Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1992, Factory Theater is a theater organization dedicated to the writing, directing, performance and production of original works written by ensemble members that are accessible to inexperienced as well as seasoned theatergoers. Since 1992 we have produced 55 productions that have been enjoyed by both critics and audience members.

Overall, Factory Theater has managed to bridge the gap between critical acclaim and audience accessibility. Most of our shows have received rave reviews and awards by various publications including The Reader, New City, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and L.A. Weekly, among others.

In 1998, Factory Theater opened a branch company in Los Angeles, California, and many of our ensemble members relocated out west to pursue careers in film, television and screenwriting and to help create a national presence for the company. Factory Theater has also taken trips out to New York on two separate occasions - in 1998 our After-Dark award winning production of The Vinyl Shop was the hit of the Fringe Festival, and in 2001 Factory was invited to the H.E.R.E. space in Soho by PSNBC to perform The Death And Life Of Barb Budonovich, a short version of our production Varations On Death.

We attribute our success to hard work, dedication, and love for theater, and fully plan on using those attributes to continue Factory's vision of writing and producing new works in an effort to provide our ever-growing audience with laughter and inspiration.

"We are witnessing the birth of a new theatrical form."
-- Justin Hayford, The Chicago Reader

"This irreverent theater company does multiple comedy shows, late night and prime time, the titles of which--''White Trash Wedding and a Funeral,'' ''Second City Didn't Want Us,'' ''Bitches''--tell you what to expect. The work ranges from crude to brilliant and changes so fast it's impossible to categorize."
-- Description of Factory on Metromix.com

"The Vinyl Shop becomes for the audience an opportunity to examine its own self-centeredness and its own relative ability to connect with 'the other.'"
-- Theater Reviews Unlimited on the New York Fringe Fest
performance of The Vinyl Shop, by Nick Digilio and Mike Vieau.

"White Trash Wedding and a Funeral sticks a boot in the ass of Middle America while placing a mirror to "polite" society. At its dumbest moments, the laughs are both uncomfortable and infectious"
-- Nick Green, The Chicago Reader

"(Among The Dead) is the kind of low-down-and-dirty spectacle that has cult favorite written all over it."
-- Nina Metz, New City (Tip of The Week)