Steppenwolf Theatre Company Blog – Chicago Theater, World-Class Ensemble

Our crackerjack production crew is currently loading in the set for First Look Repertory in the Garage Theatre. The set was built at our shop located a few miles west of the theatre. It is then transported to the Garage and installed in the space along with risers for seats. This process requires the Technical Director, the Assistant Technical Director, 3 Carpenters, a 3 person props crew, a production intern, and a scenic painting intern.

The next step of the process will entail a 3 person Electrics crew to hang the light plot for the show and a 3 person Sound crew to set up the sound system. After all this, the space will be ready for the actors to begin technical rehearsals on stage in the space on Monday. (more…)

Marisa Wegrzyn is one of the playwrights currently engaged in our First Look Rep. We asked her to post some thoughts.

First, a snapshot of how The Butcher of Baraboo came to be: In May 2005, Steppenwolf was kind enough to toss a few quarters in my hat and commission a play from me. I was thrilled. Joyful. Filled with enough adrenaline to lift a Volkswagen off a run-over person if I had to. Then I realized I had to actually write the play and that the dude under the Volkswagen had to find a new hero. I started typing and I watched, in horror, as the three story ideas I had pitched exploded, one by one, on the launch pad. Oh dear.

Sweep up the debris and move on. I started typing again and a scene took shape between a mother and her adult daughter having a squabble about coffee. The scene ended, as most arguments over coffee do, with an incident involving a meat cleaver. I’m not ruining a surprise; it’s one of the tamer things that happen. (more…)

This past Thursday, we began preview performances of The Unmentionables by Bruce Norris. This is the fifth play by Bruce that Steppenwolf has produced. Previous productions include Purple Heart, The Infidel, We All Went Down To Amsterdam, and most recently The Pain and the Itch. A post-show discussion was held after the preview on Saturday afternoon. Of the 326 people who attended the performance, 115 stayed to participate in a conversation with Artistic Director, Martha Lavey and Bruce. The conversation was extremely lively, as is to be expected after one of Bruce’s plays, and it is deeply fortifying to our commitment to post-show discussions to have had one third of the audience in attendance. The opportunity for conversation is extended now into a virtual discussion here on the blog. If you saw the show, if you attended a post-show discussion, feel free to express your reactions here and continue the conversation with us and with each other.

The Unmentionables will open this Sunday, July 9th. Post-show discussions are held Tuesday thru Friday evenings and after the Saturday and Sunday matinee performances.