Remember those fun, quick one-acts that the theater kids put on each year in high school? Well now you can relive the experience by attending “Sketchbook: Evolution,” a short-play festival taking place at Wicker Park’s Chopin Theatre (1543 W. Division St.) every weekend between now and June 25.
This is the 11th year that local theater company Collaboraction has brought together hundreds of artists to put on a show that combines theater, music, visual arts and video. Here are three highlights that audience members can expect from every performance of “Sketchbook”:
1. Plays: Peter Sipla, an actor in the play “Evolution,” the story of a New York Times theater critic who disapproved of playwrights directly addressing audiences, said the nine plays generally run about eight minutes or less, allowing audience members the chance to watch a variety of performances. “I would encourage people to come see [Sketchbook] because you don’t get to see such a diverse collection of theater on a nightly basis,” Sipla said, adding that he thinks “Evolution” stands out because it gets the audience to really question what their role is when attending a drama performance. “You see a show that’s an hour, two, three hours long and it’s one story. But here you get so many different perspectives.”
2. Devised Pieces: In three wordless minutes, “I Wish You Love” — one of the seven devised pieces in “Sketchbook” — explores imagery from the Jazz Age while showcasing “handcrafted miniatures” made by the piece’s deviser, Meredith Miller. “It’s pretty exciting for people to see something that’s this odd and specific,” she said. Other pieces feature everything from projection and shadow puppetry to video and live sound manipulation. “It’s all people trying new things and taking this as an opportunity to gauge what is working and not working,” Miller said.
3. Music: Three- to five-minute live music interludes take place in between every act, giving people behind the scenes a chance to set up for the next performance while offering the audience a transition. “It’s kind of a palate cleanser,” said music curator Julia Miller. “It’s not background music and it’s not just a break from the play, it’s a shift in focus.” Miller said she feels the diverse set of bands she picked for this year’s “Sketchbook,” which includes the Sleeping Bear String Quartet on June 20, are more interested in exploring the theme of the festival than in the past.
Performances take place at 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Friday; 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturdays; and 7 p.m. on Sundays. There’s an extra Monday night show on June 20 at 8 p.m. The entire “Sketchbook” includes 16 works, but to see it in full you must attend a Saturday night performance or attend on both Thursday and Friday night.
Tickets are $15 for students and industry, $25 general admission and $40 for a festival pass that allows access to any and all performances. For more information visit collaboraction.org.
