Goodly Creatures Theatre

About

OUR VISION

Founded by Katrina Syrris in 2018, Goodly Creatures is a traveling theatre company based in Kane County, IL that specializes in breathing new life into classic works of literature. To fulfill our duty, we produce original plays, and established adaptations of canonized works of literature for the stage in modern, edgy, and thrilling ways. While we are most well known for our Shakespeare in the Parks Series, our stage productions have been called Brechtian, Avant-Garde, and even "brave," and we embrace these titles as the fresh voice of the modern combined with the universal and timeless wisdom of the classics!

WORKING WITH LOCAL ARTISTS

A final performance of any theatrical endeavor combines the work of many artists, and we reflect that in our production philosophy. Since our founding, we have collaborated with a wide variety of local artists and organizations to create an inclusive environment for artists in various media and places. For instance, our costuming team collaborated with Chris Skonieczny of Top Notch Tattoo in downtown Elgin for our original production, Nevermore. We've held art galleries in the lobby of the Elgin Arts Showcase in association with The Awakenings Project for  Syrris' Goodly Creatures, Bodine's The Yellow Wallpaper, and Syrris' Nevermore. We have also featured works of local artist Holly Bud, for the poster art for our Shakespeare in the Park productions of Love's Labour's Lost and The Tempest.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Our productions are community-centric, promoting local businesses around our performance venues. We've hosted workshops with Sugar and Rhyme Coffeehouse and Schaumburg Library. We've hosted several live events at the Blue Box Cafe, including our Lit Ladies series, Poets' Lounge, and Write Night. We collaborated with the Martini Room for After Parties for our original production of Ghosts of Christmas Past, and Wilde's An Ideal Husband. We also worked with Elgin Public House to offer a "dinner theatre" special in association with An Ideal Husband. We have hosted fundraisers for the Trevor Project with our production of Goodly Creatures, To Write Love on Her Arms in collaboration with Lunacek Photography, and Scholarship America with our production of Ghosts of Christmas Past. We have also sponsored events that align with our values including the YWCA Elgin's A Midsummer Night's Dream Celebration. We believe the arts uplift the community, and seek to create economic opportunity for the small businesses and charitable organizations around us.