Everything that can go wrong does in “The Thanksgiving Play” as four theater professionals attempt to put on a noncontroversial Thanksgiving pageant at an elementary school. Glenview native Paloma Nozicka is making her Steppenwolf Theatre debut as one of those theater pros in the Chicago premiere of Larissa FastHorse’s biting comedy, April 25-June 2.
Nozicka plays Alicia. “She’s described in the play as being very beautiful and not very bright, which I would agree with — the not very bright part of it,” the actor said. “She’s an actress from L.A. who is brought in to do this Thanksgiving Play. We’re calling her a creature of survival. She does the thing that makes sure she ends up on top.”
Nozicka joked that because she now lives in L.A., like her character she was brought in from there to do a play. There’s a difference, of course, in terms of their intellect which can be a challenge for a performer, the actor indicated.
“It can be difficult to portray someone who isn’t necessarily the smartest person onstage without being a caricature,” Nozicka said.
The actor noted that even though the play is a satire, the characters are relatable. “The hope is that the audience see themselves in the characters,” Nozicka said. “Even though the characters are kind of doing everything wrong, they’re really trying.”
This is Nozicka’s first play in five years and performing in it at Steppenwolf Theatre has special meaning for her.
“This is what every actor who trains in Chicago dreams of,” Nozicka declared. “It’s like a bucket list thing for everyone.”
The multitalented Nozicka is also a playwright.
“I started writing my first play in 2019 and it had its premiere in Chicago in 2022,” Nozicka reported. The work, “Enough to Let the Light in,” was performed by Teatro Vista in the downstairs space at Steppenwolf Theatre. The play was nominated for a 2023 Jeff Award for Best New Work.
Nozicka is currently working on her second play with the 2023/24 Geffen Playhouse Writers’ Room in Los Angeles. “They select six people for a yearlong program to develop a play,” Nozicka explained. “At the end of the program, you get a full staged reading.”
Nozicka didn’t perform in theater while attending Glenbrook South High School but she was in an improv team.
At the University of Wisconsin—Madison, Nozicka double-majored in journalism and theater. “The theater side of things ended up being so much more rewarding for me and so much more fun,” she said.
While living in Chicago, she performed with such theater companies as Goodman, Victory Gardens, Griffin, and Jackalope.
She has appeared on the television shows “Chicago PD,” “Chicago Med,” “Empire,” “The Irrational,” and “Proven Innocent.”
After moving to Los Angeles, Nozicka’s theater career was sidelined by first the pandemic and then two strikes but her writing talent has helped her financially.
“I also am a screenwriter, so I’ve been doing a lot of that,” she said. “And I’ve been writing and directing a lot of short films.” She is still hoping for additional stage roles, though.
“I do love performing and I love theater so I’m hoping to do it more,” Nozicka concluded.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
