Steppenwolf Theatre Kicks Off GARAGE REP 2014 Tonight

Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents Garage Rep 2014, featuring The New Colony's reWILDing Genius, Prologue Theatre Company's Saturday Night/Sunday Morning and Walkabout Theater Company's The Wild.

These innovative storefront companies perform in rotating repertory for a ten-week run, today, February 14 - April 20, 2014; performances are scheduled Wednesday through Friday at 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 1pm, 4pm and 8pm in the Garage Theatre (1624 N Halsted St). Tickets ($20) are on sale now through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Garage Rep 2014 Line-up:

(All plays, artists and dates are subject to change)

The New Colony presents

reWILDing Genius

By Andrew Hobgood and Megan Johns

Directed by Andrew Hobgood

Featuring Will Cavedo, Caitlin Chuckta, Sarah Gitenstein, Evan Linder, Morgan McNaught, Wes Needham and Stephanie Shum

World Premiere

An Uptown Chicago loft becomes a breeding ground for young minds looking to change the world. Self-identified geniuses, cybervigilantes, hacktivists and anarchists cast off the laws of the land as they attempt to alter Humanity's fate. As these Millennials plot against enemies and build complex data schemes, reWILDing Genius asks how far is too far in our quest to save us from ourselves.

The creative team for reWILDing Genius includes William Boles (scenic design), Curtis Cassell (costume design), Sarah Hughey (lighting design), Nick Kawahara (sound design), Kent Cubbage (projections design), Jenny Pinson (properties design), Geno Franco (production manager), Christopher Kristant (technical director), Christopher Chmelik (dialect coach), Ben Kaye (assistant director) and William Glick (script supervisor).

Prologue Theatre Company presents

Saturday Night/Sunday Morning

By Katori Hall

Directed by TaRon Patton

Featuring Angela Alise, Kona Burks, McKenzie Chinn, Jennifer Glasse, Earliana McLaurin, Kyra Morris, Tyrone Marcus Phillips, Michael Pogue and Krenee A. Tolson

Memphis, 1945: Miss Mary's beauty parlor and boarding house is alive and hopping-full of young African American women primping their hair and telling stories of their soldiers overseas. But as the final days of WWII approach, the women wrestle with the uncertainty of what the future will hold when-and if-their men return. Hilarious and historical, Saturday Night/Sunday Morning is a story about finding friendship and love in unexpected places.

The creative team for Saturday Night/Sunday Morning includes Yu Shibagaki (scenic design), Beth Laske-Miller (costume design), Sarah Hughey (lighting design), Curtis Powell (sound design), Sarah Burnham (properties design), Leonicia Berry Bongorno (assistant director/stage manager), Anthony Rodriguez (assistant stage manager), Jennifer McClendon (production manager), Christopher Kristant (technical director) and Margaret Lebron (dramaturg).

Walkabout Theater Company presents

The Wild

Directed by Thom Pasculli

Dramaturgy by Kendra Miller

Created by Nigel Brown, McCambridge Dowd-Whipple, Al Evangelista, Cooper Forsman, Katie Mazzini, Kendra Miller, Dana Murphy, Thom Pasculli and Paul Scudder

World Premiere

Rising tides, erotic dances and seductive demi-gods encroach on an isolated tropical paradise. Inspired by the work of playwright Charles Mee and Walkabout's physical training practices, The Wild is the world premiere of a devised laboratory theater performance which confronts distant realities and their infringement on our daily lives.

The creative team for The Wild includes Stephanie Pasculli (scenic design), Delia Baseman (costume design), Sarah Hughey (lighting design), Mikhail Fiksel (sound consultant), Glenn Potter (production manager), Christopher Kristant (technical director), Dina Klahn (production stage manager) and Katie Mazzini (rehearsal stage manager).

Garage Rep 2014 is scheduled February 14 - April 20, 2014 in the Garage Theatre (1624 N Halsted St). Performances are scheduled Wednesday through Friday at 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 1pm, 4pm and 8pm. Tickets ($20) go on sale December 6 at 11am through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org.

Since the inaugural repertory in 2010, Garage Rep has brought the work of 12 storefront theater companies in Chicago to the Steppenwolf stage, including: The Twins Would Like To Say by Dog & Pony Theatre Company, punkplay by Pavement Group and Adore by XIII Pocket in 2010; Heddatron by Sideshow Theatre Company, The Three Faces of Doctor Crippen by The Strange Tree Group and Sonnets for an Old Century by UrbanTheater Company in 2011; Hit the Wall by The Inconvenience, Oohrah! by LiveWire Chicago and He Who by Theatre Zarko in 2012; and See What I Wanna See by Bailiwick Chicago, She Kills Monsters by Buzz22 Chicago and BlackTop Sky by Theatre Seven of Chicago in 2013. Garage Rep 2014 marks the fifth annual series, adding The New Colony, Prologue Theatre Company and Walkabout Theater Company to the distinguished list of Garage Rep participants.

The Steppenwolf Garage is dedicated to new plays, new artists and new audiences for the American theater. It offers artists the opportunity to present their work with the scale, space and resources it merits. For audiences, it provides opportunities to engage in multigenerational conversation about the new, provocative work emerging from Chicago's diverse and vibrant theatre scene.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is America's longest standing, most distinguished ensemble theater, producing nearly 700 performances and events annually in its three Chicago theater spaces-the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat Garage Theatre. Formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, Steppenwolf has grown into an ensemble of 43 actors, writers and directors. Artistic programming at Steppenwolf includes a five-play Subscription Season, a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season and two repertory series: First Look Repertory of New Work and Garage Rep. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Off-Broadway, Broadway, London, Sydney and Dublin. Steppenwolf has the distinction of being the only theater to receive the National Medal of Arts, in addition to numerous other prestigious honors including an Illinois Arts Legend Award and 12 Tony Awards. Martha Lavey is the Artistic Director and David Hawkanson is the Executive Director. Nora Daley is Chair of Steppenwolf's Board of Trustees. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre and twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr.

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