The Jewish Theatre Ensemble (JTE) is one of the nine student theatre boards within the Student Theatre Coalition (StuCo) at Northwestern University. JTE was founded in 1995 by a group of five students whose goal was to expand the university’s student theatre community by producing plays and musicals involving Jewish themes. Since then, the board has since presented more than 50 such productions to students at Northwestern as well as members of the Evanston and Chicagoland communities. JTE endeavors to produce theatre that is specifically Jewish, universally human, and that mantra extends to the artists who make it. While our board members and collaborates are all keenly inspired by the role that faith plays in our lives and hope to reflect that in the stories we tell, many involved with JTE are not Jewish and have no prior knowledge of Judaism before working with us!
Mission
The Jewish Theatre Ensemble exists to provide the Northwestern community with high quality entertainment and exposure to Jewish involvement in the arts. The organization aspires to challenge common perceptions and generate conversation relating to issues that fall within the resonance of the Jewish experience through artistic media with particular relevance to the Northwestern community. JTE will be involved in the celebration and education of Jewish culture on campus. In order to do this, The Jewish Theatre Ensemble will operate at a level of artistic excellence as well as encourage and support creative endeavors that promote Jewish themes in the arts.