|
 HISTORY
& PROGRAMMING
Established in 1983, Raven Theatre is a professional,
regional theatre company, serving the far north communities of Chicago,
including Edgewater, Rogers Park and Uptown. The company also receives
a broad base of support from throughout the Chicagoland area. From
1985 to 2000 Raven Theatre was housed in an intimate 70-seat space
in Rogers Park. This award-winning company closed its final season
in its old home with five Joseph Jefferson Awards for Arthur Miller's
classic drama A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, including outstanding production.
In August 2002 the Raven Theatre opened its new doors at 6157 N.
Clark Street, in the heart of Edgewater. The company's new state-of-the-art
complex has two theatres - a 160-seat East Stage, and a 70-seat
West Stage- with a spacious lobby and ample support space, along with
on-site parking.
In its first full year in its new space, the company produced two
Jeff recommended mainstage productions to critical and public acclaim.
In his glowing review of MARVIN'S ROOM, Michael Phillips of the
Chicago Tribune remarked that, "Already the new Raven theatre
feels like an old friend". Raven Theatre was invited to re-mount
its production of MARVIN'S ROOM during the 2003 Season of the Chicago
Park District's THEATRE-ON-THE-LAKE in Lincoln Park.
In March of 2003, Raven Theatre produced Clifford Odet's masterpiece
GOLDEN BOY, which received an extended four month run on Raven's
Mainstage. GOLDEN BOY was "Highly Recommended" by the
Chicago Sun-Times, The Reader, and Gay Chicago Magazine; and, the
Chicago Tribune called it a "terrific revival".
Raven Theatre presents a full season of professional, non-equity
East Stage Shows, experimental Studio Series on the West Stage, Children's Theatre
Program, and Pay-What-You-Can Workshop Productions. In 1997, Raven
began touring its Children's Theatre productions to schools, libraries
and other educational institutions.
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OUR MISSION
Raven Theatre's mission is to establish itself
as an important voice in regional theatre focusing on American classics,
as well as new and lesser-known projects that shed light on the
"American Experience". The company's mission is realized by uniting
an ensemble of Chicago based theatre artists from diverse disciplines
who work together with the goal of maintaining a high standard of
artistic excellence with programming easily accessible to patrons
of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds, and thereby enriching
our community's cultural life. Vigorously fresh revivals of masterpieces
by great playwrights such as Miller, Williams, Saroyan and Mamet,
introduce new audiences to established classics, while original
and lesser-known works give voice to the next generation of playwrights.
Through Raven's Children's Theatre Program the company seeks to
present a wide range of theatrical education and entertainment options
applicable across a broad academic spectrum.
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RAVEN NEWS
Raven Theatre Company
introduces the FlexPass subscription ticket to Raven productions.
A $50.00 fee admits the purchaser to two Raven Theatre Company mainstage
productions and two Raven Theatre Company productions on our West Stage (fromerly Studio
Theatre) with no expiration date, a savings of up to $30.00!
For more information, either call the box office at 773-338-2177
or click
here to get info and a downloadable form on our "Tickets
& Information" page.
Tickets to Raven Theatre productions are
available on-line through the TicketWeb system at www.ticketweb.com.
TicketWeb was established in 1995 and currently has more than 500
top-tier clients, including the Louvre Museum, the Newport Jazz
and Folk Festivals, The Bowery Ballroom, the New York Museum of
Modern Art, Monterey Bay Aquarium, NY International Fringe Festival
and the Big Easy Concert House. The system is convenient and easy
to use. The Raven Theatre Company is delighted to offer this convenience
to theatre-goers.
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OUTREACH
Raven Theatre's Community and Educational Outreach
 Raven Theatre's program of accessible
and affordable theatre for adults, students, families and children
continues to provide an outstanding service to the public. Raven's
outreach begins with its long-standing mission of providing
high quality theatre at affordable prices.The company's productions of classic works of the American stage
draw high school and college students and classes. Raven offers
reduced ticket prices to classes, and frequently holds post
show discussions between the cast, crew, and director of a current
production and visiting student groups and their professors.
The Raven Theatre Opportunity Program makes up to 5% of the
seating capacity of all Raven Theatre productions presented
at its facility at 6157 N. Clark Street available at reduced
or free admission to those who do not have the ability to pay.
Raven Theatre's commitment to community service began in 1985,
when the company opened its former storefront site at 6931 N.
Clark Street. Over the past eighteen years, Raven Theatre has
created and taken part in many projects and programs addressing
the charitable and educational needs of the community.
Highlights of Raven's educational outreach, both past and present,
include:: |
| • |
Partnership with Chicago Park District
for workshops and performances to Chicago neighborhood children,
ages 5-12. |
| • |
Free workshops in theatre education
through League of Chicago Theatres' annual "Theatre Fever"
Festival. |
| • |
Theatre workshops in partnership
with Good Council High School. |
| • |
Partnership with Hayt Elementary
School, located across the street from the Raven's facility,
providing after school theatre arts education and free performances
of our Children's Touring Program. |
| • |
Theatre arts education program at the Stone Scholastic Academy and Armstrong School, Chicago Public Schools. |
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Theatre Workshop Partnership with
Centro Romero, a neighborhood community center serving Hispanic
families of Rogers Park, Edgewater, and Uptown. |
| • |
Ongoing Children's Theatre Touring
Program geared to early childhood development presented at schools
and libraries throughout northeastern Illinois. |
| • |
Pay what you can workshop performances of new and experimental works of theatre for the general public, as a part of Raven's Workshop Program. |
| • |
Scholarships for Head Start Students to Raven's Summer Youth Theatre Program. |
Highlights of Raven's charitable outreach, both past and present,
include the following: |
| • |
Neighborhood Dollar Night
in Rogers Park, made available through Rogers Park community
centers. |
| • |
Free tickets to children's shows
and family-oriented mainstage productions for several Boys and
Girls Clubs of America, and several Big Brothers and Big Sisters
Chapters in Chicago. |
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Free blocks of tickets
for Horizons For The Blind, an organization assisting the visually
impaired. |
| • |
Free blocks of tickets to Thresholds
Older Adult Program, a center for mentally challenged older
adults. |
| • |
Highly discounted tickets for the
many high school and college groups of students, which have
attended Raven Theatre, followed by post-show discussions. |
| • |
Free access to the facilities
for meetings and seminars, available to charitable and community
organizations such as the Edgewater Community Council, The Business
Volunteers for the Arts. |
Please contact us at 773-338-2177 for more information
on Raven's outreach and educational programs.
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DONATE/VOLUNTEER
Ticket sales cover only a portion of our expenses. To make up the
difference, we turn to our very generous family of private and public
contributors and supporters whose assistance is vital to the continuation
of our programming and outreach. You can join the Raven Theatre
family by sending a tax-deductible contribution to:
The Raven Theatre Company
6157 N. Clark Street
Chicago, Illinois 60660
Another way that you can help the Raven Theatre Company is to volunteer
your time. We are always eager to hear from those interested in
getting involved. Please join us by phone at 773-338-2177, or by
e-mail at raventheatre@aol.com.
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