Prowess, written by award winning Chicago-based playwright Ike Holter opens Friday, February 28 in the NIU School of Theatre and Dance’s Sally Stevens Players Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
Prowess is a play inspired by superheroes, where a group of average citizens in Chicago form a league of justice in an effort to rescue the city and themselves.
The production is directed by Roxanna Conner, the director of the NIU School of Theatre and Dance. “It has been a pleasure to work on this play by Ike Holter, a playwright I know and respect,” she said. “Prowess is the story of four people with their own personal stories, coming together to form a collective with one goal, to fight back.”
This is Conner’s directorial debut at NIU. Her directing credits include Voices of Tomorrow, Victory Gardens Theater; Empathy, CLIMB Theatre; assistant director for How I Learned What I Learned and The Nativity Tribute (Congo Square Theatre), CPS Shakespeare: Macbeth and CPS Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). She was co-producer on the development workshops for Pulitzer Prize winning Primary Trust. Other notable producing work includes Mexodus, Ignite Chicago, cullud wattah, and the Regional Emmy nominated Where Did We Sit on the Bus? at Victory Gardens Theater.
She has also worked as an arts educator and theater administrator at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (UIUC), Mixed Blood Theatre, Crossroads Theatre, and New Freedom Theatre. She has led masterclasses and workshops on Shakespeare, August Wilson, and Devised Theatre for Chicago Public Schools, Chicago State University, DePaul University, and most recently at the Antalya International Theatre Festival (Antalya, Türkiye).
Performances are Friday, February 28, March 1, 5, 6 and 7 at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee Sunday, March 2 at 2 p.m.
An audience talkback with cast and crew facilitated by Sarita Smith Childs immediately following the Saturday, March 1 performance.
