Trap Door Theatre Receives 2019 Non-Equity Special Award

The Jeff Awards will present Trap Door Theatre with a 2019 Non-Equity Special Award to honor the company's endeavors in opening a magical door to an evocative and surreal world over the last 25 years.

Trap Door has made its 45-seat home in a former machine shop, down a long gangway on Cortland Street. Over the last quarter century, this prolific company has produced 116 shows, including thirty-five American premieres, seventeen world premieres, and ten European tours in six countries, and has stretched it boundaries beyond Bucktown with the recent formation of Trap Door International, a sister company that produces out of Barcelona, Spain.

Artistic Director Beata Pilch founded Trap Door with a commitment to seeking out challenging yet obscure works and bringing them to life on stage. Whether it is a European classic rarely seen in the United States, an untarnished piece of American literature, or the playwright living next door, Trap Door finds these voices and presents them to the public through innovative expression.

The Jeff Awards will celebrate Trap Door's mission to bring obscure works of literature to startling life on stage, illuminating challenging language through myth, ritual, and revolution. Tickets are $45 in advance and $50 on June 3. To purchase tickets, visit the Athenaeum website. A group rate of $40 is available for parties of 10 or more by calling the Athenaeum box office. Festive cocktail attire is suggested, and the public is cordially invited. For more information, contact Drew Blau, Non-Equity Wing Chair, at nonequitywing@jeffawards.org.

The Jeff Awards has been honoring outstanding theatre artists annually since it was established in 1968. With up to 55 members representing a wide variety of backgrounds in theatre (including producers, directors, actors, playwrights, designers, professors of theatre, entertainment lawyers and agents, and theatre lovers), the Jeff Awards is committed to celebrating the vitality of Chicago area theatre by recognizing excellence through its recommendations, awards, and honors.

The Jeff Awards fosters the artistic growth of area theatres and theatre artists and promotes educational opportunities, audience appreciation, and civic pride in the achievements of the theatre community. Each year, the Jeff Awards judge over 300 theatrical productions and host two awards ceremonies. Originally chartered to recognize only Equity productions, the Jeff Awards established the Non-Equity Wing in 1973 to celebrate outstanding achievement in non-union theatre. The next Equity Awards will be held on October 21 at Drury Lane Oakbrook.