Synopsis

Doors 6:00pm Show 7pm Price: $10/$5 Students This summer, Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) will team up with The Yard, a professional youth theatre company founded in 2015 by Mechelle Moe and Joel Ewing. The Yard, originally a collective of Senn Arts Magnet High School students, partners with established theatre companies to create professional theatrical experiences that immerse students in every aspect of the Chicago storefront theatre-making process. In its inaugural season, The Yard had artistic alliances with The Hypocrites (The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love Suicide), Raven Theatre (Milk Like Sugar) and Jackalope Theatre Company (I & You) and are now proud to partner with Steppenwolf’s acclaimed young adults program for a staged reading of Danai Gurira’s acclaimed play Eclipsed. Amid the brutal violence of the Liberian Civil War, a small group of captive teenaged "wives" of a rebel officer band together to form a fragile community. As really nothing more than sexual slaves, they have lost just about everything—their dignity, their freedom, their families, their hope. Perhaps most disturbingly, they have lost their own names, or prefer to forget them. They refer to one another anonymously — as Number One or Number Three—as if their lives before the horror descended upon them never happened. It’s more painful to remember than to forget. Drawing on reserves of wit and compassion, these defiant survivors ask: When the fog of battle lifts, could a different destiny emerge? Eclipsed offers a chilling, humanizing and surprisingly funny portrait of transformation and renewal. 2016 Best Play Nominations include: Tony Award Drama League Award Outer Critics Circle Award Lucille Lortel Award

Content Advisory

Steppenwolf does not offer advisories about subject matter, as sensitivities vary from person to person.If you have any questions about content, age-appropriateness or stage effects(such as strobe lights or theatrical fog) that might have a bearing on patron comfort, please contact the box office at 312-335-1650.

Additional Information

The Yard: A Staged Reading is a part of Steppenwolf's LookOut Series - a new multi-genre performance series, presenting a wide variety of work, coming from a diverse array of voices, artists emerging and established alike.

In our brand new 1700 Theatre, a casual, intimate and flexible 80-seat theater located behind Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks - Steppenwolf's new destination for coffee, drinks and food.

Reviews

"As well as the remarkable youth ensembles of Senn Arts Magnet School High School’s The Yard, in conjunction with The Hypocrites who turned in
uncannily brilliant performances in roles that required them to dominate the stage."
-Chicago Sun-Times

"The students of The Yard do a magnificent job carrying the play’s humor and heft. The value of their work is simple though its execution is anything but. This is work for the young, by the young. It is only a matter of how we decide to define that term."
-NewCity

Content Advisory

Steppenwolf does not offer advisories about subject matter, as sensitivities vary from person to person.If you have any questions about content, age-appropriateness or stage effects(such as strobe lights or theatrical fog) that might have a bearing on patron comfort, please contact the box office at 312-335-1650.

Additional Information

The Yard: A Staged Reading is a part of Steppenwolf's LookOut Series - a new multi-genre performance series, presenting a wide variety of work, coming from a diverse array of voices, artists emerging and established alike.

In our brand new 1700 Theatre, a casual, intimate and flexible 80-seat theater located behind Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks - Steppenwolf's new destination for coffee, drinks and food.