United They Stand
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They met for lunch on a recent Wednesday at Ann Sather in Andersonville. Most in the group were artistic directors, used to ruling their own domains, and “the meeting was a little quiet at the beginning,” Evans says. “But by the end it was like nobody wanted to leave. It was fun just having a dialogue. We work long hours, and it’s easy not to talk to each other.” They did more than just talk: they formed a new group, the North Side New Theater Collective, and laid out some guidelines. For now, at least, the collective will be limited to companies that have a physical home on the north side and produce at least 75 percent new plays. Founding members include 11 theaters: About Face, Bailiwick, Black Ensemble Theater, Curious, Griffin, Lifeline, the Neo-Futurists, New Tuners, Stage Left, WNEP, and, of course, Live Bait.
The collective was born the same week that the League of Chicago Theatres launched its “From the Streets to the Seats” program with a high-profile event that had actors plying their trade on Michigan Avenue street corners. Evans is quick to say the new group is not attempting to usurp the league’s role. “It’s a complementary effort,” she says. But after a decade of membership, Live Bait did not renew its affiliation with the league this year. “We weren’t convinced that there were enough benefits to justify our membership,” she says. It seems to her that members have less input into the league’s programs than they used to, and “they have so many members that the programming and benefits are very general.”
