Civic Actor Studio - Court Theatre

Civic Actor Studio (CAS) is a four-day leadership retreat that uses the tools of theatre to develop civic leaders. Each cohort brings together Chicagoans working across nonprofit, government, business, philanthropy, journalism, and the arts—people whose work shapes the city, but who rarely get the chance to step back and examine how they lead.

How It Works

Participants engage with dramatic texts and theatre-based exercises, building scenes onstage alongside their cohort. This isn’t an acting class. It’s a structured way of exploring the many “characters” civic leaders already carry into their work: the persuader, the listener, the authority, the collaborator. Through rehearsal, voice work, and physical presence-building, participants develop greater self-efficacy and a more embodied sense of how they show up in rooms that matter.

Court Theatre and the Civic Actor Studio

Court has long held that great theatre isn’t separate from civic life—it’s a way of understanding it. Civic Actor Studio makes that belief tangible. It takes the same techniques actors use to build a character and puts them directly in service of the people leading Chicago’s institutions, neighborhoods, and movements.

Since its first cohort in 2019, CAS has convened ten cohorts and reached 180 civic leaders across the city, proof that theatre, at its roots, is a pillar of civic life, and that Court is uniquely positioned to deliver on that idea.

Play a Role

Nominations and self-nominations are welcome on a rolling basis.

Nominate a leader (and/or self-nominate)
Support the Studio
Join the mailing list [LINK]
Explore our impact

Hear from Past Participants

“There’s a depth that didn’t exist before… it leads to the type of trust and respect that, if Jonathan called me and said, ‘Oh, Daniel, I need you to… can you help out with something?’ that I would do whatever I could.”

– Daniel O. Ash (Cohort 1), President of the Field Foundation

“And then I got promoted to my dream job. The Civic Actor Studio process was 100% related to that, and the shift in me.”

– Barbara Lee Williams, PhD (Cohort 3), MACRM Program Director at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

“There’s a series of connections that happen with being a part of Civic Actor Studio. They’re not just friends, they’re not colleagues, they’re family. And those people have significantly opened my world.”

– Pinqy Ring (Cohort 4), Puerto Rican rapper, activist, and U.S. Hip Hop Cultural Ambassador

“I don’t think I would have been chosen to be on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah or with President Obama if I hadn’t realized that I could reconnect with my authentic, imaginative self through the Civic Actor Studio.

– Dekevious Wilson (Cohort 4), Regional Manager of Becoming a Man at Youth Guidance; Obama Scholar, graduate of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

“I appreciate the intentionality that Joanie Friedman has in picking, cultivating, and curating these specific experiences… she has this amazing way of getting people to trust in unconventional experiences.”

– Senyah Haynes (Cohort 3), Artist, youth development practitioner, children’s book author; facilitator for Cohorts 5–7

“It has enriched my life not just in my work life, but also in my social life… I think overall it was about building the confidence to move into the next stage of my career.”

– Maira Khwaja (Cohort 2), Director of Public Strategy, Invisible Institute

“The Civic Actor Studio provided that starting soil for me to say, ‘Alright, let me spend this week really committing to… making this about my leadership.”

– Cecily Relucio (Cohort 4), Founder, Umuwi Ethnic Studies

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