Yasen Peyankov News

Steppenwolf Theatre Company announced its 2008-2009 Subscription Season, exploring the theme of the imagination. The season opens with Kafka on the Shore, adapted for the stage and directed by ensemble member Frank Galati, based on the work by Haruki Murakami and featuring ensemble members Francis Guinan and Jon Michael Hill. The season continues with The Seafarer by Conor McPherson, directed by ensemble member Randall Arney and featuring ensemble member Francis Guinan, Tom Irwin, John Mahoney and Alan Wilder. Following The Seafarer is Art by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton and directed by ensemble member Rick Snyder. The fourth play is The Tempest by William Shakespeare, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau and featuring ensemble members Alana Arenas, K. Todd Freeman, Frank Galati, Jon Michael Hill, Yasen Peyankov and Alan Wilder.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company launches its Steppenwolf for Young Adults 2008-2009 Season with The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov. The production, featuring James T. Alfred, Shanesia Davis, Anthony Fleming III and Nambi E. Kelley, runs October 21 - November 9, 2008 in the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted. Tickets are available to the general public for weekend performances only, with all additional shows reserved for school groups. The press performance is Saturday, October 25 at 11 a.m.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its 32nd season with the world premiere Superior Donuts by ensemble member and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau. The production, featuring ensemble members Jon Michael Hill, Yasen Peyankov and James Vincent Meredith, with Jane Alderman, Kate Buddeke, Cliff Chamberlain, Michael Garvey, Robert Maffia and Michael McKean, runs June 19 - August 24, 2008 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.

Due to popular demand, Steppenwolf Theatre Company is proud to announce a one-week extension of its world premiere comedy Superior Donuts by ensemble member and Pulitzer Prize and Tony® Award winner Tracy Letts, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its 32nd season with the world premiere 'Superior Donuts' by ensemble member and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts.

Steppenwolf is pleased to announce the Steppenwolf for Young Adults 2008-2009 Season: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov, playing October 21 - November 9, 2008; and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, directed by Michael Patrick Thornton, playing April 21 - May 10, 2009. Both productions will be presented in the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its 32nd season with the world premiere Superior Donuts by ensemble member Tracy Letts, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its 32nd season with the world premiere Superior Donuts by ensemble member Tracy Letts, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau. The production, featuring ensemble members Jon Hill, Yasen Peyankov and James Vincent Meredith, runs June 19 - August 17, 2008 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. The press performance is Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $20-$68. 'Arthur Przybyszewski owns a decrepit donut shop in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. Franco Wicks, a black teenager who is his only employee, wants to change the shop for the better. Superior Donuts is a provocative comedy about the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship,' press notes state. Ensemble member Tracy Letts' critically-acclaimed play August: Osage County is currently playing on Broadway following a sold-out run at Steppenwolf in 2007. Mr. Letts is also the author of Man from Nebraska, which was produced at Steppenwolf in 2003 and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize; Killer Joe, which has been produced in Chicago, London and New York; and Bug, which has played in New York, Chicago and London. Ensemble member Tina Landau most recently directed Steppenwolf's 2007 production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Other Steppenwolf directing credits include Cherry Orchard, The Time of Your Life (also Seattle Rep, A.C.T.), Theatrical Essays, Maria Arndt, The Ballad of Little Jo, The Berlin Circle, Time to Burn, and her own play, Space (also NY's Public Theater, Mark Taper Forum). Superior Donuts is directed by Tina Landau. The design team includes: Loy Arcenas (sets), Ana Kuzmanic (costumes), Christopher Akerlind (lights) and Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (original music and sound). Edward Sobel is the dramaturg. Laura Glenn is the stage manager and Lauren V. Hickman is the assistant stage manager. Twenty $20 tickets are available at Audience Services beginning at 11:00 a.m. on the day of each performance (1:00 p.m. for Sunday performances). Half-price rush tickets are available one hour before each show. Student discounts available. Online ticketing available at www.steppenwolf.org Production Sponsor of Superior Donuts is United Airlines. Free post-show discussions, sponsored by AT&T, are offered after every performance. Steppenwolf is located near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible. Street and lot parking are available. Assistive listening devices are available for every performance. Superior Donuts was developed as part of Steppenwolf's New Plays Initiative. Steppenwolf is recognized as a national leader in the development and production of new work for the American canon. Through this initiative, the company maintains ongoing relationships with writers of international prominence and rigorously discovers and supports the work of early and mid-career playwrights. Steppenwolf's New Plays Initiative is generously sponsored by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Zell Family Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and members of the Directors Circle. Additional support for the development and production of Superior Donuts is provided by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. 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.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company co-founder Gary Sinise and Honorary Host Congresswoman Mary Bono will host the Company's 4th annual Celebrity Golf Classic March 8th-11th in Indian Wells, California.