Steep Theatre Opens THE BOXCAR

Steep's new cabaret-lounge space, The Boxcar, is set to open to the public this weekend, expanding the company's artistic programming and offering a community gathering place five nights a week, Thursday through Monday evenings. Audiences at Steep's main stage shows (Penelope Skinner's Linda will run through September 15) can enjoy quiet conversations, post-show receptions with Steep artists, and beverages to be sipped in the Boxcar or brought into the theatre. The space will also provide an intimate venue for music, storytelling, and other performances on Sunday and Monday evenings.

This highly anticipated expansion of Steep Theatre is part of its commitment to build, bond, and enrich Steep's community of artists and audiences by telling stories of shared humanity and everyday truths through innovative and diverse forms of performance. Steep Ensemble Members Thomas Dixon and Sasha Smith will serve as the Artistic Curators for this free performance series, which has been made possible by an Idea Lab grant from the Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development. Programming in the Boxcar will be scheduled year-round, and a performance calendar can be found at steeptheatre.com/boxcar.

"This is an opportunity to bring more audiences and more artists into the conversations we are having at Steep," said Artistic Director Peter Moore. "This expansion is also a testament to our commitment to being an active part of the Edgewater community and a resource for artists everywhere."

Thomas Dixon, Artistic Curator
Thomas Dixon is a Chicago-based sound designer and composer. He is an Ensemble Member at Steep, where he has designed many plays, including Linda, Birdland, Lela & Co., Wastwater, and Brilliant Adventures. His work has been seen elsewhere in Chicago and regionally at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Theater, Jackalope Theatre Company, First Floor Theater, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Cleveland Play House, and many more. He has been nominated for multiple Jeff Awards, and he is the recipient of the Michael Phillip Award for Best Emerging Designer at the 2012 Michael Merritt Awards. Thomas is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and Northwestern University, and he currently teaches design at Columbia College Chicago and DePaul University. He is a member of the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association.

Sasha Smith, Artistic Curator
Sasha Smith is a Chicago-based actor and violence and intimacy choreographer. Recent acting credits include Hinter and Hookman (Steep Theatre) Johanna Faustus (The Hypocrites), Stay Lit (The Roustabouts), and The Aristophanesathon (The Hypocrites). She has been seen on television in Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Green Screen Adventures. Recent choreography credits include You Got Older (Steppenwolf), Smart People (Writers Theatre), Fear and Misery of the Third Reich (Haven Theatre), The Toilet (Haven Theatre), A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Gynecologic Oncology Unit At Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Center Of New York City (Route 66), Ideation (Jackalope), and Octagon (Jackalope). She is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago.

www.steeptheatre.com

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