Solo, Together, At SOLO Chicago Festival

By Staff in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 14, 2013 6:00PM

One is not the loneliest number in Chicago these days. There are solo performance festivals and opportunities to take the stage alone all over the city. This week Three Cat Productions is teaming up with the Berger Park Cultural Center to present the SOLO Chicago festival. SOLO Chicago will feature individual performances by vocal artists and storytellers David Boyle, Jyreika Guest, Kelsie Huff, Roberta Miles, Beth Urech, Adam Webster, Scot West, and Anthony Whitaker.

David Boyle is also the founder of Chicago Solo Theatre, a monthly show that supports solo performance in the South Loop. Boyle wrote many stories in a “Writing the Solo Play” class taught by Arlene Malinowski at Chicago Dramatists. Malinowski noted to Boyle that many of his tales had a recurring theme of magic and transformation, and hence his first solo show “You Don’t have to Be a Whore” was born. If the title intrigues you, then so too should David Boyle. He is a full-time Church musician on the South Side and he says the oddity of his profession has given him much material, both serious and irreverent, to draw from.

Jason Smith, founder and artistic director of Three Cat Productions, says that the mission of Three Cat is to offer Chicago artists a creative platform, foster relationships between local performers, and bring emerging work programming to the Edgewater area. Smith started storytelling 14 years ago in Minneapolis, where he found a thriving community of fellow artists willing to try new things and support his growing passion for telling personal tales. Now Three Cat has expanded their mission to an education department and runs theatrical and creative summer camps for kids at Berger Park. This summer their campers will act, sing, and dance under Three Cat’s guidance and the camp culminates in a performance at the quaint Berger park Coach House Theater. Three Cat Productions gives parents and kids alike the opportunity to listen, learn about solo performance, and share their personal tales.

Come out this Friday to this special evening of solo performances by David Boyle and Beth Urech. The SOLO Chicago festival will run through Saturday, June 15, with performances beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Berger Park Coach House Theater, 6205 N. Sheridan

By Jill Howe