Theatre News Wire

The American Theatre Wing (ATW), founder of the Tony Awards, today announced that TimeLine Theatre Company will be honored with a 2011 National Theatre Company Grant as one of the nation's 10 most promising emerging professional theatres. The $10,000 award will be presented at an event in New York City on Monday, October 24, 2011, and TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers and Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman will attend to accept the award in person.

ATW's National Theatre Company Grants Program distributes grants for general operating support to recognize regional theatre companies for their achievements, which include articulating a distinctive mission, cultivating an audience, and nurturing a community of artists in ways that strengthen and demonstrate the quality, diversity, and dynamism of American theatre.

"TimeLine Theatre is the pre-eminent performance company of our community," said State Representative Sara Feigenholtz of Illinois' 12th District. "I take great pride that they are in my legislative district: Each and every one of their performances is spectacular. Receiving the American Theatre Wing's prestigious 2011 National Theatre Company Grant is no surprise to me, but undoubtedly, deserved. Bravo!"

"TimeLine is exceedingly grateful for this national recognition just as we launch a milestone 15th Anniversary season during which we have significantly expanded our production schedule and increased subscriptions by 30 percent," said Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman. "TimeLine's Board, Company, staff and extended family of artists will continue to work to live up to the American Theatre Wing's expectations of excellence and achievement."

"TimeLine has followed the path that so many great Chicago theatre companies have forged," said Artistic Director PJ Powers. "We started small and dreamed big, staying true to our mission and to the Chicago aesthetic of provocative, intimate productions. To be recognized nationally is a great honor for all who have made TimeLine a special place to work and see theatre, and it's yet another tribute to the great treasure that is the Chicago theatre community."

Best known for creating The Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards, the American Theatre Wing's reach extends beyond Broadway and beyond New York, with educational and media work that offers the very best in theatre to people around the world. Dedicated to celebrating excellence and supporting education in the theatre, the American Theatre Wing has been an integral and influential part of the theatrical community for the better part of seven decades. Adapting its activities for each successive theatrical generation, ATW focuses today on programs and activities which help students, audiences and members of the theatrical community itself to learn more about what makes theatre tick from the people who make it so vital. For more about ATW and the other recipients of the 2011 National Theatre Company Grant, visit americantheatrewing.org/grants/recipients.php.

TimeLine Theatre Company, named Best Theatre by Chicago magazine ("Best of Chicago," 2011) and the nation's theater "Company of the Year" (The Wall Street Journal, 2010), was founded in April 1997 with a mission to present stories inspired by history that connect with today's social and political issues. During its first 14 seasons, TimeLine presented 46 productions, including seven world premieres and 13 Chicago premieres; launched the Living History Education Program, bringing the company's mission to life for students in Chicago Public Schools; and completed each season operating in the black. Recipient of the Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence and the Richard Goodman Strategic Planning Award from the Association for Strategic Planning, TimeLine has received 43 Jeff Awards, including an award for Outstanding Production eight times.