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Expect to hear more about this group of talented young people.

Saturday May 05, 2001.     By Joseph Bowen

Theater Feed

There is a small Chicago theatre company you may know nothing about. Yet. The hardworking folks at CollaborAction Theatre Company have been working for the past couple of years to make themselves a reputation. My prediction is that with their upcoming "Winter Sketchbook 2000" festival at Chopin Theatre, you will hear about this group of talented young people.

CollaborAction started the way a lot of companies in Chicago do - just get a group of people together, put on a show and see if you can build from there. That's what they did, and did again. They presented two one-act festivals: "No MSG Added" and "No MSG Added 2." Last year's festival sold out seven of its ten performances, and produced some very good work. The success of that festival, coupled with a Jeff Recommended production of Mark Medoff's When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? started to make people sit up and take notice.

CollaborAction began making preparations for their winter festival in October 1999, when they globally solicited submissions of plays less than ten minutes long. From that they received over 600 works, narrowed the list down to 82, and with a reading committee of CollaborAction company members, narrowed the list down to 32. They then solicited proposals from directors. They received over 70 applications from directors and narrowed that list down to 32. Each director was asked to choose five plays they were interested in directing and submit proposals for each. They again narrowed the list of plays and directors to a mere 16.

The 16 plays in this festival include eleven World premieres, two Midwest premieres, one Chicago premiere and one U.S. premiere. One of the plays, The Road from Euclid, is by Jeff Award-winning playwright Rebecca Gilman, whose Spinning Into Butter had a successful run at the Goodman Studio last season, and whose new play Boy Gets Girl will be performed on the Goodman Mainstage this year. Another play in the festival, Lost, was written by Beth Henley, author of Crimes of the Heart.

The line-up for the festival (in alphabetical order) is as follows:

Birds of Prey by Elizabeth Scales Rheinfrank (World Premiere) Directed by Shade Murray In a dive bar, just before closing, a mysterious man newly released from prison "finishes" his drink.

Covers by Sandra Pearlman (Chicago Premiere) Directed by Marta Suarez Two pregnant teens share their secrets and dreams for an eminent coming of age.

Dead Dwarf Intermezzo by John Weagly Directed by Jen Ellison A vaudevillian discovery of a dead midget.

Dirty Laundry by William Borden (World Premiere) Directed by Ian Vogt A young writer meets his first great work at a laundry mat, in a two-bit, one-horse town.

Enter the Poet by Brenda Krantz (Midwest Premiere) Directed by Ian Armstrong An out of work typist gets himself stuck in the mating rituals of the artistic elite.

I Miss Life by Jesse Weaver (World Premiere) Directed by Jimmy McDermot Addie is in denial of her infertility, and Anse's libido may be running thin.

I've Decided It was Raining the Last Time I Saw You by lccarson (U.S. Premiere) Directed by Amanda Delheimer A chorus of five couples fighting the certainties of a failed relationship.

Lost by Beth Henley (Midwest Premiere) Directed by Jay Paul Skelton The gut wrenching pathos of American sexual relations.>

Phlegm by Jonathan Mastro (World Premiere) Directed by Lusia Strus A quirky exchange between two women looking to find a sense of peace at church.

The Pratts by Tim Nordwind (World Premiere) Directed by W. Shaunassey Ashdown An hilarious bombardment of dysfunction.

Products in the Last Refuge by Guy Jackson (World Premiere) Directed by Kristin Goodman An examination of the moment of realization for two American teenage terrorists.

Road from Euclid by Rebecca Gilman (World Premiere) Directed by Rich Taylor An interviewer's preconceived notions of small town nostalgia are shattered by an encounter with small town reality.

Rough Cut by Marjie Rynearson (World Premiere) Directed by Jeffrey Dudek A dreamlike interpretation of the fight against cancer.

Toast by G. Riley Mills (World Premiere) Directed by Adam Theisen The mailman has some bad news for Megan . . . he always does.

Two Women on the Train Talking about Depression by Brett Neveu (World Premiere) Directed by Ann Filmer Two women on the train talking about everything but depression.

Tuning in El Paso by Ellen Fairy (World Premiere) Directed by Matt Miller 11 year-old Edie explores her past and the possibilities for her future in her new El Paso home.

"Winter Sketchbook 2000" plays at Chopin Theatre Mainstage, 1543 W. Division, and will run every night at 8:00 pm from Wednesday, February 23, 2000 through Saturday, March 4. The closing performance of the festival will be on Sunday, March 5, which will begin at 5:00 pm. With the exception of the March 5 performance, eight of the plays will be performed each night. The March 5 performance will feature all 16 plays. Following the March 5 performance, there will be a closing ceremony and awards, including a $300.00 prize awarded to one of the playwrights, awards for best director, as well as first place and runner-up awards for actors (male and female). Each 8:00 pm performance will be preceded by refreshments ad a DJ. Following the performances on February 27, 28 and 29, Asylum 137, an ensemble comprised of members of Blue Man Group, will perform at 10:30 PM.

The staff for "Winter Sketchbook 2000" includes Anthony Moseley (CollaborAction Artistic Director), Mark Hicks (Managing Director), Kimberly Senior (Director of New Plays), Sean Maloney (Director of New Media), John Cabrera (Festival Director), Adam Belcuore & Lily Shaw (Festival Associate Producers), Sandra Delgado (Reading Committee & Company Member), Lily Fortin (Reading Committee & Company Member), Kenneth Lee (Company Member).

Individual tickets are $15, ticket for the entire festival (excluding March 5) are $25.00. Tickets for the March 5 performance are $25.00. For tickets and more information, call 312-409-2741.