Steppenwolf's LookOut Series Announces Winter 2018-19 Lineup
By: Stephi Wild Nov. 02, 2018
Steppenwolf's LookOut Series has announced their Winter 2018-2019 lineup, giving audiences plenty of reasons to escape the cold with performances from hot, new acts and the return of LookOut favorites. Warm up with a drink at Front Bar and stay for an unforgettable night of live performance in Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre. Since its inception, the LookOut series has featured the work of more than 1,000 artists from across Chicago, the country and the world in more than 300 performances.
Tickets to Winter 2018-19 LookOut programming go on sale today, November 1 at 11am through Audiences Services (1650 N Halsted), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org. Steppenwolf Red and Black Card Members may use credits towards shows in the 1700 Theatre. Lineup below; prices vary. For information, visit www.steppenwolf.org/tickets--events/lookout.
Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre is an 80-seat flexible and intimate venue connected to Steppenwolf's own Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks at 1700 N Halsted St., an inviting space to grab a drink, have a bite, or meet up with friends and collaborators, day or night. Guests can take drinks into the theater.
DECEMBER
Unexpected Outcomes presents:
Diversions
Featuring Ex Why + arx duo
Thursday December 13 at 8pm
$25
This evening of creative virtuosity features two project-driven pairs of players. Four-time GRAMMY Award winners Matthew Duvall and Lisa Kaplan unveil their alter-ego Ex Why. A double-bill with the extraordinary traveling project omnivores Arx Duo, featuring Mari Yoshinaga and Garrett Arney.
The Alchemy of Bliss: The Sonal Aggarwal One-Woman Show
Directed by Jonald Reyes
Friday December 14 & Saturday December 15 at 8pm
$17
Overcoming family pressure and societal constructs, stand-up comedian Sonal Aggarwal takes us on a journey from fire to water, alchemizing challenges into bliss with stories, music, comedy and movement in her one-woman show, directed by Jonald Reyes.
Erik and Jessie and Everyone You Know: Annual Holiday Party
Monday December 17 at 8pm
$20
Local actor/musicians Erik Hellman and Jessie Fisher present an updated variant of the classic variety hour: Original music, special guests, comedy, magic, improv, and ephemera along with the tightest country, soul band in the land. Fast-paced, fun, funky and fresh.
JANUARY
80 Minutes Around the World
Tuesday January 8 & Wednesday January 9 at 8pm
$20
Multi-time winner of The Moth, Nestor Gomez is the creator, curator, producer and host of 80 Minutes Around the World, a storytelling show which features the stories of immigrants and allies from around the world. The show has featured storytellers from China, Nigeria, Ukraine, Poland, Mexico, USA, and more.
First Days
Thursday January 10 & Friday January 11 at 8pm
$20
Gina DeLuca's First Days is a comedic solo show comprised of original essays and stories about her bizarre and often chaotic first experiences in places like Las Vegas, Hungary, Argentina, and Chicago.
Diana & the Dishes: 10th Anniversary and Release Party
Monday January 14 at 8pm
$15
Garnering comparisons to Regina Spektor, Ben Folds, Carole King, and Cole Porter, Chicago band Diana & the Dishes presents a unique, high-energy recipe of pop, soul, wit, tight musicianship and contagious fun.
Hot Kitchen Collective Presents: BIG SCIENCE
Directed by Jiana Estes & Audrey Polinski
Co-devised with Collaborators of Hot Kitchen
Thursdays January 17 through February 7 at 8pm
$20 General Admission, $15 Industry
Hot Kitchen is a theatre and performance group made up of eight artists hailing from Florida. The collective's newest performance, BIG SCIENCE, will re-purpose text, imagery, and movement from the scientific field as a mode of communication with their spectator; juxtaposed with their own essays and writings on life. It is an adventure through the cosmos; a blast-off into the unknown, and a journey to find out if dark matter really does exist.
iLookOut for Locas!
Saturday January 19 at 8pm
$12
Las Locas Comedy is a Chicago based comedy showcase that highlights Latina/LatinX artists, hosted and curated by Janice V. Rodriguez. A Chicago Reader-recommended and Red Eye "Must See Comedy Show."
Blackie: a story by Roy Kinsey
Saturday January 26 at 8pm
$15
A live performance of rapper-musician Roy Kinsey's album, Blackie. According to the LA Times, "It's deeply autobiographical, but it's also thick with Kinsey's observations as a queer black man in America trying to connect the past of the generations before him with today."
TRIOS
Monday January 28 at 7pm
$15
An exploration of the conversation that can exist between music and improv. The trio of improvisers consists of TJ Jagodowski (TJ and Dave), Emma Pope (Second City Mainstage cast, She the People), and Billy Bungeroth (director of Second City's South Side of Heaven, Dead River Revival), while Julie Nichols (Second City, Dead River Revival) helms a trio of musicians.
FEBRUARY
You're Being Ridiculous: OBSESSED
Friday February 1 at 8pm, Saturday February 2 at 8pm, & Sunday February 3 at 3:30pm
$20
At You're Being Ridiculous, real people tell true stories about their lives. Each performer is linked by our rotating themes, and by the desire to make you laugh-and, once in a while, cry. Our motto: Good stories are better than good times. We laugh at ourselves and laugh with each other. Everyone has a story to tell. What's yours? This time around we're going to tell you all about our obsessions!
Tommy Carroll: Building Community Through Sound
Tuesday, February 5 at 8pm
$15
Blind drummer, composer and bandleader Tommy Carroll presents a suite of his compositions that fuse the emotional freedom of jazz with the earthiness of roots music and the adventurousness of contemporary sound art.
The Epic Sound Presents: A Voice in the Dark
Friday, February 8 and Saturday, February 9 at 8pm
$18
A Voice In The Dark is a musical in development from the artists behind the popular soul collective Soul Spectacular. With story help from writer/director Samantha Bailey (Brown Girls), A Voice In The Dark uses soul & gospel music to help tell the story of a group of Chicagoans attempting to overcome the divisions of love, race, and gender in the 1960's.
The Gift Theatre presents:
Doubt: A Parable
Directed by John Gawlik
February 27 through March 31
Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm
Saturdays at 4pm
Sundays at 3:30pm
$15-$55
In this brilliant and powerful drama, Sister Aloysius, a Bronx school principal, takes matters into her own hands when she suspects the young Father Flynn of improper relations with one of the male students. Winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play. Featuring Gift Ensemble Members Cyd Blakewell, Jennifer Glasse, Mary Ann Thebus and Michael Patrick Thornton.
LookOut is Steppenwolf's performance series that presents the work of artists and companies across genre and form, emerging artists and performance legends, quintessential Chicago companies and young aspiring ensembles, familiar Steppenwolf faces and new friends. Greta Honold and Patrick Zakem are the producers for LookOut, and Becca Brown is the 2018/2019 LookOut Producing Apprentice. For more information, visit steppenwolf.org/lookout.
The 1700 Theatre features wheelchair-accessible seating, an Induction Hearing Loop, and assistive listening devices. Front Bar features a push-button entrance, all-gender accessible restrooms and accessible counter and table spaces.
Connected to the main lobby is Steppenwolf's own Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks, offering a warm, creative space to grab a drink, have a bite, or meet up with friends and collaborators, day or night. Open Tuesdays - Sundays from 8am to midnight, Front Bar serves artisanal coffee and espresso is provided by La Colombe and food prepared by Goddess and Grocer. The menu focuses on fresh, accessible fare, featuring grab-and-go salads and sandwiches for lunch and adding shareable small plates and desserts for evening and post show service. front-bar.com.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation's premier ensemble theater. Formed by a collective of actors in 1976, the ensemble represents a remarkable cross-section of actors, directors and playwrights. Thrilling and powerful productions from Balm in Gilead to August: Osage County and Pass Over-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 programing 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. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.
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