This ambitious showcase of experimental theater, performance, and music from Chicago’s fringe began as part of the Bucktown Arts Fest. Now it’s produced by the Curious Theatre Branch; in addition to the Curious folks, participating artists this year include John Starrs, Julie Caffey, Michael K. Meyers, Michael Martin, Free Street’s MadJoy Theatrics, and other ensembles and soloists. Taking its name from surrealist painter Salvador Dali’s use of the term “rhinocerontic” (it means real big), the 13th annual Rhino Fest runs through October 13. Performances take place at the Lunar Cabaret, 2827 N. Lincoln, and at Prop Thtr, 4225 N. Lincoln. Admission is $10 or “pay what you can”; for information and reservations, call 773-327-6666.
See review in this section. Prop Thtr,
Small Potatoes
Skeptics
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Free Street’s MadJoy Theatrics (formerly known as TeenStreet) presents an ensemble-created multimedia piece concerning high school students curious about the meaning of life and death. Ron Bieganski directs the script the actors wrote under the guidance of Bryn Magnus and Bieganski. “‘Dangerous’ is the operative word in this sense-assaulting multimedia performance–though the word’s meaning pitches back and forth throughout the production like a ship caught in a violent storm. ‘I got dangerously close to learning something’ is the mantra repeated by each of the eight teenage performers in Skeptics–and the danger zone seems to be the American educational system. Ironically, the less structure these high school-age characters have, the more education they get–and learning is the ultimate tool for self-actualization, a fact underscored by a recurring image of the actors studiously reading from the stacks of books resting on either side of the stage. But from the moment they enter a school’s labyrinthine hallways, all the usual adolescent concerns–from suicidal impulses to the questioning of our earthly purpose–start creeping out of the woodwork to threaten them. [This] is mind-bending multifaceted theater that tackles the great leap from adolescence to adulthood with jaw-dropping sophistication and courage,” said Reader critic Nick Green when he reviewed the show’s earlier run at Free Street. Prop Thtr, 7 PM.
“Julie Caffey’s Underwater Football uses the biblical story of Jonah and the whale as a metaphor for her father’s fall from grace, which she and her brother must confront after their parents’ divorce. But every minute Caffey spends with her face submerged in a bowl of water or dallying with the multimedia elements of her piece obscures her dark sense of humor,” said Reader critic Nick Green when he reviewed this piece as part of Tellin’ Tales Theatre’s “Sibling Revelry” earlier this year. Susan Nussbaum directs. Prop Thtr, 9 PM.
