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

One of my favorite parts of doing my job as an actor is the research. I’ve been reading The Lost Apple by Maria de Los Angeles Torres, which has been a real eye opener. I knew a tiny bit about the Pedro Pan flights before I ever read Sonia Flew, but reading the book and learning the details has been incredible. It’s just so hard to imagine leaving family, home, language, EVERYTHING behind at 15–let alone 6 or 7. And yet, it has happened, many times in human history. I guess I feel humbled thinking about that.

We opened Sonia Flew, a new play by Melinda Lopez, last Sunday. I’ve had the pleasure of leading several of the post-show conversations through the preview process and look forward to conducting more of them throughout the run. David New, our Associate Artistic Director, who leads the majority of the post-show conversations, and I have discussed the responses of our audiences to the play. I can’t tell you what a privilege it is to have these conversations about the work with you. The intelligence, the candor, the emotional vigor of the conversations is so confirming–it re-alerts all of us at the theater to the privilege AND the responsibility we have at Steppenwolf to produce work that is thought-provoking and relevant. When we are able to experience, on a nightly basis, a group of people wrestling with a play in very personal terms, it encourages us to continue to seek work that is worthy of that engagement. (more…)

Playwrights occasionally ask us how many characters their play should have – i.e., at what point does a theatre say, “We can’t afford that many actors”? While there are always certain economic constraints when producing a play, we generally feel this isn’t the best way of approaching one’s work. If a script ignites our passions, the number of characters isn’t necessarily a deterrent.

One way in which playwrights try to lessen the cast size is to “double” roles – that is, have an actor play more than one character. In the best cases, these decisions are not solely economic (”oh, hey, the woman playing the police chief can also play the surgeon, since they’re never on stage at the same time”), but also inform and are informed by the tone, style and major themes of the play. (more…)

This weekend marks the closing of Elliot, a Soldier’s Fugue and the opening of Sonia Flew. Elliot is being presented in the Garage Theatre through Steppenwolf’s Visiting Company Initiative and the production is a partnership between Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and Teatro Vista. The show features three Teatro Vista ensemble members, Artistic Director Eddie Torres and ensemble members Juan Villa and Gustavo Mellado. Across the parking lot in our Downstairs Theatre two more Teatro Vista ensemble members, Sandra Marquez and Sandra Delgado, are appearing in Steppenwolf’s production of Sonia Flew.

These are enriching and enlivening creative relationships with members of another ensemble based company. We wish all involved with Elliot a good closing and say break a leg to all of the Sonia Flew actors.