Steppenwolf Ensemble Member Wins MacArthur Fellowship

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 25, 2013 2:15PM

Tarell McCraney (Creative Commons license, courtesy of the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.)

A Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble member whose plays explore classic mythic themes within the framework of modern society has been awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship. Tarell Alvin McCraney, a 2003 graduate of DePaul University’s Theatre School and 2007 graduate ofYale School of Drama's playwriting program, was awarded a $625,000 endowment which he can spend as he pleases.

McCraney first came to prominence as the playwright of 2009’s critically acclaimed The Brother/Sister Plays, set in Louisiana and inspired by Yoruban mythology and McCraney’s experiences growing up in the housing projects of Miami. His Head of Passes ended a run at Steppenwolf in June.

McCraney splits his time between Chicago, New York (where he works with the New York Public Theater) and London, where he has been the RSC/Warwick International Playwright in Residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company. McCraney told the Tribune his living situation is itinerant depending on where he’s working, but he considers Chicago “my artistic home.”