| 1966 |
Company is founded by Eunice Joffe as “Playmakers” |
| 1969 |
The company revises and expands its Participatory Theater Programming to serve children (and later adults) with physical and developmental disabilities. |
| 1974 |
Company is reincorporated as the not-for-profit Imagination Theater. |
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IT’s participatory theater programming is adapted to meet the often-neglected recreational therapy needs of senior citizens. |
| 1985 |
IT launches the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program for children and adolescents in grades 2-6 (Touch) and 7-12 (No Easy Answers). |
| 1988 |
IT creates its Substance Abuse Prevention Program (SAPP), for K-12 students. |
| 1994 |
IT premiers its Violence Prevention Program, Jr. High and High School students. |
| 1995 |
Senior programming continues to expand. Senior Spotlight is created with a grant from the Rothschild Foundation, which will support the program for 15 years. |
| 1996 |
IT creates Whatcha Gonna Do About It, teaching conflict resolution skills for students K-12. |
| 2000 |
IT begins offering Custom Designed Workshops, allowing the company to reach out to a more diverse audience with a greater range of social-issues related programming. |
| 2001 |
IT premiers Ease the Tease (written in conjunction with Judy S. Freedman, LCSW). |
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IT revises its Substance Abuse Prevention Program by adding 2 new interactive presentations (What Now!? and Now What!?) for students in grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-12. |
| 2002 |
IT debuts Show Some Respect, encouraging participants to be open to differences of all kinds. |
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The Senior Spotlight program expands to create a second ensemble of four actor/singers. The Senior Spotlight show is redesigned as an interactive, musical revue. |
| 2003 |
Imagination Theater debuts its communication script, Let’s Talk (grades 6-8 and HS), and its Staff Development Workshop Menu for teachers and camp counselors. |
| 2004 |
IT performs its first show for college students--College Orientation 101: Beyond the Books--helping freshmen adjust to college life and troubleshoot challenging social situations. |
| 2006 |
IT expands its residency programming through ARTS BLAST! at park districts and schools. |
| 2007 |
IT premiers two new shows, written by popular demand: Responsibility Counts (Grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8), and E-Etiquette…a guide to internet safety (Grades 3-5, 6-8 and HS). |
| 2008 |
Imagination Theater premiers its environmental show, Go Green!, for grades K-2 and 3-5. |
| 2009 |
The Senior Spotlight program expands to include a 6-week residency program for elderly. Through theater games and improvisational exercises, the Senior Spotlight Residency creates community and increases communication skills. |
| 2010 |
HealthWorks Theatre, an educational theater company committed to working with communities to address critical health and social issues, merges with Imagination Theater. Imagination Theater creates two shows as HealthWorks Productions: Aware Individuals: A Dialogue about Sex and HIV/AIDS for High School students and Making Healthy Choices, a program for Grades K-5 that addresses topics from fitness and nutrition to drugs and alcohol. |