August Strindberg (Playwright) Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish author and playwright whose work engaged the concepts of naturalism and expressionism. He was born in Stockholm on January 22, 1849, to an unsuccessful shipping agent and a maidservant. He attended the University of Uppsala, but he would often leave to act at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, teach, or write plays. He left Uppsala permanently in 1872 to work as a journalist and a librarian at the Royal Library in Stockholm. In 1879, Strindberg published his novel “The Red Room,” making him famous in Sweden. His play MASTER OLOF, a historical drama published in 1872, was finally performed in 1881, and he wrote several plays criticizing social conventions in Sweden, including LUCKY PETER’S TRAVELS (1882), THE FATHER (1887), MISS JULIE (1888), CREDITORS (1888), THE STRONGER (1888), and PLAYING WITH FIRE (1892). During the 1890s, Strindberg suffered from psychological and emotional stress, which he described in his novel “Inferno,” that culminated in his adoption of mysticism. The post-"Inferno" period was more productive for Strindberg. He wrote thirty-six plays from 1898 to 1909, including TO DAMASCUS (1898), a trilogy, GUSTAV VASA (1899), ERIK THE FOURTEENTH (1899), EASTER (1900), THE DANCE OF DEATH (1900), A DREAM PLAY (1901), QUEEN CHRISTINA (1901), STORM (1907), THE GHOST SONATA (1907), and THE GREAT HIGHWAY (1909). He died in Stockholm on May 14, 1912.

Conor McPherson (Adapter) was born in Dublin in 1971. He attended the University College in Dublin, where he began to write and direct. His plays include RUM & VODKA, THE GOOD THIEF, THIS LIME TREE BOWER, ST. NICHOLAS, THE WEIR (Olivier Award, Best Play), DUBLIN CAROL, PORT AUTHORITY, SHINING CITY (Tony Award nomination, Best Play), and THE SEAFARER. Film work includes “I Went Down,” “Saltwater,” Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame,” and “The Actors.” Other awards include the George Devine Award; Critics’ Circle Award; Evening Standard Award; Meyer Whitworth Award; Stewart Parker Award; two Irish Film & Television Academy Best Screenplay Awards; CICAE Best Film Award, Berlin Film Festival (“Saltwater”); Best Film and Best Screenplay Awards, San Sebastian Film Festival (“I Went Down”).

Yasen Peyankov (Director) last directed at Steppenwolf Theatre his own adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Seagull in 2022 and has been an Ensemble Member since 2002. Other Steppenwolf main stage directing credits include: The Fundamentals, Between Riverside and Crazy (Jeff nomination for Best Production), Grand Concourse and Russian Transport. He also directed Hushabye for Steppenwolf’s First Look Repertory and The Glass Menagerie for Steppenwolf for Young Adults. He most recently directed Samuel Beckett’s Endgame at Facility Theatre. He also translated and directed the Bulgarian premieres of August: Osage County and Doll's House, Part 2 (still running) at the National Theatre in Sofia, Bulgaria. As an actor he has appeared in over 20 productions at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, some of which include: Time of Your Life (also in Seattle and San Francisco), Morning Star (Jeff Award), Hysteria, Lost Land, Cherry Orchard, Frankie and Johnny at the Claire De Lune (also in Dublin), Superior Donuts (also on Broadway), and others. Film: Maestro, Captive State, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas, The Company, US Marshalls, and others. Television: Chicago Med, Chicago PD, Madame Secretary (recurring), FBI, Stranger Things, The Mob Doctor, Alias, The Practice, The Unit, Numb3rs, and others. Mr. Peyankov is a Professor and Head of Theatre at the School of Theatre and Music at UIC where he teaches acting and directs plays.

Collette Pollard (Set Design) is pleased to be back at Steppenwolf after designing Describe the Night, HIR, The Fundamentals, Between Riverside and Crazy, Head of Passes, 1984, and To Kill a Mockingbird. She resides in Chicago where upcoming and recent credits include Gaslight (Northlight Theatre); Rome Sweet Rome (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); Inherit the Wind and Dennis Watkins’ The Magic Parlour (Goodman Theatre, and in partnership with Petterino’s); Eureka Day and The Lehman Trilogy (Timeline Theatre) where she is an artistic associate; Heartbreak Hotel and Titanic (Marriott); Always Patsy Cline (Drury Lane Theatre); Frederick (Chicago Children’s Theatre). Regional credits include Fat Ham (Oregon Shakespeare Theatre); Toni Stone (Huntington Theatre); Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson and POTUS (Trinity Theatre Company); Little Women (Co-pro Seattle Rep and Milwaukee Rep); What the Constitution Means To Me, Little Women, Steel Magnolias, Eclipsed and The Chinese Lady (Milwaukee Repertory Theatre); The Legend of Georgia McBride (Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and Arizona Theatre Company); Ms. Holmes and Ms.Watson (Kansas City Repertory Theatre); Angry, Raucous & Shamelessly Gorgeous (Hartford Stage and The Alliance Theatre).   Collette is the recipient of several Jeff Awards and is an Associate Professor of Design at the School of Theatre and Music at UIC. Many thanks to the endless support from her family. www.collettepollard.com

Ana Kuzmanic (Costume Design) is a Yugoslav-born, Chicago-based costume designer. She returns to Steppenwolf Theatre Company where she has previously designed costumes for twenty productions. New York credits include Desire Under the Elms, Superior Donuts and August: Osage County on Broadway and The Jacksonian Off-Broadway. Her favorite previous projects include: Eurydice and Florencia en el Amazonas (Metropolitan Opera); Don Giovanni (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Beauty and the Beast (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Matchbox Magic Flute, 2666 and Camino Real (Goodman Theatre); Steadfast Tin Soldier (Lookingglass Theatre) and Turandot (upcoming at Atlanta Opera). Ana is a Professor of Costume Design at Northwestern University.

Lee Fiskness (Lighting Design) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: King James, The Children, The Crucible, The Fundamentals. Chicago: The Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Northlight, Drury Lane, Marriott Theatre, Court Theatre, Writers Theatre, Lightscape (Chicago Botanical Garden). Regionally: The Old Globe, Alliance Theatre, Kennedy Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, Mark Taper Forum, Cincinnati Playhouse, Milwaukee Repertory, Emerson Colonial Theatre, Arsht Center. Opera: Chicago Lyric, San Jose, Dallas, Portland, Kentucky, Colorado, Florentine. International: Jurassic World Exhibition (China), Marriage of Figaro (Japan), Movement Stories (Abu Dhabi). Television (Lighting Teams): Oprah Winfrey Show, The Rosie Show, The Steve Harvey Show, Fox Sports, Chicago Bears Network. www.leefiskness.com

Rick Sims (Sound Design; Composer) Steppenwolf: The Thanksgiving Play, Domesticated, The Qualms, The Fundamentals. Chicago: Frankenstein (Jeff Award), Moby Dick (Jeff Award; St. Louis Circle Award) (Lookingglass Theatre Co.); Brothers of the Dust (BTA Award) (Congo Square). Regional: Roundhouse Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Boston Playwrights, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Arden Theatre Company, Portland Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, McCarter Theatre Center. Broadway: The Thanksgiving Play (2nd Stage). Off Broadway: The Qualms (Playwrights Horizons). Rick is an Artistic Associate Lookingglass Theatre Co., and Artistic Affiliate of American Blues Theatre Co.

Jyreika Guest (Fight & Intimacy Consultant) Steppenwolf: The Seagull and Thanksgiving Play. Chicago: Veal and Is God Is (Red Orchid Theatre); Rock of Ages (Paramount Theatre); Fire Shut Up In My Bones and Champion (Lyric Opera); Sheepdog (Shattered Globe); Gaslight, Brooklyn Laundry, Little Women, Selling Kabul, Intimate Apparel, Fireflies (Northlight Theatre);  Regionally: Fela! (Olney Theatre) and Ain't No Mo (Woollymammoth Theatre); October Storm and The Last Pair of Earlies (Raven Theatre). Film/TV: Starz Power. Book Series: Force @jevelyng

Jason K. Martin (Voice Coach) Chicago: Her Honor Jane Byrne (Lookingglass); Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin (A Red Orchid); Nice Girl, The Assembled Parties, Direct From Death Row: The Scottsboro Boys, The Play About My Dad, Playboy of the Western World (Raven); You Can’t Take It With You, The African Company Presents Richard III (Oak Park Festival Theatre); Jane Eyre (Lifeline); Educating Rita, The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Shattered Globe); Pericles, Measure For Measure, As You Like It (Forest Theatre Company); Thanks to colleagues and students at UIC where Jason is Assistant Professor. Love to Ed and June.

Claire Kaplan (Movement Consultant) Chicago: The Brightest Thing in the World (About Face); Remnants (Wender Collective); Pericles, The Misanthrope (Forest Park Theater); Shake n’ Bake, (Theatre Unspeakable); Wild Women (Whisper Theater). Regional: Pride and Prejudice (South Coast Rep); She Kills Monsters (East West Players); Our Town, Three Sisters (WOW Fest, La Jolla Playhouse); Oklahoma! (Sierra Repertory Theatre). Upcoming: Top Girls (Raven Theater); The Mary and Judas Show 3 (Secret Location); Macbeth (UIC School of Music and Theatre). MFA, Arthaus Berlin and Columbia College Chicago. BA, UC San Diego. @wendercol @TheMaryandJudasShow For Kim Rubenstein.

Abhi Shrestha (Dramaturg) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: 1919, Mosque4Mosque (SCOUT workshop). Select Chicago Credits: Miss Julie, Antigone (Dramaturg, Court Theatre); Galileo’s Daughter (Dramaturg, Remy Bumppo); Mosque4Mosque (Dramaturg, About Face Theatre) KISS (Co-Director, Haven Theatre); I Call My Brothers (Director, Interrobang Theatre). Shrestha is an arts educator, writer, and theatre-maker originally from Kathmandu, Nepal. They are the Director of Education + Engagement at Steppenwolf, an Artistic Associate at Remy Bumppo, and the board Co-Chair of the Illinois Caucus of Adolescent Health.

Laura D. Glenn (Production Stage Manager) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: 100 + productions over the past 37 years, most recently Amadeus and You Will Get Sick. Chicago: 22 productions between 2002-2016 (Northlight Theatre). Galway International Arts Festival: True West, Orange Flower Water, Purple Heart (Steppenwolf), Better Late (Northlight Theatre).  BITE Festival Barbican Center London: The Man Who Came to Dinner (Steppenwolf). Broadway: Buried Child (Steppenwolf). Laura has proudly worked with all 55 Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble members, has been a member of Actors Equity Association for 36 years and recently won the inaugural Impresario Jeff Award in Stage Management.   

Kathleen Barrett (Assistant Stage Manager) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Mr. Wolf, You Will Get Sick, Fool for Love, Noises Off, The Thanksgiving Play, a home what howls, POTUS, Another Marriage, Describe the Night, Miz Martha, Seagull, BUG, Dance Nation, The Great Leap, MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT, The Crucible, Pass Over, Constellations, East of Eden, The Herd, Airline Highway. Chicago: The Steadfast Tin Soldier 2018 & 2022, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas (Lookingglass Theatre Company); Groundhog Day, The Secret of My Success (Paramount Theatre); additional work for The Hypocrites, Victory Gardens Theater, Porchlight Music Theatre, Broadway in Chicago. Regional: Over twelve productions including the world premieres of Cambodian Rock Band, A Doll’s House Part 2, and Office Hour at South Coast Repertory. Additional productions with Geva Theatre Center, Florida Repertory Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Mason Street Warehouse. Kat is a graduate of Kalamazoo College in Michigan.