Steep Theatre Company | info@steeptheatre.com | 773-649-3186

Update: April 2022

Our search for the next Steep Theatre is finally officially over!

With profound gratitude to the group of generous friends of the company who have made this possible and the outpouring of support from the Edgewater community, we are beyond thrilled to announce that we have purchased the building at 1044 W Berwyn Ave that will become our new home for art, artists, and community. Over the past few months, as we’ve connected and re-connected with neighbors and local businesses, the enthusiastic response we've received has been a powerful reminder of just how grateful we are for this opportunity to return home to Edgewater.

We have a lot of very exciting work ahead as we activate our new space, plan for renovations, and create the theatre venue that will serve Steep and our community for many years to come. We will keep you posted as we move forward, but for now, we are overjoyed to have such a remarkable community with which to share this momentous news.

Thank you for being part of Steep, and we can’t wait to welcome you to our new home soon!

Update: February 2022

After almost two years of looking in windows, inspecting foundations, and exploring myriad options across Edgewater and beyond, we are thrilled to announce our plan to purchase a property at 1044 W Berwyn Ave in Edgewater to serve as our new home. The former Christian Science Reading Room at the northwest corner of Berwyn and Kenmore is just two blocks east of our former venue, where we had performed since 2008, and we are overjoyed at the prospect of staying in the exceptional community that has been our home for so long. We have recently signed a purchase agreement for this property, and we hope to close on the building this spring after performing due diligence on the property and reaching out to our potential new neighbors to make sure that we will be a welcome re-addition to the community.

The 3,500 square foot building is roughly the same size as the former Steep and Boxcar spaces and sits on a 17,500 square foot lot that offers both ample parking and the opportunity to grow. It offers the rare flexibility to both be what we need now, with only modest renovations, and to evolve and expand with the our changing needs for decades to come. It also has the perfect outdoor space for community events like the food truck nights outside The Boxcar that we all so enjoyed. We are working with our architectural partners at Civic Projects Architecture to visualize the conversion of this building into a neighborhood theatre and lobby lounge that can be Steep’s “forever home”.

If the building passes the structural reviews and the community is supportive of the move and the zoning change necessary to license the space as a theatre, we plan to launch a capital campaign later this spring. The campaign will raise the funds needed to make the new building ready to welcome artists, audiences, and neighbors, and will support Steep’s plans for pay equity and organizational sustainability.

If you are interested in learning more or want to discuss playing a leadership role in our upcoming capital campaign, we look forward to hearing from you!

Update: December 2021

It’s been a painstaking search for a new venue, with more than our share of near misses. There isn’t a window we haven’t peaked in or a listing we haven’t investigated in our rather large neck of the woods, but it appears our resolve has paid off. After two years, we are currently finalizing details to purchase the next Steep Theatre. 

It’s a building that we believe can be our forever home, one that will allow us to get back to producing on our own stage in short order, as well as grow into the future. Best of all, it’s located just a stone’s throw from the place where we made art for the past thirteen years - a new home in the neighborhood we call home. We expect to have more news and details out over the next few months as our plans take shape.

Update: July 2021

While a few of you may remember Steep Theatre’s earliest days, producing at various venues in town, if you found us after 2003 you were welcomed in one of our home venues, first on Sheridan or more recently on Berwyn. Creating an artistic home that’s a part of its local community and an inviting space for creativity and connection has been central to Steep’s work for almost as long as Steep has been around, and it’s a core part of our plans for the future. But for now, we’re going to revisit our early days as an itinerant theatre and create shows in some of the wonderful theatre spaces around Chicago. The past year and a half has been remarkably active inside Steep as we’ve explored countless options for our future home and dug deep into strategic planning and anti-racism work. While we take a brief pause in our search for the next Steep Theatre to focus our energy on getting back on stage, we are continuing the crucial work of building a more equitable and sustainable organizational structure and establishing production policies that emphasize diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We will keep this page up to date as our search for a new home moves forward.

Supporters

Steep is in position to purchase a building thanks in no small part to a group of generous friends of the company who have enthusiastically supported our search for a new home since moving on from 1115 West Berwyn. We are profoundly grateful!

The ADJLM Foundation
Anonymous
Dave & Megan Bock
Ken Burlington
Ann & Rich Carr
The Robert D. Collins Fund
Sonya Dekhtyar & Benny Zheng
Lee Dickson
Kelly Fitzgerald & Chad Newman
Elaine Glusac & Dave Bartusek
Mary Godlewski & Don Dearinger
Dorothy Harza
Denise Hazaga & Lisa Vandermark
Shirley & David Holdeman
Stu Kiesow
Ted Lowitz
Ann McGill & Kate Welborn
Cooper Melgreen
Anne Marie Dumas Mitchell
Jen & Pete Moore
John & Colleen Mueller
Amanda & Doug Passmore
Kaye & Bob Passmore
Anne Puotinen
James Reeves & Brian Dudey
Melissa & Jeff Riemer
Debra & Alan Rosenberg
Karen & Frank Schneider
Jessica & Christoph Schrey
Hope & Jeff Sheffield
Timothy Sherck
Julia Siple & Kelly Carpenter
Vanguard Charitable
Jan Willer & Mark Osing
Lisa & Randy White

Land Acknowledgement

The area that we now call Chicago, including the piece of land where we will establish our new home, is the traditional homeland of the people of the Council of Three Fires. This area has long been a vibrant site of trade, life, and community-making for many Indigenous nations and is now home to 65,000 American Indian people. As the current occupants of this land, many of us are here as a legacy of the forced removal of Indigenous Peoples by a settler-colonial state. As a step toward honoring the truth and achieving healing and reconciliation, we open today’s meeting with a statement acknowledging the traditional Native lands on which we stand. Such statements become truly meaningful when coupled with authentic relationships and sustained commitment, and we encourage you to check out the work of organizations like The American Indian Center, The Chi-Nations Youth Council, and the International Indigenous Youth Council and to support native art and artists, organizers, activists, and people in your community.

FAQ

When will Steep move in to the new space?

We are planning a renovation project that will turn this lovely building into a new theatrical home, and we hope this project will be complete by the end of 2023. In the meantime, we will find ways to bring art and performance to the space before construction begins.

Where will Steep perform in the meantime?

We are planning a season “on the road” at rented venues in 2022. More details about this season will be out soon!

How long has Steep been in Edgewater?

We produced 12 of our 19 seasons on Berwyn Ave in Edgewater. Our first show ever was in 2001, and we created and moved into our first theatre in Wrigleyville in 2003. We then built out and moved into the theatre on Berwyn in the fall of 2008.

What about The Boxcar?

After a year of using the space as a rehearsal hall, and then a few months of construction, we opened The Boxcar in 2018, and we were immensely sad to leave it after only two years. However, we learned a great deal by building out and operating The Boxcar that we will take with us to our new home. We plan to create a lobby lounge area where we can continue to gather and host performances.

What’s this about zoning?

The property at 1044 W Berwyn is currently zoned for residential use (RM-5). While that zoning allowed for the Christian Science Reading Room to operate, we will need to re-zone the property to allow for business use (B1-1) so that we can license our theatre and lobby lounge. After a series of community meetings with neighboring residents, 48th Ward Alderman Harry Osterman expressed his support for the zoning change, which will now move through an administrative process with the City of Chicago.

Licensing will be a secondary process after the zoning change is complete. We plan to apply for a Public Place of Amusement License (PPA) and an Incidental Activity Consumption on Premises Liquor License, which will allow us to sell beer, wine, and spirits in the lobby lounge. Our license application will include another community process, and we will reach out to our neighbors to continue this conversation.

How does creating a new theatre support Steep’s commitment to become an anti-racist organization?

Our recently published Anti-Racism Strategic Plan discusses the ways in which these values and goals will be incorporated into the process of designing and creating our new home, and having a physical home where we can create supportive environments and experiences for artists, audiences, and staff will help us to bring these values to our work every day.

How will Steep prioritize sustainability in its construction work?

First and foremost, our project will retain an existing structure. Rehabilitation of an existing building is the most green and sustainable approach to a building project. We will work with our architecture team and seek advice from the Green Theatre Alliance to incorporate sustainable building materials in the renovation and best practices for energy efficiency.

How much construction or renovation will need to be done?

We plan to keep the existing building intact, and we are exploring a possible expansion on the western side of the building. The current structure will retain most of its existing layout as we convert the main assembly room into a black-box theatre and modify other rooms in the building to create dressing rooms and a lobby lounge. The expansion we are exploring would include additional artist support facilities and a larger box office vestibule. The floorplans here show the current layout and our intended modifications. These plans are early in development and are subject to revision.

The theatre we intend to create will seat approximately 70, a which is slightly larger than the 55-60 seats in our former theatre. A new lobby lounge and adjacent patio will form the bridge between our community and our performance space.

When will the lobby lounge be open? What food and beverage will be available? Will it be open to the public?

The lobby lounge will be open when there is programming (performances on the main stage or in the lobby lounge), and on those evenings, it will close no later than the following:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – 11pm
Thursday, Friday, Saturday – 12am
Sunday – 10pm
The lobby lounge will not be open on days when there is no programming.

We plan to keep the lobby lounge open after performances in order to build connection and community around our art and create a safe space where artists and audience members can connect. We will create an inclusive space that does not restrict entry or service to those with a ticket to a main stage production. We see the lobby lounge as a amenity to theatre audiences and the neighboring community alike. Performances in the lobby lounge will be provided as a no-cost cultural offering that are open to all ages. The primary function of the lobby lounge will be in support of our artistic offerings and building community around the art.

Our beverage program will include wine, beer, and spirits as well as non-alcoholic offerings including coffee and tea service. We will not have kitchen facilities, but we plan to sell packaged snacks and concession items. In the past we have partnered with local bakeries and cafes to sell cookies and other baked goods, and we intend to continue these partnerships while exploring new relationships with local businesses.

Will parking be available on site? Are there concerns about traffic congestion?

The site features a generous parking lot. We are currently working with our legal team and the zoning department to determine the number of parking spaces we can accommodate. We expect that most people who choose to drive to Steep will be able to park in this lot, and additional parking is available nearby at metered spaces on Berwyn, Broadway, and Sheridan.

Based on a 2018 audience survey, we expect that a sold-out performance at this theatre would bring 16 to 21 cars to the theatre. Berwyn Ave and Kenmore Ave are both one-way streets, and the parking lot has driveways on each street. We will design single-direction traffic into and out of our lot to streamline traffic flow while minimizing the additional traffic in the residential neighborhood. We also plan to create a ride-share pickup location in the parking lot.

Are there any noise concerns?

As we plan our renovations, we will take advantage of the structure and layout of the building to create an acoustic buffer that will help keep the sounds of our performances inside and the sounds of busses, emergency vehicles, and city life outside. We will maintain an open door policy with our neighbors to make sure that our performances are not creating unwelcome noise, and we will communicate regularly with our artists, staff, and audiences to ensure that we are all respectful of our residential neighbors as we leave the theatre at night.

How will moving a theatre into this location impact public safety?

Since the closure of the Berwyn Red Line station (which will reopen in the future) and the closures of the other businesses in our former building a block and half west of our new home, this stretch of Berwyn Ave has become quite dark. We plan to add exterior lighting that will illuminate the sidewalks to enhance pedestrian safety. We also plan to add exterior security cameras covering both the sidewalks and the parking lot. In addition, the presence of patrons and our trained staff will create an active street presence.

Will the new theatre be available for rent by other companies?

Our performance schedule typically doesn’t allow us to rent out our theatre, but we plan to collaborate with other arts organizations in programming the lobby lounge performance series.

What’s happening to the old building at 1115 W Berwyn?

The new owner’s plans are still in development, but current plans show a five-story apartment building with some retail space on the ground floor. We worked with the developer to explore the prospect of creating a space for Steep in the new building, but we weren’t able to find a solution that met both of our needs.

How can I help?

If you’re interested in discussing ways to play a role in creating Steep’s new space, please contact Kate Piatt-Eckert at kate@steeptheatre.com or 773-649-3186.
If you have ideas or other resources that might be helpful, please don’t hesitate to reach out: info@steeptheatre.com, 773-649-3186.