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

Wow… Working at Steppenwolf when I’m only 14? Yeah… It’s the best. I love hanging out with everyone there. Amy Morton was and still is the COOLEST director around! I can’t say enough good about this company. Other than, it has given me a great opportunity to expand my boundaries, and experiment with my career choices, for later in my life. I love hanging out backstage with all the actors. I have to put in a good word for my main man Danny McCarthy who is my dressing room partner. Elizabeth who tortures me daily : ). Yasen and Tracy they are awesome plus Tracy has THE coolest line in the play. Of course!… one that I can’t say! Michael who is an awesome older me, and Jim who is just great at storytelling. Oh, and if you want to know what any of these things have anything to do with me. Well, I suggest you go see the play! We have the coolest people. Last but not least, the other kids in the show (Quinn, Leah, Abby) they are the coolest bunch of kids I have ever met. I can’t believe that Steppenwolf gave me this opportunity to be a part of this cast, and experience live stage theatre. It has been one of the best experiences of my life, and I will forever carry it with me. I love you all! –Oliver.

Thanks for reading. Hoped you enjoyed! See the show. IT’S AMAZING!!

After going to the Anne Frank House this morning, I went next to the Rijksmuseum, which was… under renovation. But thankfully, due to the restoration of the main building, the museum is displaying the “crème de la crème” of its permanent collection in one newly furnished wing and I therefore had the unique opportunity of being able to view all the highlights of the Golden Age in one place! It turned out to be a wonderful way to see the work. And what began for me as a somewhat compulsory visit quickly blossomed into a delightful lesson on the design possibilities for ANNE FRANK. Which I was definitely not expecting. It was great that the Anne Frank House was so immediately fresh in my memory for I’m sure it was this immediacy which provided me with a lens through which to view the artwork at the museum – and lent it a tremendous relevance for me today.

The majority of the art is from the 17th century, a Golden Age for the Netherlands when the power and wealth of the Dutch Republic was at its height. In the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648 – can you imagine being at war for eighty years?) the Dutch expelled their Spanish rulers and established an independent state. While the country grew rich on trade and shipping, art and culture flourished here. From this time, and in the museum today, are such artists as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals, Jan Steen. (more…)

MONDAY, OCTOBER 9

Some days, the most delightful revelations come from the most unexpected places. Today I learned how to “light” the production not from being in the Annex but from - Rembrandt. Makes sense of course, considering Amsterdam was the Dutch master’s home – but who knew. More on that anon.

To start with: my control-freak imperative to be “first on line.” We did indeed get up early and make our way around the corner to the Anne Frank House – only to discover a large group of Japanese tourists, all women, already clustered outside the entrance, having clearly been there awhile. We stood with them in the cold, as a longer line formed behind us and, by the time the House opened, we were…. well, almost first inside. When we entered, the Japanese group paused in the lobby to hear a speech and I said to Niki, “Quick – let’s go upstairs to the Annex and come back to this museum section afterward.” (I had researched enough to know that the complex begins in a building adjacent to the offices and Annex.) We quickly passed through this museum section, the storage and work rooms, and the offices where Otto Frank, Johannes Kleiman and Victor Kugler (condensed into one Mr. Kraler in the play) and Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl (just Miep in the play) worked at desks – and went up to the Annex itself. (more…)

There’s a lot going on at the theater these days. We have our production of The Pillowman continuing in the Downstairs Theatre through November the 12th, and Upstairs, our production of The Bluest Eye plays to student audiences on week day matinees and for general audiences on the weekends. The Bluest Eye then moves to the Duke Theatre in New York for three-week run. This is the first time that we have taken a Steppenwolf for Young Adults production to New York.

We began rehearsals today for Cormac McCarthy’s The Sunset Limited for its run at the 59E59th Theatre in New York. The Sunset Limited will run in New York from October the 24th through November the 19th with its original cast of Austin Pendleton and Freeman Coffey, and its director, Sheldon Patinkin. So for a couple of weeks, Steppenwolf will have two productions running in New York. (more…)