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Causes: Arts & Culture, Performing Arts, Theater
Mission: 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-three artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting, and textual adaptation.
Programs: Steppenwolf serves close to 200,000 patrons each season through year-round programming that includes up to 15 full-scale dramatic productions and over 620 performances presented on three stages. The theater's dedication to nurturing playwrights and new plays is embodied in the New Plays Initiative, a commissioning and production program. One of the chief public manifestations of this work is the First Look Repertory of New Work, a unique initiative for nurturing artists and for cultivating audiences through educational programming built around the development and production process. Other major programming includes Steppenwolf for Young Adults which annually creates two full-scale professional productions for youth (ages 12 and up) and families, and accompanies the plays with comprehensive enrichment programming. The Visiting Companies Initiative hosts the work of Chicago's emerging theaters. The School at Steppenwolf trains working actors in ensemble principles and practices, while its national Professional Leadership Programs and the African American Fellowship mentor the next generation of arts administrators.