Danai Gurira to Be Honored at Steppenwolf's 10th Annual Women in the Arts

Steppenwolf Theatre Company announces OBIE, Helen Hayes and NAACP Award-winning actor and playwright Danai Gurira as the honoree at the 10th annual Steppenwolf Women in the Arts fundraising luncheon on December 10, 2018 at Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, at 12noon. Ms. Gurira joins Steppenwolf Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro for an exciting conversation about her on-stage and on-screen acting career, award-winning plays and her impact as a leader in her industry. Single tickets go on sale Monday, October 29 through Steppenwolf's Special Events Department at 312-654-5632 orspecialevents@steppenwolf.org.

Danai Gurira is acknowledged as one of today's freshest voices for the stage as the playwright of critically acclaimed In the Continuum, Eclipsed, The Convert and Familiar. These plays have garnered Danai multiple awards including an OBIE Award, two Helen Hayes Awards, and an NAACP Award, in addition to a Tony nomination for best play (Eclipsed). Steppenwolf is proud to be producing the Chicago premiere of Familiar this fall.

Best known for her roles of Michonne on AMC's The Walking Dead, one of television's most watched programs, and Okoye in Marvel's Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, Danai's inspired performances have captured the attention of audiences worldwide. Upcoming projects include Gurira adapting Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's book Americanah into a miniseries, and her play The Convert will be staged at the Young Vic theatre in London in December.

This year, Steppenwolf is proud to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Women in the Arts. This luncheon began as a way to bring together Chicago's business and civic communities in celebration of innovators across the performing arts. By lifting up these voices, we explore their unique careers in a personal and intimate way. Previous honorees include ensemble members Joan Allen, Laurie Metcalf and Martha Plimpton, along with Claire Danes, Juliette Lewis, Julianna Margulies, Margo Martindale, Julianne Nicholson, Mary-Louise Parker, Sarah Paulson and Phylicia Rashad.

Since its inception, the luncheon has raised over $1.3 million for Steppenwolf's professional development programs, including Steppenwolf for Young Adults, the nationally recognized education program, the School at Steppenwolf, as well as the Professional Leadership Programs, providing apprenticeships, fellowships and internships for the next generation of arts managers and producers.

Individual tickets start at $300. Tickets that include pre-lunch photo opportunity with Danai Gurira begin at $500. Table sponsorships for Women in the Arts are currently available at $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000. To purchase tickets or learn about table sponsorship opportunities, contact Steppenwolf's Special Events Department at 312-654-5632 or specialevents@steppenwolf.org.

Co-chairs of the 10th Anniversary Women in the Arts luncheon are Stephanie B Smith and Helen Zell. United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline Partner of Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Danai Gurira is an award-winning playwright and actress. As a playwright, her works include In the Continuum (OBIE Award, Outer Critics Award, Helen Hayes Award), Eclipsed (Tony Award Nomination: Best Play; NAACP Award; Helen Hayes Award: Best New Play; Connecticut Critics Circle Award: Outstanding Production of a Play), and The Convert (six Ovation Awards, Los Angeles Outer Critics Award). Her newest play, Familiar, received its world premiere at Yale Rep in 2015, and premiered in New York at Playwrights Horizons in February of 2016. She is a recipient of the Sam Norkin Award at the 2016 Drama Desk Awards, a Whiting Award, a Hodder Fellow, and has been commissioned by Yale Rep, Center Theatre Group, Playwrights Horizons, and the Royal Court.

As an actor, Gurira was most recently seen in Marvel's blockbuster phenomenon Black Panther as "General Okoye" and reprised the role in another blockbuster sensation Avengers: Infinity War in April 2018. Gurira currently starts as "Michonne" on AMC's The Walking Dead (NAACP Image Award nomination). Other select acting credits include the films All Eyez on Me (NAACP Image Award nomination), The Visitor, Mother of George and the NYS&F's Measure for Measure (Equity Callaway Award.) Gurira is currently adapting Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's book Americanah into a miniseries.

Born in the US to Zimbabwean parents and raised in Zimbabwe, she holds an M.F.A. from Tisch, NYU and serves as an ambassador for Bono's ONE campaign. She is also the founder of LOGpledge.org, an awareness-building campaign focused on the plights of women and girls around the globe; and the co-founder of Almasi Arts, which works to give access and opportunity to the African Dramatic Artist. almasiartsalliance.org. Twitter/Instagram: @danaigurira. Facebook: @DanaiGuriraOfficial.

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