The Chicago Academy for the Arts, founded in 1981, is an independent high school for the performing and visual arts located in the River West neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It was named a National School of Distinction by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Academy offers a co-curricular program: college-preparatory academic classes and professional-level arts training. The school day consists of six academic periods followed by a three-plus hour immersion in one of six arts disciplines: Dance, Media Arts, Music, Musical Theatre, Theatre, and Visual Arts. Students participate in more than 100 productions throughout the course of the school year, including concerts, plays, readings, screenings, recordings, and exhibitions.

Adam Rifkin, sometimes credited as Rif Coogan, is an American filmmaker and actor. His career ranges from broad family comedies to dark and gritty urban dramas. He is best known for writing family-friendly comedies like Mouse Hunt and 2007's Underdog. Most recently, Rifkin directed The Last Movie Star (2017).