Steppenwolf Presents fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life Thru 3/18

Steppenwolf for Young Adults concludes its 2011/12 season with fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life, a world premiere by Sarah Gubbins, directed by Joanie Schultz, playing through March 18, 2012 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. The production features Zoe Levin, Ian Daniel McLaren, Lily Mojekwu, Fiona Robert and Bradley Grant Smith. Weekday matinees (Tuesdays through Fridays) are reserved for school groups only, with weekend (Saturday and Sunday) performances available to the public. Single tickets and tickets for school groups are currently on sale.

About the show: "Jo's junior year of high school in suburban LaGrange, Illinois started off just fine-not that it's ever easy being queer at 16. Thankfully, a new English teacher assigns Carson McCullers' famed novel The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter and Jo discovers an unshakable kinship to McCullers' central character John Singer. Like Singer, Jo is forever the listener, definitively the outsider, perpetually misunderstood and filled with unrequited love. Yet when she is a victim of a gay-bashing incident, her world is turned upside down and she must decide whether to seek revenge or redemption. A story about isolation, fitting in and finding oneself, fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life is a play about surviving high school and how literature still has the power to transform how we see the world."

"This spring, we are proud to present Sarah Gubbins' fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life, commissioned especially for Steppenwolf for Young Adults," comments Artistic and Educational Director for SYA Hallie Gordon. "This world premiere is inspired by our fall production of Carson McCullers' The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter. We are excited to investigate how McCullers' classic tale has prompted a bold response from a contemporary playwright-creating something new and meaningful for the current generation of young adults," adds Gordon.

Sarah Gubbins is a Chicago playwright whose full length plays include Fair Use, In Loco Parentis, The Water Play and The Kid Thing. Her plays have been read or developed at Steppenwolf, The Public Theater, New York Theater Workshop, The Goodman Theatre, American Theater Company, About Face Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Next Theatre Company, Actor's Express and Collaboraction. Joanie Schultz recently directed Seth Bockley's Ask Aunt Susan at the Goodman Theatre and Sarah Gubbins' The Kid Thing, a co-production with About Face Theatre and Chicago Dramatists. Other directing credits include The Metal Children at Next Theatre, Wreckage and Many Loves at Caffeine Theatre, Shining City at Redtwist Theatre, A Brief History of Helen of Troy and In Arabia We'd All Be Kings at Steep Theatre, The Ring Cycle at Building Stage and A Perfect Wedding and Stone Cold Dead Serious at Circle Theatre.

The fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life production team includes: Chelsea Warren (sets) David Hyman (costumes), Lee Keenan (lights), Thomas Dixon (sound) and Mike Tutaj (projections). Additional credits include Erica Daniels (casting) and Cassie Wolgamott (stage manager).

Title: fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life
Written by: Sarah Gubbins
Directed by: Joanie Schultz

Featuring: Zoe Levin (Emma), Ian Daniel McLaren (Mickey), Lily Mojekwu (Ms. Delaney), Fiona Robert (Jo) and Bradley Grant Smith (Reed)

Location: Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.

Dates: Through March 18, 2012 Public Performances: Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 3 pm Weekday matinee performances (Tuesdays - Fridays at 10 am) are available for school groups only

Audience Services: 1650 N. Halsted, (312) 335-1650 Online ticketing available at www.steppenwolf.org For information on Steppenwolf for Young Adult weekday school performances, contact the SYA Education Assistant Lauren Sivak at (312) 654-5643.