Who We Are...
GreatWorks Theatre began as the outreach programming arm of Irish Repertory of Chicago, Chicago's professional Irish theatre company. Recognizing that the rapid growth of the educational program was becoming more than could be managed as a part-time aspect of the parent company, producing director Matt O'Brien stepped back from Irish Rep in 2005 to focus full-time on building GreatWorks into Chicago's premiere provider of literature and history based plays for young audiences. In the six years since, we've grown to include a line-up of 13 productions, and an annual average audience of nearly 40,000 Illinois & Wisconsin students.

What We Do...
GreatWorks' philosophy is to challenge your students to play at the top of their game. Each of our productions will present your students with not only great stories, but with words and concepts that might be new to them at first, but that will be familiar by the time we're done.

The actors and directors of our shows can also be seen working at some of the largest professional theatres in the city, bringing the same dedication and professionalism to your school as they do to their "night jobs." At right are the core group of performers who'll be appearing during our 2011-2012 season. While we don't employ a formal acting ensemble, we do try to work with a select group of performers who understand the performance philosophy at GreatWorks and are happy to bring their professional theatre experience to some of the youngest audiences in the area.

Starting in 2012, GreatWorks will be expanding to include a sister company, Foxrock Theatricals. Foxrock will tour Irish Repertory/Splinter Group's acclaimed Samuel Beckett productions to universities and civic centers, giving us a range of productions suitable for many different programming needs.

Where We Go..
While we're based in Chicago, regional bookings throughout Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, and Wisconsin are available. If you're outside of the Chicago metro region and interested in booking a GreatWorks show, please contact us for a quote on your booking

Do We License our Scripts for other Productions?
Sometimes, yes. If you're interested in talking to us about CHRISTMAS CAROL, 50 STATES, MONEY SHOW, FRACTURED FAIRY TALES, or ANNE FRANK, please contact Matt O'Brien with details of your proposed production.