ACT Contemporary Theatre

Note: The organization did not respond to this question.

Note: The organization did not respond to this question.

Learning opportunity with Josephine Kearns, a consultant, educator, and theatre artist specializing in transgender, queer, and intersex issues. She believes in a thoughtful, empathetic approach with an emphasis on queer and trans joy. Her background includes work as a Gender Program Coordinator at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, as a Research Specialist for TransFocus, and two decades in professional theatre, as well as her own experience as a queer and trans person. She has conducted nearly 200 trainings on gender inclusivity.

ACT is proud to partner with diverse community organizations to amplify and expand our collective impact. Some of our partners include Red Eagle Soaring, TeenTix, and ArtsCorps.

The pandemic provided organizational opportunities and presents ongoing challenges. The nineteen-month pause in in-person performance enabled ACT to evaluate all its practices, customs, and assumptions and provided a unique opportunity to make changes in all aspects of its operations. Federal relief funding allowed ACT to have cash reserves available to support operations as patrons make a slow return to live performance. Inflationary pressures and the imperative to compensate staff adequately have significant financial impacts on budgetary capacity. ACT has renewed its commitment to fiscal responsibility and a long-term vision for operating accordingly. There has been a significant culture shift towards operational and programmatic choices that reflect our financial capacity to maintain a debt-free operating model. The current climate around unpredictable audience behavior means a slower growth model as we make deliberate and thoughtful choices on how we rebuild and grow, pushing to achieve more of our ambitions while living our values and commitment to New Works.