The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare introduces a new trend in theatre architecture to the city, with audience capacities ranging from 150 to 850.
The Yard consists of nine movable seating towers, designed by London-based theatre consultancy Charcoalblue with mobility, transformation of space and flexibility in mind. The three-story structures can be placed in multiple configurations to best suit a production, including in the round, traverse (audience on two sides of the stage, facing each other) and traditional proscenium.  The unique set-up draws some inspiration from Elizabethan-era theaters, when audiences directly engaged with actors, and also offers artists an opportunity to play with the scale and orientation of their productions. The towers, constructed by Show Canada, weigh 35,000 pounds each, but can be moved by a crew of only three people with the use of air skids. Each tower is an ecosystem unto itself, with its own electrical, sound, lighting and video systems, as well as HVAC and fire sprinklers connected to the theater’s core. To support the new building and towers, additional pilings were anchored into Lake Michigan, below the parking garage that sits beneath The Yard.