The 2013/14 Season Theme: Getting Ahead

Dear Friend, Getting Ahead: how far will you go? What would stop you? One of our favorite things at Steppenwolf is the conversation that our plays engender. As you know, we conduct a post-show conversation after every play. Many of you stay after the show to talk collectively about what you’ve just witnessed together. Others of you talk among yourselves. We like to offer a theme every year as one possible lens through which to consider the plays because we hope that it might spark another dimension to the conversation. The theme captures some aspect of all of the plays and, we hope, an essential aspect of our collective human experience. The question of what we would do to get ahead is an enticing one. When we’re feeling comfortable—well-situated emotionally, economically, or socially—we feel pretty confident asserting our ethical code. But what happens when we feel like we’re fighting for our survival? What if all of our footholds disappear? I love that the plays this season give us a chance to put ourselves in the shoes of people who are on the edge: people who have lost the security of the well-lived, well-plotted life. They’re relying on instinct and the will to survive. The plays ask us to stand there with them and ask, “what would I do?” Making that leap is the essential request of theater. I like to think that there are some things I would never do. I would assert that. But take away my happy and comfortable life? What would I do then? I so hope you will join us as a Subscriber for the 2013/14 season. And as you experience the plays, we hope that you will dialogue with us through this lens that our season theme provides. Martha Lavey Artistic Director Find out more about the 2013/14 Season...