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About Eos

Light into darkness

Eos Theatre Company is dedicated to shining light into the darkness of the human condition through transformative storytelling.

We strive to amplify female voices and narratives, producing bold, diverse, and thought-provoking works that challenge and inspire audiences.

Our vision: we believe that live theatre fosters connection, community, empathy, and understanding; we are committed to increasing access to live theatre for young people and marginalized communities. Eos is building an inclusive artistic community that promotes equity, excellence and dialogue.

Through performance, education, and community partnerships, we harness the power of storytelling to inspire change and empower future generations of women in American theatre. Created by a collective of women artists with extensive experience in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and beyond, Eos aims to deliver Chicago storefront theatre of the highest caliber.

The company of The Trojan Women, 2026

Photo by Steven Townshend | Distant Era

Our story

A new dawn

The first time the four co-founders of Eos Theatre Company were in a room together was February 2025; it was the first rehearsal for a production of The Trojan Women by Caroline Bird after Euripides. This was the third production Rachel had directed with Ashway in a lead role, and by then the two were close collaborators and friends.

Prior to this night, a friendship and close artistic collaboration was forged at the School at Steppenwolf between Ashway, Morgan B., and Morgan L. After working successfully with Rachel as her director across multiple productions, Ashway knew she wanted to introduce the Morgans to her. As theatre magic would have it, the four co-founders subsequently found themselves at the first table read of The Trojan Women. The energy that night in 2025 was heightened. An immediate sense of warmth and camaraderie was sparked. The cast of nine extremely talented actors were bringing their A-game to a riveting, brutal, funny, and tragic script. This was clearly the beginning of a powerful artistic journey…

The production of The Trojan Women had a profound effect on its audience and artists alike. Experiencing these fictional women face a genocide, the collapse of their empire, and enslavement felt shocking and disturbingly relevant.

Yet with only 8 performances and limited press coverage, there was a sense of disappointment that the work had not been more widely received.

Discussions about a possible remount began, and over the summer, the four women co-founders of Eos decided to explore not only remounting The Trojan Women but building a new Chicago theatre company as well! Eos found its mission through a collaborative artistic process and a shared commitment to shining light into the darkness of the human condition by telling transformational stories.

We chose the name ‘Eos’ in honor of the ancient Greeks from whose rich culture the group was gifted an enduring anti-war play by Euripides and our theatrical point of meeting. Eos is the Greek goddess of the dawn, who, with her chariot flying across the sky, pulls back the curtain of night to usher in the light of the sun. The light of truth, new beginnings, and warmth.

In April 2026, Eos remounted The Trojan Women at Bramble Arts Loft to critical and fiscal success. We are proud to be part of a new dawn in the Chicago theatre scene, and excited to continue to build an artistic community in which theatre artists from all walks of life can collaborate in the creation of gripping, expertly crafted theatrical experiences.

The founders

Who we are

Co-Founder

Rachel Sledd

Rachel grew up on the South Side of Chicago. As a young performer she danced with the Chicago City Ballet Junior Company and performed classical piano and violin at venues all over the city. She is a graduate of Chicago Academy for the Arts and Hampshire College. After receiving an MFA in Acting from the University of Washington in Seattle, Rachel lived and worked as an actor between New York and Los Angeles until 2006, when she returned to her hometown. Since then, she has performed in countless commercials, at theatres including the Goodman Theatre, Milwaukee Rep and Court Theatre, in many indie films and on network TV including Chicago Med and Chicago PD.

Rachel is faculty at Harold Washington College and is the Artistic Director of the college’s educational theatre company Loop Players; recent directorial credits for Loop Players are The Trojan Women by Caroline Bird after Euripides, The Pavilion by Craig Wright and Sweat by Lynn Nottage. Rachel is represented by DDO Artists Chicago.

rachelsledd.com ↗

Co-Founder

Ashway Lawver

Ashway grew up in Los Angeles on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. She spent ages 4–18 with the Palos Verdes Ballet and started her onstage career dancing in The Nutcracker, Giselle, Coppélia, and Cinderella, among other ballets. Ashway continued her dancing with the Wheaton College Dance Company and received her BA in Theatre and English Literature from Wheaton College, MA. Her acting career started at Wheaton College, MA and then professionally in NYC.

She has toured nationally and internationally with musicals and has performed in numerous Off-Broadway productions. A dream fulfilled was dancing at Radio City Music Hall at the very statuesque height of 5′3″ with the musical Rugrats, a Live Adventure! “Playing ‘Angelica’ was a fantastic ride!” Her professional acting career took her back to Los Angeles where she can be seen in several national commercials and independent/feature films.

Ashway has studied acting in NYC, Los Angeles, and at RADA in London. Her passion for the art and study of acting led her to Chicago to attend The School at Steppenwolf. It is here in Chicago that she found her true theatrical band of artists. Regionally she has performed at Steppenwolf, Milwaukee Rep, and several productions with The Loop Players.

IMDb.me/AshwayLawver ↗

Co-Founder

Morgan Lavenstein

Morgan hails from Baltimore, Maryland, where she started performing theatre at the ripe old age of 8. Attending performing arts middle and high schools, she continued her artistic education at Ithaca College, NY, where she received her BFA in Acting. After graduation, she moved to NYC where she started her professional theatre and voice-over career. You’ve most likely heard her in your living room as the voice for Cleveland Clinic, Glade, and many other top advertisers.

While in NYC, she met an incredible group of actors on Broadway (from Steppenwolf Theatre Co., Chicago), who ultimately changed her life by convincing her that Chicago was the place to be. A couple of years later, Morgan attended The School at Steppenwolf, and Chicago became her forever home. Morgan found her artistic family in Chicago, which includes Ashway Lawver, Morgan Burkey, and Rachel Sledd Iannantuoni, and the rest is history HERstory. Morgan has performed regionally with Steppenwolf, Writers Theatre, The Court, Steep, Urbanite, and The Loop Players.

Co-Founder

Morgan Burkey

Born and raised in Texas, Morgan’s early life was steeped in the rich cultural tapestry of the Lone Star State! But moving to Chicago in 2015, she may be a Chicagoan at last. She started her work in theatre through the Chicago storefronts as well as working as a scenic artist for several projects and studios around town.

In 2017, she was accepted into The School at Steppenwolf, where she met fellow founder Morgan Lavenstein, and School at Steppenwolf alumna of 2016, Ashway Lawver. Since then she has worked with The Gift Theatre, Griffin Theatre, Remy Bumppo, Writers Theatre, Public Theatre, and The Loop Players. When not acting, she works as a real estate broker with Fulton Grace Realty, and is a commission-based artist.

A lover of Italian red wine and handmade pasta, painting, hiking, camping, dogs, reading and Ben! Morgan is represented by Big Mouth Talent.

@morgan_alyse_now ↗@apainternamedmo ↗

Meet our board

Get involved

Work with us

Playwright submissions

Eos Theatre Company is accepting submissions for future productions, read-throughs and classes. Please contact us at company@eostheatre.org.

Auditions

Stay tuned for news on our next production. February 2027!

Volunteers

At Eos Theatre Company, we are deeply grateful for the incredible support of our community and those interested in volunteering. Whether your passion lies in arts education, community development or in production, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us at company@eostheatre.org to learn more about volunteer opportunities.

Say hello

Contact us

Questions, ideas, collaborations — we’d love to hear from you. Or email us directly at company@eostheatre.org.