The Red or White Ball - Steppenwolf May 30th

 
More than 600 of Chicagoland's young professionals will gather for a spectacular evening of cocktails, food, entertainment, a silent auction and raffle prizes at the Steppenwolf Auxiliary Council's sixth annual Red or White Ball on Friday, May 30, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.  The premier event for Chicago's most influential young philanthropists will be held at the ultra-chic Chicago Illuminating Company, 19 E. 21st Street.  Individual tickets, currently available to the public, start at $135 and can be purchased online at www.steppenwolf.org or by calling (312) 654-5672.

A limited number of $500 VIP packages are also available: each includes two event tickets, access for two to a private cocktail reception at 7:00 p.m. with Steppenwolf ensemble members, enhanced goody bags and a one-year membership in the Auxiliary Council.

"The Red or White Ball has been a sell-out event the past two years and we anticipate another great response again in 2008," comments Co-Chair Nancy Collins. "We have moved to a larger venue, allowed for additional bars and food stations, and shifted the format from a wine tasting to an expanded cocktail party to create more networking opportunities for Chicago's young professional set," adds Collins.

The Red or White Ball serves as the primary fundraiser for the Steppenwolf Auxiliary Council – a community of dynamic young professionals who develop new financial resources and audiences for the creation and presentation of new work. In just eight years of operation, the Auxiliary Council has raised over $600,000 in contributions, enabling Steppenwolf to continue to advance artistic experimentation and collaboration. Last year's event successfully attracted more than 550 attendees and raised over $110,000 for the theater's nationally recognized arts education program, Steppenwolf for Young Adults, which annually serves over 12,000 individuals from Chicago's most underserved populations through productions and programs specifically geared towards teachers, families and young adults.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults includes:

The Young Adults Council

A small group of high school students from around Chicago devoted to exploring the collaborative possibilities between the theater and young adults. Council members work with their peers, Steppenwolf staff and artists to create programs that speak to their interests, ideas and creative goals. During the year-long membership, the Council participates in various workshops and discussions, sees productions and creates their own programming for young adults at Steppenwolf.

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.

Educator Workshops

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

The Red or White Ball                        

Date:  Friday, May 30, 2008

Time:  8:00 p.m. (VIP reception begins at 7:00 p.m.)

Location:  The Chicago Illuminating Company, 19 E. 21st St.

Description: The premier event for Chicago's most influential young philanthropists, benefiting Steppenwolf for Young Adults. The evening includes cocktails, food, entertainment, a silent auction and raffle prizes.

Ticket price: $135 Individual Tickets

$500 VIP Package (includes VIP reception and two event tickets)

$1,100 Virtual Table (includes 10 individual event tickets)

The Red or White Ball Sponsors to date include Blum-Kovler Foundation, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, Fleishman-Hillard, Grey Goose, Infiniti, InStyle, Kfive, Primitive and Rubloff.

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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