Founded in 2018 by Denise Hoeflich and Ted James, Compass Theatre was created with the goal to optimize professional performance and leadership opportunities for the diverse array of array of artists in Chicago.
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OUR VISION
By remaining non-ensemble based, Compass Theatre maximizes casting opportunities for Chicago based actors to work in a Professional Equity Setting.
Compass Theatre aims to launch or further careers in artistic leadership for the diverse community of artists in Chicago. We accomplish this by offering artistic leadership positions at Compass with designated term limits. Those who serve as artistic leaders at Compass gain invaluable collaborative working skills including season planning, fiscal responsibility and working with a Board of Directors at a Professional Equity Theatre. Those persons then take these skills and experiences and expand their careers, perhaps opening doors that were previously closed.
We are committed to only performing in smaller venues. This allows us to focus on its goal to optimize opportunities for others rather than growing for its own namesake.
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Compass Theatre is committed to the standards and practices of Not In Our House. Learn more by visiting their website.
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What We're Up Against
By Theresa Rebeck
A Chicago premiere
Directed by Lauren Shouse
A comedy about being a brilliant female in a mediocre male office. Broadway's most-produced female playwright of our time, Theresa Rebeck, has penned this painfully funny take on what one woman does when she slams into the glass ceiling.
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Cast
Weber - Jeff Kurysz
Ben - Ted James*
Eliza - Echaka Agba
Stu - Charlie Strater
Janice - Denise Hoeflich*
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Ben & Weber Understudy- Pierce Ducker
Eliza Understudy- Shawnita Grant
Stu Understudy- Charles Rasmussen
Janice Understudy-Hannah Williams
​*Member of Actors' Equity Association, a Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.
Production Team
Director Lauren Shouse
Stage Manager Caitlin Body*
Production Manager Robert Salazar
Scenic Design Lauren Nigri
Sound Design Kevin O'Donnel
Lighting Design Becca Jeffords
Costume Design Izumi Inaba
Props Design Robert Salazar
Master Electrician Carley Walker
Technical Director Manuel Ortiz
Assistant Stage Manager Lizzy Mable-Leigh
Scenic Painter Abbie Reed
Assistant Director Sophie Hamm
Front of House Manager Emma Gibson
In The Press
"Best Plays in Chicago!" -Picture This Post
What We're Up Against is "...funny and enraging in all the right ways!" Kerry Reid- Chicago Reader
" An auspicious beginning for a new theater company ...artfully staged by director Lauren Shouse...(with)...an excellent cast and crew." Third Coast Review
"Compass Theatre delivers a thrilling gladiatorial match, replete with intrigue, betrayals and double-crosses. Director Lauren Shouse has assembled a nimble cast" Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
Program
Special Performances
Background photo by Joe Mazza from the Compass Theatre production of What We're Up Against