| The Revolution is now!
by Chelsea Keenan on 7/12/2007 02:54:00 PM
I have a good friend, a theatre artist, writer, all-around smart art-maker, that has informally drafted a number of Chicago companies in to "The Revolution". The Revolution consists of theatre and performance companies pushing the bounds of what theatre is in Chicago, beyond it's extraordinary acting, gutsy spirit and creative use of any empty room plus chairs. It seems that The Revolution requires all that good Chicago stuff, plus an outright challenge to the audience to be an active part of an evening by opening up to the unexpected, the unpredictable, and the unfamiliar.
These performances do what I like best as an audience... they surprise me. And only when I'm surprised... be it by astounding beauty, tremendous physical feat, genius theatricalization of a moment on stage, or simply the impact of silence and stillness amidst spectacle... I am moved. I cannot defend my senses against what I cannot see coming. There is no time to outsmart the play and avoid the emotional impact. Laughter roars, gasps are heard, tears well up.
I will always vividly remember my first show on staff here. Suzan-Lori Parks In the Blood in 2003 took risks with everything from casting and staging to language and content. It tackled both the tremendous politicized questions the surrounding welfare system and everyone who touches it, while at heart communicating as a story about love and loss. And to do it, Parks used rich poetry alongside a baseball bat and a bucket of stage blood. Everything was heightened, stylized, jam-packed with tension and possibility. And it surprised me. It moved me. So much so that friends and I talked late into the night about how the work had stirred us and forced us to question our own ideas and feelings about our new urban environment. It was so much more for us than just a night at the theatre. It felt revolutionary.
But.. Next is dark this month. You've seen what exciting and provocative theatrical events we have coming your way next season... but for now, go see 500 Clown at the Upstairs Steppenwolf. They're part of The Revolution.Labels: Chicago theatre
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500 Clown sure is doing something right over at Steppenwolf. Talk about actively involving an audience!
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