Skip to main content

On Feb. 15, get a behind-the-scenes look at The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, a new, flexible theater that opened this fall on Navy Pier. Architect Gordon Gill and Chicago Shakespeare Theater Executive Director Criss Henderson will lead this special tour. Choose between two departure times.

Price
$30 public
$20 CAF members
Meet
Chicago Shakespeare Theater lobby, 800 E. Grand Ave.

Since its arrival on Navy Pier in 1999, Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) has grown to be one of the city’s largest theater companies, hosting approximately 600 performances annually. For the past decade, CST has been looking for a way to expand its campus in a cost-effective manner. The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare was the solution, constructed under an existing tent that originally housed Navy Pier's outdoor Skyline Stage. Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture designed the building connecting CST’s existing building to The Yard, which consists of nine movable seating towers that can accommodate 150 to 850 audience members in a wide variety of configurations. Gordon and Criss will share the story of this resourceful space design that cleverly makes use of an existing structure. Come see what The American Institute of Architects deems one of the most innovative new buildings of 2017!

AIA/CES Credit: 1 LU


Program Speaker: Gordon Gill

Gordon Gill

Gordon Gill is a founding partner of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. His portfolio includes Masdar Headquarters, the world's first large-scale positive energy building; Pearl River Tower, the world's first net zero-energy skyscraper; and Jeddah Tower, which expected to be the world's tallest building when complete. Additionally, Gill has experience in strategic carbon planning and designing performing arts centers, museums and urban master plans around the globe. In 2009, he was named Chicago's Best Emerging Architect by the Chicago Reader and in 2013, was elected to the American Institute of Architects' College of Fellows.

Program Speaker: Criss Henderson

Criss Henderson

As Executive Director of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST), Criss Henderson has produced CST’s past twenty-six seasons. Under his leadership, CST has become one of the nation’s leading regional theaters and one of Chicago’s most celebrated cultural organizations, honored with the 2008 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Criss has garnered multiple honors and currently serves as president of the Producers’ Association of Chicago-area Theatres and on the Board of Directors of the League of Chicago Theatres, in addition to holding the director role of the MFA/Arts Leadership Program.


Note: Discount tickets are available with a valid student ID for $25 at the CAF Box Office.