what is L’Acadie?
Theatre L’Acadie, founded in 2018 by Louisiana natives Brandii Champagne, Emily Daigle, and Kate Romero. The name L'Acadie is rooted in our core value of bringing people together through culture, art, and a common love for theater.
The Acadians are a group of people, indigenous to Nova Scotia, who are now centralized in Lafayette and the surrounding parishes in Louisiana. In 1755, the British government forced the Acadians from their home, displacing them to Louisiana. Known as a people with a fierce sense of community, they stuck together and persevered through their tough times. The name L’Acadie speaks to our collective’s sense of community, and our determination to uplift art that defies the odds. It is through honoring our roots that we hope to inspire others to embrace their own through storytelling.
so who are we?
Theatre L'Acadie is a Chicago theatre ensemble, named for the culture of the region of Louisiana from which our founders were born, raised, and began their theatrical careers. It is this emphasis on our roots that has inspired Theatre L'Acadie's mission to produce raw, unproduced, honest works of theatre that highlight the often ugly aspects of the human experience. We made our debut as a company in 2019 with 70 Scenes of Halloween (Review), and have since produced many Chicago and World Premiere pieces, in addition to our most recent and widely acclaimed production, The Swan (Review). With its PayWhatYouCan model, Theatre L’Acadie is committed to making theatre that is accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
accountability
Community Accountability Statement of Théâtre L’Acadie
Theatré L’Acadie is committed to sharing the Cajun ideal of bringing people together through community and story. At Théâtre L’Acadie, we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential to the creation of impactful and meaningful theatre. We strive to use our platform to pull back the curtain on lesser known stories that speak to the subtleties, brutal honesty, and often ugliness of the human experience.
In line with our mission to use our platform to unearth the beauty in our world’s chaos, we strive to create a space that encompasses a "melting pot" of experiences. We believe that by sharing diverse and challenging narratives, we can spark important conversations that promote understanding and empathy.
As a queer and femme-founded and led company, we are committed to creating a brave and empowering space for all.
Accessibility and Accountability
We believe that theatre should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. That's why all of our events and productions are Pay What You Can. We want to remove financial barriers and ensure that our stories are available to all members of our community.
Theatre L’Acadie hires an Intimacy Director for all relevant productions. We adhere to Actor’s Equity standards of work when possible. We are committed to adhering to the Not In Our House Chicago Theatre Standards.
Theatre L’Acadie holds open post-mortems after each production, as well as offering options to submit feedback anonymously.
Financial Transparency
As a small volunteer-run non-profit, Théâtre L’Acadie believes in pay transparency and equitable compensation for all artists. We will always have compensation listed in all job postings. We are committed to sharing our production budgets upon request with all artists committed to a project and paying everyone according to a clear tier system. This system ensures that all artists are compensated equitably for their work and that no one’s time is undervalued.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we exist on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. We recognize that we reside on stolen land and honor the enduring presence of Indigenous peoples in Chicago.
We believe that our stories, voices, and experiences have the power to incite change. By using our small platform to share underrepresented narratives, promote diversity, and increase accessibility, we hope to contribute to a more just and equitable Chicago Theatre Community and world.
updated 12/2024