When Broadway in Chicago employee Elise Burks lost her mother in July 2025, her family’s grief for their loved one was compounded by financial stress. Together with her brother, Burks covered the funeral and burial expenses, which depleted her own savings and left her struggling to keep up with her bills. A friend suggested that she seek assistance from Season of Concern, a nonprofit that provides emergency funds for Chicago theatre professionals, but Burks was skeptical that she would qualify, as she has spent her career in theatrical operations and talent management rather than on stage. However, she was pleasantly surprised to learn that grants for both health-related and other emergencies are open to anyone who works in Chicago’s theatre industry.
“The help is immense,” says Burks. “They covered things for me that probably would have taken me another couple of months to even catch up to. That was just such a blessing for me.”
Founded in 1987, Season of Concern initially focused on meeting the needs of theatre workers affected by AIDS and related illnesses; its inaugural fund is named after Tommy Biscotto and J. Pat Miller, two Chicago artists who were early casualties of the AIDS epidemic. While it still raises money for HIV/AIDS relief, Season of Concern has since expanded its mission to address other incapacitating illnesses and injuries. With the addition of the Malcolm Ewen Emergency Fund — established in 2020 through a bequest from a longtime Steppenwolf Theatre stage manager and Season of Concern board member — the organization also began to offer pandemic relief and general emergency assistance.
Christopher Pazdernik, an openly HIV-positive artist who has been active in both Chicago theatre and AIDS advocacy work since the late 2000s, joined Season of Concern as managing director in April 2025. “My dream is to never see another GoFundMe for a Chicago theatre worker, because I want them to come to us,” says the Jeff Award winning director and producer.
For theatre artists, who often combine short-term theatrical contracts with day jobs or side hustles to make ends meet, securing health insurance can be a challenge. While membership in the Actors’ Equity Association makes insurance possible for many actors and stage managers, an individual’s access depends on the number of weeks they work in a given year. “I like to say theatre is a blue-collar industry,” says Pazdernik. “People put in a lot of time and physical labor to make things happen, no matter what their position is. And because we don’t have a lot of government subsidies or other things that make theatre slightly more livable in other countries, it’s really easy for something to completely derail someone’s finances.”
Teressa LaGamba recently found herself in such a situation due to an ongoing illness that prevents her from working. A graduate of Columbia College Chicago, LaGamba began her career in the city’s storefront theatre scene and later joined Actors’ Equity. In recent years, her credits include Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors and Becky in Waitress at Paramount Theatre, a major commercial house in suburban Aurora. Since contracting infectious mononucleosis and strep throat earlier in the year, LaGamba has been dealing with post-infectious illness and a blood clotting disorder. Even with the generous help of family and friends through a GoFundMe campaign, the combination of medical expenses and lost income continues to cause financial strain. With encouragement from Pazdernik, she applied for a grant from Season of Concern, and the nonprofit is currently helping to pay her rent.
“Having an illness is physically distressing, but also unbelievably mentally and spiritually distressing,” relates LaGamba. “Any bit of help from others, whether that’s friends or community, is so important right now — and so is being able to pay the bills. I’m so grateful for this organization, because it has lightened a load for me.”
To provide this essential support, Season of Concern relies on donations collected from audience members at local theatres, primarily during the holiday season. This winter, ten companies are participating in this effort: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, City Lit Theater, Drury Lane Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Kokandy Productions, Music Theater Works, Northlight Theatre, The Second City, Steppenwolf Theatre, and Theater Wit.
Audience donations make up about half of the organization’s annual fundraising, with additional support coming from individual donors, grants, and an annual spring benefit. This December, several benefit events will also raise funds for Season of Concern, including holiday cabarets, jazz concerts, and a staged reading of an all-female version of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple. As we head into the holiday season, Burks asks theatregoers to remember that the performers they enjoy seeing onstage may well need help once the curtain comes down. “Season of Concern helped save me in one of the worst times of my life, and for that I am forever grateful.”
Visit SeasonofConcern.org.
