Steppenwolf Education And Lane Tech High School Present Teen Devised Play

Steppenwolf Education and Drama Students at Lane Technical College Prep High School are proud to present a student-devised performance exploring the themes of racial prejudice and the erasure of communities of color, as brought to light through the Steppenwolf for Young Adults' (SYA) spring production of We are Proud to Present a Presentation.... This play was developed in Steppenwolf Education's What If? Residency inspired by the creative inquiry question What If? and What would happen to stereotypes, racism, and body image if we learned who people truly were?

If I Could Tell You explores questions posed by the directing team of the Steppenwolf for Young Adults' We Are Proud to Present a Presentation....: What if things were different? and What if things were better? Through a series of scenes and monologues, Lane Tech Ensemble's original play connects the themes of cultural erasure, appropriation and colonization in SYA's production to the pressing topics of racism, stereotypes and body image as relevant to the student's day-to-day lives. This talented group of teen actors takes the audience through a journey asking, What if we could know who people truly were?

Performances for If I Could Tell You? are Tuesday, May 21 and Wednesday, May 22 at 6pm in Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre. These public performances are free and available in person, online, or by phone - subject to limited availability. For more information and to reserve tickets, visit https://www.steppenwolf.org/tickets--events/lookout/19-spring/what-if-an-originally-devised-student-play. Reservations are strongly encouraged. Walkup reservations will begin 30 minutes prior to curtain at 1700 N Halsted, pending availability.

The WHAT IF? PROJECT is an extended residency program through Steppenwolf Education in which a classroom teacher partner of Steppenwolf's In-School Residency Program creates an artistic project with their class in response to a Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) production. This teacher collaborates with a Steppenwolf teaching artist to provide students a unique chance to advance their skills by exploring the creative inquiry question of, WHAT IF? Throughout the course of their 20 residency sessions, students utilize skills of Steppenwolf's teaching pedagogy, aesthetic education, to generate an original work in conversation with productions they viewed.

Steppenwolf Education's unique approach combines play production with educational components to enhance arts education for young audiences, as well as their teachers and families, as well as a Professional Leadership Program for early-career professionals. Every season Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) creates two full-scale professional productions specifically for teens. Working closely with the Chicago Public and metropolitan area schools and other community partners, Steppenwolf Education annually ensures access to the theater for more than 15,000 participants from Chicago's diverse communities. The initiative also includes post-show discussions with artists; classroom residencies led by Steppenwolf-trained teaching artists in almost 100 classrooms in public high schools; professional development workshops for educators; and the Young Adult Council, an innovative year-round after-school initiative that uniquely engages high school students in all areas of the theater's operations, as well as other teen and community-based programs.

LookOut is Steppenwolf's performance series that presents the work of artists and companies across genre and form, emerging artists and performance legends, quintessential Chicago companies and young aspiring ensembles, familiar Steppenwolf faces and new friends. Greta Honold and Patrick Zakem are the producers for LookOut. For more information, visit steppenwolf.org/lookout.

Steppenwolf is located at 1650 N Halsted St near all forms of public transportation, bike racks and Divvy bike stands. The parking facility ($13 or $15, cash or card) is located just south of our theater at 1624 N Halsted. Valet parking service ($15 cash) is available directly in front of the main entrance starting at 5pm on weeknights, 1pm on weekends and at 12noon before Wednesday matinees. Limited street and lot parking are also available. For last minute questions and concerns, patrons can call the Steppenwolf Parking Hotline at 312.335.1774.

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