For 27 years, the Next Theatre Company has entertained and inspired nearly a quarter-million patrons in our Evanston home with award-winning premieres and re-imagined classics, winning over 35 Joseph Jefferson Awards -- the seal of approval for Chicago area theater -- along the way. The Next's repertoire reads like a list of the most important plays of the past quarter-century, all of which received their Chicago premieres under the direction of Next artists: the Jeff-recommended Omnium Gatherum, the After Dark Award-winning Yellowman, Caryl Churchills Far Away, the Jeff-nominated In the Blood, the Jeff Award-winning The Laramie Project; these productions demonstrated exceptional success in advancing the Next's mission and introducing Chicago audiences to new voices in extraordinary performances. Our world-premiere productions like The Adding Machine: A Chamber Musical have established a greater national profile for the company, and represent our committment to commissioning and producing world premiere works. The driving belief behind this world premiere commission program is that if the Next is to truly serve as leader for work that is socially provocative and artistically adventurous, its programming must not only sample from existing works, but add to the cannon as well. As the only local company dedicated solely to socially provocative work, and Evanston's only resident professional theater, the Next serves 15,000 subscribers and single-ticket buyers each year, from an area that includes Evanston, Chicago, and other North Shore Communities. Now triple in size since 2003, the Next Theatre serves more patrons and artists than ever before.

The Next Theatre Company produces socially provocative, artistically adventurous work. The Company strives to become a national destination for artists and audiences who share its belief that theater can promote awareness and provoke change with more power than any other medium of expression.

The Nexts programming is divided into three categories, each driven by the Company's mission of social provocation and artistic adventure: 1-Our annual four-play season - The 2007-08 season marks the Next's 27th year as the area home for hard-hitting, thought-provoking theatre, called the "Home of Innovation" in the press. 2-Corollary Programs - In keeping with our belief that theater can truly promote awareness and provoke change, the Next works very hard to contextualize the plays it presents, suggesting ways the audience can act on or learn more from what they've seen. These events, all events are free and open to the public, include the high-profile Saturday Salon Series, post-show discussions, play-readings and dramaturgical lectures. 3-Next Communities Outreach Program. - The vision of Next Communities is to build bridges between and within diverse communities. The programs primary mission is to put the heat of the debate in our community onstage. The Next does this by bringing community members together with artists in a workshop setting, creating new works of theater addressing issues facing our community. Teaching artists begin by teaching G.E.D and pre-G.E.D courses in literature at the Howard Area Community Center, using a play as the teaching text. Following the classes, they lead workshops during which HACC students work with professional artists and other community members to create plays addressing concerns facing the community. Participants perform those scenes for the community at various locations (including Next Theatre's home in Evanston) further promoting awareness and provoking change locally.