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

As we quickly approach the opening of First Look Rep, the First Look 101 Open Rehearsals become more and more like watching a play. We are now in the third week of rehearsal, and the plays are beginning to take on a real shape: a semblance of what the audience will see opening night is beginning to emerge, albeit a bit rough around the edges.

Even though it was a beautiful Chicago Saturday, approximately thirty faithful First Look 101ers showed up this weekend to observe an open rehearsal of Perfect Mendacity. As they arrived, the actors were preparing to do a full run of Act II – something they had not attempted in its entirety. The cast is off-book at this point, or at least getting there – stage manager Kathleen Petroziello diligently watched the script and called out lines if (and when) the actors missed a cue. (more…)

Greetings Steppenwolf blogosphere. It’s been a busy couple of weeks here in First Look Land and our rehearsal room for Fair Use has been no exception. On the fourth of July, we had our first stumble through (theater term referring to the first time the actors run through the play off book…no actual stumbling) after which Meredith (our rockstar director) and I had a lengthy chat. I had thought, previous to the stumble through, that all the scenes in the play were written. But we both realized something was missing in the second act. I had neglected one of the sides of the love triangle. So the play sounded like it was skipping a beat.

So this week I started working on what we affectionately referred to as “The Mystery Scene.” On Friday, the mystery was over; I brought in ten new pages, (copied on grassy green, the draft color du jour) and the actors read through them. Yesterday, Meredith and the actors put the new scene on its feet. We’ll have another run through of the play this week; I can’t wait to see what the new addition does to the play.

Putting on a play can often feel like raising a child. The playwright gives birth to something completely new, entrusts it to the director to raise as kind of adoptive parent, and by the time the audience shows up – the play is essentially a polished adult. But what the audience isn’t privy to is the play’s turbulent adolescence: the changes endured through script rewrites, the actors still struggling with lines, the often too-small rehearsal room that acts as a stage until the set is finished. Most refined adults would prefer to hide their awkward teenage years from the world – but not First Look. In the most nascent stages of rehearsal, First Look actors and directors opened up their rehearsal room doors - and shared their teenage angst with about thirty First Look 101 observers.

Fair Use was the first play to partake in First Look 101’s “open rehearsal” series, during which patrons who purchased the First Look 101 package can observe the last two hours of a Saturday rehearsal. The idea is for the company to carry on business as usual; the 101ers effectively become flies on the wall during a Steppenwolf rehearsal process – in hopes of seeing what actually goes into raising a successful piece of theatre. (more…)

While we were in New York for the Tonys, revelling in the wonderful success of our August artists, the folks back home were in tech rehearsals for Tracy’s new play, Superior Donuts. Knowing that our work in new play development was on-going and that our Chicago audiences would be the first to see Tracy’s next play was a deeply gratifying experience. (Knowing, too, that our Chicago friends were gathered in our Steppenwolf home, watching the Tonys on a big screen, was a thrill). We had the added pleasure of being in New York with our pals from Chicago Shakespeare, winners of this year’s Tony for Best Regional Theatre.

This is your moment, Chicago. The theater that you have at your fingertips–all across our town–is being celebrated on a national platform. As Anna said in her acceptance speech for the Tony award for Best Director, “the people in Chicago don’t need a Tony to go to the theater. They go to the theater.” All of us making theater for our Chicago audiences are very fortunate indeed. You are discerning, adventuresome folk. You make it possible for all of us to work at our highest level of inventiveness and skill. In turn, we’re able to offer you work that is world-class. (more…)

The first day of rehearsal for any play ignites the rehearsal room with a kind of hopeful energy. There are promises made of the great rehearsal process to come, sincere congratulations offered to the actors who snagged the roles, and of course the general wonderment of how many people will actually be involved with the project. First Look Repertory’s first day of rehearsal went something like that – except magnified, or rather – times three.

Yesterday marked the start of rehearsal for all three First Look Rep shows: Keith Huff’s Pursued by Happiness, Jason Wells‘ Perfect Mendacity and Sarah Gubbins‘ Fair Use. Each show comes equipped with its own stage manager, dramaturg and director – who will join forces with a team of First Look designers to give these three shows the best first production possible. And that’s another element that added energy to last night’s rehearsal – all three plays are brand new work by local Chicago playwrights. So whatever excitement-times-three was in the air, it was only magnified by the novelty of First Look. (more…)