Lifeline Theatre was founded in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States in 1983 by five

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

graduates: Meryl Friedman, Suzanne Plunkett, Kathee Sills, Sandy Snyder Pietz, and Steve Totland. The company moved into its permanent location in

Rogers Park Rogers Park is the first of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located from the Loop, it is on the city's far north side on the shore of Lake Michigan. The neighborhood is commonly known for its cultural diversity, lush green public spaces, early ...

—a converted

Commonwealth Edison Commonwealth Edison, commonly known by syllabic abbreviation as ComEd, is the largest electric utility in Illinois, and the in Chicago and much of Northern Illinois. Its service territory stretches roughly from Iroquois County on the south to ...

substation— in 1986. The facility includes a 99-seat theatre, rehearsal and office space, a scene shop, and costume, prop, and scenery storage.

Awards

Lifeline Theatre has received numerous awards and nominations for both adult and children's programming:

Chicago/Illinois awards

Since 1986, Lifeline members have received 48

Joseph Jefferson Awards The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater sta ...

(both Equity and Non-Equity, various areas of work) while being nominated 135 times. The theatre also received After Dark awards for excellence in Chicago theatre.. In 2007, Lifeline was honored by the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee with a Special Citation for its 25-year contribution to Chicago theater. Honoring Lifeline’s children's programming, ''New City'' named Lifeline the Best Children's Theatre Company in Chicago in 2000, and ''Chicago Magazine'' named Lifeline Best Kids' Company in 2002. In 1991, Lifeline received an award from the Illinois Theatre Alliance for Outstanding Contribution to Children's Theatre, and in 2006 the City of Chicago presented Lifeline Theatre and Joyce Kilmer School with a special award honoring 15 years of educational partnership.

National awards

Ensemble member Meryl Friedman won the 1999 Distinguished Play Award in the Elementary Category from the American Alliance of Theatre and Education for her adaptation of ''Journey of the Sparrows'', produced at Lifeline in 1996. The American Alliance for Theater and Education awarded Lifeline the 2003 Sara Spencer Artistic Achievement Award for sustained and successful achievement in the field of theater for young audiences.

Production history

Lifeline Theatre's work history includes MainStage productions of ''Pride and Prejudice'', ''The Overcoat'', ''The Left Hand of Darkness'', ''The Talisman Ring'', ''Jane Eyre'', ''Cat's Cradle'', ''Around the World in 80 Days'', ''The Killer Angels'', ''A Room with a View'', ''The Island of Dr. Moreau'', ''The Mark of Zorro'', ''Treasure Island'', ''Neverwhere'', ''The Moonstone'', ''Watership Down'', and ''The Count of Monte Cristo''. Lifeline also produced world premiere adaptations of each volume of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

's ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

'' (''

The Fellowship of the Ring ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' is the first of three volumes of the epic novel ''The Lord of the Rings'' by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It is followed by '' The Two Towers'' and ''The Return of the King''. It takes place in the ficti ...

'', ''

The Two Towers ''The Two Towers'' is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. It is preceded by ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and followed by ''The Return of the King''. Title and publication ''The Lord of the ...

'', and ''

The Return of the King ''The Return of the King'' is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', following '' The Fellowship of the Ring'' and '' The Two Towers''. It was published in 1955. The story begins in the kingdom of Gondor, ...

'') and four installments of the

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers (; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime writer and poet. She was also a student of classical and modern languages. She is best known for her mysteries, a series of novels and short stories set between th ...

Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries (''Whose Body?'', ''Strong Poison'', ''Gaudy Night'', and ''Busman's Honeymoon''). Family MainStage productions have included ''A Wrinkle in Time'', ''Lizard Music'', ''The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death'', ''The Phantom Tollbooth'', ''Journey of the Sparrows'', ''The Silver Chair'', and ''Johnny Tremain''. In 1986 Lifeline inaugurated its KidSeries program. Productions have included ''Mr. Popper's Penguins'', ''Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel'', ''Bunnicula'', ''James and the Giant Peach'', ''The Story of Ferdinand'', ''Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle'', ''My Father's Dragon'', ''Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type'', ''The Stinky Cheese Man'', ''Duck for President'', ''The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!'', ''The Velveteen Rabbit'', ''The Last of the Dragons'', and ''Arnie the Doughnut''.

Artistic Ensemble

Lifeline Theatre's Artistic Ensemble members are: Patrick Blashill, Christina Calvit, Victoria DeIorio, Alan Donahue, Kevin D. Gawley, Peter Greenberg, James E. Grote, Chris Hainsworth, John Hildreth, Paul S. Holmquist, Elise Kauzlaric, Robert Kauzlaric, Frances Limoncelli, Katie McLean Hainsworth, Dorothy Milne (Artistic Director), Shole Milos, Sandy Snyder Pietz, Suzanne Plunkett, Phil Timberlake, Jenifer Tyler, Christopher M. Walsh, and Elizabeth Powell Wislar. Emeritus members include: Eric Lane Barnes, Meryl Friedman, Rebecca Hamlin, James Sie, and Steve Totland.

References

External links

Lifeline Theatre official website
{{Chicago mtp Organizations established in 1983 Theatre companies in Chicago