The Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department proudly congratulates Broken Nose Theatre on winning the 2018 Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theatre Award from the League of Chicago Theatres, the Chicago theatre industry’s professional advocacy and support organization. Founded in 2012, Broken Nose Theatre is Chicago’s premier “Pay-What-You-Can” organization, allowing patrons to set their own ticket price to ensure that theatre remains accessible to all audiences, regardless of socioeconomic status. The company develops and produces new work that amplifies underrepresented voices, cultivates empathy, sparks conversation, and provides opportunities for a diverse array of artists both on and off the stage. The values driving its artistic work are economic accessibility, inclusivity, representation, collaboration, conversation, and immediacy. Among the Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alumni involved in this cutting-edge theatre are:

* company manager Rose Hamill ’16, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Theatre Technology with a Teaching Artist Minor and a Live and Performing Arts Management Minor; she is a freelance stage and production manager as well as being a Broken Nose company member.

* company member and resident playwright Michael Allen Harris ’11, a graduate of the Columbia College Theatre Department’s Acting program; as reported previously in this blog, Harris has been nominated for a Non-Equity Joseph Jefferson (“Jeff”) Award for his play Kingdom, premiered by Broken Nose Theatre earlier this season.

* artistic associate and actor RjW Mays ’06, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Acting, who has been nominated for a Non-Equity Jeff Award for Performer in a Supporting Role for her performance in Broken Nose’s production of Michael Allen Harris’ Kingdom.

Also involved with Broken Nose, as an artistic associate and props manager, is Devon Green, a senior in the Theatre Department’s Theatre Design BA Program. Green is the scenic and props designer for Broken Nose Theatre’s upcoming production The Opportunities of Extinction, running June 2 through 30 at the Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee, in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Rose Hamill is the show’s production manager.

The Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award, established in 2007, is intended to encourage, support, and promote young theatres in Chicago that have demonstrated great ability and promise, artistic excellence and fiscal responsibility in business practices. Eligible companies are members of the League of Chicago Theatres, have been incorporated at least three and no longer than ten years, and have demonstrated artistic excellence, fiscal responsibility, community leadership and potential for future growth. Selected by members of the League of Chicago Theatres, the award is sponsored by Broadway In Chicago, which will provide a $5,000 cash prize and marketing support, including a substantial advertising package, to Broken Nose Theatre. Previous recipients of the BIC Emerging Theatre Award include Jackalope Theatre Company, a company founded and led by Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alumni.

The Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award will be presented to Broken Nose Theatre as part of the League of Chicago Theatres’ 2018 gala on Monday, May 21, at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, 120 E. Delaware Place, in Chicago. The annual event brings together friends of Chicago theatre to raise funds for programs to support Chicagoland’s more than 250 member theatre companies. Tickets are $350 per person, and all proceeds benefit the League of Chicago Theatres, which promotes, supports, and advocates for theatre in Chicago. To purchase tickets, or for sponsorship opportunities and participation information, visit call 312-554-9800 or click here.