Rick Snyder Directs OLEANNA And SPEED-THE-PLOW At ATC

American Theater Company (ATC) opens its 26th season with David Mamet's Oleanna and Speed-the-Plow in repertory for the first time ever. The productions are directed by Steppenwolf ensemble member Rick Snyder and will run at American Theater Company, 1909 W Byron St, Chicago. Press opening for Speed-the-Plow and Oleanna is Monday, September 20 at 6:00PM and 9:00PM, respectively.

David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow, directed by Rick Snyder, will run September 9 - October 24, 2010.

New England. 1995. A university professor's tenure dissolves when a student claims sexual harassment. Speed-the-Plow will feature Darrell W. Cox as Bobby Gould, Lance Baker as Charlie Fox, and Nicole Lowrance as Karen.
Please note that Nicole Lowrance replaces Mattie Hawkinson who was recently cast in her first feature-length film.

Mamet's Oleanna, also directed by Rick Snyder, joins Speed-the-Plow in repertory on September 16. Oleanna will play at ATC through October 24, 2010.

Hollywood. 1985. Two movie producers hit meltdown when their idealistic secretary turns the tables on their plans to make the next blockbuster. Oleanna will feature Darrell W. Cox as John and Nicole Lowrance as Carol.

"I am delighted to be back at ATC and to work on the most challenging and complex actor-driven plays that I have yet encountered," says director Rick Snyder. "Speed-the-Plow and Oleanna are dense, scary and fascinating - in short, they are great fun."

Artistic Director PJ Paparelli adds, "The Mamet Rep is exciting, old school theater: three hard-core actors, two intense plays, guided by Rick's passion for moment-to-moment storytelling. It's quintessential Chicago theatre and I can't think of a better way to usher in ATC's 26th season."

The Mamet Repertory designers are Jack Magaw (Scenic Designer), Jessica Harpenau (Lighting Designer), Kevin O'Donnell and Andrew Wheatly (Sound Designer), Janice Pytel (Costume Designer), and Joel Lambie (Props Design). Katie Klemme is the Production Stage Manager.

Rick Snyder (Director), a Steppenwolf ensemble member, recently directed Killer Joe and Men of Tortuga at Profiles. He recently directed Art at Steppenwolf, Mauritius at Northlight Theatre, The Lion in Winter at Writers' Theatre, The Actor at the Goodman Theatre and Aristocrata at Strawdog Theatre. He has also directed Betrayal at Steppenwolf, Jolly and The Disappearance of the Jews at the Goodman, St. Scarlet at ATC, Bus Stop at Writers' Theatre and Last of the Boys at Steppenwolf. Other directing credits at Steppenwolf include Tavern Story, Things Being What They Are, Orange Flower Water (which traveled to the Galway Arts Festival), and The Fall To Earth. As an actor, Rick recently appeared in August: Osage County and The Unmentionables at Steppenwolf Theatre as well as Man From Nebraska and I Never Sang For My Father. Other Steppenwolf Theatre productions include Wedding Band, Time of Your Life, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest in London and on Broadway, and Sideman in Galway, Ireland. David Copperfield, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Slaughterhouse Five, Molly Sweeney, Picasso At The Lapine Agile, the Tony Award-winning Grapes of Wrath, The Road To Nirvana, and A Walk In The Woods. He has appeared at the Goodman Theatre in As You Like It, Down The Shore and as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. At Northlight Theatre he appeared in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and The Rear Column. Television credits include Crime Story, First Steps, Lady Blue, Legacy of Lies, The Woman Who Loved Elvis, Overexposed, and guest starring roles on Early Edition, Profiler, Chicago Hope, Angel Street, The Untouchables, Missing Persons, and Mind Of The Married Man. Rick has appeared in the films Meet The Applegates, The Tuskegee Airmen, Alien Nation Millennium, The Net starring Sandra Bullock, Whiteboys, and Soul Survivors. He appeared as agent Frank Burrows in U.S. Marshals and recently appeared in The Human Stain. Rick has taught acting classes at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, as well as advanced acting class at Northwestern University and DePaul. He currently teaches Directing 1 at Columbia College in Chicago. Rick has been a member of the Steppenwolf ensemble since 1983, and an instructor for The School at Steppenwolf and Associate Artist at Steppenwolf for the last ten years.