Pegasus Players to produce Six world premieres as part of the 25th Anniversary Young Playwrights Festival

Pegasus Players to Relocate to Beacon Street Theatre in Uptown

Pegasus Players, one of Chicago’s oldest theatre companies and the Jane Addams Hull House Association, one of Chicago’s oldest social service agencies, have created an exciting new partnership designed to bring bold and socially relevant theater to the ever-evolving Uptown neighborhood. The partnership includes collaborative programming and a long-term residency that will move Pegasus’ operations to the Beacon Street Theatre in the fall of 2011 -- after the Black Ensemble Theater departs. The affiliation was announced by incoming board president David Barr. “Pegasus has enjoyed a long-standing programming partnership with Hull House, whose mission of reaching out to the underserved perfectly complements Pegasus’ commitment to youth and community education through such long-standing programs as the Young Playwrights Festival,” Barr enthuses. “The seeds for this wonderful partnership were actually sown well over a decade ago with a series of forums using theatre as a catalyst for dialogue.”

“This partnership is the natural outgrowth of working together for many years and the dedication of both organizations to similar missions, says Pegasus founder and executive director emeritus Arlene Crewdson. “We are all very excited about this new chapter in the theatre’s history”. The move ends Pegasus’ 25-year affiliation with the City Colleges at Truman College.  “Though we will no longer be in residence at Truman, they have graciously left the door open for future collaboration,” Barr continues. “Though we have thought of the O’Rourke Center as our home for many years, both parties are excited to explore new options. We wish them nothing but success.”

Founded in 1978, Pegasus has long been considered one of Chicago's top theater companies. Its mission is to produce the highest quality artistic work and provide exemplary theater, entertainment, and arts education free to those who have little or no access to the arts. The company has received 77 Joseph Jefferson Citations, more than any other Chicago theater company in their category. The Joseph Jefferson Committee awarded the first-ever Jeff Citation for an outreach program to Pegasus for its ‘extraordinary success in serving Chicago’s disenfranchised, bringing the arts to the young, the elderly, the disabled, and the disenfranchised.’ The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs recognized Pegasus' annual Young Playwrights Festival with a special award for ‘outstanding contribution to the arts and outreach efforts to expand the accessibility of high quality arts experiences.’
“After many years of collaborating on issues facing our communities, we are excited to begin this new phase in our long-running association with Pegasus Players,” says Hull House executive director Clarence Wood. “I’ve always believed in the power of the theater to promote social change.”

The Jane Addams Hull House Association is dedicated to improving social conditions for the underserved people and communities by providing creative and innovative programs, as well as advocating for related public policy reforms. It impacts more than 60,000 individuals, families, and communities through more than 50 programs at over 40 sites throughout metropolitan Chicago.

Since 1889, the Jane Addams Hull House Association has worked with Chicago’s neediest families to identify the resources they needed to become full participants in their communities. They also work to improve public and social policies that impact families and individuals through it’s Center for Civil Society. Hull House provides a myriad of life improvement programs throughout Chicagoland including child-care, domestic violence counseling and prevention, job and literacy training, senior services, foster care, and economic development.

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25^TH ANNIVERSARY YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL – JANUARY 2012

For over twenty-five years, Pegasus’ Festival has been committed to providing quality professional theatre to audiences while promoting that experience to Chicago youth. This commitment ensures the nurturing and developing of new generations of theatre artists, audiences and supporters. The presentation of the plays has evolved over twenty-five years to a high-quality experience. We place professional playwrights as mentors in the production process to work with students on necessary script revisions. These artists, along with over one hundred professional directors, designers and technicians, have brought their expertise to the festival productions. Pegasus has long been committed to promoting this festival’s high artistic quality by hiring the hottest directors, celebrated designers and up and coming actors for each main stage production of the festivals. The importance of the impact of this professional theatrical experience – from pre-production to technical rehearsals to marketing and promotion -- cannot be overlooked.

The 25^th Anniversary Festival will be Pegasus’ inaugural production in its new facility. An important feature of each year’s annual competition is the main stage professional production of three to four one-act plays. This year, the theatre will produce a record six one-act plays. We will include last year’s three winning plays in repertory with the three winning plays just selected from this year’s competition. Each performance evening, audiences will treated to a different set of three one-act plays—three from the current competition year one night, and three from the 2010 winning scripts the following evening.

FROM THE PYRE

In recognition of Pegasus’ Phoenician rebirth at the Beacon Street Theatre – as well as the mythological connection between these winged creatures -- the theatre is inaugurating a series of new main stage programming under the banner of ‘FROM THE PYRE.’ While we continue our mission to present socially relevant, high quality theatre, our vision is expanding to include other forms of media and performance. Pegasus is particularly interested in the interaction between media and theatre.

Reel Talk: Monthly Film Series

January – August 2012

The theatre will showcase a film by primarily independent filmmakers and media artists each month. Each showcase will include a post-show discussion centered on topics from the films presented. Stay tuned for the film series schedule.

Solo Voce – Development Series & Performances

March – April 2012

Pegasus’ Phoenician rebirth is being incorporated into our vision of new work development. The theatre will launch a solo and collaborative script development series featuring local playwrights, monologists and actors to workshop and create solo performances to be staged. Pegasus will solicit and select five to seven local theatre artists who will be joined by directors and designers to create solo works from topical subjects and current events. The artists will be able to develop new scripts, create an adaptation of an existing work, or revise existing solo pieces in process. Directors and designers will create a unified approach to presenting the works during March and April 2012.

In-Process Series – May thru July 2012:

Pegasus will produce a series of staged readings and performances of works in process that are being considered for future productions at our theatre or locally:

Reading Series Schedule To Be Announced!