New library debuts with=20 'Experiment!'

February 28, 2008

By MYRNA PETLICKI = Contributor

Jazz musicians are forever tinkering with tunes: = starting=20 one, playing another, going back to the first. Lori = Howard and=20 Aaron Preusse wondered why actors couldn't do = something=20 similar. They have developed a theatrical equivalent, = which=20 they are calling Experimental Repertory. The first = public=20 performance of "The Experiment!" will be presented at = the new=20 Eisenhower Public Library on Wednesday evening, March = 5.

"We have three scenes that we are performing, and = what we=20 do with 'The Experiment!' is improvise a new scene, = creating=20 new characters, using only dialogue from the scenes = we've just=20 performed," Howard explained. "You can't say whatever = pops=20 into your head like you might with traditional improv. = You are=20 restricted, or inspired, by the dialogue that you've = just=20 used."

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Aaron Preusse (left) and Lori = Howard in a=20 scene from "The Experiment!" staged at the new = Eisenhower=20 Public Library.

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The purpose of "The Experiment!" = said=20 Preusse (right) is "to see what happens when you take = three=20 scenes and then distort them, and change what they = were, and=20 see if we can come up with something new that's both=20 entertaining and also has meaning to it."

'The Experiment!'

7 p.m. March 5 at Eisenhower = Public Library,=20 4613 N. Oketo, Harwood Heights. Free. Call (708) = 867-7828 or=20 visit stockyardstheatreproject.org/=20 ELP_Project/ELPProject.html

The audience will play a role, perhaps choosing the = relationship between the characters or the setting. =

"We start off knowing a beginning and end point and = what=20 our relationships are to each other," Preusse said. = "We start=20 off with whatever scene we've decided, and somewhere = after the=20 first couple of lines one of us uses a different line = from a=20 different scene and starts something new."

For the Eisenhower performance, the three scenes = will be=20 from "Sure Thing" by David Ives, "Three Days of Rain" = by=20 Richard Greenberg and "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's = Window"=20 by Lorraine Hansberry.

Big first step

"This is kind of our first step, so we picked = two-person=20 scenes for us to play with," Howard said. "Since this = is our=20 first foray into this, we decided we would stick with=20 contemporary works. We didn't want to do anything with = dialects. And we picked relationships that were = somewhat=20 similar. They're all male-female love relationships." =

Eventually the pair hopes to expand the concept. = "We would=20 love to see what would happen if you have an ensemble=20 performing plays in repertory and you would create a = new play=20 using dialogue from the plays that you've been = performing in=20 repertory," Howard said.

Preusse and Howard have practiced their new concept = by=20 performing twice for groups of theater professionals,=20 improvisers and musicians in an informal setting. = Adrianne=20 Cury is directing the individual scenes.

Howard, a working Chicago actor for more than eight = years,=20 is director of the artistic council for Stockyards = Theatre=20 Project. Equity and Screen Actors Guild actor Preusse = studied=20 at the Dell'Arte International School of Physical = Theatre and=20 the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He = performed in=20 Minneapolis, San Francisco and Idaho, before coming to = Chicago=20 five years ago.

See what happens

Preusse said the purpose of "The Experiment!" is = "to see=20 what happens when you take three scenes and then = distort them,=20 and change what they were, and see if we can come up = with=20 something new that's both entertaining and also has = meaning to=20 it."

He added that it's also an interesting challenge = for an=20 actor to "try and keep all of those lines of dialogue = in your=20 head and be able to perform them at any given point = with=20 whatever the scene you're improvising is calling for." =

It sounds somewhat overwhelming to sift through = your memory=20 bank and pull out lines from three separate scenes = that make=20 sense in the context of a new scene. "It's an = interesting=20 thing that happens in your brain when you're waiting = for a=20 line to come from somewhere," Howard said with a = laugh.=20 "There's a great deal of trust. You need to be in the = moment=20 and totally following wherever your partner is." =