Full Casting Announced for Steppenwolf for Young Adults' Upcoming Production March 2 – March 16, 2019

Steppenwolf for Young Adults Announces Full Casting for:

We Are Proud to Present a Presentation

About the Herero of Namibia, 

Formerly Known as South West Africa, 

From the German Sudwestafrika,

Between the Years 1884-1915

Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) announced full casting for its upcoming production of We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as South West Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915 by Jackie Sibblies Drury, co-directed by Hallie Gordon and Gabrielle Randle. It’s the second of SYA’s 2018-19 two-play season which asks, “When You Feel Lost, How Do You Find Your Way?" 

The cast features Will Alan (Actor 3/Another White Man), Taylor Blim (Actor 5/Sarah), Jeffrey Owen Freelon Jr. (Actor 2/Black Man), Michael Holding (Actor 1/White Man), Daniel Kyri (Actor 3/Another Black Man) and Jennifer Latimore (Actor 6/Black Woman). 

When a group of actors gathers together to give a presentation about a long-forgotten—or possibly never remembered—genocide, they realize that summaries based on history books aren’t nearly enough to capture the complexity of human extermination—or human interaction. We Are Proud to Present a Presentation… tells the story of what happens when, in an effort to dig deeper, the nobly intentioned ensemble crashes into their own simmering fears and unconscious prejudices, coming face to face with the potential for brutality in all of us.

Public performances for We are Proud to Present a Presentation… will take place March 2 (3 & 7:30pm); March 9 (3 & 7:30pm); March 16 (3pm & 7:30pm) in the Upstairs Theatre. Performances during the week reserved for school groups only; more than 15,000 Chicago Public School students will see the production. Single tickets to public performances ($15-20) go on sale Friday, October 19 at 11am; Member pre-sale begins Tuesday, October 16 at 11am.

Bios
Hallie Gordon (Co-Director) is an Artistic Producer at Steppenwolf and the Artistic Director for Steppenwolf for Young Adults, where she has directed many productions for the program including Monster by Walter Dean Myers; George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm; The Book Thief; To Kill a Mockingbird; and the world premiere of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye at Steppenwolf and Off-Broadway. She directed Steppenwolf’s 2017 production of Hir. She is an ensemble member for Rivendell Theatre where she directed the critically acclaimed Dry land and Eat Your Heart Out.

Gabrielle Randle (Co-Director) is a performance scholar, director, and dramaturg based in Chicago. She has a BA in Drama from Stanford University and an MA in Performance as Public Practice from The University of Texas at Austin. She has worked as a dramaturg, producer, and director across the United States including Off-Broadway and internationally on three continents. In Chicago she has worked with Sideshow Theatre Company (Associate Artist), Chicago Dramatists, Victory Gardens Theater, Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts, and Court Theatre. She is a third year PhD student at Northwestern in The Interdisciplinary PhD in Theatre and Drama.

Will Allan (Actor 3) returns to Steppenwolf where he has performed in SYA productions of A Separate Peace and Animal Farm - as well as mainstage productions of Good People, The March, and The Flick. Other Chicago credits include: Ah, Wilderness!, The Seagull, and Dartmoor Prison (Goodman Theatre); The History Boys (TimeLine Theatre); The Whale (Victory Gardens Theater); The Goat Or, Who Is Sylvia? (Remy Bumppo); Circumference of a Squirrel (Greenhouse Theater Solo Celebration); and more. Regionally, he has worked with Milwaukee Rep, Indiana Rep, Cardinal Stage, and The Human Race Theatre Company. TV credits include Chicago Justice and the current season of Chicago Fire. He is a graduate of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and is a Company Member with TimeLine Theatre Company.

Taylor Blim (Actor 5) was recently seen at Steppenwolf in The Crucible and Mary Page Marlowe. Chicago credits include: The Wolves (The Goodman Theatre); Love’s Labor’s Lost (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); Sucker Punch (Victory Gardens Theatre); Welcome to Jesus (The American Theatre Company); Grizzly Mama (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble); A Christmas Carol (Drury Lane); Assassins: The Musical, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Anna Bella Eema, and Twelve Angry Men (The Theatre School at DePaul University). TV/ Film credits include: Hala, Chicago Med (NBC), Forever, The Disposal, The Year That Changed Us.

Jeffery Owen Freelon Jr. first made an appearance at Steppenwolf as part of the LookOut Series in The New Colony’s Byhalia Mississippi. Owen also understudied the role of Kitch in Antoinette Nandi’s Passover. Other Chicago credits include Loy Webb’s The Light (The New Colony), Wonder In My Soul (Victory Gardens), and The American Revolution (Theater Unspeakable) He is proudly represented by Paonessa Talent Agency.

Michael Holding (Actor 1) Chicago credits include: Koalas (16th Street Theatre), Henry in Henry VIII and The Rivals (Lakeside Shakespeare Theatre), Truth and Reconciliation (Sideshow Theatre Company), Posh (Steep Theatre, Jeff Award Winner Best Ensemble), Really Really (Interrobang Theatre), Shining City (Irish Theatre of Chicago), The Diviners (Organic Theater Company), and The Madness of Edgar Allen Poe (First Folio). Regional: 4000 Miles (Theatresquared). Film/TV: Chicago Med (NBC), Southside (Comedy Central), and the indie film Finn and the Sea of Noise. He is represented by Stewart Talent.

Daniel Kyri returns to Steppenwolf for Young Adults where he was last seen in Monster. Other Chicago credits include: Hamlet (The Gift Theatre); the world premiere of Charles Smith's Objects in the Mirror (Goodman Theatre); Tug of War pt. I & II (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); and Moby Dick (Lookingglass Theatre). TV credits: Chicago Med, the T, and Chicago Fire. Film credits: Perfect Day, Unexpected, Henry Gamble's Birthday Party and the upcoming Killing Eleanor.

Jennifer Latimore is making her Steppenwolf debut. Chicago credits include Twelfth Night, MLK: The Fight For Civil Rights, The Importance of Being Earnest (Writers Theatre); Macbeth, Love's Labor's Lost (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Harvey (Court Theatre) and Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Northlight Theatre). Regional credits include Smart People, A Christmas Carol (Milwaukee Repertory Theater); The African Company Presents Richard III, An Ideal Husband, and Arcadia (American Players Theatre). TV Credits: The Chi, Empire, Chicago PD and FOX's upcoming Proven Innocent. Film Credits: An Acceptable Loss. 

We Are Proud to Present a Presentation… production team includes Arnel Sancianco (Scenic Design); Izumi Inaba (Costume Design); Heather Sparling (Lighting Design); Cooper Forsman (Sound Design); Michelle Medvin (Stage Manager); and JC Clementz (Casting Director).

Tour to Community Centers 
SYA will be touring this production of We Are Proud to Present a Presentation… for a week to community centers in partnership with our City Connections partners. Tour locations and dates TBA soon.

Relaxed/Sensory-Friendly Performances
Steppenwolf is offering a Relaxed/Sensory-Friendly performance for We are Proud to Present a Presentation… at a TBD date. Relaxed/Sensory-Friendly performances feature a more relaxed environment and minor adjustments to sensory effects such as lighting and sound cues. This performance is open to all but designed to create a safe and welcoming experience for guests who may include, but are not limited to, individuals on the autism spectrum, as well as people with sensory processing and/or integration sensitivities. For more information, please email access@steppenwolf.org.

Major foundation support for Steppenwolf Education is provided by the Polk Bros. Foundation and Alphawood Foundation. Steppenwolf Education is also supported in part by contributions from The Crown Family, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Sage Foundation, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Northern Trust Company, Field Foundation of Illinois, Dr. Scholl Foundation, the Helen Brach Foundation, ITW Foundation, Siragusa Foundation, Robert and Isabelle Bass Foundation, Inc. and Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation; as well as the Steppenwolf Associates, a community of dynamic young professionals.

Steppenwolf Education is a citywide partner of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) School Partner Program.

Accessibility
Committed to making the Steppenwolf experience accessible to everyone, performances featuring American Sign Language Interpretation, Open Captioning and Audio Description are offered during the run of each play. Assistive listening devices and large-print programs are available for every performance, and the Downstairs and 1700 Theatres are each equipped with an induction hearing loop. All theaters feature wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, and Front Bar features a push-button entrance, all-gender restrooms and accessible counter and table spaces.

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. 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.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation’s premier ensemble theater. Formed by a collective of actors in 1976, the ensemble represents a remarkable cross-section of actors, directors and playwrights. Thrilling and powerful productions from Balm in Gilead to August: Osage County—and accolades that include the National Medal of Arts and 12 Tony Awards—have made the theater legendary. Steppenwolf produces hundreds of performances and events annually in its three spaces: the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat 1700 Theatre. Artistic programming includes a seven-play season; a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season; Visiting Company engagements; and LookOut, a multi-genre performances series. Education initiatives include the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf for Young Adults, which engages 15,000 participants annually from Chicago’s diverse communities; the esteemed School at Steppenwolf; and Professional Leadership Programs for arts administration training. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Anna D. Shapiro is the Artistic Director and David Schmitz is the Executive Director. Eric Lefkofsky is Chair of Steppenwolf’s Board of Trustees. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.