Columbia College Chicago and the League of Chicago Theatres are partnering with the Network of Ensemble Theatres to present NET’s 2016 national symposium, “Intersection: Ensembles + Universities,” taking place May 20-22 in Chicago. “Intersection,” a national symposium on ensemble creation and collaborative practice, is part of a series of NET events that explore and develop connections between professional ensembles and colleges, universities, and training programs.

The symposium opens Friday, May 20, with welcoming remarks by John Green, the Allen and Lynn Turner Theatre Chair of the Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department, along with welcoming remarks by League of Chicago Theatres executive director Deb Clapp and Network of Ensemble Theatres executive director Alisha Tonsic. The opening session takes place at 2 PM at Columbia College Chicago’s Film Row Center, 1104 S. Wabash, in Chicago’s South Loop.

The symposium will continue Saturday and Sunday, May 21-22, with a diverse array of events at the Columbia College Chicago Theatre Center, 72 E. 11th St.; the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan; the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 220 E. Chicago; and the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington.

These venues will host participatory workshops, roundtables, collaborative skill-shares, interactive lectures/demos, curated panels, media screenings, and performances that focus investigation and discussion on the following themes:

• Art + University + Community
• Movement + Physical Theater Approaches
• Navigating the Academy/Industry Relationship
• Place
• Cultural Pluralism, Equity, Access + Inclusion
• Technology + Innovation

“Intersection: Ensembles + Universities” will bring together presenters and participating artists from around the U.S., including members of two Chicago-based ensembles founded by Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alumni, the Silent Theatre and the Room 916 | Collective. Columbia College teachers who are making presentations at the symposium include Jeff Ginsberg, coordinator of the Theatre Department’s Acting with International Performance Study BFA program; Anne Libera, coordinator of the Theatre Department’s Comedy Writing and Performance Bachelor of Arts; Peter Carpenter, acting chair of the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago; Curtis Jackson (BA ’08), a graduate of the Theatre Department’s Acting BA program and an adjunct faculty member at the Theatre Department; and adjunct faculty members Thom Pasculli and Kristina Fluty.

For a full schedule of symposium programs, click here.

For information on registering for the symposium — including special student rates — click here.