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

Ensemble member Tina Landau will be directing The Diary of Anne Frank later this season. To prepare, she traveled to Amsterdam to research the actual events that underlie the play. We asked her to blog about her experience.

SUNDAY, OCT. 8

What do I hope to find?

I’ve come to Amsterdam to visit the Anne Frank House - which is what it is called but not, technically, what it is. It’s her hiding place – the secret annex – that her father and associates arranged for her and others to live in while the Nazis occupied their city and WWII raged. They were Jews in hiding – eight of them in these tight and shuttered quarters – “How can this possibly translate into English as her ‘house’”? I wonder (although I’m sure it’s a translation of the Dutch word “huis,” which has alternate meanings such as “building” and “location of”…) (more…)

While participating in the student post-show discussions for The Bluest Eye, I had one student who responded to the scene in which Frieda and Claudia’s family take Pecola in, the student had his own memory of his family taking in people who had been “put out.” Another response from an adult in the audience who had a vivid memory of a girl at her grade school who was a “Pecola” type, and how she wished she had befriended her. Those were just a couple of example of how this play has touched people. Do any of you have any comments, memories, or personal experiences in response to the play?

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Black Theatre Alliance Awards at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago. Pictured with me from l. to r. are actress Ora Jones, Steppenwolf Donor Steward Coordinator, Colette Gregory, and actress Penelope Walker. Penelope last appeared at Steppenwolf in Love-Lies- Bleeding. Ora Jones was nominated for her work in the Steppenwolf production of The Unmentionables as was Kenn E. Head. Jon Hill also appeared in that production and was nominated as Most Promising Newcomer. In addition, Cedric Young was nominated for his work in the Steppenwolf for Young Adults production of “MASTER HAROLD”…and the boys. Steppenwolf is proud to have had these accomplished actors on our stage and we congratulate them on their artistry, performances, and nominations.

The evening was a strong tribute to the extraordinary Chicago community of African American theatre artists, to their art, and to the American Theatre.

The Pillowman has now officially kicked off our 31st season, a season in which we will mount 5 subscription-series shows, 2 Steppenwolf for Young Adults plays (including Lydia Diamond’s adaptation of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, now in performances), an additional “stand-alone” production in the Garage, our annual First Look Repertory of New Work, and host two productions from three local theatre companies as part of our Visiting Companies Initiative. And with this gigantic effort just underway, what is our Artistic Office up to? Planning the 2007-08 season, naturally.

This past Thursday, our Artistic Department met for the first time to discuss potential shows for our next season. A typical season is a mix of new and extant plays, some brought to our attention by members of our ensemble, and vice versa. As I’ve previously mentioned, we get roughly 500 new plays sent to us each year; the majority come from literary agents and playwrights with whom we have a pre-existing relationship. Others are “called in” on the basis of ten-page samples sent to us by unrepresented writers. Still more prospects arise from plays we’ve commissioned from local and nationally-known writers. (more…)

We’ve been conducting auditions this week for Huck Finn, the show I’ll be directing for our Steppenwolf for Young Adults program this winter.

It is a challenging process. First, the audition mechanism itself is inherently fraudulent. The idea that one person should judge another’s abilities by a few minutes of exposure under supremely artificial circumstances rings ridiculous. And yet all theaters do it, for reasons of economy, convenience, adherence to democratic/meritocratic ideals etc. Have we simply found no better way?

Second, the onslaught of visible talent is at once inspiring and disheartening. All these skilled people want to do this crazy thing called acting in a play, and yet it is not possible to employ them all. For Huck Finn, we asked actors, in addition to preparing the “sides” from the play, to sing 16 measures of a folk song, a cappella. The number of actors who offered the disclaimer “I don’t really sing,” and then proceeded to offer heartfelt and perfectly-pitched renditions of “Amazing Grace” was staggering. (more…)