PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE CHICAGO
4200 W Diversey Ave, Chicago, IL 60639 www.porchlightmusictheatre.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: Porchlight, Chicagos home for music theatre, illuminates the past, present and future of this American art form through live performance, youth education and outreach programs that positively impact and connect us to the community.

Music Theatre Production:As Chicagos music theatre, Porchlight produced 9 productions in the 2019-2020 season. On the Mainstage, Sunset Boulevard and Sophisticated Ladies were nominated for 11 Joseph Jefferson Awards, with 3 Awards going to Sophisticated Ladies. The Porchlight Revisits series of lost musicals in limited run presented Call Me Madam. And the New Faces Sing Broadway series, which presents highlights of one season on Broadway sung by a cast of 10 up-and-coming local performers, celebrated the years 1956 and NOW! Porchlights rich history includes the staging of more than 72 Mainstage productions, 19 Porchlight Revisits productions and 14 editions of New Faces Sing Broadway. While the Covid-19 pandemic shortened Porchlights live season, the organization continued entertaining audiences online with a full complement of engaging digital programming for our audiences. Understanding that the pandemic was taking its toll on individual households, we offered all of our programming at no charge to viewers. Overall, Porchlights digital programming had over 11,000 viewings in the spring and summer of 2020, with an average weekly engagement of 2,100. The companys many accolades include a total of 178 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations resulting in 47 Jeff Awards (including five consecutive Best Production awards for the years 2013-2017), 30 Black Theatre Alliance nominations and 12 awards, and 28 After Dark Awards. Porchlight is known for the bold, edgy and intimate Chicago Style approach it brings to classic, contemporary and rarely seen musicals. Some 30,000 people each year witness the drama, the song and the dance up close at Porchlight from Chicagos finest music theatre talent.

Education & Outreach:Porchlights education and outreach program provides focused training and experiences for Chicago youth to create, practice, perform and appreciate the unique American art form of music theatre. Through its fee-based classes, junior productions, and summer camps, Porchlight welcomes children from 7-17 years of age, up to 50% of whom received full or partial scholarships. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Porchlights education programs continued throughout the year as both virtual offerings and in safe, in-person environments, with strict adherence to all local and national safety guidelines. Porchlight also provides customized in-school, after-school and community organization programs range from focused skills training, to helping groups put on a full-length musical, to Make Your Own Musical workshops. In the 2019-2020 season, Porchlight partnered with 8 schools and community organizations, reaching hundreds of local kids. In addition, last season (prior to the shutdown) Porchlight welcomed more than 300 high school students to attend a Mainstage performance and post-show discussion. Porchlight is actively involved in youth programming with the citys Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, and is a certified Chicago Public Schools vendor.

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