Cup of Theater

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Cup of Theater

CoT is a community dedicated to promoting theatre innovation and skill-building at UChicago. TO ENTERTAIN.

Cup of Theater is a Registered Student Organization at the University of Chicago originally founded in 2004 as the Classical Entertainment Society. Since its original inception it has evolved to become a space for students to participate in more experimental and less regulated theater productions than those of University Theater. The purpose of Cup of Theater is:
TO PRODUCE innovative and experim

ental works of theatre and/or performance. TO ENGAGE and encourage students of diverse backgrounds and experiences. TO CREATE a community who can support, teach, and learn from each other. TO COLLABORATE with the University of Chicago and Hyde Park communities to broaden our understanding of the theater arts and the stories they can tell. Following in the footsteps of CES, CoT is ready to fill this season with exciting productions, workshops, readings and more. Become a part of this exciting change as we assemble a new board and call for new members, design staff, actors, and event proposals over the year!

04/29/2026

Cup of Theater board nominations are open! They’re available through the form (linked in our bio, too), which will be open until Monday, 5/4, at 11:59 PM! Nominate yourself, or a friend, or an enemy (but only if they’d be a good member of the board!). Elections will be held in Logan 501 on the evening of Friday, 5/8!

There is a short description of every role in the form, but if you have any clarifying questions, please let us know! You can reach us by messaging us on here, e-mailing [email protected], or messaging our current Artistic Director, whose contact information can be found on our new website!

04/23/2026

Come see FIFTEEN & ½ this weekend, Friday through Sunday at 7:30 PM in Logan 501! Tickets are FREE! First come, first serve.
We’re so happy to announce our first production in two years! And we’re so proud to be doing it under the incredible counsel of Chicago's own Neo-Futurists!

None of these 15 plays existed before rehearsals started on Saturday—they’re all autobiographical, born out of the four-person ensemble’s experiences, identities, and interests! See them performed (in only half an hour) FOR FREE this Friday through Saturday in Logan 501! Doors open at 7:00, and shows start promptly at 7:30!

Want to know what topics these plays cover? It’s only half an hour—why not find out firsthand?

Content warning: Needles will be used on stage at one point through the course of this production.

(Art by Maya Bond)

03/23/2026

We promised big news, and here it is! We’re proud to announce a production with Chicago’s own The Neo-Futurists this spring quarter: Thirty in Sixty, a workshop developed from their famous, flagship show: The Infinite Wrench (which you can see every weekend in their Neo-Futurarium)!

We’re shooting for a group of 10–12 ensemble members (writing, directing, and acting in these short plays), and we’re looking for sign-ups now!

For this process, no audition is required; simply fill out the form linked in our bio to indicate your interest and availability. A production calendar is available in that form, as well, for specific dates & times to reference. One or two rehearsals WILL be at the Neo-Futurarium, but Cup of Theater will be organizing the transportation.

We hope to see you in the ensemble OR in the audience of Cup of Theater’s first full show since Winter 2024! If you want to stay posted, you can sign up for our Listhost, follow us on Instagram or on Facebook, or check our new website for any updates!

02/21/2026

After much ado, we’re proud to present to you our new website! You can check out what we’ve got coming up, look at pictures or programs from some of our previous shows, and find out what Cup of Theater’s website used to look like before we were even Cup of Theater! Stay tuned for updates like upcoming workshops, shows, and board elections. Big things are on the way!

https://voices.uchicago.edu/cupoftheater/

As a reminder, we also hold our Weekly Artist Studio every Friday. More information in our other posts, or through our Listhost!

10/12/2025

The Weekly Artist Studio is alive and well and living in Logan 501! Join us every Friday from 4:30-6 PM!

For regular reminders, updates about cancellations, and to hear about any other things we have going on, please subscribe to the Cup of Theater listhost through lists.uchicago.edu.

Known affectionately as the Zander Galluppi Acting Studio, The Weekly Artist Studio (or TWAS) is a place for artists to practice critiquing and supporting each other as we pursue our individual projects. It’s also a great place to meet other folks interested in making, studying and appreciating art. With snacks and tea, it’s a great way to finish up a long week of academia.

We follow the Liz Lerman response model to practice generative and authentic critique. Participate as much or as little as you feel drawn to. Facilitate, present or observe. Here some examples of projects you might bring in:

An audition monologue
A song for a show you’re in
A cool piece you found you just want to try reading (we can provide actors!)
A scene you wrote you want to hear out loud
A piece of choreography you’ve worked on
A brainstorming session for your next play idea
A lighting plot you want feedback on
A discussion about anything related to the arts
A part of a thesis project
A resume/cover letter for an arts job or internship
Any creative project you’re working on

We hope to see you there!

04/17/2025

Hi folks!

Board Elections for the 25-26 Cup of Theater Council are happening on Saturday evening of 6th week. To nominate yourself or someone else for a position, please fill out our form (linked in our bio or in the QR code on this photo) before 11:59PM on Monday, April 28th!

For all contested offices, on Wednesday April 24th , each candidate will be given the opportunity to give a speech introducing themselves and stating their platform. After every candidate has spoken, the current secretary will tally the votes of every voting member and announce which candidate was elected.

You can find officer qualifications and duties on our website (linked in our bio!)

10/11/2024

The Weekly Artist Studio is BACK! Join us for the first studio of the academic year TODAY from 4-6 PM in Logan 501! And if you can’t make it today (or even if you can) you’ll have plenty of opportunities to make it up! We’ll be doing it every Friday, same time, same place! Sign up or show up!

Known affectionately as the Zander Galluppi Acting Studio, The Weekly Artist Studio (or TWAS) is a place for artists to practice critiquing and supporting each other as we pursue our individual projects. It’s also a great place to meet other folks interested in making, studying and appreciating art. With snacks and tea, it’s a great way to finish up a long week of academia.

We follow the Liz Lerman response model to practice generative and authentic critique. Participate as much or as little as you feel drawn to. Facilitate, present or observe. Here some examples of projects you might bring in:

An audition monologue
A cool piece you found you just want to try reading (we can provide actors!)
A scene you wrote you want to hear out loud
A piece of choreography you’ve worked on
A brainstorming session for your next play idea
A lighting plot you want feedback on
A discussion about anything related to the arts
A part of a thesis project
A resume/cover letter for an arts job or internship

04/12/2024

Starting back up a little late this quarter—and we apologize!—but the Weekly Artist Studio (affectionately known as the Zander Galluppi Acting Studio) is returning this week! It will take place every Friday* from 5-7 PM in Bartlett Lounge!

The Weekly Artist Studio (also called TWAS) is a place for artists to practice critiquing and supporting each other as we pursue our individual projects. It’s also a great place to meet other folks interested in making, studying and appreciating art. With snacks and tea, it’s a great way to finish up a long week of academia.

*any cancellations will be announced by e-mail via our listhost

TWAS follow the response model to practice generative and authentic critique. Participate as much or as little as you feel drawn to. Facilitate, present or observe. Here some examples of projects you might bring in:

An audition monologue

A cool piece you found you just want to try reading (we can provide actors!)

A scene you wrote you want to hear out loud

A piece of choreography you’ve worked on

A brainstorming session for your next play idea

A lighting plot you want feedback on

A discussion about *anything* related to the arts

A part of a thesis project

A resume/cover letter for an arts job or internship

You can drop in before or after dinner, you can bring something to workshop or just bring yourself! We hope to see you there!

Reach out to [email protected] with any questions

02/23/2024

After a strong opening night, the company of BELEARIC would also like to show you the fun side of the play! While not necessarily textually supported, here are some examples of the hijinks the characters within BELEARIC (or more likely, the cast & crew behind them) might get up to when the (figurative) camera isn’t rolling.

Thank you everyone for attending, and thank you .thuler for filming tonight’s performance!

And don’t forget, you still have 2 more opportunities to come see BELEARIC!

02/22/2024

Some shots from BELEARIC, a Cup of Theater-produced play written by Gabriel Schneider and directed by Jonathan Rufino. Don’t miss your chance to be the first to see this alumni-written work this weekend!

BELEARIC is being performed Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 PM (for free!) in the FXK. We hope to see y’all in the audience!

Address

Ida Noyes Hall
Chicago, IL
60637

Website

https://voices.uchicago.edu/cupoftheater/, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XMezNeTQIQbmFD_4-EodLRSFHPO1aSGT_opVH99H5

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