This self-styled “convergence of Chicago artists,” running through April 26, is presented by Performing Arts Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Boasting Chicago first lady Maggie Daley as honorary chair, the avant-garde festival features more than 100 multidisciplinary presentations. All shows take place at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport; the sprawling arts complex is a hive of activity, with simultaneous performances and installations in its four studio theaters as well as lounges, hallways, stairwells, and other spaces. The fest also includes workshops and panels with participating artists at other venues as shown below. Prices for individual events range from $5 to $15, though workshops generally cost more and some events and installations are free; see listings for details. For tickets and more information, and to register for workshops, call Performing Arts Chicago at 773-722-5463. Tickets can also be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling 312-902-1500 or logging on to www.ticketmaster.com.
Chumpstrap: A Madras Parable and Refracting Rainbows The Curious Theatre Branch presents a double bill of world premieres. “The fourth in a series of ‘parables’ created since 1987 by Curious cofounders Jenny Magnus and Beau O’Reilly, [Chumpstrap] juxtaposes his relatively unadorned storytelling with her sly musical accompaniment. . . . O’Reilly tells of his struggles to fit into two male enclaves: first as a kid alongside his older, more athletic, more ‘boylike’ brothers, . . . and second as an adult with a pair of fearless, hard-drinking professional movers. . . . An imposing figure known for his larger-than-life performances, O’Reilly here adopts a quiet, gentle persona that lends his uncharacteristically bare-bones stories a refreshing naivete. . . . Chumpstrap is paired with a brief ensemble piece, Refracting Rainbows, created and performed by Marianne Fieber and KellyAnn Corcoran. While they talk and sing about the losses they’ve suffered . . . a choruslike trio of women play various incidental roles. [The] text is pared to the barest essentials. As a result some sections feel sketchy, but others have a poetic resonance,” says Reader critic Justin Hayford. Athenaeum Studio 2. 7:30 PM; $15.
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I Can’t Explain the Beauty Writer-performer David Kodeski presents an episode of his “True Life Tales” series. “Scavenging the personal histories of strangers–in this case, the mid-1930s diaries of one Fred Nye–[Kodeski] makes mountains of obscure molehills, filling in the gaps with anecdotes and reflections. Kodeski’s obsession with the everyday . . . is in part a laudable reaction to the self-involved performances of Spalding Gray and his ilk. But this effort proves that gazing at someone else’s navel isn’t necessarily any better. Kodeski is a magnificent storyteller . . . and the little laughs scattered throughout his looping travelogue are quiet genius. Unfortunately the life of Fred Nye, or at least the glimpse we’re afforded, is a crying bore,” says Reader critic Brian Nemtusak. Reader critic Justin Hayford says that Kodeski’s “eye for telling detail is sharp [as] he stitches a string of seemingly insignificant episodes into a lush panorama of the banal.” Athenaeum Studio 2. 9:30 PM; $15.
The Brink Sessions: Dialogues on Performance, Session 2 A panel moderated by Performing Arts Chicago’s executive director Susan Lipman debates “Authority and Responsibility in Contemporary Criticism.” Athenaeum Studio 2. 4 PM; free.
365 Days Renamed Mark Booth presents an audio performance. Athenaeum Studio 1. 7:30 PM; $15.
