Cast Announced for Steppenwolf for Young Adults' 1984

Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) is pleased to announce casting for the first production of its 2015/16 season, George Orwell's 1984, adapted by Andrew White and directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon. Gordon, who directed last season's sold-out production of Animal Farm, brings Orwell's dystopian masterpiece to the stage in a cutting edge, multi-media production with projection design by Joseph A. Burke and photography direction by Joel Moorman.

The 1984 cast of professional actors features Matthew Abraham, Atra Asdou, Lance Baker, Elizabeth Birnkrant, Manny Buckley, Dennis Grimes, Tyrone Phillips and Adam Poss.

George Orwell's 1984 runs October 21 - November 15, 2015; the press performance is on Saturday, October 24 at 3pm. Public performances are scheduled Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 3 and 7:30pm and Sunday at 3pm (except October 23). Single tickets ($20) are available through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org. $15 tickets available with valid student I.D.

Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth located in the nation of Oceania, part of a vast empire in a constant, shifting war against other superstates. Dissent is not tolerated (not even in thought), and Winston and his fellow citizens are under perpetual electronic surveillance by their ever-watchful ruler Big Brother. When Winston falls in love with a co-worker, their illegal affair pushes them to rebel and face the darkest and most dangerous corners of the regime. On the heels of last year's gripping Animal Farm, Steppenwolf for Young Adults presents Orwell's dystopian masterpiece in a multi-media production that is a haunting, shockingly timely look at a future that seems disturbingly present.

Andrew White's adaptation of George Orwell's 1984 received a 2004 Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Adaptation. White is a founding member of Lookingglass Theatre Company, where he currently serves as Artistic Director. As a Lookingglass Ensemble Member and performer, he has participated in the workshop and development of more than 30 Lookingglass original adaptations and world premieres. He wrote and directed the company's 1989 production of Of One Blood, about the 1964 murders of Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman in Mississippi. White wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Eastland produced at Lookingglass in 2012.

Hallie Gordon (Director, George Orwell's 1984) serves as Artistic and Educational Director of Steppenwolf for Young Adults. Along with selecting the young adult productions each season, she has created the Young Adult Council, a group of high school students who collectively help to create innovative programming for their peers. As Educational Director, Gordon has worked closely with the Chicago Public Schools to create an environment in which all students and teachers have access to the theater. For Steppenwolf, she has directed Animal Farm, Leveling Up, The Book Thief, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, To Kill a Mockingbird, The House on Mango Street and Harriet Jacobs. A new premiere of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, also adapted by Lydia R. Diamond, won a Black Excellence Award from the African American Arts Alliance of Chicago and also transferred Off-Broadway to The New Victory Theatre. Gordon is the recipient of The Helen Coburn Meier & Time Meier Achievement Award.

The production team for 1984 includes Collette Pollard (scenic design), Sally Dolembo (costume design), Amanda Clegg Lyon (lighting design), Andrew Rovner (sound design) and Joseph A. Burke (projection design). Additional credits include: Deb Styer (stage manager) and Joel Moorman (director of photography).

SYA presents 1984 by George Orwell (Copyright, 1949) by permission of Bill Hamilton as the Literary Executor of the Estate of the Late Sonia Brownell Orwell.

Premiering February 2016, SYA presents the world premiere of The Compass developed and directed by Michael Rohd. Meet The Compass, a brand-new app aimed at young people that does the heavy lifting on your daily thinking. This is not a play, it's an experience. Single tickets will go on sale at a later date.

What if one thought cost you everything? From one classic story to one cutting edge experience, SYA's 2015/16 season investigates how your past decisions, actions and even thoughts, inform your future.

"Both 1984 and The Compass concern themselves with how technology has changed and is changing our lives and beliefs," shared SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon. "The plays explore how the past creates the future and how we navigate the terrain of what IS true and what we BELIEVE to be true-which may seem a clear distinction, but in the bleak world of 1984, where Truth is uncoupled from Fact by the assertion of power, and where old notions of certainty get blasted by an onslaught of information at a dizzying pace, it becomes a daunting task to arrive at any sense of what one should believe in."

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