Photo Flash: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD at Steppenwolf

Due to popular demand, Steppenwolf for Young Adults has extended its 50th anniversary production of the acclaimed American classic To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, dramatized by Christopher Sergel and directed by Hallie Gordon.  Tickets are currently on-sale for performances through November 14, 2010.   

To Kill a Mockingbird features ensemble member Alan Wilder with Abu Ansari, Carolyn Defrin, James D. Farruggio, Caroline Heffernan, Franette Liebow, Zachary Keller, Larry Neumann, Jr., Elaine Roth, Gary Simmers, Philip R. Smith, Sandra Watson, Bubba Weiler, Claire Wellin and Dexter Zollicoffer.  Performances run October 12 - November 14, 2010 in Steppenwolf's Upstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.  Weekday matinees Tuesdays - Fridays at 10 am are reserved for school groups only, with weekend Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday performances available to the public.
 
Set in Alabama during the Great Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows the journey of Jem and Scout Finch, whose father has been appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of assaulting a white woman. As the trial progresses, Jem and Scout witness their community in a tense tug of war between justice and racism. This timeless classic compels us to take an honest look at our nation's past and our moral responsibility to each other.
 
Harper Lee found instant fame after To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960. The novel was showered with literary awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961.  After Mockingbird, Lee collaborated with childhood friend Truman Capote on his nonfiction masterpiece In Cold Blood, but never published another novel.  She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush in 2007. Christopher Sergel's stage adaptations include Winesburg, Ohio, Cheaper by the Dozen, Up the Down Staircase and Black Elk Speaks.
 
The To Kill a Mockingbird production team includes: Collette Pollard sets, Myron Elliott costumes, J.R. Lederle lights and Victoria Delorio sound, Jeffrey Baumgartner fight choreography and Eva Breneman dialect coach.  Laura D. Glenn is the Stage Manager and Cassie Wolgamott is the Assistant Stage Manager.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults' unique approach combines play production with educational components to enhance arts education for young audiences, as well as their teachers and families.  SYA creates two full-scale professional productions each season specifically for teens.  Working closely with the Chicago Public and metropolitan area schools and other community partners, SYA annually ensures access to the theater for more than 15,000 participants from Chicago's diverse communities.  The initiative also includes post-show discussions with artists; classroom residencies led by Steppenwolf-trained teaching artists in more than 30 classrooms in 14 public high schools; professional development workshops for educators; and the Young Adult Council, an innovative year-round after school initiative that uniquely engages high school students in all areas of the theater's operations.
 
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the Corporate Sponsor of Steppenwolf for Young Adults.
 
Target is the Sponsor of the Target 2-for-1 Sunday Matinees.
 
Steppenwolf is located near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible.  Street and lot parking are available.  Assistive listening devices are available for every performance in the Upstairs or Downstairs Theatres.
                       
Committed to the principle of ensemble performance through the collaboration of a company of actors, directors and playwrights, Steppenwolf Theatre Company's mission is to advance the vitality and diversity of American theater by nurturing artists, encouraging repeatable creative relationships and contributing new works to the national canon.  The company, formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, is dedicated to perpetuating an ethic of mutual respect and the development of artists through on-going group work.  Steppenwolf has grown into an internationally renowned company of 43 artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting and textual adaptation.  For additional information, visit www.steppenwolf.org, www.facebook.com/SteppenwolfTheatre and www.twitter.com/SteppenwolfThtr.

Photos by Michael Brosilow

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