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HOOKED FOR LIFE When actor/director Gary Sinise was 18 years old, he co-founded a small theatre company in a church basement in Highland Park, Illinois. To keep afloat, he and his colleagues worked day jobs and cloistered themselves at night in the pursuit of their craft; but from the beginning, Sinise was considered the heart of what would become the internationally prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre of Chicago. It has been many years, much hard work and several awards since then. This year Sinise picked up a Golden Globe for his convincing portrayal of former President Harry S. Truman in HBO's Truman. Last year he was nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar for his performance as Lieutenant Dan Taylor, the anguished paraplegic Vietnam veteran in the Oscar-winning Forrest Gump, and he starred as Stu Redman, the stalwart virus-free hero in the ABC miniseries based on Stephen King's epic novel, The Stand. Sinise is currently making his Broadway directing debut at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre with Sam Shepard's play, Buried Child, which garnered rave reviews last fall in Chicago during Steppenwolf's 20th anniversary season. This production is a new version of Shepard's 1979 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, which explores the explosive family dynamics that occur when a prodigal grandson unexpectedly returns to his estranged family's Illinois farm. While some people think Shepard's work as a playwright is dark and often too elusive for the general theatre audience, Sinise adamantly disagrees. "That's the misconception. I just happen to think that his writing is funny, and it wouldn't be funny on the stage if it wasn't funny on the page. There's a lot of funny stuff in the way the family behaves, what they say to each other and the thtings they do. They're unusual, yet we can recognize a lot of ourselves in them, in terms of family behavior and family function and dysfunction at the same time. [[picture of Gary Sinise]] Gary Sinise moves with ease from the stage to the movies, but his heart belongs to the theatre. "The play operates on both a humorous and mysterious level. You can never really tell who's gonna come on, what the people are gonna say to each other and how it's gonna evolve. At the same time, the dynamics of the play are so unpredictable and so interesting. Those are some of the things that were really attractive to me in terms of staging this play." As a director, Sinise likes to control and admits he can become dictatorial. "I would say that I am very specific, and that has worked for me a number of times. I have a pretty good handle on what I'm looking for as I'm doing it and where I'm going. I don't come in with everything in mind, from the get-go. I start to live it through the actors and develop it through the actors. I want the audience to feel things before they have a chance to think about it. I try to keep them leaning forward rather than leaning back because I feel those are the best experiences. The one that hits you by Starla Smith MAKE A DRAMATIC ENTRANCE. It has an unmatched 300-HP V8. A Continuously Variable Road-Sensing Suspension. And full-range Traction Control. All of which allow Seville STS with the Northstar System to put on the kind of performances other luxury sport sedans can't touch. When you're ready to take a dramatic new turn, see your Cadillac dealer. Seville STS. Because only one can play like this. [[picture of car]] SEVILLE STS Northstar System: 300-HP V8 Continuously Variable Road-Sensing Suspension Traction Control ABS Magnasteer Plus Dual Air Bags Call 1-800-333-4CAD [[logo]] Cadillac Creating a Higher Standard Official Sponsor of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team Official Sponsor of the 1996 Olympic Games C. 1995 GM Corp. All rights reserved. Always wear safety belts, even with air bags. CADILLAC SEVILLE NORTHSTAR
