while fostering resilience. This free initiative is made possible by a grant from Illinois Humanities. Theatre artists and administrators are warmly invited to attend. Register: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aTrg8viUQn2r9hqO__pkgg?dl=0

Building Our Tables, Producers of Color Panels & Masterclass Series

Building Our Tables is a progressive POC led organization with a mission to build the producing capacity of artists of color through knowledge sharing to demystify the role of producer. This series is co-produced by Olivia Lilley and Riti Sachdeva and sponsored by Prop Thtr & The National New Play Network. The first panel is this Monday October 19th from 6:30pm – 8pm CST. A second panel will be Saturday October 24th, featuring Alice De Cuyna of Chicago’s Physical Theatre festival. This event centers POC, so all Chicago POC theatre artists are …

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