INTERNATIONAL VOICES PROJECT

What INTERNATIONAL VOICES PROJECT does

International Voices Project (IVP) is a Chicago-based nonprofit arts organization founded in approximately 2009 by Patrizia Acerra, who continues to serve as Executive Director. Its core product is an annual five-week festival of contemporary international plays in translation, presented as staged readings by professional actors with post-performance talkbacks, hosted in collaboration with Instituto Cervantes Chicago at 31 W. Ohio Street. The 16th annual festival is scheduled for Fall 2026, featuring plays from Spain, Germany, Indonesia, and Ukraine. IVP commissions, translates, and produces work in partnership with more than 25 consulates, cultural institutes, universities, and Chicago theater companies, including Trap Door Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Rasaka Theatre, UrbanTheater Company, Akvavit Theatre, Vitalist Theatre, and Goethe-Institut Chicago.

The organization operates with a small team of approximately 7 employees — a three-person core of Executive Director Patrizia Acerra, Administrative Manager Maggie Carlin (née Dougherty), and Public Relations Manager Emunah Zagata-Jacobson, supplemented by a resident photographer, grant writing assistant, and web designer. Programming has progressively expanded: in 2020 IVP pivoted to a virtual format during COVID-19, in 2023 it co-produced 'The Shroud Maker' as a full mainstage production with Silk Road Rising, and in June 2026 it is launching the IVP Translation Incubator: Plays of the Americas, a translation workshop program focused on Canadian, Mexican, and South American plays.

IVP's business model is nonprofit donation-driven. All festival performances have been free and open to the public since inception; the operating model relies on individual donations (collected via PayPal), grants, and in-kind partner support — including the donated venue at Instituto Cervantes Chicago. Pricing is non-transactional (freemium/free), and the fundraising campaign for the new Translation Incubator carried a goal of $2,500. Revenue concentration is diversified across individual donors and institutional partners, with no disclosed institutional funding rounds or significant anchor donors.

Name

INTERNATIONAL VOICES PROJECT

Legal name

International Voices Project

Website

https://ivpchicago.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

International Voices Project is a Chicago-based nonprofit founded circa 2009 that runs an annual five-week festival of contemporary international plays in translation at Instituto Cervantes Chicago, serving general theatergoing audiences, international playwrights, local theater artists, and consulates/cultural institutions, funded by donations with free admission.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Festival

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111), Translation and Interpretation Services (54193), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151)

akta.pro primary industry

Translation & Transcreation Services (Script/Dialogue Adaptation) (MPAHAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Live-Action International/Co-Production & Service Production (MPADABAG)

Keywords

• International theater festival
• Play translations
• Staged readings
• Cultural exchange programming
• Performing arts nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: IVP is a nonprofit organization that relies on donations to keep its festival free and open to the public. The organization has a fundraising campaign for the IVP Translation Incubator: Plays of the Americas, with a goal of $2,500.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

International Voices Project produces an annual five-week Fall Festival of contemporary international plays in translation, presented as staged readings performed by professional actors with post-show talkbacks. Programming is curated in collaboration with consulates, cultural institutes, universities, and Chicago theater companies, and is offered free and open to the public. The organization also operates the IVP Translation Incubator: Plays of the Americas, a workshop program developing performance translations of plays from Canada, Mexico, and South America for the US stage.

Product overview

The International Voices Project (IVP) operates as a theater festival organization offering its core product: an annual festival of contemporary international plays presented in English translation. The main festival is a five-week celebration of staged readings featuring plays from countries around the world, produced in collaboration with consulates, cultural partners, and Chicago theater companies. IVP also offers an ancillary product—the IVP Translation Incubator: Plays of the Americas—a translation workshop program focused on Canadian, Mexican, and South American plays, scheduled for June 2026, which represents a new creative incubator initiative alongside the traditional festival model. The organization supports its programming through donations, with the festival having been free to the public since its inception.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• International Voices Project Festival An annual five-week festival presenting contemporary international plays in English translation as staged readings performed by professional actors, followed by talkback discussions with audiences. Curated and co-produced in collaboration with consulates, cultural institutes, universities, and Chicago theater companies. Open and free to the public; intended for Chicago theatergoers, international playwrights seeking US exposure, and cultural partner organizations.
• IVP Translation Incubator: Plays of the Americas A workshop program that brings together translators, directors, actors, and playwrights to develop performance translations of plays from Canada, Mexico, and South America for the US stage. Includes open rehearsals and workshop performances for audiences. Intended for international playwrights, translators, and theater professionals engaged with contemporary Latin American and Canadian dramatic literature.

Quantifiable outcome

• 16 annual festivals completed as of 2026
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

27 partnerships are on record, tiered core, regular and minor.

• Instituto Cervantes ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary venue partner for the annual festival. IVP's 16th annual festival (Fall 2026) is presented in collaboration with Instituto Cervantes Chicago at their location at 31 W. Ohio Street.
• Trap Door TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago theater company that collaborates on productions, including Ukrainian plays and French translations. Notable collaboration on Green Corridors (2024).
• Rasaka TheatreregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago theater company focused on presenting international works, collaborated on plays including Spun (UK) and Voiceless Melodies.
• UrbanTheater CompanyregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating theater company for productions including Flood Zone (Spain 2026) and The Little Pony (Spain 2025).
• Silk Road RisingregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresented full production of Twice, Thrice, Frice after its IVP reading. Hosted conversations connecting IVP's first staged production Precious Stones (2003) to The Shroud Maker (2023).
• Akvavit TheatreregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorwegian theater company collaborating on Norwegian plays for the festival, including Goliath (2019).
• Vitalist TheatreregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Serbian play The Balkan Spy (2019) and Canadian play American Shot (2012).
• Token TheatreregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on South Korean play Inching Towards Yeolha (2019).
• Goethe-Institut ChicagoregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman cultural institute collaborating on German-language plays including Martyr (2012), Bang (2018), and Golden Dragon (2011).
• Alliance Francaise de ChicagoregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench cultural organization that has collaborated on French-language plays including What Shall We Do With the Cello (2010) and Candle (2012).
• Italian Cultural Institute of ChicagoregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerItalian cultural institute collaborating on Italian plays including A Notebook for Winter and Events Horizon (2019).
• Egyptian American SocietyregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Egyptian plays including Comedy of Sorrows (2012), The Stranger and The Peephole (2019), and The Handbag (2025).
• Consulate General of SwitzerlandregularGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on Swiss plays including Oil (2011) and The Test (2012).
• Consulate General of IndiaregularGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on Indian plays including Sahkutala (2010) and Toy Cart (2011).
• Consulate General of CanadaregularGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on Canadian plays including Night (2010) and American Shot (2012).
• Japanese Consulate General at ChicagoregularGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on Japanese plays including Moonlight Modesty (2010) and Enjoy (2011).
• Swedish American MuseumregularGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on Swedish play Invasion (2012).
• Consulate General of Sweden ChicagoregularGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on Swedish play Invasion (2012).
• Ukrainian Institute of Modern ArtregularGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on Ukrainian play Pagans (2012).
• Consulate General of UkraineregularGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on Ukrainian play Pagans (2012).
• Consulate General of ArgentinaregularGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on Argentine play Third Wing (2012).
• Consulate General of SerbiaregularGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on Serbian play The Balkan Spy (2019).
• Columbia College ChicagoregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner; collaborated on Syrian play Mihbaj (2018) with Columbia College Theater department.
• Knox CollegeregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner; Neil Blackadder is associated with Knox College.
• DePaul UniversityregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmunah Zagata-Jacobson graduated from The Theatre School at DePaul University.
• Italian & American Playwrights ProjectregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Italian plays including A Notebook for Winter and Events Horizon (2019).
• Swiss Benevolent SocietyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on Swiss play Oil (2011) and The Test (2012).

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Playwrights Horizons: New York-based major off-Broadway theater commissioning and developing new work, including international voices in translation. Relevant as a larger, established U.S. theater with a comparable mission of developing contemporary playwrights and competing for the same international IP pipeline.
• Goodman Theatre: One of Chicago's largest and most established theaters, with substantial international programming and translation activity. Operates as a broader incumbent in the same space: a potential partner, venue, and competitive draw for international playwright attention that IVP cultivates.

Direct peers

• UrbanTheater Company: Chicago company staging international contemporary work including from Spain and Latin America. Closely parallels IVP's translated-international-play model and has co-produced with IVP (e.g., 'Flood Zone,' 2026; 'The Little Pony,' 2025).
• About Face Theatre: Chicago theater producing contemporary work with a community-driven, identity-focused lens. Comparable as a small Chicago theater company operating in overlapping artist, audience, and grant ecosystems.
• Akvavit Theatre: Chicago-based theater presenting contemporary Nordic and European plays. Directly comparable as a small Chicago company programming international works in translation, with explicit past collaboration with IVP (e.g., 'Goliath,' 2019).
• Teatro Vista: Chicago Latinx theater company producing bilingual and international work. Comparable as a small Chicago theater with an explicit focus on non-English-language and international programming, and overlapping artistic community.
• Silk Road Rising: Chicago-based theater company focused on works from or about the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Directly comparable as a Chicago small-theater producing multicultural and international plays, and has co-produced work with IVP including 'Twice, Thrice, Frice' and 'The Shroud Maker'.
• Trap Door Theatre: Chicago theater known for producing international and avant-garde plays in translation. A natural direct peer for IVP — same city, overlapping international-play focus, and an explicit co-production collaborator (e.g., 'Green Corridors,' 2024).
• Vitalist Theatre: Chicago company with international programming including Serbian and Canadian plays. Directly comparable as a small Chicago theater focused on translated contemporary works, with named past co-productions with IVP (e.g., 'The Balkan Spy,' 2019).
• Rasaka Theatre: Chicago company producing international works (UK, South Asian, and beyond). Compares directly to IVP as a fellow Chicago small-theater focused on translated contemporary plays, with named co-productions including 'Spun' and 'Voiceless Melodies'.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/p/DCngqtuOeUm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-voices-project

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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