About Ways & Means

Ways and Means Theatre was founded on a conviction: that the most transformative theatrical experiences happen when rigorous thought meets uninhibited feeling. When a beautiful sentence lands with the force of a gut punch. When a room full of strangers sits together and, for a moment, agrees to think harder than they planned to.

We are a new Chicago ensemble company, built from the ground up by artists who believe there is room in this city for a theatre dedicated to language-rich, intellectually fearless work — plays that trust their audiences to engage with complexity, ambiguity, and the questions that don't come with answers.

Our programming operates on two tracks. “The Read Through” Series presents staged readings at the Little Studio in the Fine Arts Building — scripts in hand, conversation after every reading, doors open to everyone. Our mainstage season produces fully realized productions of plays selected for the music of their language, the urgency of their ideas, and their capacity to generate real dialogue.

We are an ensemble-first company. Our artistic identity is built on long-term creative relationships among actors, directors, and playwrights who grow together over time. We believe the deepest, most daring work emerges from a community of artists who trust one another and share a common vocabulary. And our company extends beyond the ensemble — we welcome collaborators at every stage of their careers to contribute to the work.

The Ways and Means experience reaches beyond the stage. Post-show talkbacks are not optional additions; they are central to our mission. We believe that the conversations sparked by great theatre are as valuable as the performances themselves — and that the audience is not passive but the final collaborator in the room.