Lookingglass Theatre Company
Encyclopedia
Lookingglass Theatre Company is a non-profit, ensemble
-based theater company located in Chicago, Illinois. Their pieces tend to focus on the spectacular and the physical.
As of June 2011, Lookingglass has won 42 Joseph Jefferson Awards
.
Each Lookingglass season is chosen by the ensemble members, who vote yearly on submitted proposals. According to ensemble member Andy White, their decision ultimately rests on which story most needs to be told. He emphasizes that "'need' is the operative word... [t]here has to be a real imperative for telling each story".
Lookingglass is currently in its 22nd season, and its present Artistic Director is founding ensemble member Andy White.
, Lawrence DiStasi, David Kersner, Eva Barr, Joy Gregory, Andy White, and Thom Cox
. Their first production Through the Lookingglass was directed by David Kersner and took place at the Great Room in Jones Residential College on the Northwestern University campus in the fall of 1988.
They have since performed fifty-three world-premiere original works (their most recent being David Schwimmer's Trust in 2010).
Lookingglass was the recipient of the 2011 Regional Theatre Tony Award
.
on Chicago's Magnificent Mile.
Its first production in the new space was an adaptation of Studs Terkel
's Race, adapted and directed by ensemble member David Schwimmer.
Morris Architects Planners designed the new space in the black-box
style, meaning that the seating area may be completely rearranged for each production. The maximum capacity is 270 persons, counting those in the removable balcony. There is also a studio space located in the second floor of the facility for smaller events and productions.
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
-based theater company located in Chicago, Illinois. Their pieces tend to focus on the spectacular and the physical.
As of June 2011, Lookingglass has won 42 Joseph Jefferson Awards
Joseph Jefferson Awards
The Joseph Jefferson Awards are given annually by a volunteer non-profit committee to acknowledge excellence in theatre in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are given in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson...
.
Background
From its inception, Lookingglass has shown an interest in image-heavy, physical theatrical pieces. An early critic noted that "[m]ost Lookingglass work has revolved around explorations of the mythic and ritual roots of theatre and the symbolism of storytelling" and their "utiliza[tion of] live music and film, ritual movement and acrobatics, heightened language (and long stretches of silence), and non-realistic visual imaging that are characteristic of its technique".Each Lookingglass season is chosen by the ensemble members, who vote yearly on submitted proposals. According to ensemble member Andy White, their decision ultimately rests on which story most needs to be told. He emphasizes that "'need' is the operative word... [t]here has to be a real imperative for telling each story".
Lookingglass is currently in its 22nd season, and its present Artistic Director is founding ensemble member Andy White.
History
Lookingglass was founded in 1988 by David Catlin, David SchwimmerDavid Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York City, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern...
, Lawrence DiStasi, David Kersner, Eva Barr, Joy Gregory, Andy White, and Thom Cox
Thom Cox
Thom Cox has been with Lookingglass Theatre Company for nearly twenty-five years, and, along with David Schwimmer and six other artists, co-founded the theatre company in 1988 while still a student at Northwestern University....
. Their first production Through the Lookingglass was directed by David Kersner and took place at the Great Room in Jones Residential College on the Northwestern University campus in the fall of 1988.
They have since performed fifty-three world-premiere original works (their most recent being David Schwimmer's Trust in 2010).
Lookingglass was the recipient of the 2011 Regional Theatre Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
.
Facilities
An itinerant theater company for years, Lookingglass finally moved into a permanent home on June 14, 2003—a brand-new theater in the newly renovated Water Tower Water WorksChicago Avenue Pumping Station
The Chicago Avenue Pumping Station is an historic district contributing property in the Old Chicago Water Tower District landmark district. It is located on Michigan Avenue along the Magnificent Mile shopping district in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois...
on Chicago's Magnificent Mile.
Its first production in the new space was an adaptation of Studs Terkel
Studs Terkel
Louis "Studs" Terkel was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for The Good War, and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.-Early...
's Race, adapted and directed by ensemble member David Schwimmer.
Morris Architects Planners designed the new space in the black-box
Black box theater
The black box theater is a relatively recent innovation, consisting of a simple, somewhat unadorned performance space, usually a large square room with black walls and a flat floor.-History:...
style, meaning that the seating area may be completely rearranged for each production. The maximum capacity is 270 persons, counting those in the removable balcony. There is also a studio space located in the second floor of the facility for smaller events and productions.
Past seasons
- 2009–2010
- Fedra: Queen of Haiti
- Icarus
- Trust
- Hephaestus
- 2008–2009
- The Brothers Karamazov
- Our Town
- The Arabian Nights
- 2007–2008
- No Child...
- Hephaestus
- Around the World in Eighty Days
- Nelson Algren: For Keeps and A Single Day
- 2006–2007
- Argonautika
- Black Diamond
- Clay
- The Wooden Breeks
- Lookingglass Alice
- 2005–2006
- Manuscript Found in Saragossa
- The Old Curiosity Shop
- Sita Ram
- Wants and Needs
- Hephaestus
- 2004–2005
- Hillbilly Antigone
- Lookingglass Alice