Columbia College Chicago alumni and faculty figure prominently in NewCity‘s “Players 2022: The Fifty People Who Really Perform for Chicago” feature, published January 7, 2022. The publication’s annual listing of movers and shakers in Chicago’s performing arts scene is divided this year into several categories: Advocates and Changemakers, Rising Stars and Storefront Stalwarts, Music Makers, Producers and Places, and Institutions. Among the Columbia College folks who made the cut:

Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alum Cody Estle ’11, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s Theatre Directing program, was cited as artistic director of Raven Theatre.

Columbia College alum Kaiser Ahmed ’08, also a graduate of the Theatre Department’s Theatre Directing program, was cited as co-founder and artistic director of Jackalope Theatre.

Former Theatre Department sudent Shane Murray-Corcoran was cited as managing director of the Mercury Theatre.

Former Columbia College Theatre Design program student Carol Cohen was cited as co-owner of the Den Theatre.

Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago alum and former faculty member Vershawn Sanders-Ward ’02, a graduate of Columbia College’s BFA Program in Dance, was cited as founding artistic director of Red Clay Dance Company.

Columbia College alum Shawn Lent MAM ’06, a graduate of the MA Program in Arts Management from what is now the Columbia College Chicago Business and Entrepreneurship Department and a former Arts Integration Program Specialist at Columbia College’s Center for Community Arts Partnerships, was acknowledged for her work as Programs and Communications Director of Chicago DanceMakers Forum.

Ellen Chenoweth, a faculty member at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, was cited as director of the Dance Center’s Dance Presenting Series.

Columbia College Chicago Department of Art and Art History faculty member Meida McNeal was cited for her work as arts and culture manager for the Chicago Park District and artistic/managing director of Honey Pot Performance.

Former Columbia College Theatre Department faculty member Coya Paz was cited as artistic director of Free Street Theatre.

And Jim Corti, a former dance teacher in the Theatre Department’s Musical Theatre program, was added to NewCity‘s Chicago-area performing arts “Hall of Fame” for his work as artistic director of the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois.