SANDY SHINNER - SHATTERED GLOBE THEATRE

Shattered Globe Theatre presents True West

A Conversation with Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner

Shattered Globe Theatre kicks off the 2016-17 season, September 8th through October 22nd, with a revival of Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize Award-winning American Drama True West at Theater Wit, 129 W. Belmont Ave.

Directed by James Yost, True West features Shattered Globe ensemble members Joseph Wiens, Kevin Viol, Rebecca Jordan with Rob Frankel.

Shattered Globe’s 26th season also includes the Chicago premiere of Meg Miroshnik’s Tall Girls in January 2017 and in April 2017, For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday, by Pulitzer Prize Finalist and Tony Award Nominee, Sarah Ruhl.

On August 18th, Shattered Globe’s Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner joined the conversation to talk about her career, True West and what’s ahead.

Sandy on why audiences resonate so well with True West:
“It’s the iconic story of the two brothers. Sam Shepard was exploring the idea of duality – that they could possibly be the same person …  I think he was trying to reconcile both those parts of his existence. The classic sibling rivalry since Cain and Abel has been the theme that everyone has always gravitated towards.”

About the cast of True West:
"Joseph Wiens is playing Lee. Joe has been in several shows at Shattered Globe recently and audiences in this last season were fascinated to watch him change from the kind-of-nebbishy high school math teacher in Animals Out of Paper to the redneck police detective in In the Heat of the Night. He made a transformation so that people didn’t even recognize him.

Kevin Viol, who has [also] been in several other Shattered Globe shows, is Austin. They are [together] a really interesting look on stage. Joe is really big and tall and kind of brawny. He’s the brother who has been living out in the dessert. Kevin is the successful screenwriter – glasses, more in the main stream – and so there’s a really distinct look between the two characters.

 Rebecca Jordan is playing the mother, and Rob Frankel, performing at Shattered Globe for the first time, is playing Saul Kimmer.

 James Yost is Co-Artistic Director at Interrobang Theatre Project. This is his favorite play ... As we built the season, we came up with three really personal plays for the season … for different reasons, and that is the theme for the season."

On the future of Shattered Globe:
“...to continue to strengthen Shattered Globe … to potentially add more shows to give more opportunities to the ensemble and to bring in new people… to make sure we work on new plays… to make sure we increase the diversity in the company, because I feel like if we’re performing for the City of Chicago, we should also be representative of the City of Chicago. New play development and diversity have always been what I am really passionate about.”
 

Marcelle McVay, Dennis Zacek and Sandy Shinner celebrate 2001 regional theater Tony Award for Victory Gardens. 

Ed Tracy on stage with Sandy Shinner, Tom McCabe and Christopher Wells in a 1976 production of Sabrina Fair at the Mt Holyoke College Summer Theatre. Inset Above: Ed Tracy with Sandy Shinner for CONVERSATIONS on August 18th, 2016. 

Entire podcast HERE