Joel Reitsma

Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alumnus Joel Reitsma ’08, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s Acting program, is featured in the American premiere of Birdland, by British playwright Simon Stephens, author of the Broadway and London hit The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The play runs April 5-May 12 at Chicago’s Steep Theatre, where Reitsma is an ensemble member.

Dushane Casteallo

Also in the cast is Dushane Casteallo, who studied at the Columbia College Theatre Department in 2014 as an exchange student from the Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance in suburban London. Rose Bruford’s American Theatre Arts BA program partners with Columbia College on a program in which British students spend a semester studying at Columbia College in Chicago. In exchange, American students at Columbia College can study at Rose Bruford College. The Steep Theatre production marks Casteallo’s American stage debut.

Joel Reitsma in “Birdland”

When you can have whatever you want, whenever you want it, what do you ask for next? When you’ve pushed every boundary until there’s nothing left to hold you in, how do you find your way back home? Birdland is described as “a sexy, searing exploration of empathy and the impact of unchecked privilege.” The show is directed by former Columbia College Theatre Department faculty member Jonathan Berry, an artistic producer at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre.

For tickets, call 773-649-3186 or click here.