The 2001-02 season at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's smallest space, the Garage (so named because it is located in a parking garage structure), will open on Oct. 11 with Robert William Sherwood's Absolution. The play will officially open Oct. 21 for a run through Nov. 11.

The production is not only Sherwood's Steppenwolf debut, it marks actress Martha Plimpton's first stab at directing. Plimpton is a ensemble member of the theatre and has starred in its productions of Hedda Gabler and The Playboy of the Western World. Her films include "Running on Empty" and "I Shot Andy Warhol."

Asked why she chose Absolution to test her directing skills, Plimpton told Playbill On-Line, "I was pouring through a lot of stuff and I thought this was the most interesting play. I really just responded to it. It's a very lean work, very muscular, very well written. It's also in many ways a very practical thing for me in the sense that it is a very actor driven play. I've been doing this for 22, 23 years and I have no idea if I'll be any good at directing, but I have a feeling that my heart is in the right place. In that sense, I just trust myself—and I frankly trust the judgment of the theatre."

Sherwood's drama, described as a "neo-noir psychological thriller," is about three men, friends since High School, who have been hiding a secret for twenty years—a secret with now threatens to come out and destroy their lives. Coby Goss, Daniel Lee Smith and Frank Dominelli star, with Jennifer Kern and Danica Ivancevic in support.

Tickets are $10. Steppenwolf is located at 1650 N. Halsted Street in Chicago. For more info, call (312) 335-1888. —By Robert Simonson