Steppenwolf’s artistic team and ensemble have been hard at work and are thrilled to announce three new virtual projects that the company will be sharing exclusively with Members. From an insider virtual reading of Seagull, the play that will open Steppenwolf’s new building in 2021 with an all-ensemble cast, to an epic radio play production of Arthur Miller’s The American Clock featuring more than 30 ensemble members including Lois Smith, Laurie Metcalf, Jon Michael Hill, Jeff Perry, Molly Regan and John Malkovich, to an online incarnation of Academy Award-winning ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney’s In the Red and Brown Water directed by longtime collaborator and ensemble member Tina Landau, Steppenwolf is excited to offer distinctive ensemble-driven content to stay connected to its most loyal supporters.
Steppenwolf deeply values its Members—from audiences who have been subscribing since 1976 when the company was performing in the basement of a Highland Park church to the members who recently joined this season, to those who partake in the full season Classic Membership experience and those with a flexible Black Card Membership. Their commitment and loyalty to Steppenwolf is what allows the company to create, take risks and carry on, especially in uncertain times.
As previously announced, this season’s productions of The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington and King James will be postponed. In addition, Steppenwolf will not be bringing Catch as Catch Can to the stage this summer. However, the company is committed to producing all three of these productions in the 2021/22 season.
Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro shares, “Challenging times call for bold choices. While we couldn't bring our Members every play this season, through these three projects we’re creating ensemble experiences so unique and unprecedented that even we don’t know quite what to expect. Despite our physical distance, our ensemble has been working more closely than ever to create work that sparks joy, curiosity and empathy and to show our Members how much they mean to us.”
Announcing Virtual
Spring & Summer 2020 Lineup
(VIRTUAL) SEAGULL
Based on the play The Seagull by Anton Chekhov
Translated and adapted by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov
Virtual reading directed by Yasen Peyankov and featuring ensemble members Ian Barford, Cliff Chamberlain, Francis Guinan, Tim Hopper, Sandra Marquez, James Vincent Meredith, Amy Morton, Caroline Neff, Karen Rodriguez and Namir Smallwood
Stage manager Christine D. Freeburg
Available for streaming May 14 – 27, 2020
Ten actors, one director and a stage manager—spread across the country but connected through Zoom—wrestle with the eternal questions that haunt the intellectual artist class: What is Love? What is Art? And where’s the MUTE button! It’s raw and gritty…it’s heartfelt and sincere…this surprisingly intimate “table” reading allows you to get closer than ever before to the magic of our ensemble.
Stacked with an ALL ensemble cast, this will be a surprisingly intimate virtual reading of the play that will open Steppenwolf’s new theatre building in 2021. This project brings members closer than ever to the ensemble with an insider’s peek into this joyful adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull.
On May 14, all active members will receive an email from Steppenwolf with their unique login username and password, as well as viewing instructions.
A Radio Play Presentation of
The American Clock
By Arthur Miller
Directed by ensemble member Austin Pendleton
Featuring ensemble members Joan Allen, Kate Arrington, Ian Barford, Robert Breuler, Cliff Chamberlain, Gary Cole, Celeste M. Cooper, Glenn Davis, Kathryn Erbe, Audrey Francis, K. Todd Freeman, Francis Guinan, Jon Michael Hill, Tim Hopper, Ora Jones, Terry Kinney, Tina Landau, John Malkovich, Sandra Marquez, James Vincent Meredith, Laurie Metcalf, Amy Morton, Sally Murphy, Caroline Neff, Austin Pendleton, Jeff Perry, William Petersen, Yasen Peyankov, Molly Regan, Karen Rodriguez, Anna D. Shapiro, Namir Smallwood and Lois Smith
Scheduled to stream in mid-June
An audacious play with unprecedented ensemble participation
A sprawling and epic tale from the remarkable chronicler of American life, Arthur Miller, The American Clock, is a kaleidoscopic view of life in the 1930s set against the backdrop of the Great Depression. This rarely produced play captures both the heart-rending struggle and the resilient, joyful spirit of the American people. Austin Pendleton directs an expansive, intergenerational cast of more than 30 Steppenwolf ensemble members as they tackle over 50 roles in this radio play rendition of a quintessentially American story.
In this lonely time of isolation, Steppenwolf brings a tale from America’s past, and invites members to sit back, power down their screens, and let the power of a well-told story spark the imagination.
In the Red and Brown Water
By ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney
Directed by ensemble member Tina Landau
Scheduled to stream in July; casting to be announced in coming weeks
Award-winning collaborators revisit this stunning story in a new medium
In the Red and Brown Water tells the story of fast spirited Oya, a promising young athlete who is offered a scholarship that could jump-start her future. When her mother becomes ill, she makes a life changing decision to remain with her mother instead of accepting the scholarship.
Set in the "distant present" in San Pere, Louisiana, In the Red and Brown Water weaves together Yoruba mythology with a modern-day story about a young woman transforming from girlhood to womanhood. Oya’s path leads her to a crossroads where she finds herself torn between settling down...and just settling.
Written by ensemble member and Academy Award winning playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, and directed by his longtime collaborator, ensemble member Tina Landau, this production will once again bring together these two artists to revisit the play first produced at Steppenwolf in 2010 as part of The Brother/Sister Plays. Incorporating the music, chants and sounds of this magical world that Tarell has created, this virtual reading will feature many ensemble members reprising their roles along with some very special guests.
Free digital content that Steppenwolf is offering to all includes:
New Episodes!
Half Hour: A Steppenwolf Theatre Podcast
Steppenwolf’s new interview-style podcast continues with Episode 3 featuring longtime ensemble member Kathryn Erbe to be released Tuesday, May 5. The coming weeks will feature candid, intimate interviews with ensemble members William Petersen followed by Frank Galati and more. Half Hour launched in April with episodes featuring co-founder Jeff Perry and longtime ensemble member K. Todd Freeman. Half Hour is available on all podcast platforms.
Hosted by four of Steppenwolf’s newest ensemble members, Cliff Chamberlain, Glenn Davis, Audrey Francis and Caroline Neff, the show uses that most magical amount of time there is in the theatre — the half hour before a show begins — to sit down and make connections between artists in the Steppenwolf family.
Half Hour is produced by Patrick Zakem and recorded and engineered by Matt Chapman. More info at steppenwolf.org/halfhourSTC
Free Virtual Two-Part Workshops—Celebrating the ‘Maker’ in All of Us
This May, Steppenwolf Education hosts “Maker May” a new lineup of virtual programming free and open to all, designed especially emerging artists, educators and students ages 13 and older. Each week features a two-part workshop—part one will have a focus on the featured artists, their creative process, how they are thinking about making in the current moment and will leave participants with a maker challenge. 48 hours later, participants will have a chance to showcase and discuss their work with the featured artists and the wider creative community. For more details or to register for an event, visit steppenwolf.org/education/virtual-workshops/
“Maker May” Virtual Programs Lineup
WEEK 1: EXPLORING AND EXPERIMENTING WITH LIVE LIT
Tuesday, May 5 and Thursday, May 7
4:30-6pm CST
Comedian and New York Times best-selling author Samantha Irby and WRITE CLUB founder Ian Belknap will introduce us to the world of “live lit,” which refers to literature that is meant to be performed. Irby and Belknap will do a bit of teaching, a bit of sharing, a lot of oversharing. Grab your pen, paper, or laptop and get to writing.
RSVP here
WEEK 2: PEEK INTO ERIKA L. SÁNCHEZ’S CREATIVE PROCESS
Tuesday, May 12 and Friday, May 15
4:30-6pm CST
National Book Award Finalist and bestselling essayist, poet, and educator Erika L. Sánchez is a writer with many talents who recently collaborated with Steppenwolf for Young Adults and playwright Isaac Gomez for the world premiere stage adaptation of her award-winning novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. Get writing tips from Erika L. Sánchez and discover the writer in you!
RSVP here
WEEK 3: A DEEP DIVE INTO ERIK & JESSIE & EVERYONE YOU KNOW
Tuesday, May 19 and Thursday, May 21
4:30-6pm CST
Erik Hellman, most recently seen in Steppenwolf’s production of Lindiwe and Familiar, and Jessie Fisher, in Steppenwolf’s production of Constellations and on Broadway in Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, are also the co-creators of the widely popular and successful show Erik & Jessie & Everyone You Know. They will be reflecting on their careers and the art of the variety show.
RSVP here
Week 4 to be announced soon. Steppenwolf Education has been hosting virtual workshops since the end of March. Watch previous virtual programming here.
Klepak Foundation Steppenwolf Education Virtual Workshop Program Sponsor
Ralla Klepak was a trailblazing attorney, advocate, singer and educator, driven by a passion for social justice and the power of the performing arts to promote world peace. Steppenwolf is grateful to the Ralla Klepak Trust for the Performing Arts for their generous partnership, which provides resources to “keep the (virtual) lights on” for teens and educators during the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and create first-of-their-kind industry models for online theater education engagement.
FREE Virtual Gathering!
Pants Optional: A Steppenwolf Soirée
Saturday, May 9 at 6:30pm CST
Steppenwolf replaces its 2020 Gala with a special online event, Pants Optional: A Steppenwolf Soirée, celebrating the power of theatre and raising vital funds to keep it alive during a time of necessary social distancing. Ensemble member Audrey Francis emcees this festive virtual gathering on Saturday, May 9 at 6:30pm CST, with special appearances by Steppenwolf ensemble members Joan Allen, Gary Cole, John Malkovich, Sandra Marquez and Laurie Metcalf and more celebrity guests. Throughout the evening, guests will be able to give online, by phone or by text to help raise funds to bring back to the stage I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, this season’s hit world premiere based on the award-winning novel by Erika L. Sánchez, adapted by celebrated Chicago playwright Isaac Gómez and directed by ensemble member Sandra Marquez. A virtual dance party with the talented DJ Tracy Young, who won a 2020 Grammy for her remix of Madonna’s I Rise, will wrap up this super fun online party.
Free of charge and open to all. For more details on how to stream Pants Optional: A Steppenwolf Soirée, visit steppenwolf.org/pantsoptional.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation’s premier ensemble theater. Formed by a collective of actors in 1976, the ensemble members represent a remarkable cross-section of actors, directors and playwrights. Thrilling and powerful productions from Balm in Gilead and August: Osage County to MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT—and accolades that include the National Medal of Arts and 12 Tony Awards—have made the theater legendary. Steppenwolf produces hundreds of performances and events annually in its three spaces: the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat 1700 Theatre. Artistic programming includes a seven-play season; a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season; Visiting Company engagements; and LookOut, a multi-genre performances series. Education initiatives include the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf for Young Adults, which engages 15,000 participants annually from Chicago’s diverse communities; the esteemed School at Steppenwolf; and Professional Leadership Programs for arts administration training. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Anna D. Shapiro is the Artistic Director and David Schmitz is the Executive Director. Eric Lefkofsky is Chair of Steppenwolf’s Board of Trustees.
Steppenwolf's mission
Steppenwolf strives to create thrilling, courageous and provocative art in a thoughtful and inclusive environment. We succeed when we disrupt your routine with experiences that spark curiosity, empathy and joy. We invite you to join our ensemble as we navigate, together, our complex world.