In the March 14 Sunday Chicago Tribune, arts reporter Chris Jones wrote a commentary that flagrantly misrepresented a new family program being launched this spring, called Quaker Family Saturdays at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The program will welcome families and young people to eight consecutive Saturday morning performances of “Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” followed by a post-show discussion with actors in the theater and free Quaker snacks in the lobby.
Utilizing a sensationalist headline alongside a scowling caricature of William Shakespeare and writing peppered with incomplete and misleading information, Jones not only grossly misinformed the Tribune readership regarding the sponsorship agreement and developing program elements, but he viciously challenged the principles and artistic integrity of Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Chicago Shakespeare Theater never has and never will allow corporate sponsorship to influence its artists or their work.
A more comprehensive investigation could have revealed a full landscape of the merits and challenges at play in corporate sponsorship of the performing arts.
A broader, nuanced and thoroughly researched view would have resulted in a commentary worthy of the Tribune’s readership.
I hope one day to read that article.
— Criss Henderson, executive director of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater
