Mahogany L. Browne (Playwright) selected as Kennedy Center's Next 50 and Wesleyan's 2022-23 Distinguished Writer-in-Residence, the Executive Director of JustMedia, Artistic Director of Urban Word, is a writer, playwright, organizer, & educator. Browne has received fellowships from Arts for Justice, Air Serenbe, Cave Canem, Poets House, Mellon Research & Rauschenberg. She is the author of recent works: Vinyl Moon, Chlorine Sky, Woke: A Young Poets Call to Justice, Woke Baby, & Black Girl Magic. Founder of the diverse lit initiative Woke Baby Book Fair, Browne's latest poetry collection Chrome Valley (Norton/Liveright, Feb 2023) centers the stories of Black women, effects of mass incarceration, impact of gun violence, and the insistence of hope. Browne is excited for her playwright debut with the world-premiere of Chlorine Sky at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. She is the first-ever poet-in-residence at the Lincoln Center and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Ericka Ratcliff (Director) is Artistic Director of Congo Square Theatre Company where she works to amplify the mission of celebrating the complexities of Black life and culture on stage. Most recently, Ericka directed White with Definition Theatre (presented at Steppenwolf Theatre’s 1700 Theater as part of the LookOut series) and was co-director on the Chicago premiere of What To Send Up When It Goes Down at Congo Square. She has worked with Alliance Theater, Northlight, Victory Gardens, Chicago Shakespeare, Collaboraction, House Theater of Chicago, Mixed Blood, Milwaukee Rep, Kansas City Rep, CENTERSTAGE, Pittsburgh Playwrights and Second City, among others. She is a recipient of the 2017 3Arts Make A Wave Award. Ericka is an artistic associate with Lookingglass Theater. She is a graduate of Roosevelt University.
Yeaji Kim (Scenic & Projection Design) Steppenwolf Theatre Company & Definition Theatre: White. Chicago: The Island (Court Theatre); In Every Generation (Victory Gardens Theater); Dear Jack Dear Louise (Northlight Theatre); Bull, Fun Home (Paramount Theatre); Fences (American Blues Theater); Passage, The Year Of Magical Thinking, Howards End, Bloomsday, Skin Of Our Teeth, Great Expectations (RemyBumppo Theatre); Solaris (Griffin Theatre); The Effects (Strawdog Theatre). Regional: The Chinese Lady (Geva Theatre, Kitchen Theatre, NY). Education: MFA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Korea University. Yeaji is an associate artist at Remy Bumppo Theatre and ensemble artist at Definition Theatre. yeajikimdesign.com
Jos N. Banks (Costume Design) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Choir Boy (Pharus) Ms. Blakk For President (Joan Jett Blakk) Tours: Kinky Boots (Lola), Hair (Hud), The Color Purple (Harpo). Regional: The Color Purple (The Muny), What To Send Up (Congo Square), Songs For A New World (Farmers Alley Theatre), Jesus Christ Superstar (Paramount Theatre), The Color Purple & Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Drury Lane Theatre), The Scottsboro Boys (Porchlight Music Theatre), The Story Of Curtis Mayfield (Black Ensemble Theatre), Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Royal George). Television: The Chi & Work In Progress. Representation: Paonessa Talent Agency. www.FearlessJos.com // Follow Me: @JosNBanks
Conchita Avitia (Co-Lighting Design) Steppenwolf Theatre: Chlorine Sky (Debut). Chicago: Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (Strawdog Theatre); Mosque4Mosque (About Face Theatre); The Wizards (Concrete Content); Paris (Steep Theatre); 57 Blocks (Free Street Theater) This Is Only A Test (Broken Nose Theatre); The Delicate Tears of the Waning Moon (Water People Theater). Upcoming: The Dream King (Teatro Vista). Education: BA, Columbia College Chicago. Avitialighting.com
K Story (Co-Lighting Design) Selected Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Assistant Lighting Design) credits include: Passover, The Seagull, Lindiwe, Linda Vista; Chicago: The Moors (Jeff Award Winner, Lighting Design for Midsize Production, 2022), Danc(e)volve (Hubbard Street Dance Chicago), The River (Boho Theatre), Hershel and the Hannukah Goblins (Strawdog Theatre), Be Mean to Me (Northwestern University). Toured with: ODESZA, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Pilobolus (Lighting Supervisor). Education: MFA, Northwestern University; BA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. For more information: storykdesign.com @storykdesign
Willow James (Sound Design) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: 1919 (Asst. Sound Designer), Guards at the Taj, The Roommate, Choir Boy (Sound Technician). Chicago: Title X (Artemisia Theatre); Young Playwrights Festival (Pegasus Theatre); Me…Jane (Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts); The Clinic Audio Series (Congo Square Theatre); WHITE (Definition Theatre). Regional: Magnolia Ballet (Phoenix Theatre Indianapolis, Alleyway Theatre). Willow is Co-Artistic Director & Resident Sound Designer at Artemisia Theatre and a Steppenwolf PLP alum (2018). Be kind. willow-james.org @worksbywillow
Joey Stone (Movement Director) is honored to collaborate with the brilliant minds at Steppenwolf Theatre Company for the first time. Director/Actor/Writer/Producer, Joey returns to Chicago after touring the states and performing on Broadway with Motown: The Musical. During the pandemic, he co-produced/directed The Color Purple Audio Experience: A Benefit for Black Womxn an audio adaptation of the award-winning novel featuring an international cast and raising nearly $100K for Black femme artists and organizations around the world. Since returning to the stage after lockdown, he has shared stories with Congo Square, Lookingglass, Paramount, and Definition Theatre. love&gratitude to Ericka: the homie. @atjoeystone
Eboni Hogan (Dramaturg) Regional: Redbone: A Biomythography (Wild Project); Foreign Bodies (The Culture Project); 30,000 Teeth (National Black Theatre); Bitten Tongue (Daryl Roth Theatre); Black Girl (Playwrights Horizons); Quietus (The 5th Project Theatre Collective). Film: Moon & Sun, Where You Go. Education: BFA, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Eboni is an award-winning poet, playwright, textile artist, and mother to the smartest boy in the world.
Courtney Abbott (Intimacy Choreographer) [she/they] Steppenwolf: Bald Sisters, Choir Boy. Chicago: Tiger Style!, Wife Of A Salesman (Writers); Enough To Let The Light In (Teatro Vista); Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas At Pemberley (Northlight); Hurricane Diane (Theater Wit); In Every Generation (VG); Solaris (Griffin); And Neither Have I Wings To Fly (First Folio); Passage (Remy Bumppo); The Magic Flute (Northwestern). Regional: Murder On The Orient Express (Milwaukee Rep). Film: Paper Planes; Departing Seniors; Lee & Charlie. Upcoming: Pretty Shahid (Jackalope); Comedy of Errors (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). Education: MFA, Ohio University; BS, Northwestern. www.CourtneyAbbott.com
Greg Geffrard (Intimacy Choreographer) [he/him] Steppenwolf Theatre: Choir Boy (Intimacy & Fight Choreographer) Bald Sisters (Assistant Intimacy); CHICAGO: The Factotum (The Lyric Opera; Intimacy & Violence Director); Fen (Court Theatre); Passage (Remy Bumppo Theatre; Consultant); Detroit ‘67, Bat Boy, The Amateurs (Columbia College Chicago); Gloria (Roosevelt University). REGIONAL: The Color Purple (Signature Theatre); Joe Turners Come and Gone (Huntington Theatre); White Noise (Studio Theatre; Assistant Intimacy Choreographer).TEACHING: Theatrical Intimacy Education, Associate Faculty; Columbia College Chicago, Visiting Professor. OTHER: Resident Intimacy Consultant at Steppenwolf Theatre. NEXT UP: Comedy of Errors at Chicago Shakespeare, K-I-S-S-I-N-G at Huntington Theatre, and Galileo’s Daughter at Remy Bumppo.
Stan Brown (Vocal Coach) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: 1919, Choir Boy. Chicago: Gem of the Ocean, Goodnight Oscar, Cephianne's Reflection (Goodman Theatre). Off Broadway: Water for Elephants (Daryl Roth Theater) Measure for Measure (The Public Theatre - Mobile Unit), Open Heart (Cherry Lane). International:Voyagers (Tumbrel Theatre Co. Edinburgh Festival). Film: The Bespoke Tailoring of Mister Bellamy, Memoir, Almost Normal, Getting In, Modern Love. Television: The Huntress, Homicide: Life on the Street, In the Heat of the Night, I'll Fly Away, She Says She's Innocent. Awards: Best Actor: Louisiana Film Prize, Breckenridge Festival of Film, Wild Rose Independent Film Festival. Brown is currently the Director of Graduate Studies of the MFA Acting Program Northwestern University.
Michelle Medvin (Production Stage Manager) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: 1919, Choir Boy, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (stage and audio-play versions), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, two versions of The Crucible, August: Osage County, Tribes, Clybourne Park, Purple Heart (also at Ireland’s Galway Arts Festival), The Pillowman, and many others. Chicago: Northlight Theatre, Drury Lane, Victory Gardens, Chicago Children's Theatre. Regional: Hartford Stage, Dallas Theater Center, Portland Center Stage. Education: Smith College. Michelle has taught stage management at Columbia College Chicago and Governors State University. She is proud to be a member of Actors’ Equity, wife to Mary, and mama to Elliott, Lena, and Sam.
JuJu Laurie (Assistant Stage Manager) Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Choir Boy, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, La Ruta, The Children, MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT, The Minutes, The Old Country. Chicago: A Doll’s House (Writers Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); Ready for Revolution: Ceremony Honoring The Great Stokely Carmichael Kwame Ture, A Homegoing (Court Theatre); Shrek The Musical, Mary Poppins (Detour Theatre Company). Education: Columbia College Chicago. This one’s for you Memaw!