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

(Rodrick plays Shango and Shua in The Brother/Sister Plays)

I remember meeting Tarell in NY three years ago, before I had ever heard of The Brother/Sister Plays. We met through one of my closest friends and hung out in NY until five in the morning. We had the best time, exchanged numbers, and committed to keeping in touch. When I got the script for In the Red and Brown Water two weeks later, I had no idea that the man I had met was the playwright. I read the script and I cried. I told my mom before the audition, “I have to do this play! It’s a part of how I was raised. It’s a part of who I am.” Both Tarell and I are from Florida; I’m from Polk County, FL, where it’s just as country and swampy as San Pére. I had no idea that the script I was so in love with was by this tall, beautiful black brother who I had hung out with two weeks prior until I stepped into the audition room. I cannot even express to you the peace and joy that came over my spirit when I saw him in the room, not to mention that auditioning for Tina Landau was a treat in and of itself. Three months later, I was in Atlanta at the Alliance Theatre with Tina and Tarell, working on In the Red and Brown Water.

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(Joy is the Literary Manager at Steppenwolf)

SPOILER ALERT: this post is intended for readers who have already seen The Brothers Size and Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet and may spoil some surprises within the show. If you are able to attend The Brothers Size and Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet, we ask that you read this post after you’ve seen the production.

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(Joy is the Literary Manager at Steppenwolf)

SPOILER ALERT: this post is intended for readers who have already seen In the Red and Brown Water and may spoil some surprises within the show. If you are able to attend In the Red and Brown Water, we ask that you read this post after you’ve seen the production.

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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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