Rhino charges on Annual festival provides stage for 30 new works

Rhinoceros Theater Festival

Opens tonight, to Oct. 16

Lunar Cabaret, 2827 N. Lincoln and Prop Thtr, 4225 N. Lincoln

$10 or pay what you can

The untamed borders of Chicago's theater scene are once againmined for Curious Theater Branch's annual Rhinoceros TheaterFestival. For 13 seasons, the event has been the closest Chicagocomes to having a fringe festival of its own.

Since Day 1, the Rhino vision has remained virtually the same,says Beau O'Reilly, who has organized the festival since itsbeginnings. This year's roster, presented in conjunction with PropThtr, features 30 new works.

"The vision is to support new work in a creative and supportiveenvironment," said O'Reilly. "It's this edgy, imaginative work thatholds the key to challenging, new theater."

O'Reilly spends about six months rounding up talent for thefestival. The key is to have a balance of new and establishedperformers.

"It takes a lot of conversations. There are certain people that Iwant to have in the festival and others that are new to me. Some areestablished artists who have been here before and have somethingstable to offer. Others have new work that they are experimentingwith and want to see how it will work before an audience. And thereare a few who simply have something they want to do. The goal is tonot let the event get in-grown. I'm always looking for a way to cross-pollinate."

Added to this year's event is a panel discussion, "Makers onMaking" (7 p.m. Oct. 8) in which writers, directors and actorsdiscuss the creative process. Taking part are Paul Amandes, SueCargill, Marianne Fieber, Kastulis Nakis, Cin Salach and JessicaThebus.

Fringe festivals have gotten more notice since "Urinetown" spilledout of the New York Fringe Festival and ended up as a Tony Award-winning hit on Broadway. Similar festivals and their performers havebeen hoping for that same sort of luck. But if nothing else, they arereceiving more attention from theatergoers.

"We've seen a steady increase over the years," said O'Reilly."It's definitely a community of performers that people are eager tosee. From the feedback, I think the Rhino Fest could even go onlonger than the traditional six weeks."

The Rhinoceros Festival opens this weekend with performances byKellyAnn Corcoran, Antonio Sacre and the Curious Theater Branch. Hereis a look at some of the performances that are scheduled over thenext six weeks. Consult the theater listings in The Guide inWeekendPlus for listings of events, days and times.

"Flush" by KellyAnn Corcoran. A dark two-woman comedy in whichtravelers plumb the depths of memory and dream.

"Up to the Sky" by Antonio Sacre. A winner at the New York FringeFestival, Sacre tackles the mother-son relationship.

"Discovery Tales" by the Curious Theater Branch. A quartet ofstories about those rare moments in life when circumstances align andthe inner self is brought into momentary focus.

"Buster Keaton's Stroll" by Frederico Garcia Lorca. A surrealisttale is adapted into a one-man band toy theater show designed andperformed by puppeteer Blair Thomas (formerly of Redmoon Theater) anddirected by Chris Columbus.

"Mazel" by Karine Koret. The writer-actress interviewed hergrandfather and created this account of how he barely escaped theNazis during the occupation of Poland.

"Small Potatoes" by Paul Espel. Prop Thtr presents a zany rompthat asks the question: Can two guys with no money and little brainssave the small town that they ended up in by mistake?

"Hinckley on Foster: The Hearing" by Michael Martin. It's time foranother parole hearing and would-be assassin John Hinckley is broughtto life by Martin.

"Interviewing the Dead: A Fictional Autobiography" by Michael K.Meyers. A son consults a psychic to see if she can reach his deadfather for an answer to the question: What happened to the cash?

"The Very Long Kiss" by Joe Meno. Go Cougars! Theater presents thestory of a recent widower who strikes up a friendship with a talkingsongbird sent by his deceased wife.

"Overnight Lows" by Mark Guarino. During one night, the seasonschange four times, a radio broadcast never ends and a young womanconfronts her memories.

"The Penny Jar" by Shoshanna Utchenik. The simple story of an oldwoman and a young girl, each struggling with a desperate hunger, istold with life-size puppets and original music.

LUNAR LOST: It's been known for a while that the Curious TheaterBranch will be ending its seven-year stay at the Lunar Cabaret as theowner seeks to develop the space. However, O'Reilly says they aresecure in that spot until fall 2003.

"The owners have been very kind and good to us," said O'Reilly."And in a way, we are looking forward to a move because we need morespace. As our audiences increase, we are feeling the need to growinto a bigger space. So, we're looking."