The newest edition of the American Theatre Wing's "Working in the Theatre" will feature "Steppenwolf: From Chicago to Osage County" on CUNY TV on Sunday, March 23 at 5 p.m. The segment will repeat on Friday, March 28 at 9 a.m., 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, March 29 at 11 a.m. The program becomes available as streaming audio and podcast from www.americantheatrewing.org, as well as iTunes, beginning Wednesday afternoon, March 26.
Ranging from their start in a church basement in 1976 to their current Broadway production of
August: Osage County, Steppenwolf Theatre Company Co-Founder
Jeff Perry and Steppenwolf Ensemble Members
Laurie Metcalf,
Amy Morton and
Rondi Reed discuss their formative years as a rebel theatre group in
Chicago, what they did in those early years to attract audiences, how the ensemble has evolved, how Steppenwolf transformed from upstart to institution, the development of
Tracy Letts'
August: Osage County, and the challenges that a New York success like August places on their work back home in
Chicago.
Jeff Perry is currently appearing in
August: Osage County and is Co-Founder & Former Artistic Director of Steppenwolf. Perry's many acting credits include over 30 Steppenwolf productions such as The Grapes of Wrath (1990 Tony for Best Play), Balm in Gilead (
Chicago/NY), Uncle Vanya, and The Time of Your Life (
Chicago/Seattle/San Francisco).
Laurie Metcalf, currently appearing in
David Mamet's
November, is an original member of the Steppenwolf company. Past Steppenwolf productions include
The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Coyote Ugly, Educating Rita, Libra and
Balm in Gilead for which she received New York's Drama Desk, Obie and Theatre World Awards. For the Geffen Theatre in LA, Metcalf received Ovation awards for her performances in Jane Anderson's
Looking for Normal and
Arthur Miller's
All My Sons.
Amy Morton, currently appearing in
August: Osage County, is an actress and director and has been a member of Steppenwolf since 1997. She has appeared in over 20 productions with Steppenwolf and has directed many as well. Her last appearance on Broadway was as Nurse Ratched in
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Before joining Steppenwolf, Amy was a member of the Remains Theatre Ensemble for 15 years.
Rondi Reed, currently appearing in
August: Osage County, is a Steppenwolf member since 1979 and has appeared in over 60 Steppenwolf productions. Her credits include
The Grapes of Wrath and
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice on Broadway;
Picasso at the Lapin Agile Off-Broadway; and most recently in
Chicago, Madame Morrible in
Wicked. She has also directed several Steppenwolf productions.
The program is moderated by
Ted Chapin, President and Executive Director of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization.
The ATW "Working in the Theatre" panels bring together theatre's best-known performers, producers, playwrights, directors, choreographers, composers, agents and others for peer-to-peer conversation about the art, the craft and the business of theatre.
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