Jonathan Berry
Artistic Director
he/him
Jonathan Berry
Artistic Director
(he/him)
Jonathan@penobscottheatre.org
Jonathan Berry is a director, producer and teacher from Chicago. He spent five years as an Artistic Producer at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and he remains a proud ensemble member of both Steep Theatre and Griffin Theatre. Steppenwolf directing credits include: Lindiwe (Co-directed with Eric Simonson and featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo), The Children, You Got Older, Constellations, and the SYA productions of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Crucible, and A Separate Peace. Steep Theatre productions include: Paris, Red Rex, Earthquakes in London, Posh, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle, If There Is I Haven’t Found it Yet, The Knowledge, Festen, Moment, The Hollow Lands and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. At Griffin, productions include: The North American premiers of Simon Stephens Punk Rock (Jeff award Director, Lead Actor, and Ensemble) Port, and On the Shore of the Wide World, as well as The Harvest, Winterset, Pocatello, Balm in Gilead, Golden Boy, The Burnt Part Boys, Spring Awakening Company, Picnic, Time and the Conways, Dead End, The Hostage and Journey’s End. He directed the NY premiere of Andrew Hinderacker’s Suicide, Incorporated for The Roundabout. His work has been honored with numerous Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, as well as frequent representation on the end of year Top Ten lists of the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun Times and Timeout Chicago. He won the Joseph Jefferson award for directing for his work on Simon Stephen’s Punk Rock.
He served as Assistant Director for Anna D Shapiro’s Broadway productions of Of Mice and Men and This is our Youth. At the Gift Theatre, he directed the world premieres of Andrew Hinderacker’s Dirty and Suicide, Incorporated. At the Goodman Theatre, he directed the New Stages productions of Martin Zimmerman’s The Solid Sand Below and Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s The World of Extreme Happiness. Other work includes: American Theatre Company; Kill Floor, American Blues; Little Shop of Horrors and Sideman; Redtwist; Look Back in Anger and Reverb, Chicago Dramatists: I am Going to Change the World, Jackalope Theatre: The Casuals, Strawdog: Conversations on a Homecoming, Remy Bumppo: The Marriage of Figaro, Theatre Mir: The Sea and Caucasian Chalk Circle, Lifeline Theater: The Piano Tuner (Afterdark award – Best Production) He pursued his MFA in directing from Northwestern University under the tutelage of Anna D. Shapiro. He has taught acting, directing, and viewpoints at University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois – Chicago, Vagabond School, Act One Studios, and Columbia College Chicago. For 17 years he played an integral role in the esteemed ensemble training program The School at Steppenwolf, serving as director of the program from 2015-2019.