Steppenwolf Announces Season For Young Adults

Steppenwolf is pleased to announce the Steppenwolf for Young Adults 2008-2009 Season:  The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov, playing October 21 - November 9, 2008; and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, directed by Michael Patrick Thornton, playing April 21 - May 10, 2009.  Both productions will be presented in the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago.  Tickets are currently on sale for school groups only.  Individual tickets will go on sale to the public at a later date.

"I am excited to present two classic works that have been studied in schools throughout the years and have a strong history with Steppenwolf Theatre," comments Artistic and Education Director of Steppenwolf for Young Adults Hallie Gordon.  "As we move into our 2008-2009 season that Steppenwolf has titled 'the season of the imagination,' I want to take this opportunity to re-examine the American Dream, how the next generation imagines it and their place in the creation of it," adds Gordon.

The Steppenwolf for Young Adults 2008-2009 Season:
October 21 - November 9, 2008
The Glass Menagerie
by Tennessee Williams
directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov
featuring ensemble member Alana Arenas
in the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre

A unique production of Tennessee Williams' classic "memory play" featuring an all African-American cast.  Delicately weaving truth and illusion, The Glass Menagerie evokes the drab realities of aspiring poet Tom, who spends his days in a warehouse, his overbearing mother, Amanda and his crippled sister, Laura.  Tom struggles to balance his dreams of a brighter future with his devotion to his family.

Ensemble member Yasen Peyankov appears in Steppenwolf's 2007-2008 season production of Superior Donuts, a world premiere play by Pulitzer Prize-winning ensemble member Tracy Letts.  He is co-founder of Chicago's European Repertory Theatre and an Associate Professor and Director of Theatre Studies at the Performing Arts Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

April 21 - May 10, 2009
Of Mice and Men                 
by John Steinbeck
directed by Michael Patrick Thornton
in the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre

John Steinbeck's classic tale of friendship follows two migrant workers in California during the Great Depression.  George Milton looks after his mentally-disabled friend, Lennie Small, as they travel looking for work.  The two men hope to one day settle down on their own piece of land, but their plans of living the American Dream prove difficult to achieve. 

Michael Patrick Thornton starred as John Merrick last season in Steppenwolf for Young Adults' production of The Elephant Man.  As a director, Michael has helmed productions at The Gift Theatre Company, where he is co-founder and artistic director.  He received a Joseph Jefferson Award for his performance in Gift's production of The Good Thief.

For information on Steppenwolf for Young Adults weekday school performances, contact SYA Education Coordinator Elizabeth Levy at (312) 654-5639.

About The Steppenwolf for Young Adults Programs:

Productions for Students and Families
Professional productions of established plays, original adaptations of novels and new works are presented for young adults through weekday student matinees and weekend family performances.  The Subscriber School Program provides in-school residencies for each production, including scripts, study guides and tours of the theater.

The Young Adult Council

The Young Adult Council is a new initiative at Steppenwolf to create a small group of high school students from across Chicago devoted to exploring the collaborative possibilities between the theatre and young adults in order to create programs that speak to their interests, ideas and creative goals.

Educator Workshops
The Teacher Theater Immersion Course is designed to help teachers integrate theater arts into core curriculum.  Our Advanced Immersion 2 Course uses arts integration methods to approach a range of non-fiction works related to themes of our productions.  The Master Teacher Workshops help teachers improve student comprehension of literature through drama.  All offer the opportunity to earn CPDU credits.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults is a citywide partner of the Chicago Public Schools School Partner Program.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults is Steppenwolf's educational program for students, teachers and families, and is focused on making the theater accessible to Chicago youth.  Steppenwolf for Young Adults consists of complementary programming components that are designed to enhance education, build self-esteem and social tolerance, and encourage lifelong appreciation of the arts.  At the core of Steppenwolf for Young Adults are the professional, full-scale productions produced specifically for young adult audiences each season.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults is supported by Target, Fidelity Investments, The Polk Bros. Foundation, Kraft Foods, the Sage Foundation, William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Crown Family, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Siragusa Foundation, Alphawood Foundation, Northern Trust Company, ITW Foundation, The Albert Pick Jr. Fund, Dr. Scholl Foundation, The Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Foundation, The Patrick and Anna M. Cudahy Fund and Steppenwolf's Auxiliary Council, a community of dynamic young professionals.

Steppenwolf is located near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible.  Street and lot parking are available.  Assistive listening devices are available for every performance.

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 forty-one artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting, filmmaking and textual adaptation.

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