Tonight's the Night for AN EVENING with Eli Van Sickel (and Friends)

Illinois State University alum Eli Van Sickel is directing An Evening full of theatre. And it's in Chicago. Tonight. More specifically, An Evening is tonight at 7 pm at Lifeline Theatre.

Van Sickel has put together a program of short scenes, with selections from newer work like John Logan's Red, Neil Labute's Reasons to Be Pretty, Julia Jordan's Nightswim and Songs for a New World, Jason Robert Brown's heartfelt song cycle, along with classic pieces like Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac and Clifford Odets' Waiting for Lefty.

This is how Eli describes his Evening:

Eli Van Sickel has spent his entire life in the theatre. He holds a BS in Directing from Indiana State University and an MS in Theatre Studies from Illinois State University. He has worked professionally as a freelance sound designer for the last eight years. He has not directed a play since he was in school, five years ago. He has been too afraid to pursue a career as a theatre director...until now. In order to dust off the cobwebs and see if he’s worth a damn, Eli has put together an evening of scenes entitled AN EVENING. The performance will take place on Wednesday, April 13 at 7 pm at Lifeline Theatre.

David F. Meldman and James Martineau will perform the Red scene, with Devon Nimerfroh and Kristen Hughes in Reasons to Be Pretty, Mitch Conti, Gerrit Wilford, and Andrea Williams taking on Cyrano, Alyssa Ratkovich, Kent Nusbaum and Joe Faifer in Waiting for Lefty, Courtney Dane Mize performing part of Songs for a New World, and Gaby Fernandez and Emily Willis in Nightswim. Michael Evans is the Evening's musical director and pianist and Slick Jorgensen is the lighting designer.

Conti, Faifer, Fernandez, Martineau, Nimerfroh, Nusbaum, Ratkovich and Williams all have ISU connections, and you may remember them from work on Bloomington-Normal stages. Meldman has a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an MFA in acting from Florida Atlantic University, Willis is a Northwestern grad, Mize has a degree from Ole Miss, Wilford studied at the other Northwestern in Iowa, and Hughes earned her BA from Indiana University in the other Bloomington.

All of which adds up to a lot of talent in one place at one time. If you're wondering why this show now, Eli offers this inspirational program note:

All of us are relatively new to Chicago. We are looking for opportunities. We are looking for artistic homes. We are looking for people to take chances on us. We have devoted our lives to our craft and we are ready to do great things within it.

You have to root for that, right? Let's hope this Evening is the first in a long line of great things for all of them!

ISU's Intimate "Picnic" Unfolds in Centennial West

William Inge used the wide open spaces of Kansas to fuel a sort of claustrophobia in his "Picnic," the 1953 Pulitzer Prize winner about youth and passion, expectations and dreams, all stifled by life in a small town. In the Illinois State University production directed by Lori Adams for the tiny studio theater inside Centennial West 207, the wide open spaces (see poster above) and the claustrophobia (tiny studio theater inside CW 207) are both on display.

"Wide open" is represented by landscape paintings of wheat hung at the back of the stage and around the sides of the audience, while "closed in" is reflected both in the confined size of the playing space, with two back porches tucked inside it, and because scenic designer Eric J.J. Moslow has added a frame -- much like a large picture frame -- around what would be the proscenium if this were a full-size theater. The porches show how everybody is living in each other's pockets and getting into each other's business, while the frame hems everybody in, as well as offering a snapshot of Small Town America circa 1953, right out of a family album.

Thematically, the frame adds a nice touch. Practically, however, it blocks the view of the people sitting in line with it. I saw more than one craned neck as people tried to see who was doing what on the Owens family porch blocked by the frame.

The other limitation to the size of the Centennial West 207 space is that there is only room for one floor of the Owens home, even though the script refers to sister Madge, the pretty one, primping and getting ready in a window up on the second floor, where everybody can see her from down in the back yard. Instead of Madge up there in the window, you'll see the lights hung from the ceiling of CW 207.

Still, Inge's play's themes come across loud and clear in this production, as we see young people looking for passion or excitement or any kind of escape from the restrictions they face in this prairie town. Eliza Morris' Madge is every bit as pretty and restless as she needs to be, so that the entrance of bad boy Hal (Russell Krantz) turns her world upside-down. Morris gives Madge layers of vulnerability and self-awareness that make her a root-for character all the way through.

Krantz is boyish and brash as Hal, maybe a little too boyish to establish that Hal is a Man with a capital M. I'd also like to see a crack in Hal's bravado, showing he has been worn down by the mistakes he's made and the hard row he's been hoeing of late. Still, Krantz makes Hal energetic and athletic and fun to watch. He seems dangerous indeed, bouncing off the walls in this small space.

Betsy Diller is very good as Madge's little sis Millie, both a smarty pants and a tomboy in Diller's performance, and she creates good chemistry with Mitch Conti, striking the perfect note as Alan, Madge's country club boyfriend and Hal's old fraternity brother.

Devon Nimerfroh also stands out as Howard, a congenial salesman from a nearby town. Nimerfroh has the "Hail fellow well met" tone of that era and that kind of guy down just right.

"Picnic" has two more performances at CW 207tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30 pm.

PICNIC
By William Inge

Centennial West 207
Illinois State University School of Theatre

Director: Lori Adams
Scenic Designer: Eric J.J. Moslow
Costume, Hair and Makeup Designer: Emily Nichelson
Lighting Designer: Grace Maberg
Sound Designer and Composer: James Wagoner
Fight Director: Tony Pellegrino
Dance Choreographer: Shelby Brand
Stage Manager: Danielle Wiseman

Cast: Lauren Sheffrey, Russell Krantz, Betsy Diller, Antonio Zhiurinskas, Eliza Morris, Melanie Camire, Elizabeth Keach, Mitch Conti, Tammy Wilson, Brittany Temper and Devon Nimerfroh, with offstage voices provided by Tammy Wilson, Antonio Zhiurinskas, Levi Ellis and Mitch Sachdev.

Running time: 2:20, including two 10-minute intermissions.

ISU's Improv Mafia Prevails Once More

Congratulations to ISU's Improv Mafia for winning the Lower Midwest Regional yesterday in the College Improv Tournament.

The Improv Mafia won the Lower Midwest Regional last year, as well. This year, they defended their title in Indianapolis, earning the right to compete for the national championship in March in Chicago. That makes the Improv Mafia one of 13 regional champions, chosen from a field of 110+ teams nationally.

The Improv Mafia began in 1998, created by Mikel Matthews, who is now over in Champaign acting and directing. The Improv Mafia website tells us that they have "evolved over the years from performing mainly short form games to providing a unique hybrid of short form, long form, musical, and other experimental forms in their weekly one hour shows." (The weekly shows are on Tuesdays, by the way, at the CPA Art Room 145.) Clearly, their hybrid is working, with a National Championship in 2008 and 2nd place at Nationals in 2010-11.

You can see video of their first-round performance here, here, here and here. It's a little jumpy and not complete, but it will give you an idea of what they were doing in Indianapolis, anyway.

As for who was on the winning team, well, I haven't been able to find their current roster anywhere, but I think I spotted Andrew Bogue, Mitch Conti, Carly Heiser and Jason Raymer in the video. If anybody from the Improv Mafia wants to stop by and correct that or offer more complete credits, feel free! Here's the 2010-11 group if you'd like to play Match the Faces with the video.

In the meantime, congratulations and felicitations to ISU's elite improv troupe!