Steppenwolf Theatre’s LookOut series spotlights the work of various Chicago artists who may not be members of the Steppenwolf ensemble, but whose work the company wants to spotlight. It’s an eclectic mix of performances on the lineup, and can run the gamut from music to comedy to drag to storytelling and more.

The latest iteration of the series kicks off the first weekend in October with Tania Richard’s 70-minute solo show “Black Girl from a White Suburb” (Oct. 3-4), which is based on her memoir about growing up in Western Springs as the daughter of Haitian immigrant parents. Why did they settle in Western Springs? “They were doctors coming from Canada to do their residency in Chicago and asked their colleagues where was the best place to raise children. And they suggested a suburb. That idea of the American dream.”

Richard is a TV and theater actor and the show centers on a pivotal experience performing in the play “The Song of Jacob Zulu,” a drama set in Apartheid-era South Africa that had a Chicago-area production at Steppenwolf in 1992.

“Having come out of an all-white suburb and then going to a predominantly white institution to study theater in college, this was the first time I had the opportunity to be part of the majority, because it was a predominantly Black cast,” she said. “It was the first time I really got to be in community for an extended period of time with Black people, and it was crucial to my development in terms of my identity as a Black woman. I had never had that opportunity before. I think of it as the scene of Dorothy in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ stepping from her black-and-white sepia-toned home into Technicolor. That’s what it felt like for me, because, until then, my experience was that of being ‘the only one.’”

“The Wizard of Oz” played an even earlier role in Richard’s life. “I went to an all-white high school and one year our musical was ‘The Wiz’ — which, as many people know, is the all-Black adaptation of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ — and I was not cast as Dorothy! Here’s me, this theater geek extraordinaire thinking, ‘Well, clearly they’ve chosen this musical because they think I need to carry it as Dorothy,’ and I did not get cast as Dorothy.” Why the school decided to do this musical is a “great question for the ages,” Richard said. “It’s hilarious but also horrible. A real brain-teaser, but I’m able to laugh about it now. I’m also able to talk about how it felt to be in this all-white school and not even get the lead in the famous Black musical; it didn’t feel good, and it left me good and (messed up) in the head for years. So that’s the tone of the show I’ll be performing at Steppenwolf.

“I’ve always been a storyteller and I believe storytelling is a political act,” she said. “That’s how I proceed in this moment we’re in — because you can’t dispute or argue somebody’s lived experience, and you can’t dispute or argue how somebody felt while they were going through that experience — so I just lean further into my story. And I think it’s set up in a way where people can receive it without getting defensive. There are a number of outrageous and funny stories that, honestly, people will be like, ‘I can’t believe that happened.’”

The rest of the of the Fall 2025 LookOut schedule is as follows:

“The Sun at the End of the Road” (Oct. 16-Nov. 2): This performance is in conjunction with the publication of the latest book by Chicago visual artist Tony Fitzpatrick and it is a compilation of his latest dispatches, poems, drawings and collages.

“No Stars in Jefferson Park” (Oct. 28): Pegged to Maggie Anderson’s memoir of the same title, looking back at her years as a founding member of Chicago’s Gift Theatre along with then-boyfriend, Michael Patrick Thornton, who became disabled during their time together and now uses a wheelchair. According to the book’s description: Anderson eventually made the “heart-wrenching decision to leave him, along with their growing company and, later, her beloved city. ‘No Stars in Jefferson Park’ alternates between two narratives: the energy and excitement of making art in Chicago’s thriving storefront theater scene and the devastating day-to-day realities of rehabilitation and rebuilding — and somewhere in the middle finding the courage to choose yourself.”

“D-Composed: Our Stage” (Nov. 6-9): The chamber musical ensemble D-Composed performs an ode to the history of Chicago’s Black theater as told through monologues, poetry, and the music of Black composers, featuring actor and director Cheryl Lynn Bruce (Nov. 6); a work-in-progress about hair and identity in collaboration with interdisciplinary artist Shani Crowe (Nov. 8); and to wrap things up, the ensemble plays each other’s compositions, featuring music that speaks to the unique personalities and ways of expression of each ensemble member (Nov. 9).

“In Process: God Complex” (Nov. 21-22): A work-in-progress from Teatro Vista Productions (which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this theater season) featuring a “kaleidoscope of characters delving into the mire of modern masculinity” as performed by Tommy Rivera-Vega.

The LookOut Series runs Oct. 3 to Nov. 22 in Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St.; tickets are $23-$33 at  steppenwolf.org/lookout

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/24/steppenwolf-2025-lookout-series/