Photo Preview: Steppenwolf Presents fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life

Steppenwolf for Young Adults concludes its 2011/12 season with fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life, a world premiere by Sarah Gubbins, directed by Joanie Schultz, playing February 28 – March 18, 2012 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. The production features Zoe Levin, Ian Daniel McLaren, Lily Mojekwu, Fiona Robert and Bradley Grant Smith. Weekday matinees (Tuesdays through Fridays) are reserved for school groups only, with weekend (Saturday and Sunday) performances available to the public. Single tickets and tickets for school groups are currently on sale.

Jo's junior year of high school in suburban LaGrange, Illinois started off just fine-not that it's ever easy being queer at 16. Thankfully, a new English teacher assigns Carson McCullers' famed novel The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter and Jo discovers an unshakable kinship to McCullers' central character John Singer. Like Singer, Jo is forever the listener, definitively the outsider, perpetually misunderstood and filled with unrequited love. Yet when she is a victim of a gay-bashing incident, her world is turned upside down and she must decide whether to seek revenge or redemption. A story about isolation, fitting in and finding oneself, fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life is a play about surviving high school and how literature still has the power to transform how we see the world.

"This spring, we are proud to present Sarah Gubbins' fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life, commissioned especially for Steppenwolf for Young Adults," comments Artistic and Educational Director for SYA Hallie Gordon. "This world premiere is inspired by our fall production of Carson McCullers' The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter. We are excited to investigate how McCullers' classic tale has prompted a bold response from a contemporary playwright-creating something new and meaningful for the current generation of young adults," adds Gordon.

Sarah Gubbins is a Chicago playwright whose full length plays include Fair Use, In Loco Parentis, The Water Play and The Kid Thing. Her plays have been read or developed at Steppenwolf, The Public Theater, New York Theater Workshop, The Goodman Theatre, American Theater Company, About Face Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Next Theatre Company, Actor's Express and Collaboraction. Joanie Schultz recently directed the world premiere of Seth Bockley's Ask Aunt Susan at Goodman Theatre and Sarah Gubbins' The Kid Thing, a co-production with About Face Theatre and Chicago Dramatists. Other directing credits include The Metal Children at Next Theatre, Wreckage and Many Loves at Caffeine Theatre, Shining City at Redtwist Theatre, A Brief History of Helen of Troy and In Arabia We'd All Be Kings at Steep Theatre, The Ring Cycle at Building Stage and A Perfect Wedding and Stone Cold Dead Serious at Circle Theatre.

The fml: how Carson Cullers saved my life production team includes: Chelsea Warren (sets) David Hyman (costumes), Lee Keenan (lights), Thomas Dixon (sound) and Mike Tutaj (projections). Additional credits include Erica Daniels (casting) and Cassie Wolgamott (stage manager).

Title: fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life
Written by: Sarah Gubbins
Directed by: Joanie Schultz

Featuring: Zoe Levin (Emma), Ian Daniel McLaren (Mickey), Lily Mojekwu (Ms. Delaney), Fiona Robert (Jo) and Bradley Grant Smith (Reed)

Location: Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.

Dates: February 28 – March 18, 2012
Public Performances: Saturdays at 7:30 pm (except March 3) and Sundays at 3 pm
Weekday matinee performances (Tuesdays - Fridays at 10 am) are available for school groups only
Press Performance Sunday, March 4 at 3 pm
Public Ticket Price: $20 on Saturdays, 2-for-1 on Sundays ($15 student tickets available via phone/box office only)

Audience Services: 1650 N. Halsted, (312) 335-1650
Online ticketing available at www.steppenwolf.org
For information on Steppenwolf for Young Adult weekday school performances, contact the SYA Education Assistant Lauren Sivak at (312) 654-5643.

Accessible Performances:
Sign-interpreted performances: Sunday, March 11 at 3 pm and Saturday, March 17 at 7:30 pm
Open captioned performance: Saturday, March 17 at 3 pm
Audio-described performance plus touch tour: Sunday, March 18 at 1:30 pm (3 pm performance)

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.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, IL (Martha Lavey, Artistic Director; David Hawkanson, Executive Director) is one of the nation's leading ensemble theatres, producing up to 16 productions each year in its three Chicago theater spaces – including programming dedicated to the development of new plays and theatre for young adults. Steppenwolf's productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including off-Broadway, Broadway, London, Sydney and Dublin. Formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, Steppenwolf has grown into an ensemble of 43 actors, writers and directors. For additional information, visit www.steppenwolf.org, www.facebook.com/SteppenwolfTheatre and www.twitter.com/SteppenwolfThtr.

Photo credit: Photo by Sandro.

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