Chicago Shakespeare Theater produces a year-round season of plays, musicals, world premieres, family productions and theatrical presentations from around the globe—alongside educational programming and creative community engagement with artists across the city. The theater’s Navy Pier campus features the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater, the Thoma Theater Upstairs, and, the newest venue, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare.
The Yard is one of the most flexible theaters in the world. Designed by Charcoalblue and Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the design features nine mobile audience “towers” that can be arranged in multiple configurations to best suit a production with seating capacities from 150 to 850. Audiences are welcomed with stunning views of the city and lakefront from the 170-foot-long lobby with its curving curtain wall of electrochromic SageGlass. Constructed under the tent of the former Skyline Stage, The Yard is a fine example of adaptive reuse.
