Who We Are
Mission StatementMake-Believe Association is a community of artists and audiences who believe that telling stories together, and talking about what they mean, creates a more vibrant democracy. Our productions showcase Chicago’s finest actors, writers, and sound designers for a national audience; our public conversations draw on the insights of Chicago’s kaleidoscopic population. All our work aims to advance essential American ideals: pluralism, equality, and having a good time.
founder and executive producerJeremy McCarter
Jeremy McCarter founded Make-Believe Association in 2017 after five years on the artistic staff of the Public Theater in New York. For the company, he adapted The Lost Books of the Odyssey; co-wrote City on Fire: Chicago Race Riot 1919 (with Natalie Moore); co-created and co-wrote the acclaimed epic Lake Song (Tribeca Festival Audio Premiere, winner of three Signal Awards), and adapted and directed the audacious new take on Hamlet. His books include Young Radicals; Hamilton: The Revolution (with Lin-Manuel Miranda); and Viewfinder: A Memoir of Seeing and Being Seen (with Jon M. Chu). He has written about culture and politics for New York Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications. He is the literary executor of the novelist and playwright Thornton Wilder.
Board of Directors: