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

(Jon is the director of A Separate Peace)

I was taught, and have found it to be true, that when embarking on a production, one of the most important moments for a director is the first moment. The moment when we all, designers and actors and production staff, gather around the table and read the play for the first time. I always say a few words, to share where I’m coming from with this production. The words, I hope, provide the team guidance of where we are heading and why this production of this play is an important and necessary endeavor. At the same time, I hope that the talk will subtly inform actor choices so that, as we embark on scene work, the actors have a clear direction in which to run. What follows is the jumping off point for our work on the SYA production of A Separate Peace.

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UPDATE: The winning entry as voted on by our panel was from @paulactor on Twitter:

Lenny looks downstage / George, with tears in his eyes, fires / Rabbits go unfed.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

We’re giving away two tickets to The Brother/Sister Plays* for Sunday, February 14, plus a $100 gift certificate to La Trattoria del Merlo for dinner. To enter, write a haiku about your favorite Steppenwolf production and leave it as a comment on this blog post or tweet it using the hashtag #brosis. Creativity and passion count. Submissions are due by 11:59PM CST on Wednesday, February 10. The winner will be announced Thursday, February 11.

*The Brother/Sister Plays are presented in repertory in Steppenwolf’s Upstairs Theatre. On Sunday, February 14, The Brothers Size and Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet will be performed during the 3pm program (run time is 2 hours and 20 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission).  In the Red and Brown Water will be presented at 7:30pm, (running 1 hour, 40 minutes including one 15-minute intermission).

To help get the creativity flowing, here are some entries (not eligible to win of course) from our staff:

Jamie Abelson, School at Steppenwolf Coordinator

Men scream for moments
Hum at hearts with coffee breath
Split open and close
(American Buffalo)

Palm on hand brothers
History dusts off records
We should have stayed home
(The Brothers Size)

Karin Freed, Steppenwolf for Young Adults Apprentice

When Teach cried after
Tearing the junk shop to shreds
I understood him.
(American Buffalo)

If you yell a lot
Do you get what you want?
Sometimes not at all.
(American Buffalo)

(Tamberla plays Shun and Osha in The Brother/Sister Plays)

So we had our first preview for In the Red and Brown Water last Wednesday, January 20th, and it was a true wake up call as to how much these plays are a community event. From the wardrobe department, to lights and sound, props, stage management, the actors, director and playwright, we are all one big family. As nervous as we all were and as unprepared as some of us may have felt, we knew we had to get this on its feet to complete the first phase of this journey. For me, something seemed to have been missing from this puzzle. I just… I couldn’t figure it out. I mean, we have a killer cast and crew and “the bomb” director and playwright. What was it?

I soon discovered what it was when the rest of our 300 person cast had finally shown up!

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(Aaron is the Lighting Designer of The Twins Would Like to Say, part of the Visiting Company Initiative Garage Rep)

In designing the lights for The Twins Would Like to Say, the co-directors and I focused on the two worlds where the play takes place. The voluntarily mute twin girls, June and Jennifer Gibbons, grew up in Wales, in the 1960s and ‘70s, isolated from everyone but each other. But they were also prolific writers, creating vast stories and novels set in an idealized United States. From the twins’ perspective, Wales was sleepy and drab, it’s always fall, always chilly, always boring. Contrast this with their vivid imagination, vibrant and colorful, their dreams of a California life full of energy and excitement.

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