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14 flagships · 25 briefs · 8 dossiers · 1,441 entities — record updated October 4, 2026

Congo Square Theatre Company

CTL-E-1235 · Venue · theater · unspecified

PROVISIONAL evidence grade of this record

African American theater company founded 1999 by Derrick Sanders and Reginald Nelson: a platform and haven for Black artists and African-diaspora-centered work; one of only two African American Actors' Equity companies in Chicago. Mentored by August Wilson; cultivated Chadwick Boseman (Deep Azure, 2006 Jeff nomination) and Lydia Diamond (Stick Fly to Broadway). CORE and CAST programs place teaching artists in South and West Side schools, supplementing CPS curricula.

Notes

Merged into canonical KG 2026-10-03 from INST-001; source entity IDs: CTL-DR-INST-001:INST-024; source research type(s): theater. Era not present in source research record(s); marked unspecified pending human review.

Sources

Record CTL-E-1235 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: PROVISIONAL · 2 sources · CTL research: INST-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

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Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Congo Square Theatre Company (CTL-E-1235),” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, October 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1235/

Chicago: CultureTechLens. “Congo Square Theatre Company (CTL-E-1235).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1235/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). Congo Square Theatre Company (CTL-E-1235) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1235/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “Congo Square Theatre Company (CTL-E-1235).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1235/

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From the Archive

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The Apollo Theater marquee, Harlem, 2010
The Apollo Theater marquee, Harlem, 2010Photo: Hans Joachim Dudeck, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mo'Nique on the red carpet at the 82nd Academy Awards, Hollywood, March 7, 2010
Mo'Nique on the red carpet at the 82nd Academy Awards, Hollywood, March 7, 2010Photo: SGT Michael Connors, U.S. Army, Public Domain, via DVIDS
Phyllis Diller, photographed in Reno, Nevada, October 2014
Phyllis Diller, photographed in Reno, Nevada, October 2014Photo: Allan Warren, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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