Albany Park Theater Project

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Albany Park Theater Project (APTP) is a diverse youth theater group in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood. Its mission is to help people imagine a fairer, more beautiful world by focusing on art, young people, and social justice. All shows are original and created by adult theater professionals and teen artists from stories gathered across Chicago, especially Albany Park.

Albany Park is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the United States and a major home for immigrants from Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. APTP was founded in 1997 by David Feiner and Laura Wiley. After moving between several locations, they settled in 2001 at Eugene Field Park, where they are a Chicago Park District Arts Partner in Residence.

APTP runs weekly workshops for teens aged 13–20, many with no prior theater experience, teaching them through theater games, reading, and other activities. Their first production at Eugene Field Park in 2001 was Matches in the Dark, which brought attention from local newspapers.

The company later started a college counseling program that has helped over 90% of participants go to college, with about 80% graduating by age 24—well above the national rate for low-income students. In 2015 they received a $100,000 grant to develop Learning Curve, an immersive show about Chicago Public Schools created with Third Rail Projects. In 2016 they received a $400,000 MacArthur Foundation grant, and Learning Curve premiered that July to wide acclaim as the first large-scale immersive show created and performed by teens.

APTP has a long relationship with the Goodman Theatre. The board includes Henry Godinez and Roxanne Decyk. Each year about 30 youth artists, aged 13–20, participate; there are no auditions, but members must live in or go to school in Albany Park. Many join through local schools such as Albany Park Multicultural Academy, Volta Elementary, Roosevelt High, Von Steuben, and Amundsen. The program also offers tutoring, college access support, and health and meals programs. To date, they have created more than 19 original theater pieces.