Tarell McCraney Joins Steppenwolf Ensemble

The Steppenwolf Theatre Company Ensemble is pleased to announce its newest member, playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney.  Among his many accomplishments, McCraney is the author of the critically-acclaimed The Brother/Sister Plays, currently playing at Steppenwolf through May 23, 2010.  As a playwright, he has collaborated with Steppenwolf ensemble member Tina Landau on seven productions and readings nationally. He also appeared on stage at Steppenwolf in Landau's 2004 production of Theatrical Essays.  Additionally, McCraney was recently commissioned by Steppenwolf, through support from the Joyce Foundation Awards, to write a new play for the Steppenwolf ensemble based on the biblical book of Job.  The Steppenwolf ensemble, the longest-existing theater ensemble in the U.S., now totals 43 members.

McCraney was born and raised in Liberty City, the inner city area of Miami, Florida. He graduated from the New World School of the Arts High School, with the Exemplary Artist Award and the Dean's Award in Theater in 1999, matriculated into the Theater School at DePaul University in Chicago graduating with the Sarah Siddons Award and a BFA in Acting 2003.  He attended the British American Drama Academy (BADA) Mid-Summer at Oxford, studying Shakespeare with master actors and teachers from the Royal Shakespeare Company and around the UK.  His Masters Degree in Fine Art is from the Yale School of Drama in playwriting 2007; he received the Cole Porter Award upon graduating.

McCraney was honored with the 2007 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award from the Vineyard Theater and a 2007 Whiting Writing Award. The Young Vic production of The Brothers Size was nominated for an Outstanding Achievement by an Affiliate Theater Olivier Award in London, UK. He has also been named the International Writer in Residence for the Royal Shakespeare Company 2008-2010, the Hodder Fellow at the Lewis Center for the Arts 2009, Princeton University and a seven-year-residency at New Dramatist Center in New York, NY. He is a member of Teo Castellanos/D Projects in Miami.

The 43-member Steppenwolf ensemble includes: Joan Allen, Kevin Anderson, Alana Arenas, Randall Arney, Kate Arrington, Ian Barford, Robert Breuler, Gary Cole, Kathryn Erbe, K. Todd Freeman, Frank Galati, Francis Guinan, Moira Harris, Jon Michael Hill, Tim Hopper, Tom Irwin, Ora Jones, Terry Kinney, Tina Landau, Martha Lavey, Tracy Letts, John Mahoney, John Malkovich, Mariann Mayberry, Tarell Alvin McCraney, James Vincent Meredith, Laurie Metcalf, Amy Morton, Sally Murphy, Austin Pendleton, Jeff Perry, William Petersen, Yasen Peyankov, Martha Plimpton, Rondi Reed, Molly Regan, Anna D. Shapiro, Eric Simonson, Gary Sinise, Lois Smith, Rick Snyder, Jim True-Frost and Alan Wilder.

Tarell Alvin McCraney's critically-acclaimed The Brother/Sister Plays, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau are currently playing in Steppenwolf's Upstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., through May 23, 2010.

Tickets, priced at $20-70, are available through Audience Services: 1650 N. Halsted St., by calling at 312-335-1650 or online at www.steppenwolf.org.  Performances are Tuesdays through Sundays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. There will be a Wednesday matinee on May 5 at 2:00 p.m. Note: There are no performances on Saturday, May 8.

On the banks of the bayou, a small community springs to life with stories of love, sexuality and coming-of-age.  Influenced by lively Afro-Caribbean folklore, The Brother/Sister Plays explore the struggles that arise when the quest for self-identity is at odds with community values. 

 The Brother/Sister Plays are presented in repertory, with In the Red and Brown Water on one evening in rotation with the two shorter plays, The Brothers Size and Marcus, on the other (with marathon performances on the weekends).  The plays can be experienced in any order, although chronologically In the Red or Brown Water comes first, followed by The Brothers Size and then Marcus. 

 The Brother/Sister Plays feature ensemble members Alana Arenas, K. Todd Freeman and Ora Jones with Phillip James Brannon, Rodrick Covington, Kiplan Dooley, Jeff Parker, Tamberla Perry and Jacqueline Williams.

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.

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