APTPians Go to College - Albany Park Theater Project

APTPians
Go to College
APTP ensemble members
Osbaldo Antunez and Jackie Chacko became the first college students in their families this fall.
Jackie left in late August for Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Like many APTPians, Jackie chose
a small liberal arts college to mirror the personalized learning environment at APTP. Jackie received
financial aid from Cornell to cover nearly 100% of the cost of her college education. Sarah Goldman,
Assistant Director of Admission at Cornell College, shared why she and Cornell have welcomed Jackie
so enthusiastically: “What struck me about Jackie’s personal statement was her incredible passion.
Reading about her self discovery through her involvement with APTP was truly inspiring. I was blown
away by the work that she had done with APTP, and genuinely excited for the things I know she will
accomplish at Cornell.”
That same week, Osbaldo became a freshman at Northeastern Illinois University, where he’s eager to
study computer science and theater. Osbaldo’s first semester includes a course with long-time APTP
friend and supporter, Professor Laurie Fuller of NEIU’s Women’s Studies Program, who has mentored
many APTP alumni as they begin their college journeys.
Jackie and Osbaldo both participated in APTP’s comprehensive college counseling program, which
guides teens through every step of the college admissions process: from researching prospective colleges
and visiting campuses, to preparing applications and seeking financial aid, to selecting their first year
courses and moving into their new dorms.
continued INSIDE >
In this issue:
> New ProductioN
> HumaN rigHts award
> aPtPiaNs go to college
> doNor sPotligHts aNd more
Albany Park Theater Project is a multiethnic, youth theater
ensemble that inspires people to envision a more just and beautiful world.
David Feiner and Laura Wiley, co-founders
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Donor Spotlight:
APTP Alumni Give Back
Alumni DJ Narvaez and Sarah
Stanciu-Narvaez made their first
major gift to APTP this summer, in
honor of their wedding. The two
met as teenagers at APTP, where
they performed together in several
shows, including God’s Work (which
foreshadowed their future by casting
them as husband and wife). DJ and
Sarah directed their donation to
underwrite course books for APTP
alumna Jackie Chacko’s first year at
Cornell College. Their donation was
inspired by a similar gift DJ received
when he began college eleven years
ago and a member of APTP’s board of
directors underwrote his course books.
DJ remembers not only the financial
support, but also the emotional impact
of this vote of confidence. DJ and
Sarah both participated in APTP’s
college counseling program, with DJ
graduating from North Park University
and Sarah from Beloit College.
Thank you, DJ and Sarah!

a new journey from
Albany Park Theater Project
January 20 - February 25, 2012
tickets on sale december 19
www.aptpchicago.org
800.838.3006
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from artistic director David Feiner
Hope. Risk. Sacrifice. Heroism. Faith. Idealism. These are the
epic themes that pervade Home/Land, the new play Albany
Park Theater Project will premiere in January.
During a recent day of rehearsal, teen ensemble members
practiced a song about a tree with roots on both sides of a border.
In another rehearsal room, a pair of young lovers danced on their
wedding night, planning to cross the border as their honeymoon.
A precocious seven year-old in a hijab became an unconventional
entrepreneur to pay for her family’s immigration. A gaggle of kids
claimed the stage to imagine a real-life superhero’s monumental
journey from civil war orphan, to teen guerilla soldier, to activist
priest. A boat careened onto the stage, hurling two dozen
immigrants across the Gulf of Mexico. There was also a boxing
match, a soccer tournament, a game show, a candlelight vigil, a
quinceañera dance, and a glorious rally of undocumented young
people that inspired a nationwide movement. All based on reallife
stories, and all brought to theatrical life by an ensemble of 23
Chicago teens and a half dozen adult directors and designers.
I look forward to welcoming you to the Laura Wiley Theater
when we premiere Home/Land in January.
Warmly,
SUPPORT APTP!
Ticket sales to our plays cover less than
10% of the cost of APTP’s programming
each year. Please join our community of
donors and help make APTP possible.
Here’s how:
Online: www.aptpchicago.org
Mail: Make your check payable to
Albany Park Theater Project and mail to
P.O. Box 257995, Chicago, IL 60625
Pledge: Make a recurring monthly
or quarterly donation online at
www.aptpchicago.org
Matching Gifts: Ask if your employer
has a matching gift program and make
your gift go even further.
Questions: Call Britton Esposito
at 773.866.0875.
APTPians Go to College
continued from cover
APTP’s college counseling
program is supported by our
generous donors. This year,
APTP secured financial support
to help Jackie and Osbaldo
afford the transition to college.
Osbaldo received a $2,000
scholarship, specifically for
immigrant students, provided
by an anonymous APTP donor.
Jackie received a grant for her
first semester’s books from
husband-and-wife APTP alumni,
DJ Narvaez and Sarah Stanciu
(see Donor Spotlight on cover).
Continuing an 11-year tradition,
APTP took Jackie shopping for
the bedding for her new college
dorm room, a gift from the
Laura Wiley Opportunity Fund,
supported by donors in memory
of our beloved co-founder, who
passed away in 2007. Laura
created our college counseling
program, and she would take
every college-bound APTPian
shopping for bedding and towels
to make their new dorm rooms
homey. Also in memory of Laura,
an anonymous donor provides
new laptop computers for every
APTPian starting college.

“The Hunger To Teach”
APTP Youth Lead Workshops
at Two National Conferences
This summer, APTP inspired theater educators from throughout the U.S. when we showcased our
model for combing theater, education, and social justice at two national conferences. Our teen ensemble
gave the keynote performance at the American Alliance for Theatre and Education’s conference. APTP
youth and staff also led two packed workshops at the AATE conference - and another workshop a month
later at the national conference of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Middle school drama
teacher, Melinda Russo, shared this reflection on the value of her workshop with APTP: “I felt inspired to
deepen the work I do each day with my own students….For me the most powerful moments came from
listening to the APTP students’ points of view. APTP challenged us to take risks, encouraged us to walk
in someone else’s shoes, and created a space where every voice was heard.”
Three-year APTP veteran, Gissela Gualoto, was one of the workshop leaders. Here is Gissela’s
reflection on the experience:
“Since I joined APTP three years ago, I’ve felt secretly selfish, like APTP was my one-of-a-kind pot
of gold, and wanted to keep the APTP treasures safely in our little corner of the world. But after
doing some thorough evaluating, it sounds amazing, actually: Imagine that the art developed at
our home could expand to other homes and other families all around the U.S.
Most of the adults in our workshops dove in
enthusiastically. One of the jobs I took on was to
care for those not so comfortable participating. My
moment of glory came when we played “Me Lifts,”
in which the group lifts and carries a person up
in the air. I overheard a husky man mumbling to
himself, “I’m too big for this.” I persuaded him to
trust us, because that’s what APTP is for, and that
he should put himself in our hands – literally. We
carried him over our heads and every single hand
supported him without fear. I looked up and saw the
different colored hands and their textures, some with
manicures, others with jewelry on, others tough and
calloused. There were young hands and not-so-young
hands, skinny hands and not-so-skinny hands. I was
overwhelmed by the variation, and that’s when it hit me: This is APTP. No matter what color we are,
no matter what our social class or age, we’ll carry any person who doubts him or herself. With heaving
breaths and sweaty brows, we will be united.
My name is Gissela, and I come from the hunger to learn and the hunger to teach. Each day that I am
blessed to watch the sun rise, I learn. I am truly glad that, the little I know, I can teach to others.”
Donor Spotlight:
Multi-Platinum Singer Josh Groban Shines a Light on APTP
We admit it: Twenty of us were a little starstruck when superstar recording
artist Josh Groban invited APTP to be guests of honor at his recent United Center
concert. In the middle of the concert, Groban sang APTP’s praises to the crowd
of 22,000 and dedicated a song to us. Groban also made a generous donation
to APTP through his new Find Your Light Foundation. Groban explains why he
chose to spotlight APTP: “As a young adult, the kind of experiences that APTP
gives were so important to my development. At my concert, it gave me great
joy to meet the teens and directors and hear directly from them the impact
that APTP is having not only in their lives but in their community. Keep doing
what you’re doing.”
Thank you Josh!
Albany Park Theater Project 773.866.0875 aptpchicago.org
...Imagine that the art
developed at our home
could expand to other
homes and other families
all around the U.S.
Gissela Gualoto
APTP member since 2008

Albany Park Theater Project
P.O. Box 257995
Chicago, Illinois 60625
Albany Park
Theater Project
Receives Human
Rights Award
On June 2, the National Immigrant
Justice Center honored APTP
with its Midwest Light of Human
Rights Award, recognizing our
commitment to using the arts to advocate for the human rights of all people. Producing artistic director,
David Feiner, and APTP alum, Mourtaza Ahmad Ali, accepted the award at a luncheon attended by more
than 700 Chicago civic leaders— including Senator Dick Durbin—and featuring a keynote address by
Chief Justice Margaret Marshall of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (that’s Justice Marshall
smiling with us and our award in the photo above). A dozen APTP ensemble members also attended,
along with our entire staff and board of directors, and two dozen of our major donors and funders.
We salute our sponsors for joining
Albany Park Theater Project to make
our world more beautiful and just. This
listing represents grants between 4/1/10
and 09/30/11.
Lester and Hope Abelson Fund
for the Performing Arts
Louis and Anne Abrons Foundation
Adlai Stevenson High School
Albany Bank & Trust Company, N.A.
Allstate Giving Campaign
Alphawood Foundation
Aon
Arts Work Fund for Organizational
Development
Bark Design
Barnabus Foundation
Michael D. and Jolynn Blair
Family Foundation
Chicago Park District
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City Arts Grants/Chicago Department
of Cultural Affairs & Special Events
Barbara Epstein Foundation
Find Your Light Foundation
Philip M. Friedmann
Family Charitable Trust
Froeter Design Company
Lloyd A. Fry Foundation
Google
Leo S. Guthman Fund
Goldyne H. Heyman Education Fund
(a donor advised fund of The Chicago
Community Trust)
Houghton Mifflin
Joseph Hoyt Foundation
Illinois Arts Council, a state agency
Lane Tech Foreign
Language Department
Mayer & Morris Kaplan
Family Foundation
Kirkland & Ellis
Longbrake Family Foundation
Donald S. Lowitz Memorial Fund
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation
MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at
the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation
Mardi Gras Fund
Jordan and Jean Nerenberg
Family Foundation
Polk Bros. Foundation
Prince Charitable Trusts
RBC Capital Markets Corporation
Rothman Family Foundation
Irvin Stern Foundation
Streska Family Foundation
UBS
Unilever United States Foundation
Webb Family Fund
William M. Weiss Foundation
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Foundation, Corporate and Government Grants Board of Directors
Monica Badlani
Entrepreneur
David Feiner
Albany Park Theater Project
Tamar Frolichstein-Appel
Roosevelt University
Henry Godinez
The Goodman Theatre
Northwestern University
Helen Jameson
American Association of Endodontists
Samir Mayekar
Kellogg School of Management
Delifidio James Narvaez
Schiller Park School District
Deborah Reznick
Polk Bros. Foundation
Arthur Sussman
Civic Leader
Dan Weissmann
Columbia College Chicago