Hear Us Howl
Posted by Gaby Labotka on 1/13/2008
Hey everyone! It’s Gaby here, along with Clifton, Majdi and Raquel. We’re four returning members of the Young Adult Council, and we just thought we’d write a blog to let all of you know what those pesky (a.k.a AWESOME) teenagers at Steppenwolf are up to.
So, in case you don’t know who or what we are (besides hormonal); we are a group of teenagers from different high schools from the Chicago-land area that gather twice a week to LEAD. CREATE. and COLLABORATE (as our motto says) in forming new ways to attract other teenagers to see and participate in different aspects of theater.
We are known to…
-Lead post-show discussions
-See diverse works of theater around the city
-Create workshops and events
-Learn from talented actors, artists and writers
-Collaborate with the staff to explore exciting opportunities for our own future and well as the future of the audience
Recently, we have successfully hosted our first event of Steppenwolf’s MaTEENe Series (an idea created by us) focused around Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Good Boys and True. The MaTEENe Series is a program of events centered on plays that Steppenwolf is producing over the course of its season and their connection to Young Adults. We see it as a venue of exploration into our own lives through theater because these plays exhibit pieces of ourselves that we don’t readily reveal to the world. Our events consist of a viewing of the play, participation in the usual post-show discussion, and another, more private discussion led by the current Young Adult Council over the delicious (FREE!) meal of Mangia Roma pizza and various fizzy beverages.
Our Good Boys and True Event, besides being the first MaTEENe, was also the first time our new pack members participated in producing an experience for the ‘Wolf Theatre Company. Overall, we had enjoyable conversation with attendees and cast members during the third stage of the event (the second discussion); we were all able to share personal experiences and connections to the play that we would not have been able to express at the other discussion.
The second post-show discussion delved into profound themes about truth and finding oneself which led to some personal stories about matters that were very similar to the play. Discussion was also fueled by questions about specific ideas about characters. When asked, “What do you think happened to your character after the play finished?” Kelly O’Sullivan promptly replied that she thought that her character, Cheryl Moody, becomes best friends with Justin. Most of us found that to be a fitting path for their characters.
Therefore, moreover and henceforth, we achieved our goal of providing a “venue of exploration into our lives through theater,” but we also found out that we do have some kinks to work out for our future MaTEENe events.
That’s about it for this update. Until next time, we are teenagers HEAR US HOWL.