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
- Nominate a leader (and/or self-nominate)
- Nominations and self-nominations are welcome on a rolling basis
- Support the Studio
- Join the mailing list [LINK]
- Explore how the Civic Actor Studio changes lives
- Say hello to past and present Civic Actors
In the News
| For more information, contact: Joanie Friedman, Director of the Civic Actor Studio |
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The Civic Actor Studio is made possible through the generous support of
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Sue Ling Gin Foundation |
