20% THEATRE COMPANY CHICAGO is dedicated to strengthening the presence and raising public awareness of women artists in theatre. It is estimated that only 20% of theatre professionals are women. By providing educational opportunities for women directors, producers, designers, and playwrights, 20% Theatre Company Chicago strives to increase the number of women in theatre. We are committed to engaging new audiences by making our work accessible to the community.
ABOUT 20% THEATRE COMPANY CHICAGO
20% Theatre Company Chicago exists to give women increased opportunities to exhibit their craft on Chicago’s stages.
20% Theatre Company Chicago was founded in 2003 by two graduates of Smith College, Elizabeth Schwan-Rosenwald and Abigail Boucher, in response to Julie Baber's terrific creation of 20% Theatre Company; a company based in New York, NY.
The two were disillusioned to learn that while women constitute fifty-one percent of the population, their presence as directors, designers, producers and playwrights in the theatre world was shockingly low. 20% Theatre Company Chicago was created to strengthen the presence of women in and around theatre. By producing shows written, directed, and designed by women, the artists of 20% have created a home for strong female voices in Chicago theatre.
In the fall of 2003, the company staged its first production to an audience of twenty-two in a second-floor theatre conference room. In the 8 seasons since, 20% has brought life to burgeoning scripts by emerging local playwrights through its new play development series The Darkroom, engaged the talents of over 150 young female playwrights and directors in its annual short play festival Snapshots, and produced annual full-length productions highlighting often hidden parts of women’s lives including:
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✴Jane: Abortion and the Underground by Chicago playwright Paula Kamen detailing the frequently ignored story of the underground abortion movement successfully orchestrated by Hyde Park housewives.
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✴How I Learned to Drive, Paula Vogel’s controversial story of memory and molestation exposed in flashback by a woman struggling to separate truth from fiction.
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✴‘night, Mother, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Marsha Norman about a suicidal woman’s final night with her mother showcasing the complicated, painful and ultimately beautiful relationship between family members.
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✴Top Girls by Caryl Churchill, a masterpiece of commentary on women’s struggles between career and motherhood.
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✴New Anatomies by Timberlake Wertenbaker, the story of turn-of-the-century, European-born explorer Isabelle Eberhardt, who cast off the traditional gender roles of the Victorian age, posed as an Arab man and traveled across Islamic northern Africa.
Each season 20% works with a number of talented female theatre artists as designers, technicians and playwrights. We strive to work repeatedly with women who represent the spirit and energy of the company, while giving opportunities to new female theatre artists with every production. The company is made up of nine women who are not only dedicated to pursuing their own craft, but also to furthering 20%’s mission.
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Only one in five working theatre professionals is a woman, according to findings by American Theatre magazine. 20% Theatre Company works to increase that number by producing thought-provoking classics and fresh original works — all of them written, directed and designed by women.
