Playwrights: Many (or Jenny Connell, J.T. Rogers, Andrew Hinderaker, Caitlin Montanye Parrish, David Rabe, Craig Wright, William Nedved, Eric Bogosian, Maggie Andersen and members of Natural Gas). At: Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave. Phone: 773-283-7071. Free admission, but reservations required. Web: www.thegifttheatre.org . Runs through: Jan. 15
Don't be surprised if The Gift Theatre leaves you with warm and fuzzy feelings of affection with Ten. This free short-run show is Gift's way of giving back (all the actors are donating their time), but it also gives audiences a chance to reflect on all that this ambitious theater company gives to the Chicago theater scene in terms of thoughtful and enjoyable entertainment.
Ten is composed of 10 short plays by 10 different playwrights who have been produced by the often acclaimed storefront theater ensemble up through its 10th-anniversary season this year. There are world-premiere works by Gift ensemble members, by guest playwrights (some internationally known like Eric Bogosian, David Rave and JT Rogers) and one thought on the spot by the resident improv company, Natural Gas.
With so much great work on tap (and at such a great price), it seems churlish to point out which works are stronger or better performed than others. However, like parents who secretly pick favorites among their children while professing that they love them all equally, it's easy to see which plays stand out more than the others.
Guy Massey is hilarious in Seven Lies by JT Rogers (The Overwhelming) which features an anti-Mormon fanatic struggling to recount his experience touring Salt Lake City's Temple Square. (Let's just say that a beautiful Peruvian Mormon missionary changes his original plans.)
Anna Carini and Boyd Harris also do particularly well as a first-time dating couple negotiating that "come-up-to-my-place" discussion in a refreshingly frank and smart 10 Dimensions by Caitlin Montanye Parris (A Twist of Water).
William Nedved's Prairie View feels like it could be expanded to a full-length play, what with its intriguing central protagonist (Brittany Burch) as a young hipster dealing with terminal cancer and coping with the rules and regulations of living in a hospice. David Rabe's It's Just the Moon about two estranged brothers back in their childhood home also doesn't feel so self-contained in just 10 minutes.
Offering solid think pieces are Eric Bogosian (subUrbia) with Tip Jar (where a high-powered businessman makes an unexpected offer to his regular barista), and Craig Wright (The Pavilion) with a transferable ghost story called Dead.
Rounding out the Ten collection is Maggie Andersen's No Stars in Jefferson Park, which is an excerpt from a book she's working on about the founding of Gift Theatre. Although some may see it as too self-referential, it does capture the excitement that Chicago's theater scene offers to ambitious young artists hoping to create important theater (and strike it big to become the next Steppenwolf). After 10 years, Gift Theatre isn't quite there yet, but it is most definitely on its way.
