Collaboraction Presents 200 Funny Things 1/21-3/26

Collaboraction presents the late-night improv asylum "200 Funny Things" conceived and directed by long-time Chicago director, actor and teacher Steven Ivcich. An ensemble of seven actors is given 60 minutes to evoke 200 laughs from the audience sans pre-existing script, premise or scenario. Audience members also enjoy a post-show VJ/DJ lounge and a laugh decompression chamber.

This outrageous sketch comedy experiment begins previews Friday, Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. and runs Saturday nights at 10:30 p.m. from Feb. 5 through March 26, 2011. Press night is Saturday, Feb. 19 at 10:30 p.m. All performances take place at Collaboraction's new Wicker Park venue, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave. on the 3rd floor of the Flat Iron Arts Building. This venue was previously Ivcich's studio, where he taught acting classes from 1987 - 1991. Full schedule and ticket info enclosed at end of the release; more info available at collaboraction.org.

Rules of the Show
In "200 Funny Things" a Laugh Manager is stationed to one side of the stage in front of a "Now Serving" counter, similar to a counter used in a bakery to keep track of who is being served next. Next to the counter is an old darkroom timer.

•At the beginning of the show, the Laugh Manager explains the rules and sets the timer for one hour.

•Every time there's a laugh, whether it be a single audience member's chuckle or a collective audience's guffaw, the Laugh Manager advances the number on the "Now Serving" counter.

•The cast of seven actors has one hour to get to 200 laughs from the audience.

•If they arrive at 200 before the end of the hour, the Laugh Manager stops the show and asks the audience if they want the cast to continue until the end of the hour; however, every laugh over 200 is priced at a dollar.

•The majority rules, and if the show continues, the total number of laughs over 200 is calculated and the sum is divided by the number of people in the audience. That dollar amount is added to each audience member's ticket price and the admission is collected as people exit.

•If the cast hasn't reached 200 by the end of the hour, the show ends and patrons pay the regular ticket price.

Ivcich workshopped the show four years ago to explore if it was possible to get laughs without the use of pre-scripted clever lines or planned scenarios. Through the rehearsal process Ivcich worked with the cast to develop what he refers to as 'entities,' which are similar to characters but go beyond the usual concept of a character.

"I wanted to see if it was possible to use 'abstract' human behavior and interactions to elicit laughs from the audience. The fact is, punch lines and bits are not innately funny. People are funny, and people with an insanely wide-open expressive range are really funny, " said Ivcich.

"What happens when the cast interacts often goes way beyond "socially acceptable" behavior. I'll have to admit, it looks a lot like a very active day room in a mental institution. Totally weird...but also totally funny," added Ivcich.

"We jumped at the opportunity to explore a live performance environment that eliminates all formalistic barriers between actor and audience," said Anthony Moseley, Executive and Artistic Director of Collaboraction. "The free-form, liberating approach resonates with our mission. We feel our new Wicker Park venue is the perfect place to put this innovative experiment to the test."

The ensemble includes John Wilson*, Mark Canfield, Joe Zarrow, Drew Anderson, Jason Economus, Carolyn Hoerdemann*, Ashley Moret, Audrey Bertaux-Skeirik, Stephanie Palko and Walter Breitzke (*indicates Collaboraction Company Member).

Steven Ivcich is a writer, director, actor and teacher with more than 30 years of professional experience in Chicago's theatre and independent film communities. From 1977 through 1988 he wrote and directed a series of seven original stage works including "Sensoria," "Clown Cave," "Family Holomek," "Solitaire," "Einsteins," "The Young Psycho-Vivisectionist Meet Marilyn Monroe" and "Penta/Benta." These shows, produced by Chicago's Tony award-winning Victory Gardens Theatre, received both critical and popular acclaim. He directed the Professional Studio, an intensive 40-week actor-training program from 1992-2001. In the mid-90s he turned his attention to screenwriting. His screenplay, "Nightman," was produced by Warrior Production in 1998. His most current screenplay, "Iman," has been acquired by Tiger Entertainment in Los Angeles. He completed "American Cameraman," a documentary on legendary news cameraman, Bill Birch, in August of 2008.

"200 Funny Things" Schedule and Ticket info
The production runs Jan. 21 - 30 on Fridays and Saturdays at 9 p.m. The show continues its run on Saturday nights only at 10:30 p.m. from Feb. 5 - March 26, 2011. Press night is Saturday, Feb. 19 at 10:30 p.m. "200 Funny Things" will take place at the Flat Iron Arts building, 1579 North Milwaukee Ave., on the 3rd floor.

Tickets are $8 (plus the potential cost of additional laughs). Tickets are only available for purchase in cash at the door. To learn more about the show, visit collaboraction.org or call 312.226.9633.

"Sketchbook REVERB" Feb. 10 - March 27, 2011
For the inaugural production at the new Wicker Park home, Collaboraction presents "Sketchbook REVERB," a compilation of the best work from the past 10 years of the annual SKETCHBOOK Festival. "REVERB" will take place February 10 - March 27, 2011, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. on the third floor of the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave. Press night is Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. Tickets are currently on sale and available at collaboraction.org or by calling 312.226.9633.

Condensing the vivacious and provocative energy of the multimedia festival into a more intimate space, "REVERB" remounts and re-envisions profound works from such acclaimed playwrights as Ellen Fairey, Keith Huff and Lisa Dillman. A roster of DJs will perform musical interludes in-between the short plays and multimedia video components will be incorporated throughout the evening. Every performance will be streamed live on the internet, and can be viewed at collaboraction.org.

"REVERB" previews will run Thursday, Feb. 10 - Saturday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. Press night is Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. The production will run Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. through March 27, 2011. Additional Monday night shows include: Monday, Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. and Monday, March 21 at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $15-25. Student and industry tickets available for $15. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit collaboraction.org or call 312.226.9633.

SKETCHBOOK 11 at Chopin Theatre
Collaboraction will present SKETCHBOOK 11 at the Chopin Theatre, June 2 - June 25, 2011. Show schedule and world premiere works to be announced at a later date.

SKETCHBOOK is Collaboraction at its best: breaking down the walls that divide theater, music, visual art, video, and the internet. The Chicago Tribune has hailed the festival as "stellar," the Chicago Reader raves, "The atmosphere is all inclusive and embracing in this celebration of creativity, and as a result you're willing to go along for the ride no matter what," and New City proclaims, "One of the city's most intriguing off-Loop companies. Sketchbook...has become a must-see annual event."

Selected from hundreds of submissions, SKETCHBOOK once again brings together the collective talents of more than two hundred pioneering directors, designers, actors, musicians, and artists from Chicago and around the country for a jaw-dropping evening of creativity, experimentation, and celebration.

The new Wicker Park home
The Flat Iron Arts Building houses 48 galleries and Collaboraction is thrilled to join its dynamic and creative community. This past summer Collaboraction signed a five-year lease on the third floor space that will serve as a performance venue and offices. "The stars aligned for us to acquire this unbelievable new home. To be in the heart of this vibrant community aligns perfectly with Collaboraction in terms of our mission, our aesthetic and our future. We look forward to becoming a prominent artistic mainstay in the neighborhood," shared Moseley.

"Personally, I have a strong connection to this space," said Moseley. "It was previously Steven Ivcich's studio where he taught acting classes from 1987-1991. I took his class in 1996 along with fellow artists Ellen Fairey and Sam Poretta, who became life-long collaborators and friends. Steven became my mentor and had a huge impact on my theater principles and path to becoming Artistic and Executive Director of Collaboraction. It's full circle to be back in this space with this thriving company."

Collaboraction celebrates its 15th year as a Chicago-based arts organization and remains focused on becoming a national leader of contemporary theater. By incorporating innovative artists and inter-disciplinary collaboration, Collaboraction audiences are sure to experience groundbreaking theatrical and art-based events. Presenting such smash hits as 2010's Chicago premiere of 1001 by Jason Grote, 2008's Jon by George Saunders and adapted and directed by Seth Bockley, and 2007's critically acclaimed production of The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow: an instant message with excitable music by Rolin Jones, as well as the annual SKETCHBOOK Festival, Collaboraction has worked with more than 2,500 artists to bring more than 60 productions and events to more than 50,000 audience members. For more information, visit collaboraction.org.

 

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