Kevin Cox has always realized the importance of hard work and ambition.

Growing up in South Holland, Ill., Cox remembers one summer working construction for the family business, Cox Construction Co., in South Holland.

It was far away from the surroundings of costumes, scenery and dressing rooms, but even early on, Cox was drawn to a career in acting.

"I graduated in 1999 from Marist High School in Chicago, which was at that time an all-boys school," said 26-year-old Cox, who now is a leading performer on Chicago's theater scene.

"They didn't even do any plays or theater events, since so much of the focus was on football and sports. But I was still interested in theater, and so I just concentrated on the speech and debate team."

Under the creative umbrella of the cutting-edge Chicago acting group Greasy Joan and Co., which defines itself as "classic theatre with contemporary edge," Cox starred as the lead Alceste in the one-month run of the Moliere comedy, "The Misanthrope," at the Athenaeum Theatre from March 5 to April 5 and now has a starring role as Macduff in William Shakespeare's "Macbeth," also playing at The Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport, in Chicago, and continues until May 25.

And once he wraps up "Macbeth," he and the company will remount "The Misanthrope" for five more performances June 11 to 15 for the 2008 Theatre on the Lake, the 56th annual seasonal event sponsored by the Chicago Park District featuring short summer reprisals of critical performances at the theater space at Fullerton Avenue on Lake Michigan.

"The Misanthrope" is a story filled with love triangles, misunderstandings and laughs, as the play examines society's dissection of social classes.

As for "Macbeth," it is Shakespeare's ultimate tale of a scheming wife and her power-driven husband, a play that has the cast surrounded by ghosts, witches and the curse of guilt.

Cox said both plays have allowed him to learn by experience and an exploration of techniques, since most of his formal stage training was during college, when he majored in theater and earned his bachelor's degree in 2003 from Millikin University in Decatur, Ill.

He said his parents David and Peggy have always been supportive of his acting dream, rather than the typical temptation to steer him toward the family business, which was started in 1954.

Some of his most recent work includes roles in plays like "Eva Peron" and "Emma" at Trap Door Theatre, "A Dream Play" and "Venus" at The Mill and "Tape" at Oracle Productions.

But it's been this current experience in "Macbeth" and his time in "The Misanthrope" that Cox says has given him the greatest opportunity to test his acting range.

"Other than playing the part of Sir Toby, the drunk in Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' a few years back, I haven't had much opportunity to be cast in Shakespeare's plays," Cox said.

"It's a challenging dialogue, and it takes a certain rhythm for delivery."

He said both his family and peers have always encouraged him to try new opportunities in the acting field.

"I have my parents' support to be grateful for, helping to encourage me along the way," he said.

"Many of the plays I've been lucky enough to be cast in are anything but the traditional stage standards for the mainstream theater selections my parents and family would probably be more familiar with. So coming to my productions has been a learning experience for them as well."

Julianne Ehre, the artistic director for Greasy Joan and Co., said that while Cox has expressed gratitude for her theater company's "taking a chance on him" to tackle tough roles, she believes he is a perfect example of the group's mission.

"We are always looking to tap new talent and open our audiences up to new ways to enjoy classic theater," Ehre said.

"Producing these two most recent plays back to back allows both our cast and our audiences to discover connections between two of the greatest writers in the Western canon while enjoying the contrast of classic comedy against drama."