Steppenwolf Launches Young Adults Program

Steppenwolf Theatre Company launches its Steppenwolf for Young Adults 2008-2009 Season with The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov.  The production, featuring James T. Alfred, Shanésia Davis, Anthony Fleming III and Nambi E. Kelley, runs October 21 – November 9, 2008 in the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted.  Tickets are available to the general public for weekend performances only, with all additional shows reserved for school groups.  The press performance is Saturday, October 25 at 11 a.m.

Featuring an all African-American cast, Steppenwolf for Young Adults presents a unique production of Tennessee Williams' classic "memory play."  Delicately weaving truth and illusion, The Glass Menagerie evokes the drab realities of aspiring poet Tom, who spends his days in a warehouse.  Living with his overbearing mother, Amanda and his crippled sister, Laura – Tom struggles to balance his dreams of a brighter future with his devotion to his family.

"As we move into our 2008-2009 season that Steppenwolf has titled 'the season of the imagination,' I want to take this opportunity to re-examine the American Dream, how the next generation imagines it and their place in the creation of it," comments Hallie Gordon, Artistic and Education Director of Steppenwolf for Young Adults.

Ensemble member Yasen Peyankov appeared in Steppenwolf's 2007-2008 production of Superior Donuts, a world premiere play by Pulitzer Prize-winning ensemble member Tracy Letts.  He is the co-founder of Chicago's European Repertory Company and an Associate Professor and Director of Theatre Studies in the Performing Arts Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  He has directed at UIC, European Rep. and Rushfort in Los Angeles.

The design team includes: Martin Andrew (sets), Keith Parham (lights), Natasha Djukich (costumes) and Robert Milburn and Michael Bodeen (original music and sound).  Cassie Wolgamott is the stage manager. Cecil Burroughs is the assistant director

Steppenwolf for Young Adults is Steppenwolf's educational program for students, teachers and families, and is focused on making the theater accessible to the most underserved populations in Chicago.  Steppenwolf for Young Adults consists of complementary programming components that are designed to enhance education, build self-esteem and social tolerance and encourage lifelong appreciation of the arts. At the core of Steppenwolf for Young Adults are the professional, full-scale productions produced specifically for young adult audiences each season.

Professional productions of established plays, original adaptations of novels and new works are presented for young adults through weekday student matinees and weekend family performances.  The Residency Program provides teaching artists in the classroom before and after each production.  SYA provides teachers and students with scripts, study guides and tours of the theater.

A small group of high school students from across Chicago devoted to exploring the collaborative possibilities between the theater and young adults.  Council members work with their peers, Steppenwolf staff and artists to create programs that speak to their interests, ideas and creative goals.  The Council participates in various workshops and discussions, sees productions and creates their own programming for young adults at Steppenwolf.

The Teacher Theater Immersion Course is designed to help teachers integrate theater arts into their core curriculum.  Our advanced Immersion 2 Course uses arts integration methods to approach a range of non-fiction works related to themes of our two productions.  The Master Teacher Workshops help teachers improve student comprehension of literature through drama, using texts related to our Steppenwolf for Young Adults productions.  All offer the opportunity to earn CPDU credits.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults is a citywide partner of the Chicago Public Schools School Partner Program.

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 forty-one artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting, filmmaking and textual adaptation.

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