What started as a performance component of the Bucktown Arts Fest has taken on a life of its own: this is the fifth annual incarnation of the Rhino Fest, whose name is inspired by surrealist painter Salvador Dali’s use of the term “rhinocerontic” (it means real big). Organized this year by Beau O’Reilly, Michael Martin, and Colm O’Reilly, who have endeavored to combine a broad scope and a cutting-edge sensibility, the three-week event showcases some 25 individuals and ensembles (plus several live bands), including well-known folks like Jenny Magnus, Theater Oobleck, Paula Killen, Marc Smith, the Curious Theatre Branch, John Starrs, David Hernandez, Splinter Group, Frank Melcori, Redmoon Theater, and New Crime Productions.
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The Rhinoceros Theater Festival runs August 19 through September 4 at the Curious Theatre Branch, 1836 W. North; Splinter Group Studio, 1937 W. Division; and Chicago Filmmakers, 1543 W. Division. Except where noted in the listings below, the phone number for all Rhino Fest information is 384-2241. Tickets (except in special cases noted in the listings) are $7 per program or $10 for any two programs. (Of related interest is the Bucktown Arts Fest, which offers free theatrical performances Saturday-Sunday, August 27 and 28, at the Holstein Park field house, 2200 N. Oakley; call 489-4662 for details on the free shows. And a closing night Rhino Fest party with live music takes place at the Bop Shop, 1807 W. Division, on Sunday, September 4.)
Theater Oobleck
Writer-performer Paula Killen, violin virtuoso Miriam Sturm, and filmmaker Katy Maguire collaborate on Disgraceful Productions’s “celebration of the dawning of a new age of femininity,” which interweaves three narratives to depict the relationship among three women. “Friends With Fire Arms: A Farewell to Feminism is an entertaining evening [with] great potential, provided the story is tightened up and Killen finds some silent places within her monologue. Particularly brilliant is Killen’s understanding of the insidious power of popular culture’s concept of feminist, emancipated women of the 70s,” says Reader critic Carmela Rago. Chicago Filmmakers, 8 PM. $10; call 384-5533 for reservations.
Throes
Friends With Fire Arms: A Farewell to Feminism
In this coproduction of Theatre Wyrzuc and Steel Productions, seen earlier this year at Cafe Voltaire, ‘a young woman talks about recovering from the trauma of rape . . . by joining up with a traveling show that features women dressed in gorilla suits wrestling in giant fruit pies.
