Arts & Entertainment

Steppenwolf’s Amy Morton on Working With Young Actors, Good Fortune and Bad Etiquette

Earlier this month, Steppenwolf Theatre won the Tony Award for Best Play.

The theater also opened a new show this month, and it’s a stunner. “You Will Get Sick” is laugh-out-loud funny and deadly serious. It’s a puzzle of a play where the pieces come together in surreal but satisfying ways.

Ensemble member Namir Smallwood plays a young man who isn’t well. He seeks help from an older stranger, played by Amy Morton.

Plot-wise, that’s all I’m saying — except that it owes a debt to “The Wizard of Oz” and possibly Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.” See it and you’ll know.

Morton was an ensemble member at Remains Theatre for 15 years before joining Steppenwolf in 1997. She has earned Tony nominations (“August: Osage County” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”), made movies (“Up in the Air” with George Clooney) and played desk sergeant Trudy Platt in the NBC series “Chicago P.D.” for 12 years.

“You Will Get Sick” defies expectations and has more than a few tricks up its sleeve. As the young folks say, “It’s sick.”

WTTW News spoke with Morton about her latest role at Steppenwolf, in a play written by Noah Diaz and directed by Audrey Francis.

WTTW News: We hear a lot about the actors at Steppenwolf, but the ensemble extends beyond the actors. The stagecraft in this show is so carefully syncopated with lights, sets, even magic — it’s a Swiss watch.

Amy Morton: Yeah, it’s really intricate with the timing of the visuals, and there’s somebody in a booth in the basement narrating parts of the show, and he’s watching us on a monitor, so it’s all really weird. It’s a strange play that I think culminates in something sort of wondrous. And I’m having the time of my life, I must say. It’s just a blast to do.

Your character isn’t given much backstory, and she’s kind of nutty — negotiating payment for everything she does. Did you talk to the playwright about who she is, or did you create your own backstory?

Morton: For this one I created my own backstory, but of course I checked with the playwright because he was there for the first weeks of rehearsal. I just sort of extrapolated from this strange world who she might be, and I see her as a scavenger. It’s a weird world where birds are taking people — it’s a world in someone’s head. I thought, well, she’s hustling to get by, charging money for absolutely everything that she does. And it’s clear early on in the play how this world functions. It’s completely transactional.

(left to right) Ensemble member Namir Smallwood, Sadieh Rifai and ensemble member Amy Morton in Steppenwolf Theatre’s Chicago premiere of “You Will Get Sick.” (Michael Brosilow)

Working with newer Steppenwolf ensemble members, do you have a sense of the evolution of the place or the changing of the guard? Or maybe you’re not that sentimental…

Morton: I do, but in a really positive way. The director, Audrey Francis, is also co-artistic director at Steppenwolf and has been at that job three years now. She used to be a student of mine, and so for her to be my boss now is really awesome. I just love it. She’s such a bold director. It’s the reason I did the play — I loved the play, but it’s also knowing that she was going to be at the helm. Finding good directors is hard, and she did such a masterful job. So I’m not sentimental about it, but I’m really enthusiastic about it.

And next year Audrey will act in a play that you’ll direct?

Morton: Yep, next year at this time. It’s called ‘Catch as Catch Can,’ which is again a weird show — we seem to be saving the really weird ones for the summer for whatever reason, but it’s challenging, and I think it will be really fun. But, yeah, another strange one. [laughs]

You were at Remains Theatre long before you were at Steppenwolf. Do you consider Steppenwolf your artistic home?

Morton: Oh, absolutely and it has been for a long time, and I feel very lucky to have one. Most actors don’t have that, so I cherish it.

When Steppenwolf wins a Tony Award for Best Play, as they just did for ‘Purpose,’ are you watching and rooting for them?

Morton: When we have a play in competition I certainly do. And I watched this time because I loved ‘Purpose,’ and it was so great to see them all walk up there. It was wonderful.

Do you see yourself as a mentor to young actors?

Morton: I’m a mentor if they want it. I don’t really want to push myself on anyone. If somebody has questions or whatever, I’m completely open to that, whatever they may need, but it doesn’t do anyone any good if you’re the person in the room saying “well, in my day!” [laughs] It’s not particularly productive.

(left to right) Ensemble members Namir Smallwood, Amy Morton and Cliff Chamberlain with Sadieh Rifai in Steppenwolf Theatre’s Chicago premiere of “You Will Get Sick.” (Michael Brosilow)

Is your approach to TV and film roles different from the stage, or are there similarities in how you prepare?

Morton: There are similarities in that in both cases you’re trying to be as honest as possible in your interpretation, because audiences can smell bulls--- really easily. In that way, it’s similar, but with TV and film you need to do about 30% of what you do on stage, otherwise you’re huge on the screen. You’re just a big ham. It took me a while to really just bring it down. You almost can get away with just thinking it and it shows up on screen. It’s such a subtler art form.

I was in the audience at Steppenwolf in 2012 when you were onstage during the final devastating moments of ‘Virginia Woolf’ and someone’s cellphone started ringing. You and Tracy Letts held the moment for a few beats and then proceeded. Is that something you can plan for? Do you want to strangle that person?

Morton: Yes, you do, but everybody makes mistakes, right? It’s unfortunate and it’s certainly unfortunate in a quiet moment, but you just wait. I guess there are other things that I hate even more. This happens rarely, but once in a while somebody is like, f---ing opening their lunch — I swear to god! There’s a crinkle of food bags and crap like that — that really gets me. And the worst, the worst, is when people put their crap on stage. If the stage is close to the first row and somebody puts their purse or their program on it, in the blackout I will kick it off the stage, because the set is a piece of art. I mean, you wouldn’t put your Coke can on a Picasso, so quit it. That’s my No. 1 pet peeve.

Theaters should hire bouncers to stand by the stage.

Morton: Exactly.

What’s next for you? Do you have bucket list roles or you just wait to see what comes down the pike?

Morton: No, I’ve never had a bucket list role. I start up on the 13th season of ‘Chicago P.D.’ in late July, and that season will run all the way to April, so that keeps me pretty busy, and then I start rehearsals for ‘Catch as Catch Can’ in May, so the next year is pretty booked.

Any advice for actors at the start of their career?

Morton: You know, it’s not the same landscape anymore, particularly since COVID. The industry has taken a really hard hit, and I actually don’t know what to say to people. I mean, for sure you have to take classes with your peers because those are the people you’re going to be working with. The most you can strive for is to be as honest as you can in the story you’re telling, but as for the business — oh my god, it’s a nightmare now, so I don’t know what to tell people. Honest, I’m really glad I’m old. I’m glad I’m not a young actor trying to make it out there because social media alone — I don’t know how people do it.

Final thoughts on the new show?

Morton: We’re having so much fun, and I love Namir because we have most of our scenes together and he’s one of the best scene partners I’ve ever had. This whole group has just been lovely, so I feel very lucky. You don’t get this all the time, where everything gels and it’s just a joy to be in the room all the time, so I feel very fortunate.

“You Will Get Sick” has been extended to July 20 at Steppenwolf Theatre.

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Marc Vitali is the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation Arts Correspondent.

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