Create Community With Us
The City Connections model is principally rooted in building authentic and mutually beneficial partnerships and bringing Steppenwolf programming outside of our theater walls. Central to the mission of City Connections is to provide no-cost, barrier-free programming and establish long-term partnerships with community organizations working to empower Chicagoland youth through the arts.
How We Put City Connections In Action
For four years, Steppenwolf Education has toured its acclaimed Steppenwolf for Young Adults productions to detained and incarcerated youth in juvenile justice facilities in partnership with Storycatchers. Watch the video below to learn more about our 2016 tour of the Steppenwolf for Young Adults’ production of Monster. The video features unique ways Steppenwolf and Storycatchers align missions to serve these incredible young people.
For many years, BUILD, Inc. has been an important part of Steppenwolf Education's work, bringing students from West Side communities to Steppenwolf and Steppenwolf to them. BUILD, Inc. provides a lifeline to the youth they serve and Steppenwolf is proud to be their theatre partner in this work. Watch a video about this unique partnership.
From touring Steppenwolf for Young Adults productions to library locations to being a featured arts partner at the annual Chi Teen Lit Fest, Steppenwolf Education is proud to be a partner of the Chicago Public Library now and in the future.
In July 2018, Steppenwolf was proud to host Snow City Arts in the 1700 Theatre as a part of Snow City's 20th Anniversary Artistic Retrospective, allowing youth to perform theater outside of a hospital setting for the first time. In April 2020, Steppenwolf Education was to produce a second Snow City performance, but it was sadly cancelled due to the pandemic. These two organizations share a common goal of reaching Chicagoland youth often times left out of critical arts education programming and look forward to future partnership opportunities to come.
Questions? Want to Learn More?
For more information about our City Connections Program, please contact Steppenwolf Education Associate Abhi Shrestha at ashrestha@steppenwolf.org.