Biography

Jessica Thebus

Jessica Thebus is an Associate Artist with Steppenwolf Theatre Company where she has directed Intimate Apparel, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, No Place Like Home, When the Messenger is Hot (also at 59 E. 59th in NYC) Sonia Flew and Sex with Strangers (First Look Repertory of New Work). Additional credits: Harriet Jacobs (Kansas City Rep) A Civil War Christmas (Huntington Theatre Company); Our Town–with Anna D. Shapiro, They All Fall Down (Lookingglass); The Clean House (Goodman Theatre); Jekyll and Hyde, Inherit the Wind, Red Herring (Northlight Theatre); Eurydice (Victory Gardens); The Turn of the Screw (Writers’ Theater); and the world premiere of Welcome Home Jenny Sutter (The Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Kennedy Center). Upcoming productions: world premiere of Stage Kiss by Sarah Ruhl (Goodman Theatre), Orlando (Court Theatre). Favorite projects: Pulp at About Face Theatre (Jefferson Award nomination—Best Director, After Dark Award—Best Production); Winesburg, Ohio also at About Face (Jeff nomination—Best Director, After Dark Award—Best Director); Chicago (outdoor spectacle at the Field Museum); Seven Moves (About Face); Salao: The Worst Kind of Unlucky (Redmoon Theater, where she is a longtime collaborator); Late, Melancholy Play, Abingdon Square (Piven Theatre where she is a longtime member of the teaching staff). Steppenwolf for Young Adults projects: Haymarket Eight–with Derek Goldman (writer); Whispering City and David Mamet's The Water Engine–which moved to Theater on The Lake (director); A Tale of Two Cities. Ms. Thebus has also directed at Remy Bumppo, Center Theater, Lifeline Theater, Collaboraction Theater and Caravan Productions, as well as touring internationally with the Bread and Puppet Theater. Education: Doctorate in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, and has designed courses and taught at The University of Chicago, DePaul University, Columbia College and Roosevelt University. She is currently a faculty member in the Directing Program at Northwestern and an artistic associate at The Corn Exchange in Dublin, Ireland.