This second annual showcase of one-person performances features more than 40 pieces, ranging from stand-up comedy acts to theatrical monologues and one-person plays. The festival runs through March 22. Shows take place at the Athenaeum Theatre, third-floor studio, 2936 N. Southport, 312-902-1500; Playground Theater, 3341 N. Lincoln, 773-871-3793; and WNEP Theater, 3209 N. Halsted, 773-755-1693. Ticket prices for individual programs are $12; “all access” passes cost $75. In addition to the performances, interdisciplinary artist Rachel Rosenthal will lead a performance workshop on the festival’s closing weekend. For more information and reservations, or to register for the Rosenthal workshop, call 312-388-1805; information is also available on-line at www.singlefilechicago.com. Tickets for shows at the Athenaeum Theatre can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling 312-902-1500 or logging on to www.ticketmaster.com, and tickets for shows at WNEP Theater are available on-line at www.ticketweb.com.
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“Something Suite, written and performed by Dina Facklis, . . . is exceptional. Facklis takes pleasure in the incongruities of human nature, especially those brought out by extreme situations: a housewife prepares dinner while responding to accusations that she tried to commit suicide; a sweet-voiced recording artist lays down tracks for a song about bestiality; a doctor explains that she didn’t tell her pregnant patient about possibly fatal complications because she wanted to ramp up the drama of the birth. Facklis’s characters are tears-in-the-eyes funny not because of what they say but because of who they are under pressure,” said Reader critic Jennifer Vanasco when she reviewed the show last year. Stand-up features New Zealander Andy Clay in a program of stand-up comedy. And Lilia! is Libby Skala’s account of her grandmother Lilia Skala, the architect and actor best known for her performance in the movie Lilies of the Field. Athenaeum Theatre, 8 PM.
Sir, Mahboyfren’, and Are You a Boy or a Girl?
M. Dick and Teaching Shakespeare
Coming of Age in Samoa, Emotional Baggage Check, and Moses
Cliff Chamberlain reenters the world of childhood in Paper Dreams and Plastic Promises; Butch Jerinic talks about her family in Growing Up Butch. Athenaeum Theatre, 9 PM.
