TYRONE PHILLIPS is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Chicago’s Definition Theatre, a culturally diverse ensemble company committed to producing and preserving bold creative work in underrepresented communities. He currently leads the organization’s capital campaign to build a new theater, community center, and entrepreneur incubator on land once owned by Lorraine Hansberry in Woodlawn.
A first-generation Jamaican-American, Tyrone is passionate about equity, accessibility, and expanding opportunity in the arts. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and studied at Shakespeare’s Globe. He received the 2022 Alumni Award for Diversity and Inclusion and Arts Midwest’s inaugural Peter Capell Award for Midwestern Creativity and Entrepreneurship.
His theater credits include American Players Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, Goodman, Steppenwolf, The Old Globe, Berkeley Rep, Milwaukee Rep, St. Louis Rep, and Stage 42 (Off-Broadway). Screen credits include Trevor: The Musical, The Red Line, Boss, Chicago Justice, and Divergent. Tyrone is also adjunct faculty at DePaul University, serves on the Board of Directors for the League of Chicago Theatres, and is a proud member of NAACP, SAG-AFTRA, and SDC.
Bio as of 8/2026