A.B.L.E. was founded on the belief that “everyone is A.B.L.E. to connect, to contribute, and to create.” Inclusion and representation are at the heart of the work we do every single day. It’s ingrained in our ethos as a company, and has been baked into our work since day one.
Every year, we like to give an update of the ways we are working to build more inclusive communities, and ensure that as many people as possible are able to access the transformative power of the arts. Here’s how we focused our efforts in 2024:
1) Diverse Perspectives and Leadership Opportunities
We welcomed 4 new members to our Program Advisory Council - Shannon Diegel, Erin Harvey, Kate McDuffie, and Eric Williams - to give active leadership roles to the people most impacted by our programs. The PAC worked to organize social events for the ensembles, to represent ABLE at several community events including Applefest, Hyde Park Farmer’s Market, and Lowline Farmer’s Market, and to select our FY25 season theme of Invention.
2) Growing our staff
In July 2024, we welcomed 2 new Teaching Artists to our team - Edmund O’Brien and Ariya Hawkins. Between them, they bring over 30 years of teaching experience in a range of modalities to support our ensembles. Adding to our roster gives us greater capacity for outreach programs and running programs simultaneously. As we continue to grow our team, we remain committed to an organization-wide living wage of $25/hr.
3) Geographic Accessibility
Currently, our ensemble members travel to rehearsals from 22 Chicago wards and 11 surrounding suburbs. In 2024, we established new venue partners to bring our work closer to home for participants in different neighborhoods in Chicago. This included adding a regular weekly rehearsal at Gateway to Learning, and performances at Filament Theatre in Portage Park in the fall of 2024. We also continue to offer our virtual ensemble which engages actors and volunteers in 7 different states.
4) Financial Accessibility
We believe everyone deserves access to the arts regardless of finances.
Throughout 2024, we offered 3 free open studios to introduce new people to our work. We also introduced a new pricing structure for our Public Masterclass series to make it easier for independent artists to afford professional development opportunities; we offered over $1000 of free or subsidized access to our trainings.
Our program registration fees are always pay-what-you-can. The number of program participants opting for free or reduced rate registration climbed from 22% in FY23 to 32% in FY24.
5) Expanding Partnerships
In 2024, we launched a new outreach partnership with Misericordia Home, meeting more than 60 participants throughout FY24. As a nonprofit, we understand that many of our potential outreach partners may also be working with limited resources; this year, we also launched a new partner grant toolkit to support other organizations in securing funding for hosting ABLE workshops, residencies, and trainings. Longterm, with an appropriate corporate or institutional sponsor, we hope to be able to offer tiered pricing for our outreach programs so that organizations with different budget sizes.
In theatre, like in life, nobody works alone. Each person plays a part in what we create. At every rehearsal we recite our ensemble pact and remind each other that we are stronger when we work together and support each other. And we make the same promises to our community. Because we believe that people of all abilities deserve opportunities to share who they are and all they are A.B.L.E. to do, and we’ll keep working to build a space for creative exploration and social connection.
