Martha Plimpton Honored at Steppenwolf Salutes WOMEN IN THE ARTS 3/15

Steppenwolf is pleased to announce ensemble member and three-time Tony® and Emmy® nominee Martha Plimpton will be the guest of honor at the 2nd annual Steppenwolf Salutes WOMEN IN THE ARTS fundraising luncheon on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 12:00 pm at The W Chicago - City Center, 172 West Adams St. Ms. Plimpton will be interviewed about her stage, television and film career by Steppenwolf Artistic Director Martha Lavey in a format similar to Inside The Actors Studio. Ensemble member Joan Allen was honored at last year's inaugural Steppenwolf Salutes WOMEN IN THE ARTS fundraiser.

Proceeds from Steppenwolf Salutes WOMEN IN THE ARTS will benefit Steppenwolf's Professional Leadership Program, a nationally-recognized training program young professionals seeking hands-on experience in theater administration, production and technology. The program includes apprenticeships, internships and a multicultural fellowship.

Tickets for Steppenwolf Salutes WOMEN IN THE ARTS start at $200 and are currently on sale. To purchase tickets or learn about additional sponsorship opportunities, contact Steppenwolf's Special Events Department at (312) 654-5632, specialevents@steppenwolf.org or online at www.steppenwolf.org/luncheon.

The Host Committee for the second Steppenwolf Salutes WOMEN IN THE ARTS includes: Leigh Bienen, Elizabeth H. Connelly, Nora Daley Conroy, Christie Hefner, Candace Jordan, Donna La Pietra, Jan Melk, Lynn Lockwood Murphy, Susan Payne and Helen Zell.

Name of event: Steppenwolf Salutes WOMEN IN THE ARTS
Date: Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Time: 12:00 pm luncheon and program (11:30 am registration)
Location: The W Chicago - City Center, 172 West Adams St.
Description: A luncheon honoring Steppenwolf ensemble member Martha Plimpton with an Inside The Actors Studio-style interview by Artistic Director Martha Lavey. Proceeds benefit Steppenwolf's Professional Leadership Program.
Tickets: Begin at $200 at (312) 654-5632, specialevents@steppenwolf.org or www.steppenwolf.org/luncheon.

Harris Bank is Lead Sponsor of Steppenwolf Salutes WOMEN IN THE ARTS and the Elysian Hotel is the Official Hotel Partner.

About Martha Plimpton:

Martha Plimpton has achieved myriad success on stage, screen, and television and can currently be seen starring in the new FOX television series Raising Hope. Ms. Plimpton made her film debut in Alan J. Pakula's Rollover. She has gone on to star in over 30 films including The Goonies, The Mosquito Coast, Running on Empty, Beautiful Girls, Parenthood, 200 Cigarettes and Pecker. On the big screen, she can next be seen co-starring opposite Peter Stormare in Small Town Murders Songs directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly. The film premiered at this year's Toronto Film Festival.

On stage, Martha most recently starred opposite Stockard Channing in Pal Joey for the Roundabout Theater Company and garnered her third Tony® Nomination for the performance, as well as a Drama Desk Nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and a Drama League Nomination. In 2008, Plimpton starred in Top Girls for the Manhattan Theatre Club opposite Marisa Tomei (Tony® Nomination, Best Featured Actress in a Play, Drama League Nomination) and starred in Lincoln Center Theatre's production of William Shakespeare's Cymbeline. In 2007, Plimpton starred with Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Ehle and Billy Crudup in Tom Stoppard's three-play, nine-hour epic, The Coast of Utopia, produced by the Lincoln Center Theatre (Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Tony® Award Nomination) and "Helena" in The Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (Drama League Award Nomination), directed by Daniel Sullivan. Other memorable performances include starring opposite Oliver Platt in Conor McPherson's Shining City for Manhattan Theatre Club, False Servant at Classic Stage Company (Drama League Award Nomination), Hurlyburly directed by Scott Ellis, Hobson's Choice (Obie Award), Sixteen Wounded. In Chicago, she appeared in The Playboy of the Western World, The Glass Menagerie, The Libertine and, as director, Absolution with Steppenwolf Theater Company. As a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble, she joined the company in receiving the National Medal of Arts Award in 1998.

Memorable television guest star appearances include Law & Order: SVU, which garnered Martha an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, Grey's Anatomy, Fringe, The Good Wife and How to Make it in America. Ms. Plimpton resides in New York City.

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 43 artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting and textual adaptation. For additional information, visit www.steppenwolf.org, www.facebook.com/SteppenwolfTheatre and www.twitter.com/SteppenwolfThtr.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos

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