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

For the first time in my life, I finally saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream last Wednesday night. How could it be that I had waited so long to see this play? Why had it eluded me all this time? And to be very honest, I had never even read the play!

I knew there was someone named Hermia, a play within a play, that someone turned into a donkey, and a lot of magic. After working as an assistant director on The Tempest, I was intrigued to see this sister play, to be able to check ‘See A Midsummer Night’s Dream‘ off of my To Do list, and to test my Shakespeare ear, hopefully well-tuned over several weeks of Tempest rehearsals.

There is a scene around a group of would-be actors who are debating how to represent the fantastical elements of their play. How might one represent a tiny hole in a great wall onstage? One cannot bring in an entire wall. They conclude “Some man or other must present Wall; and let him have some plaster, or some loam, or some roughcast about him, to signify wall; and let him hold his fingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramus and Thisbe whisper.”

For me, this was a miraculous revelation: Shakespeare promoting suggestion, theatricality and imagination on the stage! That a man, entering from stage right, planting himself firmly in one place, holding a bucket of plaster and proclaiming “I am a Wall” is SHAKESPEARE! That’s Shakespeare? (more…)

Remember that first day back to high school after summer break? That bizarre sense of compulsory reunion, with people who populate your life based only on proximity to the local high school? Well imagine that scene, except with students who actually like each other – and have chosen to reunite not for the daily grind of high school, but to promote theatre for young audiences across Chicago. Welcome to the Steppenwolf Young Adult Council.

I am a new addition to the Council. As a recent hire into the Steppenwolf for Young Adults Department, I am coming onto the scene three years after the Council’s inception. In those first three years, the Council created the high school-geared MaTEENe series, facilitated teacher and student workshops and regularly met with Steppenwolf staff to better understand the inner-workings of professional theatre. However, aside from these quantifiable accomplishments, the Council members have obviously reaped other, intangible benefits from their time at Steppenwolf: a trust between each other, and an impressive vocabulary with which to speak about theatre in Chicago. (more…)

This weekend, I spent a chunk of time researching an article about The Seafarer I’m writing for the program. I rashly agreed to write about Baldoyle—the Dublin suburb in which the play is set—despite my complete and utter ignorance about the region. So, I’ve been spending some time at the library. Now I know I’m outing myself as a massive dork by saying this, but it’s actually kind of fun for me. While reading about Baldoyle’s geography and history, I’ve been able to create an imaginative map of this place I’ve never visited. I’m dreaming up an idea of what it might mean to be from there.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what the idea of place means in our work. Last season, Steppenwolf received a lot of gratifying attention as August: Osage County made a splash in New York City. But while Tracy Letts won national awards and was wooed by international producers, he was writing a play about home. Superior Donuts was, Tracy said, a “love letter to Chicago.” (more…)

As summer draws to a close, and we begin a new season, I’m reminded of ways in which the challenges of doing something truly different and new may be severe, but the rewards compensate in equal measure. As I write, downstairs in our rehearsal room Frank Galati is hard at work on a brand new piece, Kafka on the Shore, which promises to be a moving and thrilling experience. Just a few weeks ago, our First Look Rep concluded successfully, with Jason Wells‘ play Perfect Mendacity already scheduled for a world premiere production at the Asolo Theatre in Florida this Spring, and some percolating world premiere interest for the other two plays from the Rep as well.

Something else happened at the end of the summer that could have significant impact on Chicago, and particularly on playwrights in Chicago, for years to come. A former agent at a highly respected agency in NY has moved to Chicago and started her own company to represent clients based here. There has not been, to my knowledge, a licensed agency representing playwrights in Chicago for many, many years. Particularly encouraging is this agent’s interest in identifying Chicago playwrights and exporting their work nationally and internationally. Imagine a Chicago where playwrights not only come to gain experience, exposure and collaborative relationships they then leave behind for the greener pastures of New York or Los Angeles, but instead come to do all those things and stay. They sustain a life and career in the theater living and writing here, because someone is working hard everyday to ensure they are getting the national attention and remuneration they deserve. In a season when many eyes turned to Chicago as a theater city, particularly with respect to a community that generates and supports new work, it’s a beautiful notion. No doubt this agent will find challenges, but a tip of the hat to her for doing something new and very much needed.

It’s been a little over a week since the last First Look play closed. And it feels like an eon ago that we—cast and crew—were meeting as strangers around folding tables in Yondorf Hall for the first table reading of Fair Use. So what happens now that Sy’s office chair has been rolled onto a cargo van, the Nerf football returned to storage, and Madi’s three inch heels boxed up? Well, the dust clears, the Hypocrites load in to the Garage, and I head to my favorite neighborhood coffee shop to do some more rewrites.

“Whoa there, kiddo! Did you say rewrites?”

Yes, gentle Steppenwolf blog reader, I hear that hint of incredulity creeping into your voice. You thought the time for rewrites was long past. I can see your logic, considering the play has been performed, and before nine audiences no less. But it’s not quite done. Over those nine performances I got to scrutinize how the play was landing. I was able to see where Meredith’s staging strengthened moments of storytelling and where the actors’ unscripted character interactions clarified intentions—the toss of a fortune cookie, the pulling out of a chair. I noted where the play lost momentum and where it seemed to soar. And I heard a death knoll for a few jokes, (”elaborate Butoh apologies”…may you rest in peace). But I also heard the laughter, the gasping, the headshakes, and the “oh no he didn’ts” of those nine different audiences. So with all that in mind, it’s time to work on this final draft, the post-production draft of Fair Use. To all of you who came and sat in the audience, thanks—your participation will be written into the play.