Bringing DADA sentiment to the holidays, WNEP Theater deconstructs the holiday season only to use creative freedom and the human imagination to rebuild it. In this highly original presentation, the largest Soirée Dada cast ever will continue to confront the audience with irrationality, chance, and humor, offering (and occasionally forcing upon) their guests the opportunity to participate on an active level. There will be a tree and presents, too.

The classic musical for children and adults returns to Chicago!  The Marble Squad (an Astronaut, a Ballerina, a Witch and other friends) love to act and dance and sing. They are led by a Captain who is always losing his fuzzy red marbles.  Watch them take on the challenge of staging “Romeo and Juliet”—with hilarious results!  Episode 1 features surprise celebrity cameos, and award-winning composer Alaric “Rokko” Jans at the piano. 

We opened our show this weekend and it was fantastic.

Friday night, the crowd exceeded the capacity of the venue and, in tandem with the beautiful venue, the large cast that is ever changing, and the burning question of whether or not a show about Christmas through the cloudy lens of neo-DADA nonsense would - you know - work, things turned out excellently.

In terms of the artistic process the theater-blogospherium is constantly nattering about, I almost always wonder if a show I’ve directed will fall flat with a live audience or not. I can only direct what I like and what speaks to me and cross my fingers in hopes that there are other like-minded people who will see the same thing as I do. I am constantly tweaking things in my head and then on stage and at some point I have to stop and just let the goddamn thing breathe it’s own breaths and grow.

After the show, the DCA folks threw us a nice little reception and the requisite post-show banter issued forth.

Many from that opening night audience were pleasantly dazed and it seemed that most stuck around. I’m not much for the after-party scene - I tend to grab a beer and go hide until everyone has left - but I forced myself to speak to a couple of friends before I crawled under the stage.

Of all the comments - ranging from “That was absolutely amazing. I’m bringing my mom!” to “I don’t know it means but it works!” - my favorite was this [paraphrased] “This show captured exactly what Christmas with family feels like in a way that I have never seen in any other Christmas show I’ve been to.”

In the raging debate about content in theater, it is that comment that smacks me around a bit.

In DADA (or neo-DADA in a H/T to RLewis), the content is hidden, underneath the surface of the words spoken or the actions present. It is as if everything presented has a running subtext that, when put together in such a way, creates a feeling and a series of moments that add up. Change three of these moments and the subtext changes to amount to a different feeling. More important than the nuts and bolts of the show, however, is the intent of the performers.

With a neo-DADA cast this large, there is a range of focus. Some of the DADAS are riding the wave and allowing the work to take over and there is a flow in their presentation. These performers walk with a deep respect for the very DADA-ness of the thing and relinquish control to the experience of performing DADA. Jen is a true artisan of DADA, controlling the pace of things by keeping the boat pointed toward land and yet effortlessly, miraculously spouting nonsense and commentary in such a way that transfixes the guests - it is obvious that she embodies an integrity that most performers of any type in any show would envy.

Some of the neo-DADAs are less trusting of the nonsense and find ways to feel as if it is they who are controlling the ride - improvising jokes within the transitions, trying to manipulate the response into a favorable one, seeking the crack cocaine of audience approval. I know that I’ve cast well when these performers can so openly distrust the very thing we are presenting, performing with one foot in the soup and the other in their comfort zone, and still come off as whip-smart and invested.

When it works, what I see is downright Shakespearean - poetry, lofty heartbreaking moments of despair, tawdry toilet humor, rage, vengeance, and giddy childlike acceptance of a world that is somehow of this world and yet slightly elevated. When it doesn’t work it is because the balance between those moments of infused DADA nonsense and those moments of performers trying control the reaction of the audience tips slightly one way or the other - either too much indulgence in the deconstruction of meaning or too many bits and the house of cards begins to topple. It is that delicacy that makes each show a nail-biter.

Interestingly enough, after watching each of the three performances this weekend, I came away with three different interpretations of the content of the show and I believe that that is the substantive strength of a WNEP Theater DADA Soireé - the content is in the observer and because every observer has a different set of circumstance it is a unique experience for each individual.

Journey through the psyche of Captain Melisande Blue in Noel William’s award winning Pochinko clown and Bouffon style show.  Packed and ready to go, Mel and her baggage find themselves at a train station exiled for “loving a little too much.” Her divine ride features a feisty turnstile, dinner dates with luggage, and a two and a half foot mini version of “Gone with the Wind.” A Fringe Festival favorite throughout the county, this will be the first time the full show has been seen in Chicago.

Hi everyone!  It’s great to be back!

All of us with the Acting Squad are busy rehearsing and getting ready for our opening at the DCA Storefront Theater on November 1.  We’ve had some singing and dancing rehearsals already, and the Squad is sounding great.  I have to work on a few things – it’s a little hard to dance when I keep losing my marbles – but that’s to be expected.

What’s been really fun has been telling people that we’re putting on a show again!  Some of the kids who saw us in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s are parents – and grandparents – now.  We’re hoping that this is just the beginning – and they’ll be able to see many more Marble Squad shows in the future.  Special thanks to our great new friends at the DCA – they’re helping us in so many ways to get the marbles rolling.

We’re excited to have some special guests during the run of this first episode, too. Because we’re putting on our biggest show ever – “The Comedy of the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”—Morey the Eel has decided to become a casting agent – and he’s lining up all the top name talent we’ll need. Depending on when you come to the show, you might see tap dancers, singers, trombone players – even pogo stick jumpers (I think Morey’s getting a little carried away).  We’ll also have celebrities like Wayne Messmer, Tim Kazurinsky, Garry Meier and more.  Morey says he’s looking for a cast of thousands – er, hundreds.  I’m telling him to be thinking tens.  Morey says he’s working it all out – his people are calling their people.

So, we really hope we’ll see you at the Storefront!  When you come, be sure to stick around afterwards – we’d love to say hello to you after the show. And check back on this blog – we’ll be updating it through our run with the DCA.

Captain over and out – Doo-wah!

Well we all know by now that our beloved Count Orlock actually has no reflection- poor thing!

What a fabulous journey this production has been! When Jill Summers wrote the script for the show two years ago I had no idea that things would unfold as nicely has they have.

This was the first ‘real’ show I’ve directed and it’s been such a wonderful experience. We’ve had a great response to the show, especially the compelling character of Orlock played by Damien Hinojosa. Even though he’s a cold blooded killah- it’s clear to me that his trials and tribulations strike a chord with everyone in some way…

If you haven’t seen the show yet there are only TWO more shows left- this weekend! It’s going to sell out our small house, so if you haven’t gotten tix and plan to join- we strongly suggest purchasing them in advance! Click here for tickets.

The Incurable Theater is so proud of this show! In fact, we’re hoping to bring this piece back next year with a longer version of the show and are looking for a theater to host us. We’ve loved working with the DCA, but since this is our third show with them we must now allow another company to reap the rewards of partnering with them. And on that note- if you are a local company we HIGHLY recommend applying to present with the DCA Theater. They are top notch! And if we had our way, we’d never perform anywhere else! :) Click here to learn more.

If you’ve seen the show, we also encourage you to visit the DCA Theater website and post a review online! We’d love to get your feedback since it helps us to grow and learn.

Thanks for your support!
The Incurable Theater

Travis Williams transforming himself into a French Waiter

High art meets low as Blair Thomas & Company give voice to 20th century poet Federico Garcia Lorca through a cabaret of puppets, amoral ruffians, and original music for an evening of highly unique theater.  This production combines several of Lorca’s short works, including Chimera and Buster Keaton’s Stroll, to create an original comedy of failures chronicling one man’s pursuit of love and affection. What unfolds is a surreal world where one man’s fantasy collides with its own end.

Post-show discussion on Thursday, October 23.

In addition to the presentation of Cabaret of Desire at the Storefront Theater, Blair Thomas & Company presents The Ox-herder’s Tale at the Museum of Contemporary Art (220 East Chicago Ave) from November 19-30, 2008. 

The Incurable Theater combines puppetry, masks, live actors, shadowplay, and projections into a unique production inspired by F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent film Nosferatu.  The darkly comic tale depicts the struggles of Count Orlock as he travels by sea, stowed away on the Russian schooner, “The Demeter.” As he travels to a foreign land to begin life anew, his debilitating insomnia brings to life his insecurities and nightmares.  This new play was written by Jill Summers, whose short stories are frequently heard on Chicago Public Radio’s Third Coast International Audio Festival.

TELL US WHAT YOU THOUGHT—LEAVE A COMMENT

This has been a wonderful and fruitful process. I discovered things about the play that were completely hidden from me before, things that excite me. Right now I’m really enjoying the direction the play is taking, a richer and more complex direction, less realistic and linear. Without access to actors and rehearsal space, I don’t think I would have discovered this.

And it’s a fairly difficult direction. The number of characters on stage and the layered tonal effect of the dialogue are difficult to present clearly on the page. Being able to work with Mitch and the cast has helped me figure out which parts work and how to explain this vision. I’m continuing to work with this terrific group to expand and hone the play, and I’m eager to see where it takes me.

I’m grateful to the DCA and InFusion Theatre for this remarkable opportunity.

New mothers often experience peripartum, also known as postpartum, depression primarily brought on by hormonal changes, but exacerbated by feeling of stress from changes at work and home routines and also from having feelings of loss of identity of who they are, or were.

Actors -who create new identities with each new show- sometimes suffer a similar, if not medically described, phenomenon (castpartum Seanachai) brought on by the sudden cessation of association with a cast that has grown close during the lengthy process of rehearsing a production and its subsequent run…often spanning many months.

Some of the 21 performers (and the roles they play) in “Scenes From the Big Picture” weigh in with their feelings on the subject.

Don Blair (Sammy): “’Mixed feelings’ sums it up.  Whenever the end of a show approaches I’m relieved and triste all at once.  But this show has been…’Special’- and so it adds an extra dollop of weltschmertz to the whole affair. (Weltschmertz: feeling experienced by someone who understands that physical reality can never satisfy the demands of the mind.) Don will be shaving his head for the June ‘09 re-mount of Bret Nevue’s “The Last BBQ” at Ann Filmer’s 16th St. Theater.

Barbara Figgins (Sharon) says all she’s going to do is file her taxes. That should be depressing enough in its own right.

Lee Stark (Connie): “I don’t often feel sad after a show, because that’s one of the joys of doing theater, there are a lot of stories to tell and every one has to end at some point.  It feels natural.  I always miss the particular group of people, though, but you keep in touch if it’s meant to last. And it’s a small freakin world.” She opens in the title role in Victory Gardens’ “Eurydice” Oct. 13.

Carolyn Klein (Helen): “It’s not every show that I am sad to see end but I am definitely going to miss this cast and working on this production...a great script, good people and beautiful work.  It’s been an awesome run.” Carolyn opens in WildClaw Theatre’s “Dreams in the Witch House” Nov. 16 at the Athenaeum. She’s filming an “indie” slasher film, “The Landlord”, in October.

Mike Carothers (Rat) joins the cast its final weekend stepping into the role formerly played by Shane Kenyon who’s replacing Jamie Abelson (opening as Orpheus with Lee Stark in “Eurydice”) in the role of Bop.  He says, “After a show…I tend to compare it to that of a vacation to another country. You are there for months and experience bonds, events, laughs and moments that will never be repeated. Then you pack up and go home. It means no one at home will understand what you’ve just experienced. No matter how vivid the descriptions, pictures and even videos, none will convey what you experienced on that vacation or that production.”

Zeke Sulkes (Swiz) is going to the New Victory Theatre in New York with Redmoon Theater’s critically acclaimed production of “Hunchback”. When asked how he feels at a show’s closing he says, “I do indeed get pangs of sadness when a show closes.  Not always, but in the case of this show, most certainly.  (It) is a temporal piece of art, meant to exist in a limited space and time.  And it is not the “show” that I will miss the most.  It is the community we’ve created; the cast and crew have bonded in a special way.  I will miss this bond the most.”

This is the final weekend for “Scenes From the Big Picture” at the Storefront Theater. The show has been critically acclaimed, Jeff Recommended, well attended and is expecting sell out houses as experienced during the run.

Performed by a 21 member cast, the play takes place during one 24 hour period in Belfast, Ireland. But it’s not about “the troubles”. It’s about people and their lives.

This week, new faces will replace two characters and another will move to the role of a cast member who’s leaving.

Ashley Neal steps in as Connie –formerly played by Lee Stark who opens in the title role in “Eurydice” at Victory Gardens on October 13.

Shane Kenyon, who’s been playing Rat (DCA Theater Blog Sept. 15) moves into Jamie Abelson’s role as Bop. Jamie moves with Stark to the Victory Gardens playing Orpheus.

Mike Carothers takes over as Rat. He recently moved here from Baltimore where he worked with Center Stage and the Baltimore Playwright’s Festival. He and his brother operate CarothersBrothersProductions producing comic and short films.

“Scenes…” runs this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 with the closing show on Sunday at 3:00 at the Storefront Theatre, 66 E. Randolph, across from the Cultural Center. Tickets still available at 1-312-742-TIXS (8497).