Steppenwolf Theatre Members Reflect On 50 Years
Steppenwolf Theatre Members Reflect On 50 Years
By Tia Carol Jones
K. Todd Freeman became an ensemble member at the Steppenwolf Theatre in 1993, after he was cast in the play, “The Song of Jacob Zulu.” Glenn Davis is the co-artistic director at the Steppenwolf Theatre. He said he was led to the Steppenwolf after telling his grandfather he wanted to be an actor. His grandfather told him if he was going to be an actor that Steppenwolf was the best place to be, even paying for him to take his first class there.
The Steppenwolf Theatre was founded in the mid-1970s by a group of young artists which include actors Jeff Perry and Gary Sinise. As the Steppenwolf Theatre enters its 50th Season, Freeman and Davis say what makes the Chicago theatre company great is their dedication to the craft.
Freeman recalled doing a play called “Libra” that John Malkovich directed. The play was about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Dressed in army fatigues, he and the other cast members went down to the railroad tracks near South Loop, with prop guns. People on the train, concerned by the sight of people in army fatigues with guns on the railroad tracks called the police on the group. He laughed as he recalled how when the police found out the guns were fake, they were OK.
Davis said one of his fondest memories of being part of the Steppenwolf is when he was asked to be a part of the company in 2017. His first production was “The Brother/Sister Plays,” written by Tarell Alvin McCraney. He was cast in “King James,” written by Rajiv Joseph. He was also in the cast of “Purpose,” which was written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and directed by Phylicia Rashad. The play won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Play and a 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Davis said it has been a great journey with “Purpose” over the last two years.
As the co-artistic director, Davis said he reads the plays with his team and looks at them based on their own merits, looking at how the work challenges the theatre company to be better versions of itself. It is also based on what the members of the company want to see or words they would want to say as actors. Davis said the reason for the Steppenwolf’s longevity is the talent and the commitment to the ensemble and the craft. He said the theatre company operates under a very specific mandate: the work comes first, and the ensemble is the centerpiece of the company.
“I don’t know if there’s ever been a theatre group, ensemble, that’s lasted for 50 years in America. I don’t know how we’ve done it … When a group of people are not half-assed about doing theatre and getting to the grit of it, the heart of it, not caring so much of themselves, but the total, pushing each other to be the best they can be … that sort of ethos has been a priority for us, and trying to push the boundaries of theatre,” Freeman said.
For more information about the Steppenwolf Theatre, visit www.steppenwolf.org.
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