January 2005 Performance Series                  

RSVP by calling
(773) 281-0824.

Give us your cash at the door!

LINKS HALL studio theater seats 65.

Infinitesimals is supported in part by a CityArts Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs

Fly and fly eye images courtesy of the Field Museum, Department of Insects. ©2004

Weekend 1

January 7, 8 and 9, 2005
Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
Admission $10

Dis*Card* by Erica Mott. What do we throw away and what do we collect? And what do we have when we collect what’s thrown away? Dis*Card* is inspired by found objects and the Chicago streets and alleys in which they were discovered. Through street theater, mask work, and site-specific performance, Erica Mott attempts to capture and heighten the magic, mystery and tragedy in everyday activities and interactions.

Any Illusion, A perversion of New England in one short act, by Seth Bockley. Following the lonely life of an American Saint through the purgatory of New England, Any Illusion is an episodic hallucination told with voices, clothes and stones. Seth Bockley trained with Double Edge Theatre in Ashfield, MA, has collaborated with Redmoon Theater and Lucky Pierre, and is a member of Walkabout Theater.

Yggdrasil, by Local Infinites (Meghan Strell), personifies the tree of life from Norse mythology. Through the use of silent comedy technique and the exploration of organic matter, this original material & metaphor piece reveals the mysteries of birth and decomposition. Yggdrasil serves as an interlude between the featured events each week of the festival. Local Infinities Visual Theater fuses performance art with the narrative thrust of traditional theatrical forms. A hallmark of their work is an intense exploration of elemental materials such as wax, water, earth or salt--including the acclaimed Wax & Wayne.

Weekend 2
January 14, 15 and 16, 2005
Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
Admission $10

…Art of Dreams by David London: an exploration of Hypnagogia, the turning point between waking and dreaming. Featuring the film artistry and magic sce-narios of David London, …Art of Dreams explores trance, surrealism, alchemy, evo-lution, and dreams—from the prosaic to the profound. Magician David London is a tour guide for the unknown, utilizing magic to transform notions of the possible and opening doors of perception and dreams.

Flypaper by Tom Howe, Melissa Howe and Meredith Miller. As a man prepares for his nightly respite, he is interrupted by a flying invertebrate in search of a meal. Through the interaction of humans, puppets and shadows, Flypaper delves into the many roles paper plays in our everyday lives— some which we seldom even notice. By folding, cutting, wetting, pasting, coloring, dying, soiling, lighting and crumpling, the same piece of paper can take on an infi-nite number of forms. Tom and Melissa Howe have performed with Redmoon Theatre and Local Infinities; Chicago based puppetry artist Meredith Miller is the artistic director of the puppet company The Incurable Theater.

Yggdrasil by Local Infinities—see entry for Weekend 1

Weekend 3

January 21, 22 and 23, 2005
Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
Admission $10

CORPUS DELICTI: Just Desserts, by Larry Underwood. Continuing Underwood’s investi-gation into corpses and their identities in the minds of the living, once again Dr. Nichaleous Tulp utilizes a fresh corpse to illustrate a lecture on identity and self. In an age where Galileo was turning his tele-scope to the universe, Dr. Tulp was taking an inward journey through the anatomy les-sons he performed above the meat markets in Amsterdam. Larry Underwood worked in the Netherlands for over 6 years, helping to realize shows in ship locks, airplane hangars, indoor junkyards and abandoned factories. He co-created Wax & Wayne with Local Infinities, and has also worked with Plasticene and Redmoon Theater.

The Sublime Beauty of Hands by Michael Montenegro & Jude Mathews. Our society, like a somnambulant giant, prepares for and participates in mechanized violence. The victims have no forum for redress to express their agony and despair, but find a secret door into the psyche of sleepers everywhere - in this secret inner forum, redress is found. From this idea springs this striking puppet theatre piece. Painter/sculptor Michael Montenegro is a thirty-year veteran of the puppet theatre world, creating and directing two puppet theatre companies, and touring puppet theatre extensively; Jude Mathews has composed music for Montenegro's theatri-cal works for three years.

Yggdrasil by Local Infinities—see entry for Weekend 1

Poonie’s Cabaret see listing
Saturday, January 22 at 10:30 p.m.

Weekend 4
January 28–30, 2005
Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
Admission $10

A Soldier’s Plea by Steve Batterson, with Derek Halpern (composer) and Tania Rodamilans (choreographer). A timely tale: far from home, a dying soldier reminisces as he looks back over letters he has writ-ten to his wife; her emotional response to the letters is revealed through dance, attempting to communicate that which words cannot hold. Steve Batterson has been writing theater and fiction in Chicago for over six years, and co-founded Laugh Den Productions.

Singularity by Fritz Grobe: exploring human isolation and our perceptions of the impos-sible, Fritz Grobe shatters the conventional juggling act to create a contemporary, abstract storyline. His obsessive struggle for mastery transcends the mere exhibition of skill to expand our sense of human pos-sibilities and confound expectations. One of the most innovative choreographers in the juggling world, Fritz Grobe was artistic director of the juggling and dance ensem-ble blink.

Yggdrasil by Local Infinities—see entry for Weekend 1

Body Vocal
Richard Curtis
Saturday, January 29 at 10:30 p.m.
Admission $8; $6 students

Working from scores, props, and ambient sounds, Body Vocal is a series of explorations of the voice by Richard Curtis, a Chicago-based vocal artist who explores communication, language, and connections with the environment. Working from the traditions of sound poetry, experimental jazz, improvised music, and performance art, Curtis creates vocal sound compositions that develop internal narratives for the listener; and with his site-specific improvisations, Curtis responds to his immediate surroundings, interpreting and engaging with the sounds around him.