Show Some Respect: Holiday Edition

Every December Imagination Theater performs a holiday themed version of our popular Show Some Respect program.  Nothing makes participatory theater more fun than when every single scene is a party!

However, these scenes aren't your average parties!  Each scene of Show Some Respect: Holiday Edition brings students up on stage to warm the hearts of the scroogiest Scrooges with exemplary displays of respect.

Regardless of our audiences' resolutions, they will certainly make the new year a respectful one!

As always, you can learn more about Imagination Theater and our programs at www.imaginationtheater.org

- Jeremy Schaefer

Take A Stand

Participatory theater is a living art.  It changes with current trends.  It grows with increased understanding.  It embraces the ideas and ideals of communities.

Imagination Theater's performances are very much alive.  We created Take A Stand, a program about bullying for middle and high school audiences, in 2012.  This edgy, topical assembly stood among the most popular programs of our 12/13 season.

Customers raved about the show while asking that we incorporate new scenarios that touched their school communities.  We have collected those thoughts and allowed our show to grow.

Today we rehearsed the result of that growth.  The introduction has more opportunities for audience interaction and the discussion after each scene delves a little bit deeper than before.  We have a brand new scene to explore what students can do when a friend's self-esteem is beaten down by bullies.  As always the scenarios are relevant, realistic, and age appropriate.

We were thrilled with this program's initial success and continue to be thrilled with its growth.  But more than that, we are grateful for the adaptability of our style and the finesse of our ensemble as they present with clarity our ever changing programs.

We look forward to sharing Take A Stand with your students!

As always, you can learn more about our programs at www.imaginationtheater.org.

- Jeremy Schaefer

Grateful For All Our Partners

Many of us expressed gratitude and counted blessings around the dinner table on Thanksgiving.

In the wake of Turkey Day, Imagination Theater continues to be grateful for our supporters and the numerous ways in which they contribute to our mission.

Prior to Thanksgiving, DePaul University business students proposed brand new marketing plans to Imagination Theater.  Their creativity and passion will help us serve a growing audience base in the 2014/15 season.

The Tuesday after Black Friday was Giving Tuesday.  Several of our partners opted to celebrate the awesome work of non profits, by giving to Imagination Theater.  Grassroots donations like these are vital to our organization.

We recently received our check from goodsearch.  We benefit from a mighty collective of web savvy philanthropists who earn money for Imagination Theater by searching the internet and shopping online.  Visit www.goodsearch.com and see how easy it is to raise funds for Imagination Theater, at no cost to you.

Right now, we are prepping our annual partner mailing.  As we stamp envelopes and sign letters, it is truly moving how many partners we have!

We are proud of the work we do; we are glad that you are too.  If you are not yet a partner of Imagination Theater, please consider joining our community with a donation of any size.

As always, you can learn more about Imagination Theater at www.imaginationtheater.org.

-Jeremy Schaefer, Associate Artistic Director

Good Luck Derek!

After three great seasons with us, Associate Artistic Director, Derek Czaplewski is stepping down to pursue other projects.  His presence in our office will be missed on Monday morning.

Derek came to us from HealthWorks Theatre, and brought that company's passion for health education with him.  To teach K-5 audiences about fitness and nutrition, he created Making Healthy Choices; he even facilitated its premier performance.  He continued the spirit of HealthWorks Theatre by creating Aware Individuals to promote HIV/AIDS awareness in high schools.  These programs expanded Imagination Theater's mission and provided schools with powerful tools to provoke vital conversations.

Outside of Imagination Theater, Derek has acted and directed with numerous companies around the city.  He can currently be seen as Farmer Brown in Lifeline Theatre's production of Click, Clack, Boo! (pictured below).

Both on stage and off, Imagination Theater wishes Derek the very best of luck!  We are grateful for his contributions over the past three years!

As always, you can learn more about Making Healthy Choices, Aware Individuals, or any of our other programs at www.imaginationtheater.org.

- Jeremy Schaefer

Red Ribbon Shows!

Imagination Theater was thrilled to celebrate Red Ribbon Week with Dorn Elementary!  An assembly of Ease the Tease is a great way to celebrate any school occasion!

See pictures from the show at the school's website!

http://www.npd117.net/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=9&ModuleInstanceID=440&ViewID=047E6BE3-6D87-4130-8424-D8E4E9ED6C2A&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=4203&PageID=11

As always, you can learn more about Imagination Theater's programs at www.imaginationtheater.org

- Jeremy Schaefer

Blowitz-Ridgeway Grant

Imagination Theater has numerous partnerships that prevent price from impeding our mission of providing diverse audiences with original, dynamic, participatory, theatrical programming that enhances well-being and creates a more civil, safe society.

We've been fortunate enough to build long, lasting relationships with both individual donors and granting organizations.  One of our consistent supporters, who has renewed their support for this year, is The Blowitz-Ridgeway Foundation.

Using the proceeds from the 1984 sale of Chicago's Ridgeway Hospital, The Blowitz-Ridgeway Foundation continues to serve Illinois in the noble spirit of that hospital.

The funds provided to Imagination Theater are supplemental funds intended to relieve myriad schools and senior care centers of the financial burden that comes with enrichment performances.

Organizations requiring financial support to bring shows like  Ease the Tease to elementary students or  Senior Spotlight to seniors communities, are welcome to apply to have their cost cut in half by The Blowitz-Ridgeway Foundation.

We are immensely pleased to extend this opportunity to sites throughout Illinois.  If cost has been prohibitive in the past, please contact us to apply for these funds.  If further support is required, Imagination Theater will see what we can do on our end to complement the Blowitz-Ridgeway funding.

As always, you can visit www.imaginationtheater.org to learn more about the programming Imagination Theater provides and The Blowitz-Rideway Foundation support

—Jeremy Schaefer

On The Road Again!

Every ensemble spends a great deal of time together.  Imagination Theater is no exception.  This past week our nomadic cast of actors and facilitators traveled to New York City, Pittsburgh, Roanoke, Cleveland, Cedar Rapids, Pella, Buffalo, and several stops in between!

Heavy touring can either make or break an ensemble.  I'm happy to say that future shows will benefit from this busy week of travel.  By week's end, we were celebrating dozens of successful performances and hours of priceless bonding experiences.  Killing time in the car by sharing desert island playlists and embarrassing stories strengthens the chemistry between artists.  Audiences take note of an ensemble that really understands how to work with and support one another.  Our cast's ability to do just that keeps entire gymnasiums engaged in our shows and tuned into our message.

A quick stop on the way to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Niagara Falls.

We look forward to many more weeks on the road during the 2013/14 season!

As always, you can learn more about our programs at www.imaginationtheater.org.

-Jeremy Schaefer