U X E t
the next generation of theater artists
animals out of paper
venus Where We’re Born
may 31 - june 19, 2011
welcome to next up 2011 at the garage 2
Welcome, “When a Man takes his journey beyond all that to him was hither to the Known, when a man packs his baggage and walks himself beyond the Familiar, then sees he his true I; not in the eyes of the Known but in the eyes of the Known-Not.” —The Young Man from Suzan-Lori Parks’ Venus
As we go about the process of making theatre, building our lives as theatre artists and expanding our perspectives as theater-goers, we are on a search for our “true I,” which we discover in our encounters with the new, the unknown, the next up. Next up in our third repertory series of the Garage season, are three stories of the self writ large—the coming of age story of a young working-class woman from a small town, two paper crane artists who will discover the “why” of their passion in a pilgrimage to Nagasaki, and the unearthing of the “I” beneath the surface of the sideshow novelty the “Hottentot Venus.” Where We’re Born, Animals Out of Paper and Venus are brought to you in collaboration with Northwestern University’s MFA Program. We are very proud to offer these three new productions envisioned by a new generation of theatre artists offering us all a glimpse of exciting theatre of the “Known-Not.”
Polly Carl
Director of Artistic Development
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Jess McLeod
Emily Tarleton Brad Akin Mekey Gubernick
NE X UP t Scenic Design
Scott Davis Venus, Where We’re Born Emily Tarleton Animals Out of Paper
Costume Design Mekey Guberinic Animals Out of Paper, Where We’re Born Emily Tarleton Venus Jaclynn Jutting
Scott Davis
Nastassia Jimenez
at the garage
animals out of paper By Rajiv Joseph Directed by Jaclynn Jutting
Lighting Design
Nastassia Jimenez
Sound Design
Andre Pluess+
Casting
Erica Daniels
Dramaturg
Shannon Fitzsimons Venus
Fight Choreographer
Matt Engle Where We’re Born
Dialect Coach
Adam Goldstein Where We’re Born
Lead Stage Manager
Jonathan Nook* Animals Out of Paper
Stage Managers
Tess Lauchaire* Where We’re Born Cassie Wolgamott* Venus
Assistant Stage Managers
Michael C. Dutton Where We’re Born Simone Gianfrancesco Venus Victoria Jeans Animals Out of Paper
venus By Suzan-Lori Parks Directed by Jess McLeod
Where We’re Born By Lucy Thurber Directed by Brad Akin
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Support for Next Up comes through the “Leading for the Future Initiative,” a program of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a constituent of Theatre Communication Group (TCG), the national organization for nonprofit professional theater. † member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble. * member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers. + member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829 of the IATSE.
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animals out of paper By Rajiv Joseph Directed by Jaclynn Jutting Cast (in alphabetical order)
Amy J. Carle*: Ilana Derek Hasenstab*: Andy Adam Poss*: Suresh Understudies
Leah Karpel: Ilana Ryan Patrick Dolan: Suresh, Andy Additional Staff
Assistant Directors: Emma Forman, Kaitlin Gilgenbach Production Assistant: Becky M. Mock Run Crew: Chris Mathews, Brian DesGranges Sound Board Operator: Claudette Perez Wardrobe: Jessica Korpela Setting: An artist’s studio, a nice restaurant, a hotel room Time: Now There will be one 15-minute intermission. Animals Out of Paper is presented by arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., in New York. * member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.
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Cast/Contributors Amy J. Carle (Ilana) previous Steppenwolf credits: Sex with Strangers (First Look Repertory of New Work) and Hedda Gabler. Chicago: Orlando (Court Theatre); The Sins of Sor Juana, Rock ’n’ Roll, Desire Under the Elms (Goodman Theatre); Peter Pan, Trust (Lookingglass Theatre); Refuge (Collaboraction, Jeff nom.); SubUrbia, The Lights (Jeff nom.), Ecstasy, WAS, The Planets (Roadworks Productions). Off Broadway National Tour: The Vagina Monologues. Regional: Fully Committed and The Diary of Anne Frank (Madison Repertory Theatre); Morning Star (Kansas City Repertory Theatre). Television: Chicago Code (FOX), Law & Order (NBC), The Guiding Light (CBS). Derek Hasenstab (Andy) is happy to return to Steppenwolf where he was last seen in Disappeared, a co-production with Roadworks Productions. Chicago credits include: Sunday in the Park with George, SS! A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); A Streetcar Named Desire (Writers’ Theatre); Phyro Giants!, Dealer’s Choice (Roadworks Theatre); A Home at the End of the World, Cloud Nine (About Face Theatre); Oedipus Complex (Goodman Theatre); and Civil War Christmas (Northlight Theatre). Regional credits include: The Glass Menagerie (Kansas City Rep) and Metamorphoses (Mark Taper Forum). Broadway National Tour: The Lion King. Adam Poss (Suresh) is very happy to be making his Steppenwolf debut. Most recently he starred in the world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s The North Pool directed by Giovanna Sardelli (TheatreWorks, Silicon Valley). Chicago credits include three seasons of A Christmas Carol, Dark Play or stories for boys written and directed by Carlos Murillo (The Latino Theatre Festival, Goodman Theatre); Scorched (Silk Road Theatre Project); The Beats (16th Street Theatre); and Antebellum written and directed by Robert O’Hara (Athenaeum Theatre). Regional work includes The History Boys directed by Joy Zinoman for which he earned a Helen Hayes nomination for Best Ensemble. (The Studio Theatre, D.C.) Television work includes The Chicago Code. Adam holds a BFA from The Theatre School at DePaul University. Rajiv Joseph (Playwright) Broadway: Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama and also awarded a grant for Outstanding New American Play by the National Endowment for the Arts. Joseph’s New York productions include Gruesome Playground Injuries (Second Stage Theatre, 2011); Animals Out of Paper (Second Stage Theatre, summer 2008); The Leopard and the Fox (adaptation), Alter Ego, fall 2007; Huck & Holden (Cherry Lane Theatre, 2006); All This Intimacy (Second Stage Theatre, 2006). World 5
Cast/Contributors
Five minutes with...
premieres of new plays this year include The North Pool (Theatre Works in Palo Alto); The Lake Effect (Crossroads Theatre in New Jersey); and The Medusa Body (Alley Theatre). He received his BA in Creative Writing from Miami University and his MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal.
Animals Out of Paper
Director Jaclynn Jutting
Jaclynn Jutting (Director) is a Chicago freelance director. As the current Associate Artistic Director of Vitalist Theatre, she has directed The Bay at Nice, Suzan-Lori Parks’ 365 Plays/365 Days Festival and was Associate Director of A Passage to India, Mother Courage and Her Children (2007 After Dark Award for Best Direction) and Anna Karenina. Other Chicago directing credits include Sarah Ruhl’s Orlando, Artist Descending a Staircase (Northwestern); Professions for Women (Bailiwick Repertory Director’s Festival); King of the Road (Around the Coyote); and Helen (Greasy Joan & Co.). Assistant directing credits include: Sex with Strangers, Up (Steppenwolf Theatre); Candide and The Sins of Sor Juana (Goodman Theatre).
Victoria Jeans (Assistant Stage Manager) is delighted to return to Steppenwolf, after working on this fall’s First Look Rep as the Assistant Stage Manager for Etiquette of Vigilance. Other Chicago credits include: Woyzeck and Pirates of Penzance (The Hypocrites); Mary (Goodman Theatre); The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Project 891 Theater); and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (The Gift Theater). Victoria is a proud English major from Lake Forest College. As always tremendous love and thanks to her friends and family and of course Lubko.
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jaclynn jutting
Jonathan Nook (Stage Manager) is proud to be returning to the Steppenwolf Garage. His stage management credits here include productions of The North Plan, Sex with Strangers and The 3rd and 4th annual First Look Repertory of New Work. Other Chicago stage management credits include: Orlando, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, The Year of Magical Thinking, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and The Piano Lesson (Court Theatre); Radio Macbeth (Court Theatre/SITI). He has also worked with American Players Theatre and Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.
with Director of Northwestern University’s MFA Directing Program and ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro
Anna D. Shapiro: Why is this an important story to tell? Jaclynn Jutting: Animals Out of Paper is filled with beautiful origami, but the story, what Ilana, Suresh and Andy are struggling with in the course of the play is something we all know. This play is for all of us who have been in a dark hard place and have lost someone we love. AS: What themes are you exploring in this production? JJ: All three of these characters experience pain, which ultimately comes from loving people and losing them. This is the danger of loving, no? So, I’d say the themes in this play are: love, loss, our own complicity in our failures and ultimately, metamorphosis.
AS: What do you think is your greatest challenge in approaching this piece? JJ: Well, I’ve never directed in the round before. I’ve always wanted to. So that should be fun, and I think the result—that we end up being in Ilana’s studio with her, amid the origami and her memories—is worth it. AS: How is this production connected to your work over the last three years? JJ: It’s funny. Apparently I direct funny plays, which I find ironic because I’m not that funny myself. Just ask Brad or Jess. Also, it deals with love, loss and that in the mundane reality of our lives, there is something a little fantastic in this world because people really are capable of enormous change. I happen to find that incredibly beautiful.
AS: What do you hope people will take away from your show? JJ: There is a moment in the play when something magical happens, and the people onstage are transformed. I want that moment to feel like a gift to the audience. As hard as things get, we simply are not alone in the world.
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venus By Suzan-Lori Parks Directed by Jess McLeod Cast (in alphabetical order)
Carolyn Hoerdemann: The Mans Brother, The Mother-Showman, The Grade-School Chum Mildred Marie Langford: Miss Saartjie Baartman, a.k.a. The Girl, The Venus Hottentot Jeff Parker*: The Man, The Baron Docteur Michael Pogue: The Negro Resurrectionist Ann Sonneville: The Female Chorus John Stokvis: The Male Chorus Understudies Michael Pogue: The Man, The Baron Docteur Additional Staff Assistant Directors: Samantha Beach, Will Crouse Production Assistant: Becky M. Mock Run Crew: Chris Mathews, Brian DesGranges Sound Board Operator: Claudette Perez Wardrobe: Jessica Korpela Setting: A room on the top floor of a museum in Paris. Time: Now and 200 years ago. There will be one 15-minute intermission. Venus is presented by arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., in New York.
Cast/Contributors Carolyn Hoerdmann (The Mans Brother, The MotherShowman, The Grade-School Chum) is proud to be making her Steppenwolf debut. Chicago credits include: Agamemnon, Scenes from an Execution, Uncle Vanya, Ivanov, Madame DeSade (After Dark Award), Zoyka’s Apt., Black Milk (European Repertory Company); Romeo and Juliet, Maria’s Field (Tuta Theatre Company); Scorched (Silk Road Theatre Project); Cassanova, Joy of Going Somewhere Definite and original work for Sketchbook 9 and 10 at Collaboraction Theatre Company, where she is a company member. She also teaches performance at DePaul University where she is an alum. Carolyn has a Masters in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. Mildred Marie Langford (Miss Saartjie Baartman, a.k.a. The Girl, The Venus Hottentot) is very excited to return to Steppenwolf where she was last seen in The Twins Would Like to Say (Dog & Pony Theatre). Other Chicago credits include: In Darfur (TimeLine Theatre); A Civil War Christmas (Northlight Theatre); Zulu Fits (MPAACT); the world premiere of War with the Newts and The Overwhelming (Next Theatre); 12 Ophelias (Trap Door Theatre); The Crucible (Steppenwolf Theatre); SINBAD: The Untold Story, The Ghost of Treasure Island and The Blue House (Adventure Stage); and Professions for Women (Bailiwick Director’s Festival). Mildred is a graduate of George Mason University and The School at Steppenwolf. THANK YOU God for continued blessings. Thank you to friends and family for unwavering support. Let your light shine! Jeff Parker (The Man, The Baron Docteur) returns to Steppenwolf where he has appeared in The Brother/ Sister Plays directed by Tina Landau (Jeff Award, Best Ensemble) and Winesburg, Ohio. Recent credits: As You Like It (Chicago Shakespeare Theater) and Candide (Goodman Theatre). Other Chicago credits: Turn of the Century, Bounce, The Visit, The Beard of Avon, Boy Gets Girl, The House of Martin Guerre and A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre); Nine, the musical (Porchlight Music Theatre, Jeff Nomination); Cymbeline, The Three Musketeers, A Flea in Her Ear (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Before My Eyes, View of the Dome and Bluff (Victory Gardens Theater); Indian Ink (Apple Tree Theatre); and The American in Me (Magic Theatre). Television: Prison Break (FOX) and Early Edition (CBS). He holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Southern California.
* member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.
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Cast/Contributors Michael Pogue (The Negro Resurrectionist) is thrilled to return to Steppenwolf since his last appearance in Carter’s Way. Other credits include: Radio Golf (Raven Theatre); Lobby Hero (Redtwist Theatre); Night and Day (Remy Bumppo Theatre); King Lear, As You Like It (Lakeside Shakespeare); Six Degrees of Separation (Eclipse Theatre); Butt Nekkid (The Side Project); The Incredibly Famous Willy Rivers (Sinnerman Ensemble); Panther Burn (MPAACT); Sundown Names and Night-Gone Things (Chicago Theater Company); The Zoo Story (Excaliber Shakespeare Company); and Fences (Open Door Repertory). Ann Sonneville (The Female Chorus) is elated to be working at Steppenwolf for the first time on this incredible and challenging piece. Other Chicago credits include The Moonstone (Lifeline Theatre); The Ghost Sonata (Oracle Productions); The Artist Needs A Wife (the side project); Lakefront Property, Village of K__, The Nebraska Project and Siberian Mouth (Bruised Orange Theater Company). Ann is a co-creator/ensemble member of I Saw You, BOTC’s ongoing comedy show, and a professional voice over artist. She earned her BFA from Northern Illinois University and has also studied at The Moscow Art Theatre School. Countless thanks to The Fam, BOTC and Clint. John Stokvis (The Male Chorus) most recently appeared in The Master and Margarita (Strawdog Theatre). Other Chicago credits include Macbeth (Lyric Opera); Comedy of Errors (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); and BOOM! (Next Theatre). He also teaches circus arts and writes haiku. www.johnstokvis.com
Suzan-Lori Parks (Playwright) is a playwright, screenwriter, novelist and songwriter, whose Topdog/Underdog won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In 2001, she received a MacArthur Fellows “Genius” Grant, and she holds Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degrees from Mount Holyoke College and Spellman College. Her work is the subject of the PBS film The Topdog/Underdog Diaries and her plays include In the Blood (2000 Pulitzer Nominee), Venus (1996 OBIE Award), Fucking A, The America Play, Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom (1990 OBIE Award) and The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World. Topdog/Underdog (2002 Tony® Award nominee) has had successful runs on Broadway, in cities throughout the United States and in London at the Royal Court Theatre. Additional recognition includes two NEA playwriting fellowships, a W. Alton Jones Grant, a grant from The Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays, the Whiting Writer’s Award and grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, the 10
Cast/Contributors Ford Foundation, the CalArts/Alpert Award, the PEW Charitable Trusts and The Guggenheim Foundation. Suzan-Lori is a professor at the California Institute for the Arts where she heads the Dramatic Writing Program. Jess McLeod (Director) hails from San Francisco, Williams College and New York. In Trousers and Mourning Becomes Electra (Northwestern); Joyce Carol Oates’s The Corn Maiden (co-adapted with Justin Swain), Mr. Kolpert (artistcollectivenyc); the world premieres of Kitchen Sink by Rachel Axler and Fell by Harrison David Rivers (FringeNYC). From 2005-2008, she served as Director of Programming for The New York Musical Theatre Festival, where she directed pop/musical theatre fusion concerts like The Unauthorized Musicology of Ben Folds. She is currently at work on two new musicals and The Untitled Ayn Rand/Alan Greenspan Project. Special thanks to Dr. Sandra L. Richards. Shannon Fitzsimons (Dramaturg) is thrilled to be working with Steppenwolf for the first time. Next season, she will serve as the assistant dramaturg on The March. Recent Chicago credits include the world premiere of Icarus and the workshop production of Eastland (Lookingglass Theatre); and The Sins of Sor Juana (Goodman Theatre), for which she served as a dramaturgical consultant. Shannon is a doctoral candidate in the Interdisciplinary PhD in Theatre and Drama at Northwestern University, where she studies new play development. Cassie Wolgamott (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be returning to Steppenwolf for her sixth production. Most recent credits include: To Kill a Mockingbird (Steppenwolf Theatre); and Million Dollar Quartet (Chicago). In Chicago: Betrayal, Gary, Fair Use, The Glass Menagerie (Steppenwolf Theatre); The MLK Project (Writers’ Theatre); The Sparrow (The House Theatre/Broadway In Chicago); and the Gay Games Opening Ceremony at Soldier Field. Regional credits include work with ArtsPower National Touring Theatre, Portland Stage, Opera Illinois and the Colorado, Illinois and Virginia Shakespeare Festivals. Proud member of Actors’ Equity. Simone Gianfrancesco (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled to return to Steppenwolf after working on this fall’s First Look Rep as the Assistant Stage Manager for The North Plan. Other recent Chicago credits include: Roadkill Confidential and Dead Letter Office (Dog & Pony Theatre Co.); Woyzeck (The Hypocrites); The New Electric Ballroom (A Red Orchid Theatre); Feet of Clay (LastMatch Theatre); and punkplay (Pavement Group). Simone is a proud member of Two Birds Casting. She received her BA from Smith College and will be leaving Chicago in the fall to pursue an MFA in Stage Management from UC San Diego. Much love to the team.
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Five minutes with...
venus
Director jess mcleod with Director of Northwestern University’s MFA Directing Program and ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro
11/12 season
When everyday lives are touched by war.
Five stories about winning and losing. Five stories about coming home. CLYBOURNE PARK PENELOPE TIME STANDS STILL THE MARCH THREE SISTERS
Anna D. Shapiro: Why is this an important story to tell? Jess McLeod: Because we live in a country that struggles with the race of its president. AS: What themes are you exploring in this production? JM: How our experiences form our perceptions and projections of each other. The impact of those perceptions and projections on a woman whose job was to be looked at, perceived, projected onto. Our struggle now to fill in history’s plentiful, power-driven gaps.
AS: How is this production connected to your work over the last three years? JM: My parents are from South Korea and the Philippines and my great-grandfather was a Scotsman. I don’t look like a McLeod, but I am one (and I’ve got the kidneys to prove it!). My other shows at NU have been my way of putting onstage my own history and consequent feelings about family (Mourning Becomes Electra). I’ve been interested in making theatre about the struggle to connect our (okay, MY) inner and outer lives (In Trousers), without the subject of race as a part of the direct conversation. Venus adds it into the mix.
AS: What do you hope people will take away from your show? JM: More awareness of the subjectivity of our eyes. AS: What do you think is your greatest challenge in approaching this piece? JM: It’s a beast of a play with a lot of layers, dense language, 200 years of action, abstracted time and space—the design team and I are striving to set the whole thing up strongly so that we can just stand back and let the play go, go, go.
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Where We’re Born By Lucy Thurber Directed by Brad Akin Cast (in alphabetical order)
Audrey Francis*: Franky LaRue Shane Kenyon: Tony Marino Max Lesser: Drew Avery Tim Musachio: Vin Wright Caroline Neff: Lilly Marino Understudies Caroline Neff: Franky LaRue Additional Staff Assistant Directors: Lisa Dover, George Lyons Production Assistant: Becky M. Mock Run Crew: Chris Mathews, Brian DesGranges Sound Board Operator: Claudette Perez Wardrobe: Jessica Korpela Setting: A hill town in Western Massachusetts Time: Present, Fall. There will be one 15-minute intermission.
Cast/Contributors Audrey Francis (Franky LaRue) is proud to be working with Steppenwolf on NEXT UP. Chicago credits include: Talking Pictures and The Actor (Goodman Theatre); Awake and Sing! (Northlight Theatre); Othello and Another Part of the Forest (Writers’ Theatre); Desire Under the Elms (The Hypocrites); and The Credeaux Canvas (Circle Theatre, Jeff Nomination). TV credits include: Donnie Brasco-The Documentary and ER. Film credits include: The Promotion, Dustclouds, Just Act Normal and the upcoming independent film Chicago Overcoat. Audrey is the proud owner of Black Box Acting Studio and is thankful to Black Box for all the love, inspiration and support. Audrey’s upcoming projects include A Girl with Sun in Her Eyes (Pine Box Theatre) and directing Sexual Perversity in Chicago (University of Chicago). Shane Kenyon (Tony Marino) is thrilled to be back at Steppenwolf Theatre to be a part of Where We’re Born. He has previously understudied for Sex with Strangers, Dublin Carol (Steppenwolf Theatre). Other Chicago credits include: Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Betrayal, Last of the Boys (Steppenwolf Theatre); Jailbait (Profiles Theatre); Mary’s Wedding (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble); Tallest Man, Sweet Bird Of Youth (The Artistic Home, ensemble member); Our Father, Scenes From The Big Picture (Seanachai Theatre Co.); Rewind (Side Project). His film/TV credits include: The Chicago Code, Dog Jack and The Kari Files. Shane earned his BFA in Acting from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Shane would like to thank Britnee and his family for their constant love and support throughout the years. Max Lesser (Drew Avery) is thrilled to be making his Steppenwolf debut. Max has been in Chicago for a few years now, and has had the incredible fortune to work with many great theatre companies and inspiring artists. Before coming to Chicago, Max lived in LA where he appeared on According to Jim and helped write a couple TV pilots for Grey’s Anatomy’s Ellen Pompeo. Max has also appeared in some films and television commercials and is just thankful that someone still lets him on stage. Max is a graduate of Wesleyan University, iO Chicago and The School at Steppenwolf.
Where We’re Born is presented by arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., in New York.
* member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.
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Cast/Contributors Tim Musachio (Vin Wright) is ecstatic to be working with Steppenwolf for the first time. Chicago credits include Sweet Bird of Youth, How To Act Around Cops and Cut to the Chase, Palace of Riches (The Artistic Home); LeapFest, Mother Bear (Stage Left Theatre); and Margaret Fleming (Blackbird Theatre). Tim is also an ensemble member at The Artistic Home. He wants to thank his family and loved ones for their dedicated support. Caroline Neff (Lilly Marino) is delighted to be a part of Steppenwolf’s inaugural NEXT UP. Past Chicago credits include: The Metal Children (Next Theatre); A Brief History of Helen of Troy, Harper Regan, In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (Non-Equity Jeff Award, Best Ensemble), Coronado and Of Mice and Men (Steep Theatre); Port, Stage Door and Be More Chill (Griffin Theatre); Cherrywood and Saved (Mary-Arrchie Theatre); St. Crispin’s Day (Strawdog Theatre); and Moonshiner (Jackalope Theatre). Caroline is a proud ensemble member with Steep Theatre and holds her BA from Columbia College. Lucy Thurber (Playwright) is the author of seven plays: Where We’re Born, Ashville, Innocence is a Sin, Killers & Other Family, Stay, Bottom of the World and Monstrosity. She was the recipient of the 2000/2001 Manhattan Theatre Club playwriting fellowship. Her play, Bottom of the World, was produced by WET and previously workshopped at The Eugene O’Neill Playwrights’ Center. Bottom of the World was part of The Tribeca Theater festival and received a workshop at The Public Theater. She attended New River Dramatists in North Carolina. Her play, Where We’re Born, was produced at Rattlestick Theater in the fall of 2003. Killers & Other Family was produced at Rattlestick Theater in 2001. Also in 2001, she was commissioned by The Keene Theater Company to write a short piece called The Kool-Aid Smile, which was presented in Keene America. She was a guest artist at The Perseverance Theatre twice, where she helped to adapt both Moby Dick and Desire Under the Elms. She has had readings and workshops at Manhattan Theatre Club, The New Group, Primary Stages and Soho Rep. Her ten-minute play, Dinner, is published in a collection called Not So Sweet, 16 Plays From Soho Rep’s Ten-Minute Play Festival. She is a member of MCC Playwrights’ Coalition, Primary Stages’ writing group and 13P.
Cast/Contributors a musical adaptation of Tara Ariano’s Untitled: A Bad Teen Novel with Michael Mahler (FringeNYC); a reading of Sheila Callaghan’s Lascivious Something (Dog & Pony Theatre Co.); as well as workshops for Collaboraction and LA’s needtheater. Matt Engle (Fight Choreographer) is excited to be working with Brad Akin again. They last worked together on Brad’s first year show, Katzelmacher. Other Chicago fight credits include: Wuthering Heights (Lifeline Theatre); 2000 Feet Away, Insignificance and Breathing Corpses (Steep Theatre); Hot ‘N’ Throbbing (Pine Box Theatre); Marathon ‘33 (Strawdog Theatre); The End (Black Sheep Theatre); and League of Awesome, Siskel & Ebert Save Chicago and Ren Faire! A Fistful of Ducats (Factory Theater). Matt is also a proud company member of Chicago’s Factory Theater. Tess Lauchaire (Stage Manager) is proud to be back at Steppenwolf after working on Harriet Jacobs and Fair Use (part of First Look Rep) in 2008. She has since worked at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Goodman Theatre, Raven Theatre and the side project. She has spent the better part of the last year at Lookingglass Theatre, where she was the ASM for Lookingglass Alice, Peter Pan and Ethan Frome. Michael C. Dutton (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled to be returning to Steppenwolf’s Garage Theatre for Where We’re Born. Other Chicago stage management credits include: The Old Masters and A Separate Peace (Steppenwolf Theatre); Dental Society Midwinter Meeting (At Play Productions); Dead Pile (XIII Pocket); The Good Negro (Goodman Theatre); All My Sons and When She Danced (TimeLine Theatre); and Sanctified and St. James Infirmary (Congo Square Theatre). Michael would like to thank his family and friends for their endless love and support.
Brad Akin (Director) is a Chicago-based director and ensemble member at Steep Theatre Company, where he has directed four productions: Book of Days (Jeff Nominated—Best Ensemble), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Chicago premiere), Insignificance and Greensboro: A Requiem (Chicago premiere, Jeff Citation— Best Supporting Actress). Other credits include: Katzelmacher and A Lie of the Mind (Northwestern); Taming of the Shrew (Moraine Valley Community College); 16
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middletown
Five minutes with...
where we’re born
By: Will Eno Directed by: Les Waters
Director Brad Akin
Featuring: ensemble members Alana Arenas, Tim Hopper, Ora Jones, Martha Lavey and Tracy Letts with Brenda Barrie, Molly Glynn, Keith Kupferer, Danny Mccarthy and Michael Patrick Thornton.
with Director of Northwestern University’s MFA Directing Program and ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro
Mary Swanson just moved to Middletown, eager to start a family and enjoy the neighborly bonds a small town promises. But when Mary befriends resident John Dodge, she is quick to discover that below Middletown’s flinchingly honest exterior lies something much more complex. Middletown is a wry, human portrait of a town with two lives, one ordinary and visible, the other epic and mysterious.
brad akin
JUNE 16 — AUG 14 2011 In the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre
Buy online at steppenwolf.org or call 312-335-1650.
Exclusive Corporate Production Sponsor
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Major Foundation Support
Anna D. Shapiro: Why is this an important story to tell? Brad Akin: The divide between rural and urban America—as well as between working class and middle class America—is especially sharp right now. I don’t see many plays set in small towns; even the ones that are, treat the community with a degree of condescension. We’re a theatre community with an urban audience, so making room for voices like Thurber’s helps us to bridge that divide. AS: What themes are you exploring in this production? BA: Home, family and community. These words carry a lot of political weight these days, but they’re even more complicated than we acknowledge. Thurber’s protagonist, Lilly, has found herself in a situation where neither home, family nor community give her the things she needs to live a happy, healthy life. All the characters in this play struggle with the question: what am I willing to sacrifice to make a place for myself? AS: What do you hope people will take away from your show? BA: When people with privilege look at others who are stuck in horrible circumstances, there’s often a little voice asking, “why don’t they just leave?” This play takes a hard look at what it means
to leave and why it’s so much more complicated than walking out the door. For someone who might be in a situation that they need to leave, I hope the way that struggle is treated in this play is ultimately encouraging. AS: What do you think is your greatest challenge in approaching this piece? BA: I think the greatest challenge is putting the full dynamics of the life of these people on stage. As a director, I tend to get jazzed about small, intimate scenes. But offstage, the rest of the world doesn’t go away when those intimate moments happen. This play is propelled forward by multiple stories happening at the same time. Their intersections cause explosions. So my challenge becomes: how do I let the small and big moments live together on stage to make all of those stories clear? AS: How is this production connected to your work over the last three years? BA: Every play I’ve worked on has dealt with how community is made and broken; how we define things like “home” and “family” for ourselves; what happens when those definitions break down. Theatre has the power to expand our definition of ‘we’: to remind us how interconnected all of our lives are. It’s often the people living just outside our circle of concern who are most affected 19 by our actions.
the next up designers Scott Davis (Scenic Design—Venus, Where We’re Born) Macbeth, Short Shakespeare (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Peribañez, Regina Taylor’s State(s) of America, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, In Trousers, MASS, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Northwestern University); Filthy Rich, The Colored Museum, Alice In Wonderland, Home Free!, The Weir (Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center); Trinity River Plays (Associate Designer; Goodman Theatre and Dallas Theatre Center); In the Heart of America (Associate Designer; Repertory Stage), Through the Looking Glass, The Cassandra Project (The Capitol Fringe Festival). Costume Designer: Jungalbook (Northwestern). Emily Tarleton (Scenic Design—Animals Out of Paper and Costume Design— Venus) is completing her third year in the MFA Design program at Northwestern University. Credits include: Peribañez, Jungalbook, Orlando, The American Pilot, Air Guitar High, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Northwestern University); Mr. Kolpert (ArtistCollectiveNYC); The Weir, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Home Free (University of Maryland). Emily received a BA in Theatre from the University of Maryland, College Park. Mekey Guberinic (Costume Design—Animals Out of Paper, Where We’re Born) is honored to be working for the first time at Steppenwolf. Currently a third year MFA student in Costume Design at Northwestern University, he previously received his BA from the University of Applied Arts in Belgrade, Serbia in 2005. Northwestern University design credits include Spinning into Butter with director Derrick Sanders, Tartuffe with Sean Graney, Lie of the Mind with Brad Akin, In Trousers with Jess McLeod and MASS with Dominic Missimi. The Seagull with Erik Friedman was Mekey’s debut costume design in the USA at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
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Nastassia Jimenez (Lighting Design) is an MFA Lighting Design student at Northwestern University and holds a BFA from the University of Central Florida Conservatory Theatre. Prior to moving to Chicago, she spent a season working as a Lighting Design Assistant for the Florida Grand Opera in Miami. Design credits include The Regina Taylor Project: The State(s) of America, Peribañez,
The Secret Garden, The Who’s Tommy, In Trousers and A Lie of the Mind (Northwestern); Stuart Little, School Daze and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Orlando Repertory Theatre); and The Good Woman of Setzuan (UCF Conservatory Theatre). Andre Pluess (Sound Design) Recent Steppenwolf credits include: Sex with Strangers, Endgame, Kafka on the Shore, after the quake and Dead Man’s Cell Phone. Credits include numerous productions for Court Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre (Artistic Associate), Victory Gardens Theater (Resident Designer), About Face Theatre (Artistic Associate), Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theatre and many other Chicago and regional theaters. Broadway credits: Metamorphoses, I Am My Own Wife, 33 Variations and The Clean House (Lincoln Center). Mr. Pluess has received multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards/Citations, an L.A. Ovation Award, Barrymore Award, Drama Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk/Lortel nominations for composition and sound design. Recent projects include: Legacy of Light (Arena Stage); Ghostwritten (Goodman Theatre); Palomino (Center Theatre Group); Equivocation (Seattle Rep); Merchant of Venice and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Marcus (American Conservatory Theatre); and MacBeth and Much Ado About Nothing (California Shakespeare Festival, where he is a new artistic associate), as well as the score for the film The Business of Being Born.
Northwestern University staff Northwestern University MFA Directing and Design Faculty
Northwestern University Theatre and Interpretation Center Staff
Anna D. Shapiro† Todd Rosenthal Linda Roethke Sarah Hughey
Managing Director Diane Claussen Marketing & Communications Manager Nichole “Koko” Cooper Production Manager Jennifer Smith Administrative Assistant Jean Deven Technical Supervisor Shannon Nickerson Master Carpenter Santosha Chantal Scenic Carpenter Adam Grant Carpenters Joey deBettencourt Joe Schermoly
† Steppenwolf Ensemble Member
Scenic Artist James Weber Assistant Scenic Artist Megan Hovany Properties Supervisor Chris Wych Properties Assistant Aaron Laudermith Properties Assistant Sarah Burnham Costume Shop Supervisor Ryan Magnuson Lighting & Sound Supervisor Peter Anderson Paper Folder, Animals Out of Paper Sunmi Kang
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designers’ notebook THe Next Up designers reflect on their creative process... Emily Tarleton Drawings for Venus ensemble costumes The set for Venus is the Baron Docteur’s office, which contains many specimens and morbid human exhibits. The chorus emerges from the space as the Baron Docteur’s standard, ideal examples of the human form. The two of them, dressed like fashion plates from 1810, with white hair and frosted skin, look as though they are plaster casts, starkly juxtaposed against Venus.
Nastassia Jimenez Found research image used in the lighting design for Where We’re Born The lighting for this play focuses on the environment. The play takes place in a small New England town in the fall and the image provides a good idea of what that town might feel like in that time of year. The overcast quality of the light also reflects the uncertain emotional state of Lily herself, a person at a crossroads in life. Not being able to see the face of the girl in the image adds to the feeling of uncertainty, since without her facial expression, her state of being is ambiguous.
Scott Davis Initial marker drawing for Venus The Negro Resurrectionist breaks into a museum storage room, once the Baron Docteur’s office, and brings Venus to life from artifacts he discovers there. In this rendering, an anatomical drawing is projected onto the actor playing Venus, which brings together the body as imagined by anatomists of the time, and the live actor’s actual body. This is an early design idea that has grown and changed since this drawing was made.
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Mekey Guberinic Photoshop costume design for Animals Out of Paper The costume design for Ilana underlines an individualistic New York artist’s fashion, showing her uniqueness, inner strength and vulnerability. Her style mirrors fragile and bold actions that will raise questions about her personality, her mistakes and the pain in her life. I am continually fascinated with the infinite possibilities offered by collage. The Photoshop rendering process mimics collage, but offers the added benefits of speed, precision, clarity and concise expression through unlimited design tools. While there is no substitute for strong traditional technique, Photoshop allows initial concept sketches to be tweaked, or altered, on the fly, in response to new ideas.
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Types, Adjustments & “Chemistry Sides” An Interview with Director of Casting and The School at Steppenwolf Erica Daniels By Associate Producer Rebecca Rugg
Rebecca Rugg: Erica, can you speak in general about the casting process? What you do first? Erica Daniels: Everything starts with reading the play. It’s funny—I can’t just read plays. I read plays and I hear voices. And I sometimes see faces. I’ll pencil in actor names next to moments or character descriptions. And then I meet with the director and find out whether the director read the play with particular actors in mind or if there are types of actors they are interested in. RR: When you say “type,” what do you mean? ED: I ask what actors a director has seen in performance, or actors they’ve worked with, who they have particularly loved. For instance, some actors are very “in the moment,” or “moment-to-moment real,” and others come from a more stylized place – they’ve done a lot of narration, Shakespeare or classical work. As directors and casting folks, we have to adjust how we speak to actors with different experience or training so the adjustment is precise and clear. Directors gravitate, even if they don’t know they’re gravitating, towards specific types.
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The NEXT UP directors had never worked with a casting director before. I met with each of them separately and talked about the characters in their plays and went through headshots. The tricky thing with headshots is that I know what actors look like when they walk in for an audition,
and yet their headshot may show them differently, with hair and makeup done. Some actors that the directors didn’t respond to on the basis of headshots, I had to really advocate for, and say, “that person just looks like Los Angeles from their headshot.” RR: I know your initial meetings with these directors took longer than you initially expected. Can you say why? ED: Some of the extra time was spent simply picking the material, which we call “sides,” for the auditions. Some of the sides were too long. It was just a negotiation of what we both were comfortable with asking actors to give and prepare. Usually we do a first round of auditions, where everybody we see gets a scene and a ten minute slot, during which the director might give them some adjustments and then the actor leaves. Then we do callback sessions, which might have slots that are little longer. All of them had questions about how to handle auditions with actors they know personally— here we call people for an initial audition and then if they’re not right, we say they’re not right. We try to be really respectful of the actors’ time, and in that way respectful of their feelings. Nobody wants their time wasted out of courtesy.
RR: Can you give me a specific example of what an “adjustment” is in an audition? ED: Okay, I’ll give you a specific example from one of these plays. Most of the sides we had for Venus, by Suzan-Lori Parks, could be done two ways. The style can be performative, almost circus-like Master of Ceremonies type of stuff, or, the way Jess McLeod is directing it, the style can be much more pared down. So if actors came in with a big “Master of Ceremonies” style, she might ask them to try it again and be much more specific, to do it as though speaking to only one person, directly. That’s one example.
It’s funny—I can’t just read plays. I read plays and I hear voices. RR: What did you learn from these directors? ED: Well, we had to come to understand each other’s language. One of the directors said she wanted to do a “chemistry read,” and it just took me a couple of minutes to figure out what she meant. I finally got it: “Oh, you want different pairs of actors to read together. The couples, you want them to read together.” It’s just not a term I’d heard before. RR: What do you think is the most important thing for emerging directors to learn as they begin to cast shows professionally? ED: I think they need to know that they are in the right place. It was really exciting to see these directors take that journey, to give adjustments and talk more loudly and feel like they were commanding the room. I’m trying to help them to drive the audition, own the room and be in charge. Or actors will ride all over them.
RR: Right. Auditions are the moment where rehearsal starts. ED: Of course, something always goes wrong. We did a bunch of the auditions on the downstairs set of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? because that was the only space that was available on the Steppenwolf campus. And then the big blizzard hit on what was supposed to be an audition day, so we had to reschedule. So these directors were really thrust into the world of all that can happen. RR: What are the satisfactions of mentoring? ED: I think all three of these directors are confident, are ready to walk into an audition room with actors and carry that room. I feel honored that I was their first casting director.
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steppenwolf staff Artistic Director Martha lavey
Artistic Polly carl Director of Artistic Development Erica Daniels Director of Casting and the School at Steppenwolf Joy Meads Literary Manager Rebecca Rugg Associate Producer NICK WARD Casting and School Assistant TRACY LETTS AMY MORTON ANNA D. SHAPIRO RICK SNYDER JESSICA THEBUS Associate Artists SHELDON PATINKIN Artistic Consultant STEPPENWOLF FOR YOUNG ADULTS HALLIE GORDON Artistic and Educational Director, Steppenwolf for Young Adults WHITNEY DIBO Program Specialist AMANDA JANE DUNNE LARRY GRIMM ROBERT HINES III NICOLE RIPLEY EMILIO ROBLES CARLA STILLWELL Teaching Artists Administration DAVID M. SCHMITZ Managing Director RACHEL DOMARACKI Director of Finance SCOTT MACOUN IT Manager CAT TRIES Company Manager MEGAN SHUCHMAN Human Resources & Diversity Programs Coordinator BRIAN HURST Finance Associate LUPE GARCIA Quiles Events Management Associate Angela johnson Office Management Associate & Receptionist RICHARD KANG IT Assistant
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Executive artistic board Terry Kinney, jeff perry & gary sinise
JAMES PALMER Executive Assistant Jackie Snuttjer Finance Specialist DEVELOPMENT SANDY KARUSCHAK Director of Development KATY E. HALL Director of Corporate Relations RUTH STINE Director of Major Gifts DEBORAH STEWART Director of Foundation and Government Relations ERIC EVENSKAAS Director of Individual Giving and Donor Services KENDRA VAN KEMPEN Director of Special Events JESSICA GRETCH Individual Giving Coordinator PAUL G. MILLER Development Coordinator Molly Kobelt Special Events Associate LOUISE GERAGHTY Donor Relations Associate KALEIGH LOCKHART Corporate Relations Associate Suzanne Miller Donor Services Associate MARKETING, publicity & AUDIENCE Services LINDA GARRISON Director of Marketing and Communications YAEL EYTAN Marketing Director DAVID ROSENBERG Communications Director JULIA DOSSETT MORGAN Promotions and Media Manager THOMAS WEITZ Digital Assets Manager LUCAS CRAWFORD Marketing Associate JOEL MOORMAN Digital Content Producer SUSANNAH KIM Digital/Design Associate LUIS A. IBARRA Graphic Designer NORA TAYLOR Marketing and Program Associate TAMARA TODRES Director of Audience Services
JIMMY FREUND Audience Services Manager STEPHANIE HELLER Audience Services Subscription Manager Mike brunlieb MATTHEW LYLE Audience Services Supervisors Allan Waite Group Sales Associate Roseann Bishop TARA BRANHAM Rebecca Butler BILLIE BRYANT ALI HOEFNAGEL MELISSA KLAAS SOTIRIOS LIVADITIS MARISSA MCKOWN MEG SANTISI rachel welling Audience Services Associates Operations JAY JUSSAUME Director of Operations CORY CONRAD Facilities Manager ANDERS JACOBSON RYAN PALMA Facilities Staff VICTOR DAVID Tika Ram Kafley NILA KHATIWADA HAROLD KRIPPS Ethan ozaniec Bhagirath Timsina Custodial Staff EVAN HATFIELD Front of House Manager LIBET WILFONG House Manager RON BOGACKI Mary Bowmann MATT CAMPBELL Julia Curns Kassandra Deans Heidi Germann ROBERT HINES III JESSICA LIND Blake-Briana McKay Jack Miggins Becky Mock Christine Olivier RICHARD RUBIO Danielle shindler Cat Tries Catherine Smyka MARA STERN Front of House Staff
board of trustees executive director david hawkanson
MUSTAFA CHAUDHRY DONALD COULSON Indra Kafley PETER VAN KEMPEN Parking Staff LAUREN LOUER, THE SAINTS Volunteer Usher Coordination
MALCOLM EWEN CHRISTINE D. FREEBURG LAURA D. GLENN MICHELLE MEDVIN
Production AL FRANKLIN Production Manager DIXIE UFFELMAN Associate Production Manager RUSSELL POOLE Technical Director ADEN WATSON Assistant Technical Director ROGELIO RIOJAS Scene Shop Foreman KEN BLENC ROBERT BROWN MARCOS EVERSTIJN Scenic Carpenters Jenny DiLuciano Properties Master ANDRIA SMITH Assistant Properties Master CHARLES MOSER Master Properties Artisan RICK HAEFELE House Carpenter DAWN PRZYBYLSKI Stage Carpenter CARYN WEGLARZ KLEIN Costume Director MAE HASKINS Assistant Costume Designer LAUREL CLAYSON Head Draper KEVIN PETERSON Shop Foreman Myron Elliott Staff Draper JESSICA STRATTON Wardrobe Supervisor erin Cook Staff Dresser MARTHA WEGENER Audio Engineer GREGOR MORTIS Assistant Audio Engineer J. R. LEDERLE Lighting Supervisor ERNESTO GOMEZ House Electrician
CALL CENTER CASEY VANWORMER Call Center Manager PATRICK WALSH Call Center Supervisor SYDNEY CRISTOL Courtney Fontaine LAUREN FISHER CHARLES FRYDENBERG TYLER GREENE MARILYN HILLARY Rania Salem Manganaro Terrence Mosley Call Center Representatives
DEB STYER ROSE MARIE PACKER KATHLEENPETROZIELLO Stage Managers
interns Richard Barazza Naomi Brodkin Paul Doran Britton Esposito Evan Garrett Molly Hellring Erin Hemming Michael McBride Terrence Mosley Allison Orr Andrew Rovner� Anne Sawyier Fred Schmidt-Arenales Jonathan Starzyk Sarah Wagener
Board of Trustees Executive Committee Nora Daley Conroy, Chair Eric Lefkofsky, Secretary Paul W. Goodrich, Treasurer Henry S. Bienen Douglas R. Brown Michael Cahan Sharon Fairley Lynn Lockwood Murphy Deborah H. Quazzo Randall K. Rowe Bruce Sagan Harry J. Seigle Stephanie B. Smith Helen Zell
Trustees Sarah Beardsley Carole L. Brown Terri L. Cable Keith Cardoza Dennis Cary Elizabeth H. Connelly Beth Boosalis Davis J. Scott Etzler Rich Feitler John N. Fox, Jr. Scott P. George Lawrence M. Gill Robert J. Greenebaum, Jr. John H. Hart John Hass George A. Joseph Donna La Pietra Martha Lavey Ronald J. Mallicoat, Jr. Janet Melk Geoff Nyheim Susan A. Payne David C. Pisor Kenneth J. Porrello Mark L. Prager Merle Reskin Francis C. Sadac Michael R. Salem John R. Samolis Manuel “Manny” Sanchez Anna D. Shapiro John R. Walter Willard L. Woods, Jr.
Emeritus Trustees J. Robert Barr Lawrence Block Gloria Scoby National Committee Members Joan Allen Carolyn Bivens Lynette Harrison Brubaker Michael J. Cavanagh John H. Costello Edward R. Erhardt Matthew J. Scheckner Gary Sinise Past Chairpersons William L. Atwell Larry D. Brady Douglas R. Brown Laurence Edwards John N. Fox, Jr. Elliott Lyon Gordon Murphy William H. Plummer Bruce Sagan Gloria Scoby Donna Vos
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blog.steppenwolf.org
The Steppenwolf Ensemble
Joan Allen
Kevin Anderson
Alana Arenas
Randall Arney
Kate Arrington
Ian Barford
Robert Breuler
Gary Cole
Kathryn Erbe
K. Todd Freeman
Frank Galati
Francis Guinan
Moira Harris
Jon Michael Hill
Tim Hopper
Tom Irwin
Ora Jones
Terry Kinney
Tina Landau
Martha Lavey
Tracy Letts
John Mahoney
John Malkovich
Mariann Mayberry
Tarell Alvin Mccraney
James Vincent Meredith
Laurie Metcalf
Amy Morton
Sally Murphy
Austin Pendleton
Jeff Perry
William Petersen
Yasen Peyankov
Martha Plimpton
Rondi Reed
Molly Regan
Anna D. Shapiro
Eric Simonson
Gary Sinise
Lois Smith
Rick Snyder
Jim True-Frost
The Steppenwolf ensemble first began performing in the mid-1970s in the basement of a Highland Park church, the ambitious brainchild of three high school and college friends: Jeff Perry, Terry Kinney and Gary Sinise. Fast forward 35 years and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company has become the nation’s premier ensemble theater—redefining the landscape of acting and performance. The ensemble has grown to 43 members who represent a remarkable generation of actors, directors and playwrights. Thrilling, powerful, ground-breaking productions from Balm in Gilead and The Grapes of Wrath to August: Osage County—and accolades that include the National Medal of Arts and nine Tony® Awards—have made the theatre legendary. Steppenwolf’s artistic force remains rooted in the original vision of its founders: an artist-driven theatre, whose vitality is defined by its sharp appetite for ground-breaking, innovative work.
Alan Wilder
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Jeff Garlin
no sugar tonight
JULY 13 - 24, 2011 Join Jeff Garlin for a hilarious, and ever-changing, night of stand-up comedy in Steppenwolf’s intimate Upstairs Theatre. NO SUGAR TONIGHT explores Jeff’s addiction to sugar and how, as far as he’s concerned, it might as well have been heroin. Garlin hits the Steppenwolf stage just days after his hit comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm kicks off its eighth season on HBO.
only 10 performances. tickets going fast! buy online at steppenwolf.org call 312-335-1650
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An evening of stand-up comedy