Those Lincoln Avenue roommates, the Body Politic and Victory Gardens theaters, have lent their two-level performance complex as well as their energies to the task of bringing off this six-week-long 13-playwright showcase for homegrown talents. Productions include two full-length works, three programs of short plays, and a couple of pieces-in-progress (see below for details). Body Politic/Victory Gardens theaters, through July 19 (2257/61 N. Lincoln, 871-3000). First (Victory Gardens) level schedule: Tuesday-Friday and Sunday, 8 PM; Saturday, 6 and 9:30 PM; matinee Sunday, 3 PM. Second (Body Politic) level schedule: Tuesday-Friday and Sunday, 7:30 PM; Saturday, 5 and 9 PM; matinee Sunday, 2:30 PM. Workshop productions have their own schedule: Friday and Saturday, 8:30 PM; Sunday, 7 PM; matinee Saturday, 2:30 PM. $14-$17; workshop productions, $10.
GARDINIA’S ‘N’ BLUM Three Taylor Street irregulars come up against “nefarious developers” in this full-length play by Nicholas A. Patricca (whose work can also be seen as part of the Summer Shorts Festival [see separate listing]). Dennis Zacek directs. Victory Gardens Theater, through July 19. Performance dates: July 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, and 19.
IN THE SERVICE OF OTHERS Valerie Quinney’s full-length script about a Yankee nurse down south, battling the 1918 influenza epidemic. James O’Reilly directs. “A cautionary lesson in how to make a fascinating subject dull” (Reader critic Lawrence Bommer). Body Politic Theatre, through July 18. Performance dates: July 4 (7:30 PM), 5, 7, 8, 12, 16, 17, and 18.
SHORTS #1 Four works. Sandy Shinner directs Rick Cleveland’s Centipede, John Logan’s John Wayne Movies, and Lonnie Carter’s Mothers and Sons; Nick Faust directs Takunda, by Charles Smith. Body Politic Theatre, through July 19. Performance dates: July 3, 11 (9 PM only), 14, and 19 (2:30 only).
SHORTS #2 Four works. Chuck Smith directs David Hernandez’s Roof Top Piper, Rich Orloff’s The News From St. Petersburg, and Claudia Allen’s They Even Got the Rienzi; Joe Sadowski directs Floor Above the Roof, by Daniel Therriault. Body Politic Theatre, June 25 through July 19. Performance dates: July 9, 10, 11 (5 PM only), 15, and 19 (7:30 PM only).
SHORTS #3 Two works. Susan Osborn-Motts directs William J. Norris’s Before I Wake, and Terry McCabe directs Clifton Campbell’s The Figure. Victory Gardens Theater, through July 18. Performance dates: July 3, 7, 12, 14, and 18.
MOONLIGHT DARING US TO GO INSANE A workshop production of E. Eugene Baldwin’s play about a distraught father’s crazy move. Pauline Brailsford directs. Victory Gardens Theater, June 26 through July 12. Performance dates: July 10, 11, and 12.
THE TETHER DISORDER A workshop production of Clifton Campbell’s play about a distraught wife’s crazy move. Sandy Shinner directs. Victory Gardens Theater, July 17 through 19. Performance dates: July 17, 18, and 19.