Writers Theatre Launches $31M Campaign For New Space

The Writers Theatre in Glencoe has announced a $31 million fundraising campaign called On To A New Stage, to establish the company’s new home, a new theatre center designed by Chicago’s Studio Gang Architects, according to a press release. 

The center will be located on the site of the current Woman’s Library Club of Glencoe and introduce two intimate, state-of-the-art performance spaces under one roof, patron and artist amenities, along with rehearsal and production space.  

“Writers Theatre has been offering sophisticated productions and nurturing the finest dramatic artists in Chicago for over two decades," Artistic Director Michael Halberstam said in a press release. "With the creation of our new theatre center we will have a home that matches the quality of our art and allows us to make an even more significant investment in the artists who have been so integral to our success.” 

Among the key features in the new center:

• A 250-seat theatre purposefully designed to maintain Writers Theatre’s hallmark intimacy.
•  A 50 to 99-seat flexible theatre space that pays tribute to Writers Theatre’s first performance space at Books on Vernon in Glencoe.
• A “Theatre in a Park” atmosphere, with patron access to surrounding parks, outdoor rooftop terraces, landscaped and rooftop gardens and beautifully integrated views of existing parks to the east and west.
• A spacious main lobby with seating tribunes that functions as a central gathering area, where patrons and students will enjoy supplementary artistic, family and educational programs.
• A luminous grand gallery walk, structured entirely from wood by renowned engineer Peter Heppel, suspended around the lobby and serving as viewing area and “front porch” to the building.

The fundraising campaign has already raised $22 million, with early lead support from a wide range of Chicagoland philanthropists, including

• Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols, who have donated a gift of $5 million.  The 250-seat theatre will be named the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre in their honor. 
• Alec and Jennifer Litowitz, who have donated a gift of $3 million.  The theatre center lobby will be named in their honor.
• Gillian and Ellis Goodman, who have donated a gift of $3 million.  The flexible 50 to 99-seat theatre will be named the Gillian Theatre.
• Mary Winton Green and the Green family, who have donated a gift of $2 million. The rehearsal and special events room will be named for the Green family.
• Stephanie and Bill Sick, who have donated a gift of $1 million.  The rooftop terrace and garden will be named in honor of Stephanie and Bill Sick.
  

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