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Theater Mon Feb 14 2011
Sketchbook REVERB Recruits New Theater Enthusiasts in Collaboraction's New Space
If you are one of the many people who have heard about Chicago's vibrant independent theater scene, but haven't made it out to see anything because your perception of theater has been tainted by cheesy musicals, you may want to free up a night this month or next to check out Collaboraction's Sketchbook REVERB.
"Sketchbook has proven to be this place where we've found a way to make theater super tasty and consumable to a young diverse audience," explains Anthony Moseley, director. "The audience is not just made up of people who go to a lot of theater."
Collaboraction's annual Sketchbook festival is a critically-acclaimed annual celebration of mixed-media theater, music and performance art.
"Sketchbook started as a way to try to cultivate new work, new artists and new audiences," said Moseley. "It was really kind of like an art party--drawn from the mid 90's rave scene but without all the drugs. Collaboraction was cultivating an environment where the audience's sensory experience was crafted with a sense of freedom to move around. Theater can be really fun and stimulating, even transcendent if presented in the right way."
For Sketchbook REVERB, eight of the strongest plays from the past ten years of the Sketchbook festival will be performed. For those of us who have missed the Sketchbook festival in the past, this is a great opportunity to catch up-- to see the best of the best. And in Collaboraction's super-intimate, brand new space in the Flat Iron building, no less.
Each play in Sketchbook REVERB is a brief seven or eight minutes, making up a 90-minute long show with intermission, including works from such acclaimed playwrights as Ellen Fairey, Keith Huff and Lisa Dillman. A roster of DJs will perform musical interludes in between the short plays and multimedia video components will be incorporated throughout the evening. Every performance will be streamed live on the internet, and can be viewed at Collaboraction's website.
Sketchbook REVERB will take place February 10 through March 27. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm UPDATE: Collaboraction is extending the performances to run Saturday nights only, April 9 - May 28 at 8pm and 10pm respectively on the third floor of the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave. Tickets are currently on sale and available at collaboraction.org or by calling 312-226-9633. Full performance schedule and ticket information can be found on Collaboraction's website.
