Creating a center for education and performance, teaching audiences, actors and theater leaders

Chicago Shakespeare Theater seeks to be a learning institution as well as a performing arts center, with opportunities for our community members to delve deep into the nuances of art and the business of theater. CST operates two education-based programs that invite our community into a dialogue with us to widen understanding and build expertise.

Open Door at CST

Audiences can obtain insight into the plays they see on our stages through pre- and post-performance talks dealing with the historical context surrounding the play, and relevant social and political issues. Scholars from across the country are invited to participate in these lectures.

Arts Leadership Program

CST, in partnership with The Theater School at DePaul University, has developed a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree program combining full-time employment at CST with graduate-level coursework. Participants get the best of two worlds—cutting-edge theoretical work in the classroom and the opportunity to apply it through hands-on, real-world training at CST. A fast track to the highest levels of not-for-profit management, the Arts Leadership Program is cultivating a generation of individuals who, in the years ahead, will guide the business of art to new heights.