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A theatre company devoted exclusively to exploding traditional notions of theatre.

Saturday May 05, 2001.     By Jill Elaine Hughes

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Since its 1993 founding by a group of Illinois State students (Paul Kampf, Robert Caisley, and Michael Oswalt) in downstate Bloomington-Normal, Breadline Theatre Group has been a theatre company devoted exclusively to exploding traditional notions of theatre and exploring new theatrical viewpoints through the nurturing of young theatre artists. From its first few years as a small student/alumni group linked to Illinois State University, to its more recent tenure as one of the most pioneering Chicago off-Loop theatre companies (Breadline is the only company in Chicago dedicated exclusively to producing world premieres), Breadline Theatre Group is a model of what new American theatre should be in the 21st century.

Having produced 26 world premieres in its lifetime, Breadline has made a successful producing mission out of what most mainstream theatres view as a poor business decision---producing new works exclusively. Mounting only new, untested, nontraditional theatre works that place art and collaboration before the balance sheet, Breadline Theatre Group has become Chicago’s mainstay for world premiere theatre. In fact, instead of disappearing down the bottomless drain that claims so many upstart off-Loop companies within their first 2-3 years of existence, since relocating to Chicago from Bloomington-Normal in 1997, Breadline has thrived. The company’s productions sell out more often than not; they maintain a state-of-the-art performance, rehearsal and classroom space in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood despite building codes and real estate prices increasingly hostile to small nonprofit theatres; and they continue to receive funding support from the City of Chicago, the Illinois Arts Council, and other funding agencies in a highly competitive theatre funding market.

Breadline must be doing something right to be so successful. What might that “right” be?

According to Heather Carpenter, a Breadline ensemble member since 1998 who first saw the company perform downstate in 1994 while still a student at Illinois Wesleyan University, that something is innovation. When she saw her first Breadline production, she saw “something I had never even conceived as being possible in the theatre. It’s why I’m with the company today.” Four years later, Carpenter joined the permanent Breadline ensemble and she continues to be “amazed” by the ways in which Breadline “stretches the realm of possibility in theatre.”

How, exactly, does Breadline stretch that realm? The answer is twofold: producing new, daring works that make all elements of theatrical art (not just the script) work together in a state of heightened precision, and using new technological and educational means to make this new theatre accessible to as many people as possible. According to Carpenter, the past 18 months have been particularly successful for Breadline, and have also helped to lead the company into some new artistic and administrative directions.

In fall 1999, Breadline mounted The Chorus Rebellion, a satire of Greek tragedy penned by Breadline Artistic Director Paul Kampf. The play became Breadline’s most successful production to date, with sold-out audiences almost every night, and was eventually remounted the following spring, along with a touring production to downstate Illinois State University. The show’s strong audience appeal led Breadline to explore a new production venue---the Internet. In partnership with Pimento Bros., a Columbus, Ohio-based Webcasting company, on March 11, 2000 Breadline Theatre Group broadcast The Chorus Rebellion live for viewing around the world on the Internet, along with live chat rooms for audience participation. According to Kampf, the Webcast opened up new possibilities for 21-century theatre: “A new medium has emerged that provides us with the ability to create an interaction between the viewer and performer in real time, without regard to geographical location.”

Immediately following the success of The Chorus Rebellion, Breadline mounted The Irish Drummer Girl, an original epic comedy (three acts and 3 * hours) in the style of George Fahrquahr, penned by Breadline Resident Director Michael Oswalt. The show, with its enormous cast, period setting, and protofeminist story of a young Irish woman who disguises herself as a male soldier in the occupying British army to reunite with her lover, was another huge success for Breadline. Following the success of this production, Breadline opened its fall 2000 season with Rustic Adventures: Two Plays in Consort, both written by Breadline Artistic Director Paul Kampf. These two original plays, which have interlocking action and a common character (somewhat similar to Alan Ayckborn’s House and Garden in their concurrent action concept) ran in repertory for nearly two months, and generated a Joseph Jefferson Recommendation for the company. Breadline immediately followed up Rustic Adventures with The Water Bearer and The Last Dance, an evening of two one-act plays by Kampf and Pamela Klarup. The Water Bearer and The Last Dance mark the latest in a string of hits by the company.

In addition to all these hit shows, Breadline maintains a theatrical training center, with Artistic Director Paul Kampf as principal instructor. Courses in acting, directing, and playwriting are offered year-round at reasonable cost, in accordance to Breadline’s commitment to developing new theatre artists. In the future, the training center hopes to offer courses in less conventional theatrical arts (contemporary masked performance, for example), that you’ll never see offered at an expensive downtown studio like Act One.

What’s next for Breadline? Given the continued success the ensemble has experienced with world premieres, the group began to wonder what might happen if they produced published works more familiar to the theatergoing community. According to Heather Carpenter, “For a company that only produces world premieres. . .it’s a terrible misconception [by audiences] that producing original works is easier. It’s so difficult to do a show that has no precedent.” Breadline has a reputation in Chicago for mounting risky new works successfully, and according to Carpenter, Breadline “wants to show Chicago that we are a tight and talented group of artists that can also do published works.” As a result, Breadline has formed a company-within-a-company, a “sister company” to Breadline Theatre Group---Out Of Line Productions----which will be devoted to producing existing works of theatre using the Breadline space and ensemble.

Does this mean you can catch Hamlet, True West, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the Breadline Theatre space next year? Not at all, according to Carpenter. “We’re never going to produce the shows that twenty other companies are producing,” she says. “We want to mount plays, playwrights, eras that are overlooked.” In fact, any permanent Breadline ensemble member has the right to submit a production proposal suggesting an underproduced work for mounting on the Breadline stage.

Out Of Line will most likely have its first production in Fall 2001. In the meantime, Breadline is currently developing an original musical, to be mounted this May. With its combination of risk-taking, technological and educational innovation, and artistic excellence, Breadline Theatre Group will be a theatrical force to be reckoned with in the 21st-century Chicago theatre scene.

Jill Elaine Hughes is a Chicago-based journalist, playwright, and theatre artist.