Joan Allen To Be Inaugural Honoree at Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts: An Annual Luncheon Forum

Steppenwolf ensemble member and acclaimed actress Joan Allen will be the inaugural honoree at Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts: an annual luncheon forum on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 12:00 pm at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. Steppenwolf Artistic Director and ensemble member Martha Lavey will conduct an engaging interview with Ms. Allen, in a format similar to Inside the Actors Studio, at this exciting new fundraising event. Proceeds will benefit Steppenwolf's Professional Leadership Program, a nationally-recognized training program for young professionals pursuing a career in arts administration.

Tickets for Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts are currently on sale. For ticket prices and sponsorship opportunities, contact Steppenwolf's Special Events Department at (312) 654-5632 or specialevents@steppenwolf.org.

The Trustee Host Committee for the inaugural Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts includes: Elizabeth H. Connelly, Donna La Pietra, Susan A. Payne, Deborah H. Quazzo, Gloria Scoby, Stephanie B. Smith and Jane L. Warner.

Name of event: Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts: an annual luncheon forum
Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Time: 12:00 p.m. luncheon and program (11:30 a.m. registration)
Location: Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.
Description: A luncheon honoring Steppenwolf ensemble member and actress Joan Allen with an Inside the Actors Studio-style interview conducted by Steppenwolf Artistic Director and ensemble member Martha Lavey. All proceeds from this inaugural event benefit Steppenwolf's Professional Leadership Program.
Tickets: For ticket prices and sponsorship opportunities, contact Steppenwolf's Special Events Department at (312) 654-5632 or specialevents@steppenwolf.org.

Joan Allen, a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company since 1977, has performed in numerous productions including Cloud Nine, Of Mice and Men, Waiting for Lefty, Reckless, Love Letters and Say Goodnight, Gracie. Broadway credits: Impressionism, Burn This (Tony® Award); Heidi Chronicles (Tony® Nomination). Off-Broadway credits: The Marriage Of Bette and Boo; And A Nightingale Sang (Clarence Derwent, Drama Desk, Outer Critic's Circle and Theater World Awards); Heidi Chronicles (Playwrights Horizons). Film credits: Death Race; Bonneville; Bourne Ultimatum; Yes; The Upside Of Anger; Off The Map; Bourne Supremacy; The Notebook; The Contender (Oscar, SAG, Independent Spirit, Golden Globe nominations - Best Actress); Pleasantville; The Ice Storm; The Crucible (Oscar, SAG, Golden Globe nominations, Best Supporting Actress); Nixon (Oscar, SAG nominations, Best Supporting Actress); Searching For Bobby Fischer; Ethan Frome; Tucker; Manhunter; Peggy Sue Got Married; Compromising Positions. TV Movie credits: Georgia O'Keefe for Lifetime Television co-starring Jeremy Irons (Golden Globe nomination).

Martha Lavey, Steppenwolf's current Artistic Director, has been an ensemble member since 1995 and has appeared at Steppenwolf in Up, Good Boys and True, Love-Lies-Bleeding, Lost Land, I Never Sang for My Father, The House of Lily, Valparaiso, The Memory of Water, The Designated Mourner, Supple in Combat, Time of My Life, A Clockwork Orange, Talking Heads, SLAVS!, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Ghost in the Machine, A Summer Remembered, Love Letters, Aunt Dan and Lemon and Savages. Elsewhere in Chicago she has performed at the Goodman, Victory Gardens, Northlight and Remains theaters and in New York at the Women's Project and Productions. She has served on grants panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, The Theatre Communications Group (TCG), Three Arts, USA Artists and the City Arts panel of Chicago. Martha holds a doctorate in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is a member of the National Advisory Council for the School of Communication at Northwestern and is board president of TCG. She is a recipient of the Sarah Siddons Award and an Alumni Merit Award from Northwestern University.

About Steppenwolf Theatre Company:

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 42 artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting and textual adaptation. For additional information, visit www.steppenwolf.org.

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