NWC alum wins Chicago theatre award

Matthew Foss, formerly of Orange City, was among the winners at the 42nd Annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards, which recognizes excellence in Chicago theatre. Established in 1968, the awards are named for 19th century Chicago actor Joseph Jefferson III. This year’s awards ceremony took place June 8 in Chicago.

Foss received the award for Best New Adaptation. He scripted Upton Sinclair’s Chicago stockyards novel, “The Jungle,” into a stage play and directed the production at Chicago’s Oracle Theatre last summer. An Aug. 4 Chicago Tribune review called it “a vivid and memorable theatrical experience.

“‘The Jungle’ is a tough tale to dramatize,” wrote theatre critic Chris Jones. “[H]ow the heck do you stage the scenes on the line, short of hiring a bunch of … cows to come in … Remarkably, Matt Foss’ new adaptation … does indeed find such a metaphor. Instead of cows, you get great long spools of paper, upon which images of cattle are sprayed … [I]t’s highly effective in the theatre, especially in the famous ‘Jungle’ sequence wherein the line goes haywire and live, panicked cows are set loose among the workers. Here, that is one eye-popping scene, replete with all the symbolic horror it demands.”

Foss was also nominated for a Jeff Award in the best director category, and his production of “The Jungle” was nominated for best play.

A 2001 Northwestern College graduate, Foss earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from Roosevelt University in Chicago and a doctorate in theatre studies and directing from Wayne State University, Detroit. He is currently a theatre professor at the University of Idaho, Moscow.