After 16 years of providing free theater in Chicago, Quest Theatre Ensemble is closing, it was announced Thursday.
Founded in 2002 by Amanda Banden, Buck Blue, Jason Bowen, Andrew Park and Nick Rupard, the company made its home as the artist-in-residence at St. Gregory the Great Church in Andersonville. The troupe’s mission statement: “offer free theater (donations were solicited and welcomed as patrons left the theater), where they could perform for the widest possible audience, tell stories that had universal appeal and engage audiences of all ages, excluding no one, no matter what.”
Among Quest’s most notable productions was the holiday pageant “Blue Nativity,” featuring large-scale puppetry. Another pageant, “The Peoples’ History of the United States,” was nominated for two Jeff Awards. Most recent productions included “The Fantasticks” and “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.”
“We felt it was imperative that everyone be exposed to live theater, we were up to the task and it has been an amazing run,” said Brown, via statement. “We want to thank our loyal audience, the amazing artists who shared their talents with us, St. Gregory the Great and all of the people who donated paper and glue to make our puppets a reality! We only hope that another group can have as much success as Quest did, all the while making art accessible.”