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Posted inStages of Survival

‘We don’t want to get bigger. We want to get deeper.’

by Kerry Reid

This week, we’re kicking off a new occasional series, Stages of Survival, spotlighting theater companies that are, despite the pervasive gloom-and-doom narratives about the performing arts, still producing. The plan is to eventually encompass a broad range of companies: Equity and non-Equity, those that are itinerant and those that have their own spaces, and companies […]

Posted inPerforming Arts Feature

Rhino Fest comes charging back

by Kerry Reid

When you’ve been around for decades, paradoxically it’s sometimes easy to be overlooked. I’m reminded of this every time I hear someone ask why Chicago doesn’t have its own fringe theater festival and politely remind them that the Rhinoceros Theater Festival (more commonly known as Rhino Fest) is right there. First presented in 1988 as […]

Posted inPerforming Arts Feature

The Rhino in spring

by Kerry Reid

In January 2020, I checked in with Jenny Magnus about Rhinoceros Theater Festival (better known as Rhino Fest), the city’s longest running fringe theater festival. “The world is really hard right now,” Magnus said at the time. “All we have is each other and the intention to do something good. Aid and comfort. We just […]

Posted inPerforming Arts Feature

Remembering Matt Rieger: ‘a good egg for the ages’

by Jenny Magnus, Beau O'Reilly and Julia Williams

Editor’s Note: Matt Rieger, managing director and ensemble member of the Curious Theatre Branch, died on October 27 at 50, following a recent cancer diagnosis. Rieger’s death led to an outpouring of tributes on social media, reminding many of how instrumental he had been in many roles onstage and off over his years as a […]