Steep Theatre Presents The World Premiere of Happy Days Are Here (Again) September 13 - October 27, 2024

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Steep Theatre Presents The World Premiere of

Happy Days Are Here (Again)

By Omer Abbas Salem Directed by Azar Kazemi 

September 13 - October 27, 2024

A World Premiere commission by Steep ensemble member Omer Abbas Salem, examines man-made "divine" power, who wields it, and if they should be trusted.

This September, Steep Theatre will present the World Premiere of ensemble member Omer Abbas Salem’s Happy Days Are Here (Again) directed by Azar Kazemi. Preview performances begin Friday, September 13th, at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater as renovations progress on Steep’s recently acquired home, and the production officially opens on Friday, September 20th. The show will run through October 27th. This world premiere is Steep’s follow-up to the sold-out run of Samuel D. Hunter’s A Case for the Existence of God, which closes on September 7, 2024.

An unanswered question rings through the halls of St. Boniface High School: "Who will help me?" This large ensemble piece explores how people in power abuse their systems and the resilience that fighting them requires. The thirteen-person cast features Steep ensemble members Patricia Donegan (Earthquakes in London, Love and Money) and Alex Gillmor (Paris, First Love is the Revolution); previous Steep collaborators Ashlyn Lozano (Light Falls, Pomona) and Maya Hlava (Zurich); and a collection of first-time Steep artists, including John Zhou Duncan, Katie Incardona, Rich Adrian Lazatin, Eric Lindahl, Oliver Maalouf, Carter Shimp, Yourtana Sulaiman, Gage Wallace, and Jocelyn Zamudio.

Commissioned and workshopped by Steep over the last year, Happy Days Are Here (Again) is Salem’s first collaboration as a playwright with the theater company. He has been produced by the Actors Theatre of Louisville, The New Colony, Jackalope Theatre, Theatre Viscera, Means of Production, Definition Theatre, and Steppenwolf Theatre. His play Mosque4Mosque was developed with Steppenwolf Theatre’s SCOUT program. This production will mark director Azar Kazemi’s debut with Steep Theatre. Kazemi recently directed Rivendell Theatre’s smash-hit, world premiere production of Tuckie White’s Motherhouse, which won Jeff Awards for both Best New Work and Best Ensemble.

Tickets are available on Steppenwolf’s website (www.steppenwolf.org) and prices range from $10 - $40 with performances Thursday - Sunday throughout the production run.

Artists

Omer Abbas Salem (Playwright; Happy Days are Here (Again); he/they) is an actor and playwright. As an actor, they've worked at Roundabout Theatre, Atlantic Theatre, St. Louis Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Goodman, Steep Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, Silk Road Rising, First Floor Theatre, The New Coordinates, About Face Theatre, Griffin Theatre, and The Second City. As a playwright, their work has been produced at The Goodman, Steppenwolf Theatre, About Face Theatre, Steep Theatre, First Floor Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, The New Coordinates, The Story Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, National Queer Theatre, Definition Theatre, and The Theatre School of DePaul. They are a member of the 2021/22 Goodman Playwrights Unit and had a play developed in The Goodman’s New Stages Festival in 2022. They are the winner of the 2022 Blueprint Commission winner from First Floor and recipient of the 2021 Cunningham Commission from DePaul University. They were given an Emerging Playwright commission from Audible Theater and are also the most recent recipient of the Edgerton Commission at Steppenwolf Theater. They also won the 2022 3Arts Award in Theater. They are an ensemble member of Steep Theatre, First Floor Theater, and The New Coordinates. They graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and the University of Chicago. They are represented by Gray Talent and the Gersh Agency. Find out more at www.omerabbassalem.com

Azar Kazemi (Director, Happy Days Are Here (Again) is first-generation Persian American and a freelance director and educator based in Chicago. She directs socially-charged plays where the political and personal collide, most recently directing the Jeff Award winning world premiere of Motherhouse by Tuckie White at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. Some of Azar’s other Chicago directing credits include: the U.S. premiere of debbie tucker green’s dirty butterfly, the Midwest premiere of Samuel D. Hunter’s Jack’s Precious Moment, and Sarah Kane’s Crave. Azar received her MFA from The Theatre School at DePaul University, where she is also on faculty and received the 2020-21 Excellence in Teaching Award. Azar has worked at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, Victory Gardens, American Theatre Company, Chicago Dramatists, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In New York City Azar worked at The New Group where she assistant directed three Off-Broadway productions, two under the direction of her mentor Ethan Hawke. Azar is a proud member of SDC. To learn more please visit: azarkazemi.com

CAST

Patricia Donegan^ John Zhou Duncan Alex Gillmor^ Maya Hlava

Katie Incardona Rich Adrian Lazatin Eric Lindahl

Ashlyn Lozano Oliver Maalouf Carter Shimp Yourtana Sulaiman Gage Wallace* Jocelyn Zamudio

CREATIVE TEAM

Director – Azar Kazemi

Stage Manager – Olivia Sullam

Scenic Designer - Lauren Nichols

Lighting Designer - Conchita Avitia

Costume Designer - Emily McConnellˆ

Sound Designer - Thomas Dixonˆ

Props Designer - Saskia Bakker

Intimacy and Violence Consultant - Gloria Imseih Petrelli Dramaturg - Caroline Uy

Production Electrician - Baylee Speer

Assistant Director - Jordan Kost

Intimacy & Violence Consultant - Gloria Imseih Petrelli Technical Director - Emmanuel Jimenez

Photographer - Joseph Chretien-Golden

Graphic Designer - Stu Kiesow

ˆSteep Company Member

ˆˆ Steep Artistic Associate

* Appearing through an Agreement between Steep Theatre and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

About Steep Theatre

Founded in 2000 by three actors, Steep has grown into a dynamic ensemble of forty-five theatre artists, supported by a dedicated and inspired team of arts administrators and community members.  Described by Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune as "the most fearless theater in town", Steep creates powerful productions of plays by today's most exciting writers and features the work of Chicago's hottest theatre artists in an intimate, accessible space. Steep is known as a home for hard-hitting, finely-tuned ensemble work. With each production, the company has shepherded a growing community of audiences and artists into bold new territories of story and performance. Steep Theatre is committed to creating an inclusive and anti-racist environment for making and watching theatre. To learn more, please visit https://steeptheatre.com/antiracism.

Steep is in the midst of its Lights Up Edgewater Capital Campaign to support the creation of Steep’s new theater and artistic home and to fund robust and equitable compensation for artists and staff. To learn more about this campaign, please visit www.steeptheatre.com/lightsup.

Production Information

WHERE:

Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater 1700 N Halsted

Chicago, Illinois 60614 www.steppenwolf.org

WHEN:

September 20 - October 27, 2024

Previews: September 13 - September 19, 2024

Press Opening: Friday, September 20, 2024 at 8:00pm

Schedule: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8:00pm | Sunday matinees at 3:30pm

Accessible Performances:

-Audio Description: Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 3:30pm

-Open Captioning: Saturday, October 12, 2024 at 8:00pm and Sunday, October 13, 2024 at 3:30pm

Contact us at info@steeptheatre.com or 773-649-3186 for more information.

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