Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Piatt-Eckert.
Steep Theatre Company was founded in 2000 by three actors with little more than a shoestring budget and a desire to work in an open, ensemble atmosphere. Over the years, the company has become a dedicated, close-knit group of thirty-four actors, directors, designers, and writers driven by a shared commitment to the organization’s mission:
To bring out the everyday truths in the stories we tell through ensemble work and to reach out to non-traditional theatregoers by seeking out stories and creating experiences relevant to them.
Over the past 16 years, Steep has become known as one of Chicago’s iconic ensemble-based storefront theatres. Chicago is home to a unique and well-known brand of bold, collaborative, actor-driven theatre in intimate venues scattered throughout the city’s many neighborhoods, and Steep is a brilliant embodiment of this important theatrical movement. The ensemble has produced over 50 plays and enjoyed remarkable critical and commercial success. Steep’s productions have been named to Timeout Chicago’s Top Ten Shows of the Year, the Chicago Tribune’s Top Ten Shows of the Year, the Tribune’s Best of the Fringe, the Sun Times’ Best of the Year, and WBEZ’s Top Ten Shows of the Decade. Steep has received 27 Jeff Award nominations and won the 2009 and 2016 Jeff Awards for Best Ensemble, the 2010 and 2011 Jeff Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role, the 2015 Jeff Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and the 2017 Jeff Award for Best New Play. Steep was named the 2010 Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theatre Award winner.
The company’s artistic success has been matched at every step by organizational growth. Within three years of its founding, Steep opened its first storefront theatre in Wrigleyville. It was home to some of Steep’s great successes, but after four years the company’s work and audiences had outgrown the space. In October 2008, it opened the doors to the new Steep Theatre – a fully remodeled storefront theatre in Edgewater that is now regarded as one of Chicago’s most comfortable and best outfitted storefront theatres.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like any business, we have experienced challenges and opportunities along our path, but we have been supported all along by a tremendous community of artists, audiences, and members of the community.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Steep Theatre – what should we know?
Housed in what was once a small grocery store steps from the Berwyn El stop, Steep is the quintessential storefront theatre – that iconic breed of Chicago theatre that makes our cultural landscape unlike that of any other city. Steep is committed to producing new and under-produced plays that tell the stories of ordinary people in extraordinary situations – small stories that illuminate larger societal issues. As Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune wrote in his 2014 review of STRANGERS, BABIES, “Steep Theatre never shies away from plays about the dark corners of the soul, … You might say this fine little theater on Berwyn Avenue makes a specialty of such gutsy shows…” Steep creates powerful productions of plays by today’s most exciting writers and features the work of Chicago’s hottest theatre artists in a beautiful, intimate space. Steep Theatre is known as a home for hard-hitting, finely tuned ensemble work.
Audiences come to Steep to discover new stories and new theatrical voices. Steep has been responsible for introducing Chicago to some of the United Kingdom’s rising theatrical stars, including Tony Award winning Simon Stephens, Steep’s Associate Playwright. Beyond being new to Chicago, Steep’s plays tell the stories of relatable “everyday” characters while shedding light on some of the most significant issues of our day. BOBBIE CLEARLY, for example, examined issues of forgiveness and community through the lens of a young man returning home from prison, and EARTHQUAKES IN LONDON humanized climate change by telling the stories of the three estranged daughters of a compromised climate scientist. Productions such as these bring essential questions into focus and use the power of theatre to generate empathy, understanding, and conversation.
Since its first production, Steep has been defined by an exceptional generosity of spirit and a dedication to creating a warm, welcoming environment. In renovating its storefront venue, significant attention was paid to creating public space that would encourage conversation. Steep’s ensemble invites audiences to stay after each performance for complimentary refreshments and a casual reception. Through its $10 ticket program and its audio described and open captioned performances, Steep is developing new strategies for breaking down barriers for first-time theater-goers and welcoming as many voices as possible into the conversations that begin on stage and continue in the lobby.
Pricing:
- General Admission Tickets – $25
- Reserved Seats – $35
- Access Tickets (universal discount for all) – $10
Contact Info:
- Address: 1115 W Berwyn Ave.,
Chicago, IL 60640 - Website: http://steeptheatre.com/
- Phone: 773-649-3186
- Email: info@steeptheatre.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steeptheatre/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steeptheatre/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SteepTheatre
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/steep-theatre-chicago
Image Credit:
Lee Miller & Gregg Gilman
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