Freshmen Lecture Welcomes David Feiner of Chicago’s APTP

As an impressive crowd of students filled the Grand Lobby on October 20, guest lecturer David Feiner, producing artistic director of the Albany Park Theater Project  (APTP) in Chicago, moved throughout the room talking with members of Trinity’s community.

The Annual Freshmen Lecture opened with a prayer from Dr. Karen Dieleman, chair of the English Department, and Dr. William Boerman-Cornell, associate professor of education, introduced the speaker.

“I will tell you to listen to what David Feiner has to say because he is someone who has found his calling – a calling that may not be the most financially rewarding, that may not make him the most famous director in the world – but a calling that brings together his interests and the world’s needs,” said Boerman-Cornell.

Feiner explained the work of the APTP, a group that he co-founded and that works in one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the country. The group includes approximately 30 youth actors and 10 adult directors, choreographers, and designers.

Actors employ improvisation as a tool in creating the plays, but the plays are also well-scripted, elements of the project’s multidisciplinary method. Subject matter is often adapted from real-life experiences, tales of social injustice and pain but always of hope.

Feiner discussed the play “Home/Land,” a piece focusing on immigration, an issue that has affected many of the young actors. He described his actors as “bold activist storytellers,” who strive to tell people’s stories in a way that honors them.

About David Feiner

David Feiner is co-founder of Albany Park Theater Project, which he co-founded in 1996 with his wife, the late Laura Wiley. Feiner said APTP relies on word of mouth recruitment and that perks such as food, friends, and a college counseling program encourage young people to keep joining. The way the project is set up allows some student to stay connected with APTP for years.

Feiner’s honors with APTP include the Goodman’s August Wilson Award, the Coming Up Taller Award from the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, the Midwest Human Rights Award from National Immigrant Justice Center, an Illinois Theatre Alliance Award of Excellence, and the Susan F. Berkowitz Award for Outstanding Service to Children. He holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.