Theater Community Building

By Suzy Evans in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 1, 2009 10:20PM

With more than 200 theater companies in Chicago, inter-group communication probably becomes a bit difficult at time. However, recent initiatives are helping connect theater artists and groups from around the city, the country and the world.

First of all, the Chicago Fringe Festival, slated to debut in Pilsen next September, released applications to be a part of the event today. Festival organizers will choose participants by a lottery system, while still ensuring geographic and international diversity. The first festival will host about 40 companies and one of the main goals is to foster an ongoing dialogue about theater in Chicago and around the world. We have plenty of festivals already, but most are limited to Chicago theater artists and a fringe could create a new and exciting voice for Chicago theater by bringing in outside companies.

In the “just Chicago” realm, the second Chicago Storefront Theatre Summit is scheduled to take place this coming weekend. We heard about the event through Chicago theater artist Nick Keenan’s blog, and it looks like a great way to start getting Chicago theaters talking, especially the smaller ones. (Hey, well-known Chicago director David Cromer is a facebook fan!) The first summit was back in October, and while the group is still in nascent stages, it seems like a great way to continue to build the Chicago theater community.