Lookingglass Theatre Company

Lookingglass' department of curiosity brings the transformative power of theater into classrooms, communities, and neighborhoods all over chicago. In-house engagement programs deepen the experience of theatre, cultivating curiosity and building community. Teaching artists bring lookingglass' core values of collaboration, invention, and transformation into every setting. For many participants, lookingglass' programs offer the only available source of quality theatre training, an essential education that cultivates curiosity, expands self-expression, grows the capacity for telling and understanding stories, and supports communication and collaboration with peers and neighbors. The department of curiosity offers five programs during a typical season: residencies in chicago public schools: lookingglass' flagship education program, residencies provide individualized theatre education programs both during and after school. A multi-session residency may focus on arts integration programming for core curriculum subjects or drama skills such as playwriting, acting, and ensemble-building. Every lookingglass residency reinforces and builds upon national, state, and local learning standards in arts education and related subject areas. Lookingglass deploys a rigorous assessment practice to continually increase the effectiveness of its programming. The pandemic forced lookingglass to temporarily suspend all in-person education programs, dramatically disrupting the lives of its students and participants. Prior to the pandemic, lookingglass' in-person education programs provided 40,000+ contact hours of artist-led instruction to 5,600 students and community members annually, reaching upwards of 70 classrooms across 15 chicago public schools each year. Lookingglass continues to rebuild these programs post-pandemic. Young ensemble: comprised of a group of chicago-area young adults, ages 13-18, the young ensemble is committed to building theater skills, lifting voices, and developing creativity through collaboration. Much like lookingglass' own productions, young ensemble shows weave together language, visual spectacle, music, and the unique talents and contributions of the ensemble to develop compelling works. Inclusive, rigorous, and endlessly creative, the young ensemble builds not only better artists, but better collaborators, thinkers, and leaders. In 2023, the young ensemble performed selections from ensemble member mary zimmerman's award-winning metamorphoses in two sold-out shows in lookingglass' home theatre. Community-based partner residencies: these activities pair lookingglass teaching artists with community-based organizations to address the goals, challenges, needs, and aspirations of the individuals they serve, helping to effect transformative change. Last season, lookingglass offered residencies to groups from: art on sedgwick, arts for brain health coalition, boys & girls club of chicago, chicago help initiative, latinos progresando, and strengthening chicago's youth.community partner tickets: in an ordinary season, this program provides partnering organizations with over 250 complimentary tickets to lookingglass' season. Guests engage in a post-show discussion with lookingglass artists, cast, and crew. Often offered in tandem with its residencies, this program gives participants in lookingglass' education programming the opportunity to visit its theatre and see its artists at work. 2023 partners included: art on sedgwick, boys & girls club of chicago, chicago help initiative, my block my hood my city, strengthening chicago's youth, and latinos progresando's teatro americano.replenish program for healthcare workers: in recognition of the crisis faced nationwide by healthcare workers in the wake of the global pandemic, lookingglass launched a new initiative to bring healthcare professionals into dialogue and community with one another, and to enhance the toolkit that medical residents bring to their practice as physicians and researchers. Lookingglass engaged residents at northwestern memorial hospital in a series of workshops focused on storytelling, improvisation, and team-building, offering the residents new skills for speaking to patients, families, peers, and colleagues. While rebuilding education & community outreach activities post-pandemic has proven challenging, lookingglass sees its department of curiosity as an essential facet of its work and an indispensable driver of change in its communities.