Children's Theatre of Elgin (Elgin, IL)

General

• Mission:

The mission of Children's Theatre of Elgin is to provide high-quality theatrical experiences for children & young adults, by children & young adults, encourage family support and participation in theatre, make live-theatre affordable and accessible, and instill a standard of performance excellence.

• History:

Children’s Theatre of Elgin is an established Elgin-based Illinois 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, in-residence at the Elgin Community College Arts Center. It was founded in response to a community need for performing arts opportunities for children and originally partnered with the City of Elgin Recreation Department, and is one of the oldest and largest children’s theatre companies in Illinois.

In 1988, Children’s Theatre of Elgin was incorporated to serve young people in Grades 2 through 9. CTE’s large-scale shows primarily utilize scripts based on fairy tales, literature, and historical stories. In 1993, Fox Valley Theatre Company (FVTC) was added as an affiliated option for older youth ages 15-20 years, offering advanced acting and vocal experiences through participation in full-length Broadway musicals, including area premieres. The two troupes have combined for innovative summer song-and-dance revues since 1999 as well as for productions such as Annie and an original musical written and performed for our 20th anniversary show Placing Out.

Our musical theatre workshops offer children and youth a variety of lively and highly interactive classes during which students are taught to explore and expand their imagination and develop basic acting and other musical theatre skills.

The two theatre companies are governed by a single board of directors who assume the responsibility of making sound financial and artistic decisions for all programs. Since board members function in dual roles as show producers, they attend a preparatory training course outlining policies, duties, and expectations, as well as chair key show committees before serving on the board. A non-voting auxiliary board handles publicity, set and costume shops, group sales, and equipment management. The director of operations manages all office, online, financial, outreach, and venue arrangements.

As CTE moves into its 25th season, we look back on a long and successful string of productions, from original scripts board members to shows hot off of Broadway. We seek top-notch family-oriented works flexible enough to expand with our casts. At this point in our history, our directors find that many of our original participants have not only maintained close ties, but are back to teach the next generation of actors, hoping to help create similar memories for them.
Below are a few of CTE’s accomplishments:

-99 shows, 7200 local cast members, and 315,000 audience members.
-Tours to southern Illinois, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Hawaii.
-1991: Received an Illinois Community Education Association Award.
-2004: Children’s Theatre of Elgin was named one of 150 Things that Make Elgin Great.
-2006: Named a favorite destination in Kids Love Illinois by George and Michele Zavatsky
-2007: Received an Elgin Image Award for helping promote a positive impression of Elgin.

Children’s Theatre of Elgin’s unique, family-oriented message draws a broad range of constituents by word-of-mouth and through innovative website, social media and other strategies. To maintain our steady growth and continued viability as an Elgin-based theatre arts provider hinges upon ongoing collaborative efforts with public entities and donors in addition to cast families, community members and organizations, and artists.

• Year established:1988

Registration

• Organization type:Grantseeker
• Country of registration:United States
• Year established:1988
• Tax Determination Letter:Received Determination Letter
• IRS Section:501(c)(3)
• IRS Subsection:None

Web Listing

• Guidestar listed:Yes
• Charity Navigator listed:No
• Give.org listed:No
• Charity Watch listed:No