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- Imagination Theater is committed to the principles that the creative arts are essential to the full development of the individual; that all people have the ability to express themselves creatively; and that theater has a unique and important capacity to communicate to all people, regardless of age or perceived abilities. Over our long history, we have adapted our innovative community service work to meet the needs of increasingly diverse audiences. IT has grown from a theater that worked primarily with disabled individuals into one that addresses the issues that disable society.
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Organizational History
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1966
The 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
The company is reincorporated as the not-for-profit Imagination Theater.
Imagination Theater’s participatory theater programming is adapted to meet the often-neglected recreational therapy needs of senior citizens.
1985
Imagination Theater launches the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program for children and adolescents in grades 2-6 (Touch) and 7-12 (No Easy Answers).
1988
Imagination Theater creates its Substance Abuse Prevention Program (SAPP), for K-12 students.
1994
Imagination Theater premieres its Violence Prevention Program for middle and high school students.
1995
Senior Spotlight, a creative aging program, is developed with a grant from the Rothschild Foundation, which will support the program for 15 years.
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1996
Imagination Theater establishes its signature participatory format with Whatcha Gonna Do About It? to teach conflict resolution.
2000
Imagination Theater begins offering custom-designed workshops, allowing the company to reach out to a more diverse audience with a greater range of programming related to social issues.
2001
Imagination Theater premieres Ease the Tease (written in conjunction with Judy S. Freedman, MSW, LCSW).
2002
Imagination Theater debuts Show Some Respect, encouraging participants to be open to differences of all kinds. The Senior Spotlight program is redesigned as an interactive, musical revue.
2004
Imagination Theater performs its first show for college students, College Orientation 101: Beyond the Books, helping freshmen adjust to college life and troubleshoot challenging social situations.
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2007
Imagination Theater premieres two new shows: Responsibility Counts to address responsibility for grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8, and E-Etiquette to promote internet safety for grades 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.
2008
Imagination Theater premieres Go Green to empower students in grades K-2 and 3-5 to make a positive impact on their planet.
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 in collaboration with HealthWorks. They are Aware Individuals: A Dialogue about Sex and HIV/AIDS for high school students, and Making Healthy Choices to promote fitness and nutrition for K-5 audiences.
2012
Ease the Tease is completely overhauled and reintroduced to audiences as Ease the Tease 2.0.
The company premieres Take A Stand, a program on bullying for middle and high school students.
2014
Imagination Theater overhauls the K-2 and 3-5 versions of Show Some Respect based on a series of workshops with students in 2nd and 4th grade.
Imagination Theater begins touring No Secrets (the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program) outside of Chicago to help Illinois schools meet Erin’s Law requirements.
2016
Imagination Theater celebrates its 50th season!
For the second time, Imagination Theater partners with Judy S. Freedman, MSW, LCSW, to launch Someone Else’s Shoes, an empathy-skills program for K-5. The learning model in this program teaches students to strengthen their empathy muscles as they train to be empathy superheroes! Freedman creates a complementary parent/caregiver program, Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes, to bring empathy education to the whole family.
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2020
Imagination Theater premieres Mental Health Matters, which gives students tools to deal with anxiety, stress, and depression. This program premieres in a virtual format due to the pandemic. Popular Imagination Theater programs No Secrets and Someone Else’s Shoes are also converted to a virtual platform to continue serving schools during remote learning.
