Mental Notion Society Stages THE RUSSIAN PLAY, Now thru 6/17

The Mental Notion Society presents "The Russian Play: an Improvised Black Comedy." Directed & Conceived by Sam Roos, The Russian Play is an improvised one-act play about a citizen's journey in trying to "make it" in the cruel world of Soviet-era Russia. Roos makes his Chicago Directing debut as "The Russian Play: an Improvised Black Comedy" makes its 4-week run, every Monday at 10:00 pm from tonight, May 27th thru June 17th, 2013, at Studio BE, 3110 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago, IL. Tickets are $8 and may be purchased at the theater box office or online at www.studio-be.org .

"The Russian Play: an Improvised Black Comedy" is a new project that is best described as an improvised one act play. The show takes place in the mid-21st century USSR, and it tells the story of a comrade trying to make their way in a dark, cruel reality, the details of which change every week. The cast takes a suggestion of a profession, and proceeds to tell a twisted tale of the rise and fall of an everyday hero of the USSR. It's a completely improvised and unscripted romp with a consistent message: life is hard, people are cruel, death comes for us all, and if you think about it, it's all pretty hilarious.

Sam Roos, a Chicago-based improviser, created The Russian Play with various elements of inspiration. Pulling from Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, "Black Snow," and Nikolai Erdman's play, "The Suicide," he was able to create a structured improv form to tell a complete story. The form has abbreviated acts which ultimately culminate into a one-act play. Designed with factors of a prologue & epilogue, the actors take roles inspired by the audience's suggested occupation and create narrative scenes that fulfill the rest of the performance piece. Each week the talented group of improvisers take a new suggestion to create a new play.

"The Russian Play: an Improvised Black Comedy" features Timmy Barron, Eric Harrington, Matt Higbee, Pat Ivansek, Stephanie Jones, Anthony Oberback, Jeff Quintana, Amy Thompson, and Stephanie Weber. Music Direction by Geno Alesandrini. Directed and Conceived by Sam Roos. Produced by the Mental Notion Society.