The Piven Theatre Workshop is located in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

and was founded by Joyce and

Byrne Piven Bernard Piven (September 24, 1929 – February 18, 2002) was an American stage actor, director, and co-founder of the Playwrights Theatre Club, a forerunner of The Second City. He was known as Byrne Piven. Life and career Piven was born in Sc ...

. For over 30 years, it has existed both as a professional theatre company and a training center for children and adults. Famous alumni to come out of the program include

Jeremy Piven Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series ''Entourage'', for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also starred in the British ...

John Cusack John Paul Cusack (; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and political activist. He is a son of filmmaker Dick Cusack, and his ol ...

Aimee Garcia Aimee Sandimés Garcia López de Ordóñez (born November 28, 1978) is an American actress and writer. She is known for her television roles as Veronica Palmero on the ABC sitcom ''George Lopez'', Yvonne Sanchez on the CBS period drama ''Veg ...

Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack (; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama ''Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In & Out'' (1997) ...

Ann Cusack Ann Cusack (born May 22, 1961) is an American actress. She had minor roles in ''Multiplicity'' (1996), ''A League of Their Own'' (1992), and ''The Informant!'' (2009). Additionally, she has made guest appearances in a number of television series, ...

Aidan Quinn Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an American actor who made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984). He has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), ''Stakeout'' (1987), ''Aval ...

Laurel Holloman Laurel Lisa Holloman is an American Painting, painter and actress. She is best known for playing Tina Kennard in ''The L Word''. Early life Holloman is the youngest child in her family. She has two older brothers. She graduated from Saint Mary ...

Lili Taylor Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films '' Mystic Pizza'' (1988) and '' Say Anything...'' (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s ...

Ann Lippert Ann Helene Lippert (born July 14, 1963, Evanston, Illinois) is a comedian and actress. She directed the audience interactive comedy ''Joni and Gina's Wedding'', which she co-created and co-wrote with Marianne Basford and Hilarity Ensues Productio ...

, Julian Bailey, playwright

Sarah Ruhl Sarah Ruhl (born January 24, 1974) is an American playwright, professor, and essayist. Among her most popular plays are ''Eurydice'' (2003), ''The Clean House'' (2004), and ''In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play)'' (2009). She has been the reci ...

and Kate Walsh.

References

External links

The Official Piven Theatre website
Cook County, Illinois Theatre companies in Evanston, Illinois {{US-theat-stub