Pillsbury House Theatre
United Arts grant recipient 2003-2004
Chicago Avenue Project

“We had a lot of fun, we held each other up, went through it and hit it right on target.”
...................- Chicago Avenue Project participant

Pillsbury House Theatre’s Chicago Avenue Project is a mentorship program that brings inner-city youth together with adult professional playwrights, actors and directors to create original theatre. Through innovative classes, retreats and Project productions, the program gives each child an opportunity to prove that he or she has something of value to offer, something that comes from within that he or she alone possesses, something that cannot be taken away. The process culminates in performing to standing-room only audiences of family, friends and community.

The heart of the Chicago Avenue Project is the mentorship provided by over 60 volunteer professional artists who have been recruited from a number of local theaters including the Guthrie Theater, Illusion Theater, Mixed Blood Theatre, Penumbra Theatre, Teatro del Pueblo, and The Children’s Theater, as well as playwrights from the Playwright’s Center.

Chicago Avenue Project is truly creating the artists and leaders of tomorrow. Please visit www.puc-mn.org/theatre.html for a calendar of up-coming performances.

The plays written by these young playwrights are given to adult professional actor and director teams to begin rehearsing. The plays are performed on the Pillsbury House Theatre main stage with the young playwrights sitting on stage under a special light.

©2005 COMPAS, Suite 304, 75 Fifth Street West, St. Paul, MN 55102-1496
651-292-3249 • Fax: 651-292-3258 • Email UNITED ARTS