Steppenwolf Hosts 3 New Events in May 2008 Traffic Series

Steppenwolf Theatre Company continues its 2008 Traffic Series in May with three unique events: Tatsu Aoki's Miyumi Project: East Meets the Rest (May 9); Sones de México Ensemble: de coraSON "From the Heart" (May 16); and the Kuumba Lynx Ensemble (May 22) in the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted Street.

Tatsu Aoki's Miyumi Project: East Meets the Rest
Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre
Friday, May 9, 2008 at 7:30PM
Tickets: $40

Musician, composer and educator Tatsu Aoki and his band, The Miyumi Project, unite taiko drumming with drums from a variety of cultures and fuse it with jazz, contemporary and classical music to create a new sound.  Aoki has recorded more than 100 albums featuring many of Chicago's musical legends.  He's the founder and artistic director of the Chicago Asian-American Jazz Festival and is an artist-in-residence at the Japanese American Service Committee.  His ensemble is a multi-generational group comprised of Chicago's leading Asian-American and African-American musicians.

Sones de México Ensemble: de coraSON "From the Heart"
Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre
Friday, May 16, 2008 at 7:30PM
Tickets: $25 adults, $15 children 15 and under

The Grammy-nominated Sones de México Ensemble is Chicago's premier folk music ensemble specializing in Mexican "son" – a large family of regional music styles including huapango, gusto, chilenas, son jarocho and more.  The group formed in 1994 to keep the tradition of Mexican "son" alive in its many forms.  As performers and recording artists, the ensemble has developed and popularized many original arrangements of Mexican traditional tunes and has experimented cross-culturally with symphonic, Irish, folk, country and western, jazz and rock music.

Kuumba Lynx Ensemble
Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre
Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 7:30PM (10:30AM student matinee)
Tickets: $20 ($8.50 student matinee)

Fusing literary and performance art with music and movement, the Kuumba Lynx Ensemble presents an evening of engaging hip-hop theater.  The ensemble - Urban Griots, Lil Bit and Baby Boo – strive to empower Chicago's youth by developing programs that preserve, promote and present hip-hop culture.

Tickets for the student matinee performance of the Kuumba Lynx Ensemble must be booked through Steppenwolf's Education Coordinator – call 312-654-5639 to schedule a field trip.

Tickets for all Traffic performances can be purchased online at www.steppenwolf.org or through Audience Services at 312-335-1650, 1650 N. Halsted Street.

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