Lisa Wagner-Carollo founded Still Point Theatre Collective in 1993 to produce original professional plays and provide arts outreach programs to marginalized communities. By all accounts, the collective is a success, serving and empowering adults with developmental disabilities, currently and formerly incarcerated women, and senior citizens. The collective celebrated its 25th anniversary in October 2018. Their service to incarcerated women began when the collective developed t

How did you first learn about SPTC? I first learned about Still Point Theatre Collective through my former theatre history professor, Jessie Glover, at Otterbein University in Westerville Ohio. She had seen the internship application posted on facebook and reposted it to her page . My friend pointed it out to me, as it was the perfect opportunity to merge my love for theatre and social justice, as well as community engagement. After I applied for the internship, I met with Ex

I began working with The Still Point Theatre Collective in the fall of 2018. An actor in Chicago, I had been working for years to merge activism and my work in the arts, sometimes with success, but more often with frustration at the fact that not everyone in the arts shared my values of putting usefulness to other human beings and the society at large first. Then I saw a post on an audition website for The True Cost: Stories or Human Trafficking with Still Point. This documen

Still Point operates a theatre apprenticeship inside Grace House Transitional Home on Chicago’s west side. As a part of our Persephone Project, our organization offers part-time employment for women transitioning from the Illinois prison system to write, produce and perform an original play. In our work with returning citizens, we focus on creative writing and improvisation in hopes that it will allow our participants to feel heard, respected, and empowered to share their st

We are truly blessed to have Clearie McCarthy on board as Still Point’s Managing Director. I recently invited her to write a blog reflecting on the value of using theatre as a tool for social justice, which is a big part of our mission at Still point. Please enjoy her personal, powerful, and heartfelt reflections. – Anita Clearie: I grew up in Lansing, MI in a working-class family with both parents and an older sister. My upbringing was filled with love and encouragement and

August 20, 2019 This blog was composed by Still Point Managing Director and program facilitator, Clearie McCarthy: It’s Thursday at 4 o’ clock and my colleague and I are in the chapel at Cook County Jail. This is the time and location of our weekly theatre class with individuals in the THRIVE program; an internal treatment program for incarcerated persons struggling with substance abuse. Our class consists of Voice and Speech work (Patsy Rodenberg technique and Shakespearean

pril 16, 2019 For many years the staff of Still Point thought deeply about how our organization could address human trafficking in a way that might have some real impact. The True Cost: Stories of Human Trafficking is our answer. Our newest professional touring production gives voice to the forgotten ones: the people who are forced into sexual servitude; the children who are exploited as slave labor to provide cheap goods sold in our very own neighborhoods; the women and me

Still Point Interim Managing Director Héctor Álvarez received a Watson Fellowship in 2008 to study community theater companies in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil that served populations who had suffered from trauma. I recently asked Héctor to share in greater detail about the nature of the work that he did as part of this fellowship. Please enjoy his personal reflections and insights in this Still Point blog. – Anita By Héctor Álvarez The Watson Fellowship allowed me to spend a

At Still Point, we have been blessed with a large number of talented and dedica ted people who have been attracted to our organization over the years. While our artists and facilitators often have the spotlight, we’d like to acknowledge someone who play a less visible but no less vital of a role in the organization: Yahaira Landaverry, Still Point’s current Financial Manager. Yahaira has seamlessly stepped in to take over aspects of the daily operations that, frankly, the res

J une 19, 2018 The following blog was created from a recent, written exchange between Still Point Managing Director Hector Alvarez and former Persephone Project participant, Yolanda Burgess. Today, Yolanda Burgess is happily married and a doting grandmother to her six grandchildren, including a set of identical twin infant grandsons. She has been working in social services for 12 years, and is currently employed by A Safe Haven, a facility that serves people of all ages who a

Ap ril 3, 2018 I recently spoke with Sarah Ailey, Professor in the Department of Community, Systems and Mental Health Nursing at RUSH Medical Center (pictured center in photo), about an exciting collaboration with Still Point that began last year. Sarah helped to organize the PATH-PWD (Partnering to Transform Healthcare with People with Disabilities) Conference in March of 2017 after receiving funds from the Agency Healthcare Research and Quality and the Special Hope Foundati

Octo ber 3, 2017 This photo was taken after a performance of Haunted by God that Lisa performed at St. Isaac Jogues Church in Rapid City, South Dakota, on the tail end of her participation in the Satyagraha Institute’s summer session in the Black Hills. In a week that has offered us yet another horrifying example of the violence in our world, let us balance the scales with a reflection on some of the people on our planet who are devoted to cultivating peace and understanding.

Ap ril 18, 2017 Grace House is a transitional home in Chicago for women exiting the Illinois prison system. The facility provides interim housing, emotional and spiritual support, and professional counseling to the residents. On February 23, Still Point launched a new performance program at Grace House designed to foster an emotional support system while also building important communication skills. Almost all of the women currently living at Grace House are participating, an

Still Point’s Sage Theatre Workshop for seniors has recently expanded to include a program at Sunrise Assisted Living that has a unique twist. Still Point facilitator Maria Vorhis began conducting a program at Sunrise at the end of November. The hour long sessions are currently held twice per month, with Maria leading a group of 6-14 seniors. While our other Sage Theatre facilitations follow a model similar to Still Point’s Imagination Workshop, in which participants develop

November 15, 2016 On September 24, Curt Tofteland took part in a panel discussion that was moderated by Still Point Founder and Artistic Director Lisa Wagner-Carollo and presented by Chicago Shakespeare as part of the Shakespeare 400 Festival. The discussion focused on using Shakespeare in prison arts programming. As Founder of Shakespeare Behind Bars, Curt was a must-have member of the panel. This organization serves incarcerated and formerly incarcerated juveniles and adult

August 21, 2016 In anticipation of a new session starting up on August 24, I recently talked to longtime Still Point Facilitator Laura Callahan-Hazard about her work with the Ravenswood Players. This facilitation of Still Point’s Imagination Workshop for adults with developmental disabilities is open to people from various agencies and the general public. We have been presenting original public performances of the ensemble’s work in the basement theatre of Ravenswood Presbyte

July 28, 2 016 Last Thursday, July 21, Still Point presented a celebratory performance entitled I Can See Clearly Now, in honor of 25 years of the Imagination Workshop. Still Point Founder Lisa Wagner-Carollo began the program at Esperanza Community Services all those years ago, and directed fifteen participants from two classes for this presentation. I was incredibly sorry to have missed the performance. I began teaching the Imagination Workshop with Lisa in 1992, and have s

May 23, 2016 At Still Point Theatre Collective, we aim to work with top-notch professionals when producing our original plays. No one could argue that we have found such an artist in Actor Randy Steinmeyer, who recently took over the role of Fr. Doug Doussan in our play Living Water: The Story of St. Gabriel the Archangel Church. Randy’s background reveals that he is a quintessential Chicago actor – and happy to have made a good living in his chosen field. After earning a Bac

April 26, 2016 Mary Dean, if you speak to her, will strike you as an exceptionally gentle and soft-spoken woman. One should be aware, however, that her quiet aspect houses a formidable, lion-hearted warrior in the struggle for justice. I began my recent conversation with Mary by asking her how and why she was drawn into a life of activism. She traced that history back to childhood and her experiences growing up on the South Side of Chicago. The effects of extreme poverty were

arch 16, 2016 Still Point’s Sage Theatre Workshop celebrates the wisdom, creativity, and perspective of older citizens. The Sage Theatre group at Bethany Retirement Center reached a milestone recently when they presented their first performance on February 6th, 2016. Their original production was entitled Mixin’ It Up, Volume 1. When Ellen Stenson signed up for the class at Bethany, she really didn’t know what to expect. When I asked if she had had any performance experience