Offered as an adjunct to the annual summer Rhinoceros Theater and Performance Festival, this monthlong showcase of fringe entertainment features mostly new work by such ensembles and individuals as the Curious Theatre Branch, Dolphinback Theatre Company, Ira Glass, Frank Melcori, Theater Oobleck, Jamie O’Reilly, Michael Smith, the Saint Ed Theatre Company, and John Starrs, among others. The festival runs January 31 through March 9 at three locations: the Lunar Cabaret and Full Moon Cafe, 2827 N. Lincoln; Link’s Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield; and Live Bait Theater, 3914 N. Clark. The phone number for reservations and information for all shows is 773-327-6666, ext. 3. Performances take place most nights (except Tuesdays), generally starting at 8 PM, as indicated in the listings below. (These listings are subject to change; audiences are advised to call the fetsival for late updates.) Tickets are $10 per show (except where noted in individual listings) or “pay what you can.”
The Reader lists festival offerings on a week-by-week basis; following is the schedule for January 31 through February 6.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31
The Queen of Bakersfield and Other Tales of Dust and Moonlight
Dolphinback Theatre Company’s artistic director Kelly Ann Corcoran performs writer Greg Owen’s collection of tales and songs about “the strange and beautiful landscape of unwashed America.”
Lunar Cabaret, 8 PM.
Revolving Troubadours
This group of solo artists offers an evening of short one-person pieces; the lineup varies from show to show, but participating performers include Greg Allen, Bryn Magnus, Abby Schachner, Gabrielle S. Kaplan, Antonio Sacre, and Judith Greer.
Link’s Hall, 8 PM.
The Fever
Dolphinback Theatre Company’s production of Wallace Shawn’s one-man drama features Brad Light as an American beset by illness and conscience in a Latin American country. Lunar Cabaret, 10 PM. Note: Tickets for both The Queen of Bakersfield and Other Tales of Dust and Moonlight and The Fever the same evening are $15 “or pay what you can.”
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1
The Queen of Bakersfield and Other Tales of Dust and Moonlight
See listing for Friday, January 31. Lunar Cabaret, 8 PM (actors night).
Revolving Troubadours
See listing for Friday, January 31. Link’s Hall, 8 PM.
The Fever
See listing for Friday, January 31. Lunar Cabaret, 10 PM (actors night).
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6
The Queen of Bakersfield and Other Tales of Dust Moonlight
See listing for Friday, January 31. Lunar Cabaret, 8 PM.
Points of Arrival: A Jean Donovan Journey
The Still Point Theatre Collective presents Paul Amandes’s drama about Jean Donovan, a 27-year-old American Catholic lay worker who was murdered with three nuns in El Salvador in 1980. Beau O’Reilly directs. Live Bait Theatre, 8 PM.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): uncredited photo of The Fever.