TimeLine Theatre Company Receives $25,000 Unrestricted Grant

TimeLine Theatre Company announces that it has been chosen as a recipient of a $25,000 unrestricTed Grant from the Lester and Hope Abelson Fund for the Performing Arts. Established as a donor advised fund at The Chicago Community Trust, the region's oldest and largest community foundation, the award - affectionately known as "the "Hopie" - is given annually to two performing arts groups that have less than $1 million in operating revenues, have been in existence at least three years and whose work demonstrates "innovation, inspiration and creativity."

The award is scheduled to be formally presented by Katherine Abelson, the daughter of Lester and Hope and a Trustee of the Fund, at the opening of TimeLine's Chicago premiere of The Farnsworth Invention by Aaron Sorkin on April 17, 2010.

The Fund honors the legacy of an arts icon who is sorely missed, especially in the Chicago theatre community. Hope Abelson (September 21, 1910 - September 1, 2006) was a generous, astute and innovative supporter of the arts for more than 50 years as a performer, producer and patron in her hometown of Chicago as well as in New York and Canada.

"TimeLine is exceedingly grateful to receive this honor in the name of an arts patron who made such an indelible mark on the timeline of Chicago theatre history," said TimeLine Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman. "We will continue to strive to live up to the inspiration of Hope Abelson and the history of innovation within the off-Loop theatre movement she helped create."

"TimeLine Theatre Company creates the innovative, imaginative productions about contemporary, complex social and political issues using a literary context that brings history to life in a thrillingly artistic way," Katherine Abelson said. "I would like to congratulate TimeLine for its continuing excellence."

The second recipient of the "Hopie" this year is Free Street Theatre Project (freestreet.org). Previous recipients include Congo Square Theatre Company and Silk Road Theatre Project in 2007 and Luna Negra Dance Theater and Collaboraction in 2008.

About Hope Abelson
After beginning her theatre career in the Chicago suburbs, Hope Abelson commuted to New York, where her accomplishments included bringing Tennessee Williams' Camino Real to Broadway in 1953. She also worked on behalf of Canada's Stratford Festival, including helping to organize the company's first U.S. tour. Ms. Abelson returned to Chicago in the early 1970s, becoming an ardent booster of local non-profit theatres. She was instrumental in the founding of the League of Chicago Theatres and in helping foster emerging off-Loop companies that have since become the hallmarks of Chicago theatre. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Sidney Yates Arts Advocacy Award from the Illinois Arts Alliance. For an extensive biography of Ms. Abelson's life and career, please visit timelinetheatre.com/news/HopeAbelson_Biography.pdf

About TimeLine Theatre Company
Founded in April 1997, TimeLine Theatre Company's mission is to present stories inspired by history that connect with today's social and political issues. During its first 12 seasons, TimeLine has presented 40 productions, including six world premieres and 11 Chicago premieres. Recipient of the 2006 Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence and the 2009 Richard Goodman Strategic Planning Award from the Association for Strategic Planning, TimeLine has received 42 Jeff Awards, including an award for Outstanding Production seven times. TimeLine's 2009-10 season is presented under contract with Actors Equity Association

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