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Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier

Chicago, Illinois, USA
James Steinkamp Photography

To strengthen the connection between actor and audience in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s new seven-story home, we designed a 525-seat thrust theatre with three galleries surrounding the players, creating exceptional intimacy. With audiences on three sides of the stage and stacked from floor to ceiling, every face becomes a live piece of scenery, reflecting, framing, and shaping the action on stage.

54
width of audience chamber (in feet)
88,000
square-foot building
600+
performances hosted each year

The narrow site constraints of Chicago’s Navy Pier aided the theatre’s intimacy—creating an audience chamber that’s only 54 feet wide. The thrust stage is backed up by a stage house and features a fully trapped stage. The theatre was proclaimed by Sir Peter Hall, founder of England’s Royal Shakespeare Company, as one of the best Elizabethan-style theatres in the world. The venue also includes a 200-seat studio theatre, rehearsal hall, support spaces, offices, and multi-use spaces for educational workshops, seminars, and outreach programs. Since opening, Chicago Shakespeare Theater has grown into one of the largest theater companies in the city.

Ballogg Photography
owner:
Chicago Shakespeare Theater Company
architect:
VOA Associates
acoustician:
Talaske
users:
Chicago Shakespeare Theater Company
spaces:
  • 525-seat drama theatre
  • 200-seat studio theatre
construction type:
New construction
theatre type:
Drama theatres
services:
Programming, concept design, theatre planning, and theatre equipment design and specification
completion:
1999
Ballogg Photography
Ballogg Photography
Ballogg Photography

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