Theo is a professional, not-for-profit, performing arts organization dedicated to building community and celebrating our shared humanity using joyous art, meaningful stories, and powerful performances. Theo strives to foster an appreciation of theatre and its effects on our culture and everyday lives while expanding our capacity for empathy and uplifting our spirits.
OUR MISSION
Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Intercultural Development Statement
We understand that we have a responsibility to actively use our platform to reflect Evanston & Chicago’s full spectrum of talent in the work that we perform. We strive to create a space that is accessible and safe for patrons and artists to form kinship beyond their normal social spheres. We believe that a society is stronger when we have a free exchange of ideas that includes, welcomes, and listens to voices from diverse backgrounds.
Land Acknowledgement
Theo sits on the traditional homelands of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami, and Ho-Chunk Nations. We recognize that these Native Nations were forcibly removed from this land and Evanston and its founder, John Evans, is inextricably linked to the massacre of the Arapaho and Cheyenne people. This land continues to be a site of gathering and healing for thousands of Native people who are actively working for justice and sovereignty.
Theo also acknowledges that the field of theatre has traditionally excluded members of the global majority, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and commits to working to dismantle the legacy of colonization and racism in this country. We acknowledge that the United States was built at the often-fatal expense of forcefully enslaved Black people. We recognize that much of what we celebrate about this country today, including its culture, economic growth, and development has been made possible by the labor of enslaved Africans and their descendants who suffered the horror of the transatlantic slave trade, unpaid labor through chattel slavery, and dehumanization through segregation and Jim Crow laws. We are forever indebted to their unpaid labor and incalculable loss, which continues in the face of generational trauma and violence towards Black bodies to this day. We commit to working towards the continued liberation of Black people through our work both on and offstage.
Culture of Belonging
We believe that art is more authentic when we allow varied perspectives to contribute to the narrative. We strive to form a culture where a mindset of universal love is hardwired into our organization and consider it a privilege to be able to learn how best to serve our community. We understand that this is a process and that we must be willing to listen, accept accountability for our missteps, and always strive for growth.