Steep Theatre is finally closing in on a permanent address. After more than five years without a true home, the Chicago storefront company is putting the finishing touches on a new black-box theater at 1044 W. Berwyn Ave. in Edgewater, with construction nearing completion as of Sept. 21, 2026.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the roughly $7 million project includes about $4 million in City of Chicago funding, and the building itself — which dates back to 1998 — will house a black-box theater of about 1,000 square feet, seating around 75 patrons. Reported city support for the project has varied across sources: Steep Theatre's own 2022 announcement cited a $2.988 million Community Development Grant, while a construction trade report put the city's contribution at $3.87 million. A 2023 city notice separately described $3 million in proposed Tax Increment Financing support for the project, though that notice documented a proposal rather than confirmed final disbursement.
The space will include a lobby with a bar, a green room, dressing rooms and production facilities, the Tribune reported, along with a new wood floor and 16-foot ceiling designed by CharcoalBlue. Steep has also described the facility on its own site as featuring a flexible 70-seat black box theater, a lobby-lounge for performance and community gathering, and dedicated spaces for artists and staff, according to Steep Theatre.
A Long Road Back to a Permanent Stage
Steep hasn't produced a show since January 2025, and the company has gone without a permanent home for more than five years — operating out of two different previous spaces and a string of rented venues along the way, per the Tribune's reporting. The company's prior Edgewater storefront, where it operated starting in 2008, was sold for redevelopment in 2020, according to Chicago Construction News. Steep purchased its current Berwyn Avenue site in 2022 and has been producing in temporary venues while preparing for construction ever since, the outlet reported.
In that stretch, the company staged just two shows in its raw, unfinished new space — Eboni Booth's “Paris” and Alexis Scheer's “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” in October 2022 — according to the Chicago Reader. Founded in 2000, Steep has a 25-year history and has produced more than 80 plays over that span, earning 63 Jeff Award nominations and 12 wins, per the construction-news account. Among the works the Tribune credits to the company are “The Invisible Hand,” “Harper Regan,” “Earthquakes in London,” “Posh” and “The Few,” reflecting Steep's long-standing focus on edgy works by British writers.
Opening Night Set for January
Steep plans to christen the new building with the U.S. premiere of Simon Stephens' “A Slow Fire,” opening Jan. 22, 2027, directed by ensemble member Robin Witt, per Steep Theatre. It will be the company's first major production in its finished new space, following a Tribune report that the show is slated for January. Steep's ensemble roster includes Jonathan Berry, Alex Gillmor, Caroline Neff, Julia Siple, Kendra Thulin, Brandon Rivera and Witt, according to the Tribune.
Steep has staged six Stephens plays dating back to “Harper Regan” in 2010, the Chicago Reader noted. The company's ensemble has grown considerably in that time, expanding from three founding actors to 43 artists today, the same outlet reported.
Founder Peter Moore on What Comes Next
Peter Moore, a founding member and artistic director of Steep Theatre, told the Tribune that the company wants to produce shows and then host the community afterward in the new space. He said Steep's patrons have long wanted to talk with ensemble members after performances — something the new lobby-lounge setup is meant to encourage. Steep is also hiring a development and operations manager as it prepares to staff the new venue, and the company still needs to raise $150,000 to fully outfit required technology, per the Tribune's reporting. The company plans to add a subtle marquee appropriate for the residential block it calls home.
Steep's own fundraising campaign, called Lights Up Edgewater, has raised 98% of the funds needed to complete construction, according to Steep Theatre. That campaign was first described in 2022 as a $3 million effort meant to help buy and renovate the new home while also supporting artist compensation and organizational sustainability, Block Club Chicago reported at the time. The Chicago Reader has since described the campaign's broader goal as investing in artists through more equitable compensation and more supportive facilities.
Edgewater's Growing Theater Row
Steep's arrival adds to a cluster of small companies putting down roots in the neighborhood. It will join Rivendell, TimeLine, The Edge Theater, Redtwist, Bramble and Raven as companies with permanent residences in Edgewater and nearby Uptown, according to WBEZ, which noted that roughly 10% of Chicago's theaters now have buildings in that stretch of the North Side. On the construction side, Steep partnered with Civic Projects Architecture, Norcon Inc. and CharcoalBlue to bring the project to life, Chicago Construction News reported.
The project arrives amid broader financial strain across the state's arts sector. A 2025 survey of 292 Illinois arts and culture organizations, most of them in the Chicago area, found that more than half of respondents said they were actively scaling back operations, according to WBEZ. Against that backdrop, Steep's long-delayed but nearly finished Edgewater home stands out as a rare example of a storefront company pushing toward permanence rather than retreat.
