Collaboration dishes up great fun in their Flat Iron building space with REVERB and more

"Steve" and "Alice" in "The Lurker Radio Hour"*

Sketchbook REVERB makes for fun entertainment in an intimate setting in Collaboration's fairly new home in the Flat Iron Arts Building at 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave.  It celebrates ten years of the annual Sketchbook events by showing eight plays, four per night, during the run which ends Mar. 27.

During each evening, Thurs. thru Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 7 p.m. through Mar. 27 and  Mon., Mar. 21 at 8 p.m., four selections are performed. Included in this collection are a broad range of stories that make an evening fun for the audience.

"Tuning in El Paso," by Ellen Fairey, originally directed by Matt Miller for Sketchbook 2000. In this story a little girl tries to make sense of her new home and her parents' divorce in this paean to loneliness and hope.

"My Yeti Dreams," by Lisa Dillman was originally directed by Steve Scott, Sketchbook 2005. In it, Christine takes a man eating out of her dumpster under her wing, in more ways than one. Their primordial connection is threatened when a mail-order catalogue gives a glimpse into a world of cashmere sweaters and Cappuccino machines.

"I'll Never Tell You,"  originally directed by James McDermott, Sketchbook 2005,this play by Stephen Cone has a husband confessing his interminable list of infidelities to his wife-at her casket.

A scene in "Deep Blue Sea"*

"The Deep Blue Sea," by Keith Huff for Sketchbook 2007, was originally directed by Seth Bockley. It tells the tale of Marine biologists Nigel and Beth floating leagues below the ocean's surface. Their watery reverie is interrupted when an equipment malfunction forces them to make a terrible decision.

"The Lurker Radio Hour," is from Sketchbook 2008, written by Drew Dir with Karin Shook as the original director. Steve Larker, host of a horror radio program, copes with his cheating wife on air with the help of Alice, his trusty sound effects girl.

"Dated: A Cautionary Tale For Facebook Users, a tragicomedy monologue with multimedia projections," comes from Sketchbook 2008 and was written by Ira Gamerman and was originally directed by John Gawlik. This story takes the viewer into the world of Facebook, Myspace, and Livejournal, where it is easier for people to stay connected with loved ones. It takes the audience into the "what if" of a loved-one severing that connection? "Dated" follows GUY as he relays the hilarious, sad, and sometimes-tragic details of what it is like to get dumped in the Facebook generation.

Kieran Kredell as Hitler

"A Domestic Disturbance at Fat Little Charlie's 7th Birthday Party," by Andrew Hobgood and the New Colony had Andrew Hobgood as the original director during Sketchbook 2009. In this show the audience is interactive in Charlie's 7th birthday party as it takes a dark turn into ugly marital dispute. Will Charlie's present be able to put it all to rest?

Alien in the Hitler saga

"The Untimely Death of Adolf Hitler," by Andy Grigg, originally directed by Jeremy Wexler for Sketchbook 2010 has Professor Mark Jensen travel back in time to assassinate Hitler and prevent World War II and the Holocaust. He finds himself confronting a host of other time-travelers from alternate futures as they bunglingly attempt to construct the best possible world.

Tickets are $25 and $15 for students. To purchase tickets visit Collaboration's website or call 312.226.9633.

SPECIAL OUT Reader Note: For discounted tickets to Collaboration's CARNAVAL: Let Them Eat Cake on Mar. 19, use DISCOUNT CODE - Our Urban Times.

*Photo courtesy of Collaboraction

For more info: Workbook