Remy Bumppo was founded by James Bohnen, Carol Loewenstern and John Stoddard in 1996, with a commitment to produce intimate, intelligent theatre that explores the moral and ethical complexities of the human condition. The three founding artists formed a for-profit entity called Remy Bumppo Productions. The first production, Tom Stoppard's Night and Day, generated such a positive response from audiences, critics and artists that the newly formed company immediately staged an equally well-received production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. In 2001, Remy Bumppo incorporated as a not-for-profit, inaugurated its Board of Directors, and added several noted Artistic Associates to its roster. Remy Bumppo Theatre Company delights and engages audiences by using the provocative power of great theatrical language to investigate the emotional and ethical complexities of society. To fulfill this mission, the company creates freshly imagined productions by seminal playwrights, never losing sight of the founders' inherent respect for the integrity of the playwrights' original vision. Remy Bumppo, think theatre, consciously produces plays designed to provoke thoughtful discussion, and adheres to an unfailingly high standard of peerless acting in an intimate setting. The company annually produces three plays reflecting a season-long theme, such as passion, ethics or love. In addition to Stoppard and Chekhov, our list of great playwrights includes George Bernard Shaw, Caryl Churchill, David Hare, Richard Nelson, Harold Pinter and Simon Gray, among many others. The company is regularly recognized by local critics, the public, and peers as one of the finest theaters in Chicago, and is a frequent recipient of Jeff and After Dark Awards. The 2006-07 Tenth Anniversary Season marked two milestones. First, after performing at Victory Gardens Theater as a guest company for its entire ten-year history, Remy Bumppo was invited to establish permanent residency at the Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater, now called the Greenhouse Theater Center. Second, the company successfully established its new community outreach program, thinkTank, which invites other cultural and civic partners to join in an in-depth exploration of an identified central issue, such as immigration, or national security vs. personal freedoms. This year's thinkTank examines the mass media's role in perpetuating cultural norms surrounding race and gender. Remy Bumppo achieves its artistic and educational goals through adherence to a sound business plan that is revisited and revised each year to adjust to internal and external factors. The organization's strengths include a dedicated board of directors, featuring expert representation from the fields of law, finance, banking, marketing and advertising. The board empowers a staff that includes five full-time and three part-time positions, including Founding Member and Artistic Director James Bohnen, each of whom brings substantial dedication and institutional knowledge to the company. A team of six artistic associates works with the Artistic and Executive Directors to inform the company's programming. These compact artistic and administrative teams allow for organizational agility, as well as a balance of long-term vision and day-to-day follow-through. Remy Bumppo fills an important role in the Chicago theatre community as a professional Equity company hiring top-notch actors, designers, and technicians, committed to producing excellent theatre that provokes an unusual degree of involvement and discussion from its audience.

Remy Bumppo's mission is to delight and engage audiences with the emotional and ethical complexities of society through the provocative power of great theatrical language. Remy Bumppo offers an artistic representation of issues of importance to our community, and a forum in which to think and talk about these topics. Our aim is to help people articulate important aspects of themselves and their communities, thus encouraging attitudes, values and social ties that underpin a well-functioning society. Our productions adhere to high creative and intellectual standards and remain true to scripts of great literary significance. For twelve years we have been bringing "think theatre" to Chicago's cultural landscape and garnering enthusiastic praise from audiences and critics. Each season, we present vibrant, thematically linked mainstage productions that encourage audience members to think and talk about issues of social and cultural importance. To enrich the theatre experience for our audiences, we surround these offerings with study guides, literary lectures, and talk-back sessions.

Each mainstage season explores a particular theme, and features stories that explore the complexities and evolution of social conventions and the human condition. All performances take place at the Greenhouse Theater Center, where Remy Bumppo is a resident company. Our mainstage selections are augmented by theatrical and educational opportunities that foster an engaged and participatory audience. This season marks our third installment of thinkTank, a collaborative theatrical effort that showcases a diverse array of works on a chosen issue of social relevance. Each production is followed by a mediated discussion with the audience in an effort to spark meaningful dialogue and civic engagement among community members. Remy Bumppo's thinkTank has fostered partnerships with with other artists and local theatre companies, including Teatro Vista, Silk Road, and Rasaka Theatre Company, to truly capture diverse perspectives on the selected theme. Post-show discussions are led by represenatives from a social or government organizations and educational institutions, whose work or life experiences further illuminate the theme at hand. Our inaugural thinkTank production ambitiously delved into the theme of immigration, inviting Chicagoans to explore the complexities of the issue, as well as their personal roles in shaping relevant attitudes and policies. Year two of thinkTank focused on issues surrounding national security and civil liberties. This season's production, running from March 12 - 29, 2009, explores the role of mass media in shaping perceptions of cultural norms surrounding race and gender. Ticket subsidies and targeted outreach efforts attract audiences of all ages, income levels, and cultural backgrounds, allowing for a truly inclusive and meaningful experience. Remy Bumppo further connects audiences to their theater experiences through offerings such as: A Study Guide tailored to each production that offers dramaturgical information on the author, themes and history of the play; A First Rehearsal Reception that allows audiences to experience actors and directors at work; a literary lecture series entitled "Between the Lines" that gathers Chicago's cultural leaders to discuss their work in relation to the themes of the productions; and A Weekly Talkback Session that allows for post-show conversations between artists and audience. Our commitment to education extends to artistic professionals as well. This season, Remy Bumppo is offering two sessions of "Arguing From the Heart", a five week acting intensive taught by artistic director James Bohnen. The class includes monologue and scene work with a focus on combining textual clarity with emotional connection. Playwrights featured include Stoppard, Shaw, Shakespeare, Moliere, Pinter, Mamet, and Chekhov. The workshop will allow actors of all levels of experience to revel in language-rich material in which Remy Bumppo specializes. In addition, artistic assoicate and Casting Director, Linda Gillum, will teach two four-week sessions of "Crashing the Audition Process", helping actors to hone their audition skills and gain insight into the seemingly mysterious casting process. Finally, artistic associate and seasoned fight director Nick Sandys will teach a class aptly titled "Fighting Words", a unique opportunity for actors looking to make larger and more daring physical choices which still spring from careful character-based text analysis. Each class seeks to include, seasoned, emerging, and diverse artists.