Steppenwolf Theatre Company is set to produce two productions a season from their nationally recognized Young Adults series. This series is focused on creating professional plays specifically for a teen and family audience.
Both plays are recommended for grades 8 and up. Teachers can register to bring students to weekday matinees.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company says they recognize the challenges that teachers face in this uncertain moment. Steppenwolf is committed to helping teachers remain connected, engaged, and creative while being flexible to unanticipated needs.
The first play of the season will be “1919”, by Eve L. Ewing and adapted by J. Nicole Brooks. The play will run from October 4-29, 2022, in the Ensemble Theater in honor of Helen Zell. Click here to learn more about this show.
The description for “1919” is as follows:
On July 27, 1919, Chicago erupted following the killing of 17-year-old Eugene Williams in treacherous waters off the segregated Lake Michigan shoreline. The days that followed made an indelible mark on the city—its sense of boundaries, of relationships between neighbors and of the underlying systems of inequity and racism that persist today. Adapted by J. Nicole Brooks from Eve L. Ewing’s collection of searing and luminous poems, this world premiere is a hopeful, lyrical exploration of Black Chicagoan’s resistance, fortitude and endurance: past, present and future.
The second play, “Chlorine Sky,” will run from February 14-March 11, 2023 in the Downstairs Theater. “Chlorine Sky,” is by Mahogany L. Browne. Click here to learn more.
Here’s the description for “Chlorine Sky,” from Steppenwolf’s website:
“Ok, so boom. / We ain’t friends anymore.” Sky and Lay Li were always in sync. But now their rhythms are changing; Sky likes swimming, and Lay Li is all about beauty. Sky, basketball; Lay Li, boys. Things just make more sense underwater and on the court. A world premiere adaptation of Mahogany L. Browne’s popular young adult novel, Chlorine Sky is an intimate coming-of-age story told in verse about two girls who are best friends—until they aren’t. Sometimes, growing up means growing apart.
Teachers who would like to register their class to attend one or both shows can do that by filling out this form.
