Jim Poole
A native of Chicago and a graduate of Wheaton College, I've kicked it around in the city with a number of theatrical, improvisational and sketch comedy groups, even taking on a longish stint directing the performing arts program at a modest institution. But the unique challenges and rewards of storefront theater attracted me, and I welcomed the opportunity to throw my hat in Steep's black box arena. It proved to be a fortuitous toss.
The appeal of the ensemble and its work are captured well by critic Jack Helbig in his review of Pinter's The Hothouse: "The folks at Steep squeeze all the drama they can out of the script. Even more impressive, they capture the rhythms of the dialogue without over- or underplaying their parts." This is spot on and characteristic of Steep, as is his very next sentence: "Jim Poole is nearly perfect as Roote, the morally bankrupt stuffed shirt who runs the asylum, ...as is Alex Gillmor as Roote's resentful rodentlike assistant." (To be fair I quote the original sentence in its entirety, though I think that last phrase was tacked on for the sole purpose of employing the very apt word "rodentlike")
For me, the experience of Hothouse has been repeated and repeated... and repeated in nearly every other production at Steep. |
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Steep Theatre Productions
Harper Regan, Kill The Old Torture Their Young, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Bang the Drum Slowly, The Night Heron, Bang the Drum Slowly, Catch-22, Dealer's Choice, The HotHouse, These Flowers are for My Mother
Other Performances
Twelfth Night - Greenstick Summer Theater
How Gertrude Stormed the Philosophers Club - Bailiwick
A Lie Of The Mind - Strawdog Theater
Otherwise Engaged - AWT
Peer - Pneumatikal Theatrikal
Bell, Book and Candle - Illinois Theatre Center
To Kill A Mockingbird - Grounded Theatre Co
The Last Yankee - AWT
Fool for Love - Stage Two Rep. Co
Lost Crown of Andalusia - King Richard's Faire
The Good Doctor - Generic Theatre Co.
See How They Run - Eugene Players
Whodunnit - Red Barn Summer Theatre
My Three Angels - Red Barn Summer Theatre
Of Thee I Sing - Red Barn Summer Theatre
The Gazebo - Red Barn Summer Theatre
Black Comedy - Red Barn Summer Theatre
Man of La Mancha - Red Barn Summer Theatre
Inherit the Wind - Arena Theatre
Joseph & His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - Arena Theatre
Seasons of His Mercy - Arena Theatre
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