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About us
Art With A Purpose
Rivendell produces unflinching and compassionate work that centers women’s* stories while shining a light on societal issues that affect us all, sparking vital conversations, igniting awareness, and ultimately inspiring change. In our inviting and intimate storefront theatre, audiences experience bold, impactful stories performed by a world-class, award-winning ensemble that makes you laugh, cry, and reflect. Rivendell focuses on developing and presenting new stories with fresh insights that need to be shared to open minds.
Elevating women
Rivendell is dedicated not only to women’s stories, but also to providing employment for women in the theatre arts by:
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Exploring untold women's stories that give voice to women through artistic recognition of their lives on stage.
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Mentoring new plays and new women playwrights through a collaborative new play development process.
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Employing predominantly women as artists on stage and off (90%).
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Partnering talented professional actors with emerging artists and new playwrights to bolster the future of women in theatre.
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30 years of accomplishment
Since 1995, this professional Ensemble has consistently mounted groundbreaking, acclaimed productions and achieved many accomplishments such as...
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Earning 16 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nearly 4 dozen nominations, and 38 shows Jeff Recommended.
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Rivendell is now recognized as a national force in new play development and a home for women theatre artists; engaging 200 artists and 3,000+ audience members each year.
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Rivendell’s Fresh Produce has become a successful new play incubator, growing new plays into fully realized productions and establishing a pipeline for fresh new voices.
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The Rivendell Ensemble has achieved great acclaim both as individuals and collectively as a dedicated ensemble, elevating Rivendell’s artistry as well as gracing stages and screens (large and small) both in Chicago and across the country.
Recent acclaim for rivendell
Praise for GORGEOUS, by Keiko Green
“Keiko Green’s GORGEOUS is genuinely funny and charming…. [It] has surprises, but the play’s deeply humanistic questions about our capacity for change makes it stand out.”
– Chicago Reader
Inclusivity is essential
Gender Identity Statement
Our mission to promote and center women's work is expansive, addressing historically marginalized genders, including cisgender women, trans women, and non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals who are comfortable in a space that centers on the experiences and stories of women.
Anti-Racism Statement
Rivendell Theatre Ensemble is in alignment with the accountability efforts being led by We See You White American Theatre.
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