From Jones Dorm to the Magnificent Mile: Lookingglass Theatre Company builds community and inventive art through its unique ensemble-based approach The first ever Lookingglass Theatre Company production took place in the Jones Great Room. A group of Northwestern students, led by David Schwimmer (Communication ‘88), put on an experimental production of “Alice in Wonderland” in 1987, inspired by a similar production at NYU. The group took their “Alice in Wonderland” piece to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that summer, and afterwards they decided to found a theater company dedicated to the ensemblebased, physical style of the production. That company grew into Lookingglass Theatre Company. “The production was very, very theatrically inventive,” said Northwestern acting Prof. David Catlin, one of Lookingglass’ founding members. “We loved the kind of physical theater that we were doing, and that the underlying story had a literary source to it. We didn’t see any other companies in Chicago doing that kind of work, and so we decided to start a company.” The theater has since grown into a major
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player in the Chicago theater industry, winning the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 2011. Lookingglass is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, causing its ensemble members to reminisce on why the company became their artistic home. “There are lots of absolutely brilliant plays,” said Tony Award-winning director, frequent Lookingglass collaborator and performance studies Prof. Mary Zimmerman (Communication ‘82, ‘85, ‘94). “But if you heard them on the radio, you wouldn’t be missing much because what you’d be imagining is the kitchen or the living room or the backyard in which they are set. But in our shows, the physical manifestation image in the body is a bit more primary.” Zimmerman’s process is unique among Lookingglass directors. She pitches an idea, and writes the script for each day’s rehearsal the night before. This allows her to be more impulsive with her work, and to be influenced by the present moment. Because this development process can be relatively risky, Zimmerman said
by Gaby Carroll
collaborating with an acting ensemble familiar with her work and process helps nurture trust and a healthy environment. Kareem Bandealy, Lookingglass’ New Works Manager, said that in his role he encourages directors and adaptors to tell stories from outside the Western literature canon so they can bring more diverse voices into the room. He tells adapters to stray from the original material and get to the core of what the piece means to them to portray it more effectively in the new medium. “I remember watching David Catlin’s adaptation of ‘Moby Dick,’” Bandealy said. “It used to be so many characters, he excluded some from the book, but still it was this huge cast. Over time, he found the similarities between certain characters’ points of view and merged them into larger arcs. What I find most engaging in an adaptation is when I can hear the adapter in it, and you could tell he knew that material.” Longtime ensemble member Raymond Fox (Communication ‘89) said Lookingglass’
