A Look Back at 2023-2024 Accomplishments
Posted on December 6, 2024
The 2023-2024 Season transported audiences of all ages to spectacular realms and showcased captivating stories from across the world.
How CTC’s Making a Difference
2023-2024 Season Highlights
Expanding the Canon and Introducing New Stories to the World
CTC’s 2023-2024 Season featured two world premiere productions: Babble Lab, created by CTC Acting Company Member Autumn Ness and co-produced by CTC and Alliance Theatre, and Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress, co-commissioned by CTC, Chicago Children’s Theatre, and The Rose Theatre. Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress recently won the American Alliance for Theatre in Education (AATE) Distinguished Play of the Year.
Inspiring the Next Generation of Theatre-Lovers
CTC continued its partnership with Bethune Arts Elementary School to provide high-quality arts programming to students at all grade levels. Over 25 weeks, in 15 classrooms, we collaborated with teachers to serve 304 Bethune students, offering Family Nights to CTC productions and ending the academic year with a student showcase for family and friends. Teachers reported children demonstrated increased self-confidence, collaboration, and emotional regulation, all of which helped prepare the students for learning.
Growing Our Community and Amplifying the Voices of Our Neighbors
During the run of The Carp Who Would Not Quit and Other Animal Stories, pre-school audience members had expanded opportunities to experience and engage with Japanese culture when a local dance troupe performed in the MacMillan Family Lobby and led an origami crane-making activity. During A Year With Frog and Toad in June 2024, a makers’ market was held at the theatre, showcasing local artists and celebrating Pride Month with our community.
Shining a Light on New Works
CTC’s involvement in the landmark Generation Now partnership continued to progress over the last season. The partnership aims to develop 16 commissions of new works by BIPOC artists, for multigenerational audiences. Drawing Lessons, a work by Michi Barall and co-commissioned by Ma-Yi Theater Company and CTC, will have its world premiere at CTC this season. Over the last year, we hosted a writer’s retreat for Dustin Tahmahkera’s Comanche Girl on the Moon, as well as workshops for Gabriel Rivas Gomez’s Level Up and Kalani Queypo and Chadwick Johnson’s The Mainlanders.
A Message from Mary Loeffelholz, Chair of CTC Board of Directors
“The 2023-2024 Season took theatre-lovers of all ages to whimsical, fantastical worlds and shared stories from around the globe. Audiences had the chance to experience two world premieres, as well as a few beloved CTC classics. The season wrapped up with A Year With Frog and Toad and celebrated former Artistic Director Peter C. Brosius and his incredible 27-year tenure at the helm of CTC.
Thousands of students participated in Theatre Arts Training programming—both in the classroom and in our community—and CTC continued to offer low-cost, accessible opportunities for children and families to experience the magic on stage, ensuring the theatre is always a home for everyone. None of this would be possible without your partnership, and I hope you see your impact in action in this special edition of Behind the Curtain, Beyond the Stage. I’m also especially grateful to the CTC Board of Directors for their leadership, expertise, and dedication to the important work on CTC’s stages, in the classroom, and in the community. Thank you for your continued generosity and support. We’re so grateful to have you as part of our CTC family.”