Theater is dialogue. This has been 16th Street’s mantra since its founding in 2007 by Ann Filmer, a Berwyn resident who had a vision to produce new stories and make theater within the neighborhood where she lived: “Why should the majority of small theaters be located on Chicago’s North Side?” Filmer asked. Rooted in the conviction that every community should have its own vital theater relevant to its own neighborhood, 16th Street is a professional neighborhood theater dedicated to new plays and to serving its residents of Berwyn, along with neighboring Cicero, Oak Park and Chicagoland’s southwest side. For 14 years we have been a program of North Berwyn Park District, producing new plays in the basement of a City of Berwyn building, using the themes of those plays to ignite dialogue, debate, and empathy amongst the members of our diverse community.

Open and respectful dialogue about uncomfortable and polarizing issues is what drives our work. We hold moderated post-show talkbacks after all shows except for ones landing on Saturdays. With general admission tickets topping at $22 ($18 for Berwyn and low income residents), 16th Street is the most affordable union theater in Illinois, serving an audience of over 6,000 in 2019 and contracting over 100 artists per year.

16th Street is most proud to have continuously amplified the voices of women and playwrights of color focusing on Illinois writers. Out of 61 full productions of plays, plus 19 Pop Up Readings, 55 were written by female-identifying playwrights and 37 by writers of color.