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

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to share with you all the joy and honor it has been to be apart of the Steppenwolf Visiting Company Initiative. As many of you already know Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue opened last week at the Garage. I play the role of Pops, Elliot’s Dad. This a Co-Pro between Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and Teatro Vista. I’m proud to be a member of TV and proud to be part of a city that has nurtured and supported ensemble theatre companies. It’s no wonder why I feel so at home here. The Steppenwolf Production staff and Artistic staff have been extremely involved in supporting our ensembles. It has also been rewarding and a wonderful experience working with Rivendell. We have learned a lot about how we produce, and how we approach work artistically. No two ensembles are the same, but when they come together to tell such a unique and powerful story such as Elliot. Look out! (more…)

Often actors are called upon to learn new skills for a production. Juan Villa, who plays the title role in Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue, recently visited the Great Lakes Naval Station in preparation for his role. There he was trained by weapon instructor (GM2-select-Carman) in how to hold and use an M-16 in order to be able to realistically enact a scene in which Elliot, stationed in Iraq, is encountering hostiles. The visit was arranged by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ruiz who is serving as military consultant to the show.

I’m playing with Freeman Coffey in The Sunset Limited again now, in New York. We did it this spring and early summer in the Garage at Steppenwolf. Then I came back to New York and within a couple of weeks Martha (Lavey) called me and asked if I’d want to do it in New York. I assumed she meant with Freeman; I also assumed she meant with our same director, Sheldon Patinkin. And of course she did. Which was great because I would have been loathe to do it without them. I would have loved to the play again certainly — it’s one of the most exciting plays I’ve worked on in many years — but it’s a two-character play, and it moves along through the chemistry that happens between these two men, and when you feel the kind of chemistry I felt with Freeman from our very first rehearsal, one evening back in April, you can never assume that will happen with anybody else. And Sheldon understands exactly how to direct this play. He understands actors; he also knows how to conduct this play, as if it were a piece of music, which in a way it is. And the play is so rich that when you approach it again it’s good to be able to climb up on top of the pile of work you’ve already done on it, and keep building from there. (more…)