Lights Up Edgewater

A $3 Million Campaign To:

  • purchase and renovate Steep’s new home to create a bold, inviting theatre

  • invest in artists through increasingly equitable compensation and supportive facilities

  • build on its commitment to fiscal sustainability

Since its founding in 2000, Steep Theatre has distinguished itself as one of Chicago’s most vital and acclaimed theatre companies. Called “the most fearless theater in town” by the Chicago Tribune and “one of the great Chicago storefront theaters” by Crain’s, Steep produces plays that tell the stories of ordinary people in extraordinary situations — small stories that illuminate larger societal issues.

Steep occupies a unique space in the Chicago theatre ecosystem; a space where artists making their stage debuts share the stage with seasoned performers; where theatre-makers discover new voices and build community; and where audiences eagerly return for high-caliber work, unique programming, and uncommon access to the people behind the art.

Get Involved

Now is the moment to make an impact, to create a beacon of art and light in Edgewater, and to be an integral part of the future of Steep Theatre.

For information about naming opportunities and multi-year gifts, please contact:
Executive Director Marisa Macella
marisa@steeptheatre.com
(773) 649-3186

Mailing Address
PO Box 607415
Chicago, IL 60660

Steep Theatre is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and all contributions are tax-deductible as allowed by law. EIN: 36-4459659

Steep is Chicago theater at its best —plays that are interesting, well-acted, and psychologically astute, produced in an intimate neighborhood space for a discerning audience. This theater has earned our attention and deserves to thrive.
— Hope & Jeff Sheffield, Lights Up Edgewater Campaign Donors

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!

This list includes gifts of $1,000 or more pledged or received by February 2024.

The ADJLM Foundation
Anonymous
Jonathan Abarbanel Dave Bartusek
Nancy Bishop Henry Bliss
Dave & Megan Bock
Ken Burlington
Maggie & Barry Cain Kelly Carpenter
Ann & Rich Carr
Judge Tom Chiola (Retired)
The Robert D. Collins Fund Adam Cullin
Kassie Davis & Bruce Beatus Brad DeFabo Akin
Sonya Dekhtyar & Benny Zheng
Lee Dickson
Lisa Disch Lisa Donovan
David Dzurinda & Lyle Pepin
Kelly Fitzgerald & Chad Newman
Sallie Gaines & Mark Richardson
Debbie Galassini
Elaine Glusac & Dave Bartusek
Mary Godlewski & Don Dearinger
Dorothy Harza
Denise Hazaga & Lisa Vandermark
Shirley & David Holdeman John Hourihane
Carolyn & Gordon Kirk
Ted Lowitz
Ann McGill & Kate Welborn
Cooper Melgreen
Anne Marie Dumas Mitchell & John Bistolfo Jerry Mattson Anne Moore

Jen & Pete Moore Kate Moore Peter Morris
George Mottier
John & Colleen Mueller
Jordan & Jean Nerenberg Family Foundation
Amanda & Doug Passmore George Plumb
Dan & Terry Pramuk Kat Rafferty
James Reeves & Brian Dudey
Melissa & Jeff Riemer
Debra & Alan Rosenberg
Karen & Frank Schneider
Jessica & Christoph Schrey
Hugh & Melissa Schulze
Hope & Jeff Sheffield
Timothy Sherck
Julia Siple & Kelly Carpenter Linda Swift
Vanguard Charitable
Linda & Kevin Wardell
Laura & Robert Watson, in honor of Patricia Donegan Kate Welborn Lisa White
Tilly Wilhoite
Jan Willer & Mark Osing
Lisa & Randy White
Mark Woodward

 

Art, Artists, and Community

Having a home venue has been a vital part of Steep’s success over the past twenty years. It has allowed the company to create a uniquely warm, inviting atmosphere that supports honest, fearless work from artists and emboldens audiences to engage in challenging stories and conversations. It has grounded Steep in its community, which has inspired it to build a cultural resource for neighbors, artists, and audiences alike.

After two decades of storefront rental, Steep lost its longtime home to commercial developers in 2020, and Edgewater lost an indispensable cultural hub.

Investing in 1044 W. Berwyn will bring back to the neighborhood a key source of light and secure a beacon for art, artists, and community for decades to come.

Lights Up Edgewater will provide a 30% down payment to purchase Steep’s new home, plus fund the construction and renovation to transform the former church into an accessible, welcoming theatre with an inviting lobby lounge and state-of-the-art performance and artist spaces.

Investing in Artists

Steep is creating a new theatre venue that will be the bold physical manifestation of the ensemble’s values – one that will create a supportive space for artistic risks and audience engagement, while upholding the company’s commitments to be an actively anti-racist, community-focused organization.

Steep’s fearless work extends beyond creating a new venue. Lights Up Edgewater will support equitable and robust artist compensation while allowing Steep to expand and better compensate the staff who makes everything Steep does possible.

Investing in the Future

Steep has always been committed to accessible ticket prices, intimate performances for small audiences, and large artistic ensembles that collaborate to bring powerful stories to life. These commitments define Steep, and they require financial support.

Lights Up Edgewater will create an operating and facilities reserve fund to cushion the journey forward and cement Steep’s viability in a period of reemergence and growth.


Our New Home

Less than two blocks from Steep’s long-time home in Edgewater, 1044 W Berwyn offers:

  • A column-free, 70-seat, flexible performance space

  • A comfortable lobby lounge with full beverage service, outdoor patio seating, and space for performances like those at The Boxcar

  • Accessible and comfortable backstage and office space

  • An ample lot with space for audience parking and outdoor activities

  • An intimate 70 seat flexible theatre

For Steep, making theatre is about more than just producing a play - we create an environment where artists and audiences can come together to explore and connect, a space where we’re comfortable enough to take risks and where we can be brave enough to jump into the unknown together. We are thrilled to have Monica Chadha and her team at Civic Projects Architecture helping us to create this uniquely Steepy space.


Land Acknowledgement

The area that we now call Chicago, including the piece of land where we plan to establish our next theatre, 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 this truth and achieving healing and reconciliation, we share this 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 and to support native art and artists, organizers, activists, and people in our community.